Forum - View topicAnswerman - Has Convention Culture Affected The Anime Business?
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NotAnEvaClone
 Posts: 9 |
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Started going 5 years ago and I completely agree about interacting with all sorts of people you might not talk to in everyday settings. Just had the best experience with guests at a convention where very few people actually came to their Q & As, so those of us who were there moved up to the front areas and had a nice long conversation with the voice actors. It was a like visiting with friends you hadn't ever met but knew the voice so well. The guests were Vic Mignogna, Todd Haberkorn, Garry Chalk, Scott McNeil, and Trevor Devall. |
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Zalis116
Moderator
 Posts: 6867 Location: Kazune City |
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar  Posts: 16935 |
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One smaller con I love to go to is Nekocon in VA. I haven't been in 3 years but I doubt it's changed much. It is only around 3k to 4k people. A far cry from Otakon let alone AX. It has continued to thrive though. For a smaller con to thrive you need 2 things really, a good group running it to make the most out of the time and space they have, and a good atmosphere. Nekocon gets a small number of US industry guests but not many each year. The one advantage to this is you get a much more personal feel to their panels than at a mega sized con. You come away feeling like you had a more personal conversation with them. They went years at Neko with no Japanese guests at all and did just fine. They had (I assume still have) a great group running it though to make it enjoyable and maximize what they could offer people who went. |
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leafy sea dragon
 Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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Toei Animation must have been late to the party then, because they only set up their own booth in 2013, and even then, was focused solely on One Piece. By 2015, they had major exhibit hall space but was, frankly, wasting it by not promoting anything, only having a One Piece room where you draw on the walls, a closet-sized World Trigger stand-up screening room, and something else of so little concern I forgot what it was.
Based on my experiences, plenty. Anime Expo, at least, gets all ages, even if it skews young, but no one cares. If all else fails, pretend you're Kyle Hebert. |
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Kadmos1
 Posts: 13558 Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP |
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One way that convention culture has affected anime business can be seen in way of those fan dub panels (the ones where companies like Bang Zoom will have fans try out for a scene). That is, sometimes those fans will end up do work with work like Sentai or Funimation. Heck, Chris Guerrero of Team Four Star has done work on Fairy Tail and One Piece,
However, given the copyright infringing nature of fan dubs, I don't know how Funi ended up hiring him when Funi is also working to fight against piracy/copyright infringement. |
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Angel M Cazares
 Posts: 5424 Location: Iscandar |
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This is an interesting question. I have never been to an anime convention, but I have heard that they were a big deal in the past. I have no idea how today anime conventions impact the industry, but I have heard people argue that the internet and mass communication have made it easier for anime companies to communicate and connect with fans.
This year I eagerly waited for the big announcements that were going to be made at Anime Expo and Otakon. But the exciting announcements never came. The only big reveal was the license announcement of Legend of the Galactic Heroes, an anime that its more ardent fans wanted to be licensed, but who knows how many copies of that niche title is Sentai going to be able to sell. Next year I will have very few expectations from A/X and Otakon. |
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Hiroki not Takuya
 Posts: 2518 |
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Yeah, the announcements and big events wax and wane year to year at AX. This year had nothing I was interested in. However, since I am a fan and attendee at AX I am happy that it has become "number one".
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maoyen
 Posts: 170 |
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Except E3's not public, so it doesn't really the effect the actual industry as a whole. |
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Maidenoftheredhand
 Posts: 2633 |
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Well LOGH for me was a huge announcement.
But most announcements are now done over social media so it is a different culture then it was when I started attending Otakon 10 years ago. So yeah Otakon is my convention of choice mainly because it is the biggest convention near me. I do like the bigger convention experience (although I've never experienced AX or SDCC. I have gone to NYCC but that was in 2009 I believe before it blew up to what it is today) . With anime conventions the guests (specifically the Japanese ones) and the Premieres are what are most important to me. Otakon was lacking this year on that second one but did have Romi Park an amazing guest. So that being said the small cons that only get dub actors don't really interest me. Although I am constantly impressed by Animazement's guest list in NC. I have not gone yet but I am considering that con in the future. |
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Cutiebunny
 Posts: 1748 |
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Certain areas of the US have a greater emphasis on dubs over subs. I find that when I attend Animazement in North Carolina, the majority of its attendees watch only dubs and many avidly watch whatever is on Cartoon Network. On the West Coast, however, there is a greater emphasis on subs, so Japanese guests are more popular. I'd be interested in seeing the numbers behind Funimation and CR paid membership and seeing how that breaks down in terms of where their members reside. My guess is that Funi membership is higher in the Midwest and South, whereas CR's bread and butter lies on the two coasts. |
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yuna49
 Posts: 3804 |
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As a veteran sub-only watcher, I usually have little interest in conventions. I did attend Anime Boston once (I was in my late fifties then, though unlike nobahn I still have hair) and found little to hold my attention. I don't really care what shows Funimation is licensing or getting autographs from voice actors of any nationality or buying anime merchandise, so I see little to attract me to conventions. |
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Maidenoftheredhand
Posts: 2633 |
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Well there are also producers, animators, and directors. I am interested in autographs but there is way more to seeing the guests than just that. |
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leafy sea dragon
Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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There are also fan panels, which are the most interesting panels to me. I also like to look for panels of up-and-coming startups, as I love the general idea of new companies popping up in any field.
My highest priority when I go to Anime Expo is the Unofficial One Piece Podcast Panel, as an example. |
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DerekL1963
 Subscriber Posts: 1114 Location: Puget Sound |
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Decidedly this. While the question, and much of the discussion here, has revolved around industry panels and booths - there's so much more to cons and con culture than that. |
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Paiprince
 Posts: 593 |
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I mostly attend conventions to meet and see the Japanese guests who you normally would never see outside events in Japan or otherwise. The fact that conventions have upped the standards regarding who they're inviting is a welcome change for me. Although with the perks that comes with it along with the shift towards industry management, they've made some very questionable decisions. With big profile cons like AX charging upwards to $360 for a premium pass to be able to get benefits like some Airline club is honestly ridiculous. Otakon's regular attendance fee at $95 is pretty bad in itself. Hope their venue change in 2017 addresses that problem. I'd also add staff's constant bungling when it comes to crowd control when it comes to handling the guests panels and autographs. Dear god, they always manage to make sour grapes every year because of their ineptness. I know, the staff are mainly volunteers, but as cons get bigger, the training and professionalism the staff should undergo must grow with it.
With the popularity of conventions, I feel like the security of the cons and attendees itself should become a bigger priority. I maybe paranoid about this, but it only takes some stupid shenanigan to ruin the fun for everyone. As much as I used to buy a lot of merchandise at cons, I really don't want these events to just be some "glorified hobby shops" especially when a lot of these vendors mark up the price up to a couple of 10's and even more. The only real benefit is having access to the stuff just like that and possibly running into out of print merchandise online, but that's been getting rare. Having industry booths, and some neat and extravagant ones at that, pumps some fresh blood in the Dealer's room by offering goods only available through them. |
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(I'm afraid, however, that I'd stick out like a sore thumb -- just how many bald men are there at a convention, anyway?) 
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