Forum - View topicAnswerman - What Made The Big Anime Conventions So Big?
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Joe Mello
 Posts: 2260 Location: Online Terminal |
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There's an episode of the 80's Wonder Woman series (the Linda Carter one) set at a SciFi con, and it's remarkable how few things changed in 30 years. |
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KamikazeJawa
 Posts: 104 Location: The land of the Asian-Americans |
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lol I think one of my favorite memories from AX this year was just casually strolling into the nearby Target in full JoJo cosplay with the rest of my group and seeing that at least half of the people in line at the checkouts were also in cosplay. It was just such a weird/awesome sight. |
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CorneredAngel
 Posts: 854 Location: New York, NY |
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I still remember a certain NYC con, when cosplayers would would out of the hotel, and get no attention whatsoever, because they were just another person in the middle of Times Square, in a weird get-up. |
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AnimeLordLuis
 Posts: 1626 Location: The Borderlands of Pandora |
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I've never really been to an Anime convention myself, the closest I've been to one is suncon (Suncoast motion picture) which is more of a small group get together then a convention only less than 100 people show up Its still fun though the store is located in a mall and cosplaying at a mall with everyone staring at you is always fun, I've met some cool fans there and learned some new things that I didn't aready know, I would like to go to an actual Anime convention someday but since I live in Ohio it is quite a long drive for the big ones the closest one to me is otakon but since there moving to DC it soon won't be so I guess that I will just start with a smaller local convention like in Columbus or Cincinnati.
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leafy sea dragon
 Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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Speaking of cons falling apart, did anyone hear about Japan Expo L.A.? It happened last month at the Los Angeles Convention Center and only took up South Hall (if you've been to Anime Expo, it's that room Anime Expo uses for gaming).
I don't know if it's from the same people as Japan Expo USA in Santa Clara, but if it is, Japan Expo L.A. is downright shambles compared to Japan Expo USA: It wound up being one big dance party with social networking.
That's still a larger attendance than many other hobbies' largest conventions.
I've seen a good number at Anime Expo. I figured they're just superfans of some particular franchise or person and want MORE at any cost. I didn't realize how restrictive Japanese conventions are.
Are the locals just as confused as they are in L.A.? There was one year Anime Expo took place at the exact same time as the X-Games right next door. A lot of X-Games visitors were staring like it was a Martian invasion, and I kept hearing people wonder out loud about why there were so many oddly-dressed people. They have obviously never heard of cosplaying before.
Definitely not. Not even Comic-Con, and that's the convention (well, group of conventions) that proudly showcases the cosplayers!
And yet there's hardly any cosplayers at Little Tokyo during AX despite it being literally a 30-minute walk away. I always visit 82 on the Sunday that ends Anime Expo and I have never once seen a cosplayer there. Ever. |
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mewpudding101
Industry Insider
 Posts: 2206 Location: Tokyo, Japan |
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They're not even... conventions. The anime convention is a completely American/foreign thing. (Usually) Official anime events are either a) stage events where the voice actresses/actors/staff appear to talk good points and experiences about a work. They will almost never reach out to the audience and/or take questions. Of course, you will also never get to talk to them. Or B) Promotional walk-around events set up by companies (Anime Japan and Jump Festa are examples of this). However, there are smaller events done by voice actors/actresses/staff that are more intimate, though they are usually not affiliated with the official work. The voice actresses from Ojamajo Doremi have been doing mini events at live houses for three years now. I've also been to mini live house events for Yuuto Kazama and Ayumi Miyazaki for Digimon's anniversary, Sachi Matsumoto, Emi Uwagawa, and Kyo Hatsuki. On the official side, Cross Ange did official fan meetings where fans could send in questions, but they had to be through Twitter. Still, the staff did start to recognize and call out to regular patrons (including myself, which was hilarious on a number of times). But of course, these are mostly the less-known actors and actresses. You'd never see Daisuke Ono at a mini live event (probably) because of the money his agency usually charges and the amount of fan girls that would come lol I can't really think of any equivalent for American anime conventions here in Japan. The level of freedom and closeness at them is something that I think even Japanese fans admire. |
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vonPeterhof
Posts: 729 |
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Kadmos1
 Posts: 13556 Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP |
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The content that they have is also a factor. That is, the fact that they will show porn at some cons definitely means people that are 18+ and those posing as 18+ will be there.
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invalidname
 Contributor Posts: 2444 Location: Grand Rapids, MI |
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After a certain size, I think the nature of the venue becomes a critical factor in a big con's success (or a limiting factor, as with Otakon). Like Key, I go to Anime Central every year, and they're blessed with what is a nearly perfect venue. The large convention center could easily accommodate another 10,000 attendees without breaking a sweat, there are many hotels connected directly by skywalk to the event, ample parking, and a convenient stop on the L. Plus, they have a proper 4,000-seat theater down the street, which is a much better venue for big acts like Kalafina (2013) or Scandal (2015) than just a big convention hall. Honestly, it's a shame that ACen kind of gets short shrift on ANN presumably because it's not a con that the top editorial staff has ever attended, and it's not a hangout for prominent anitwitter personalities like Daryl Surat or Mike Toole either. I remember when Anime Weekend Atlanta moved to their current location (the Cobb Galleria Center) with Dave Merrill saying in the program that this was it, and the only thing bigger was the Georgia World Congress Center (an enormous trade show facility downtown). AWA also has a good location, as they've slowly been able to fill out the Galleria over the years. Early on, they shared space with other events like bridal shows, but now they use the whole thing. They have one big problem on the horizon: the Atlanta Braves are building their new stadium across the freeway from the Galleria, with no parking and no meaningful public transit. The first year the Braves have a home game the same time as AWA, it's going to be an enormous clusterf**k. One con whose growth has been hampered by a peculiar venue situation: Youmacon in downtown Detroit. They're hanging just outside the Top 10 with 16,000 attendees. They've outgrown the Renaissance Center hotel (the tallest hotel in North America), so the dealers room and industry panels are held at the Cobo Hall trade show facility. They'll never outgrow Cobo, but the problem is that these two locations are over a half-mile away, and going back and forth is a nuisance. You can either hoof it along the Riverwalk on the Detroit River (which I did on a cold, breezy November day while crossplaying, and spent an inordinate amount of time holding down my skirt), or repeatedly take the Detroit People Mover (a one-way monorail that sees little use outside of sporting events… Youmacon alone accounted for about 4% of its ridership for all of 2014). Also, Cobo can't stay open all night, and its food court closes early in the evening, so going Cobo-only isn't an option. To top it off, there are few hotel rooms near the con once the RenCen Marriott sells out. So, really tough situation, and it's actually a credit to Youmacon's organizers that they've been able to manage the growth as well as they have. |
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Actar
 Posts: 1074 Location: Singapore |
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Out of pure, unadulterated curiosity, how do the US anime conventions handle autograph signing? Is it free? Do they always invite Japanese staff and voice actors/actresses? Can they sign anything?
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Nonaka Machine Gun B
 Posts: 819 |
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Anime Matsuri would be the con I could ostensibly attend, but I have always kind of been iffy on the idea that there's an at-the-door fee to just go in the building, and then I'm expected to spend more money on merch at stands or panels. I'm guessing things like voice actor panels or cosplay shows are just walk-in-and-sit-down after you've paid to be there, right?
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DerekL1963
 Subscriber Posts: 1113 Location: Puget Sound |
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What I find interesting is that SakuraCon continues to grow despite being the same weekend as Norwescon...
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Greed1914
 Posts: 4428 |
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There is going to be variation among different conventions, but I can at least tell you how it works at the convention I attend, though it is on the smaller side. For autographs, my experience has been that the American guests will sign just about anything, at least as long as whatever it is doesn't violate some sort of convention policy. The autographs are free if it is something that you brought yourself, though they may charge a small fee if it is something that they brought, like a head shot, which is fair since they paid for those out of pocket. The only time I paid for something in an autograph session was when Nabeshin brought along some of his own work. It's largely up to the guests what and how much they are comfortable signing since the majority are freelance, so the American companies don't have much of a say, and any talent agency that might represent them is usually happy that one of their people was invited at all.
Some of them might charge an additional fee for special events, like a big concert, though I don't know what Matsuri does, and the one I go to only charges the registration fee. Buying extra stuff is purely optional as far as merchandise goes, and your typical panel is covered by the registration fee. I think attendance would suffer if you had to buy a ticket for everything, plus it would be a hassle for staff. |
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Aura Ichadora
 Posts: 2284 Location: In front of my computer |
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At ACen, it's exactly how Greed1914 described: the autographs were free if you brought something of your own, but if you bought one of their headshots or something that they had at their table, you had to pay the cost for that piece to have it autographed. For Anime Midwest (which takes place at the same hotel and convention hall as ACen, but during the 4th of July weekend), we had two different issues with autographs. The first year I went (2013), all autographs were being charged, whether or not you brought your own items. However, this was not listed in ANY sort of policy or signage, and I didn't find out for sure until I was five people away from getting my Fairy Tail set signed by Todd Haberkorn. I heard about it as a rumor earlier in the evening, but we were told by staff members it was just a rumor. Luckily, because of that rumor, I had $20 in my pocket so the girl behind me and myself could get autographs (she didn't know either and didn't bring any funds with her; after spending three hours in line with me and dealing with the same crap I did, I wasn't about to let her walk away empty-handed!). But after hearing a lot of complaints about the autograph charges that weren't listed - and the crazy mess that was Todd's autograph session, which is a story within itself - they changed the policy to be the same as Acen and also moved the sessions, registration, and dealer's room all into the convention center. Unlike ACen, Anime Midwest has a "Platinum" badge system that allows you to get front-line access for things like autograph sessions. Otherwise, at both cons, you could risk having to wait several hours to make sure you get the autographs you want, especially if it's for a big-name VA like Vic Mignogna or Johnny Yong Bosch. At Anime Midwest 2014 (I didn't have a Platinum badge for this con), I waited a total of five hours for the autographs of Sonny Strait, Johnny Yong Bosch, and Greg Ayres; I didn't even get Greg's autograph that year as I was turned away when I was three people away from it. For 2015, I had the Platinum badge, so at the most I waited an hour for the session to start and then for the call for Platinums to come to the front. Anime Midwest is a much smaller con, and most of the Japanese guests they bring are fashion-related; ACen is much larger and you're more likely to see staff or seiyuu on the guest list. But you can also imagine that likely those sessions would be even harder to try and get into. Hopefully that kinda helps your curiosity. :p |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18190 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Um, this is pretty standard across the hobby convention industry, actually. Nearly all gaming conventions I've ever attended require you to purchase a badge to be able to do anything (for the ones large enough to have a separate dealer's room, that includes access to it), and event fees on top of that are common (again, especially at the larger ones), though there will also be a certain percentage of free events. As for autographs, I've never been that keen on them and definitely wouldn't pay for one or wait in line for an hour or more for one, but the few times I have done it I got DVD covers featuring a character the actor voiced signed. (I have the Neon Genesis Evangelion single featuring Gendo on the cover signed by Tristen MacAvery, for instance.) Voice actors seem to get a real kick out of that. |
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