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Thanks for your experiences and feedback! We don't get many conventions here in Singapore, but the ones that we do have are pretty "stingy" when it comes to autograph signings. Usually, only those who pay for the concert tickets, that go into the hundreds, get a chance at receiving an autograph from a randomly selected artiste (on a poster that is provided).

Any and all other autographs are usually lucky draw giveaways or limited to those who spend a certain amount on the respective merchandise (like their CDs or from the anime they star in). Not to mention and they are only allowed to sign on the purchased merchandise.

To top things off, the information is scarce and you'd have to do your research to know which booths will be holding signing sessions.

I guess it's better than nothing and that the grass is always greener on the other side, but man do I sometimes envy you guys. (^.^;) Especially for someone like me who believes that one of the main reasons for conventions is the celebrity-fan interaction.

If the guest is popular enough though, not everyone who wants an autograph will be able to get one, because they can only sign them for a certain interval of time. I remember going in line for Vic Mignogna in 2014 at Anime Expo, and only about half of the people who wanted an autograph was able to get one. (And yes, you're not charged if you bring your own thing to sign.)

He was also pretty glad to sign something not related to Fullmetal Alchemist or Ouran High School Host Club and neither a DVD cover or a poster, so it definitely seems like guests like being able to sign a variety of different things. (It was a plush of Keldeo from Pokémon, a role he seems to be quite proud of but, according to him, nobody remembers.)

I have never been in an autograph line for Japanese guests though, nor have I observed them closely enough to see how they work, but from what people tell me, it's the same deal there too, at least if their agents and managers allow it. Creators and directors do get more freedom than actors and artists though (and I've heard that a few will wander off and explore the American conventions on their own when not scheduled for anything).

invalidname wrote:

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.

That'd sound like...not a dealbreaker, but a major inconvenience for me. I require a restaurant nearby that's open until I am done with the day, because the way I carry things, solid food gets squished in my bag. That aside, I am also accustomed to conveniton hall food being ludicrously overpriced (and a lot of them owned by Aramark) so I usually find somewhere completely unrelated to the venues to eat that I find wandering around the area.

mewpudding101 wrote:

I think the comment I always hear from Japanese voice actors/actresses when I talk to them is, "EVERYONE IS COSPLAYING! OUTSIDE!!" because even at Comiket, you're only allowed to cosplay in certain areas of the center. And NEVER outside of the convention hall grounds. So seeing Solid Snake eating at McDonalds is probably an... interesting sight. lol

Always found it interesting to see more people cosplaying on the Yamanote Line or the Rinkai line on the way to the cons than actually at the cons.

With that said, I'd still take a con in Tokyo over a con in DC or Baltimore as I've come to loath Otakcon and Katsucon.

Actar I'm assuming your asking about autographs from Japanese guests like voice actors, directors, and manga authors/illustrators etc.

Their is one guy on these forums that makes it his hobby to get sketches and autographs he might chime in with more details but it usually runs like this.

The Japanese guest will only be at the con certain days and hours for some kind of panel or event. Also they sometimes will hold a autograph session that usually is free of charge but with many rules to follow.

Most of the time it has to be a official item related to their work and usually only 1 autograph per person so no multiple items signed. Its a first come first serve so depending on the guest you will have to line up early sometimes for many hours since their is a cut off on how much time the guest has to sign. You could be in line for hours only to be told sorry no more spots available which really sucks.

This usually is a problem with big name guests that are still popular or hard to get guests that don't appear often. If their work is older and not mainstream or popular you'll have a better chance. At one con a Manga artist one of my all time favorites was their but most people don't know him. The line had only 60-80 people so the wait wasn't that long and everyone got a autograph and some got sketches too.

While at another con Sadamoto the character designer for Evangelion and other popular works was so popular that myself and others got ripped off and wasted 3-4 hours in line for nothing.

At that Con he was signing when the doors opened so we lined up hours before hand to get in just for him. But what we didn't know was people who paid 3-4 times as much for their entry badge got the privilege to get in the con 30 minutes before everyone else. So everyone of them did so and lined up for his autograph and as a result took all the slots and the rest of us got shafted and waited in the cold for nothing.

Big tip if their is a more expensive badge that gets you more perks and you have to have that autograph then buy it. If I knew I needed one I would have gladly paid extra for one.

Nonaka Machine Gun B wrote:

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?

Registration fees are standard at any pop culture convention. But AM takes things a step further, offering some kind of "Superpass".

AM's first year clearly showed the staff was very inexperienced, not to mention rude! There were rooms and events that we lowly peons who forked over the cost of a regular pass could not access. If you're caught doing so, even if there's no signage attesting to the fact that this room/event is for "Superpass suckers only", then you were berated by some volunteer in a rude and condescending way.

I hope they've cleaned up their act since then...

AX also has a recurring problem of security (who are not affiliated with AX or the convention center, but a 3rd-party group hired on) seemingly arbitrarily turning people away, guiding people to the wrong lines, or holding people up who catch their attention.

In 2014, one of them held up an Asian girl wearing a Kyubey hoodie and attempted to either small talk or hit on her (couldn't tell which; he was asking if the hoodie was a Pokémon in a happily aggressive way). She was incredibly nervous and scared of him, and he only let go once someone behind him and bigger than him was getting angry.

Some new security group was used for 2015 instead (I'm guessing that wasn't the sole case of harassment that year), and these guys were incredibly strict and demanding, not to mention paranoid. For some reason, some of them took the place of where volunteers and staff were supposed to be and would do some of the line-capping themselves, or blocked access to areas they weren't supposed to (regardless of clearance; I remember seeing one of them stopping FUNimation's Justin Rojas at the door to a restricted area and not letting him in even after showing his pass, as the guard was convinced he was an attendee trying to pass himself off as an industry guest) and they always looked very annoyed. My guess is that they had no idea how big of a thing Anime Expo really is and were poorly informed of what they were supposed to do, so they were all confused and in over their heads. I'd also guess that their boss is the type who berates people for the slightest thing that goes wrong.

Nonaka Machine Gun B wrote:

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?

I'd say about 90% a convention requires no additional. The only exceptions may be for a bag check, a materials fee for a particular workshop or tournament, or buying an item to be autographed like others mentioned. Something like AM2 which was nominally free, but required money to do things, is an exception rather than the rule.

Aura Ichadora wrote:

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!).

There's a VERY good chance that I'm the girl you gave money to xD (I was dressed as Levy from Fairy Tail if that rings a bell) If that was you, you were totally my hero that day!

But that whole thing was actually a miscommunication issue. I spoke to the VP of the con afterwards. One guest started charging for autographs when he wasn't supposed to, thinking that he wasn't getting paid by the con for some reason. The con covers the cost of autographs so that the attendees can get them for free. The other VAs heard about that, and assumed they were supposed to charge too. It was all sorted out and no one was charging by Saturday, but the majority of people who got autographs on Friday were already so upset they didn't come back.

On the original question though, guests typically refuse to sign anything that is bootlegged (provided they KNOW it's bootleg, which they probably wouldn't) I've seen them sign just about everything over the years. Anime dvd/blu ray slips are the most popular, followed by wall scrolls and manga and figures. Every once in a while people bring blank notebooks and give each person a page, or have the VAs sign their clothes (I had Vic Mignogna sign the "hat" of my Winry cosplay), and I've heard stories of people getting their body parts signed (and seen pictures of people having those signatures tattooed on themselves...)

leafy sea dragon wrote:

Psycho 101 wrote:

I tell ya that is one of my favorite things about Otakon in MD. Just seeing all the various cosplayers walking down Baltimore. You can go to any restaurant, pub, store, the Aqarium, etc and boom, cosplayers.

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.

They're actually very welcoming and seem to enjoy it. There was even a coffee shop that had anime themed drinks(2014). My buddy loved the "Vash the Stampede" which had 6 shots of espresso. The tourists are usually a bit confused but seem to like it too. So for the most part the inner harbor area is really pretty comfortable. Just stay in the inner harbor...

Attendance was down a lot this year. I'm sure some of it was do to the "riots". But preregistration already looked slow to me compared to years past. I attributed some of it to last years "line con" debacle. Long story short a lot of people were lined up for hours to pick up badges early only to be turned away when the computers went down. Add that to Otakons refusal to mail badges in past years and you get a lot of butt hurt nerds.

Thanks for the info. I had the impression most people don't mind cosplayers and, if anything, find it interesting.

The X-Games incidents were the only times I saw people truly turned off from cosplayers (and the X-Games staff have decided to never host it at the same time as Anime Expo again), so I guess that was an isolated thing with an audience somewhat at odds against anything dorky like anime.

Those people probably still think they're the "cool kids". My buddy goes to gencon in indy every year. He said one year some colts fans in blue wigs yelled "Freaks!" at them. I'm pretty sure the irony was so thick it stopped traffic. I've only every seen a odd stare or two at otakon but even that's rare. That even includes times when there was an orioles game. It's a great convention and a lot of fun so I recommend it to any fan. I am a little worried about the move to DC in 2017. I'm sure the locals will adapt but I'm not sure if there's going to be enough hotels. As it is now all the hotels sell out a year in advance.

It actually wasn't hostility and aggression, like the way you describe with the Colts fans, but more of confusion with a hint of fear. They clearly didn't know what cosplaying is.

Sports fans, the way I see it, are essentially another breed of nerd, just one that tries its best not to come off as nerds, so they poke fun at nerdy-looking people to distance themselves away.

leafy sea dragon wrote:

It actually wasn't hostility and aggression, like the way you describe with the Colts fans, but more of confusion with a hint of fear. They clearly didn't know what cosplaying is.

Sports fans, the way I see it, are essentially another breed of nerd, just one that tries its best not to come off as nerds, so they poke fun at nerdy-looking people to distance themselves away.

They go full on douche mode especially when they've had a dose of the sauce. I remember one experience where a group of preppy dudes harassed a group of cosplayers with toy swords of their own. To the crowd unfamiliar with it, they just seem like mindless playfighting, but me and and most of the con attendees knew it was thinly veiled hazing.

Not to come off as racist, but I feel that when a pop culture convention occurs in a location that is predominantly White, the chances of attendees getting the stink eye from locals goes up. Going off on this, most of the biggest conventions are all located in cosmopolitan, diverse areas where weirdness is at least tolerated. God help the man/woman who tries to start an anime convention in deep Mississippi.

The big anime cons have basically positioned themselves as the go-to regional event (or national, in the case of AX & Otakon) for anime fans. New fans are indoctrinated with the idea that this is the pinnacle of what it is to be an anime fan, and older fans return year after year to see con-friends. The actual year-to-year programming becomes irrelevant.

I used to love the festival atmosphere at cons, checking out stuff on a whim, chatting with strangers linked only by a common interest/series, and having the leisure time to just cosplay/people-watch. But once the manga/anime bubble burst, and cons had less can't-miss programming, and more teens looking to party, (and anime industry journalism picked up) it became more fun & more cost-effective to go to a multi-interest con, and get the anime/manga announcements online.

NYCC and Otakon (my local "big shows") like all the big cons, are great shows with guests you won't see anywhere else - if you are willing to pay crazy reseller markups for regular badges, or can afford to pay the spiraling fees for VIP-access. Plus, you still have to deal with long lines, paid autographs for the in-demand guests, and so much crowding you can't pause much to take pics of the awesome cosplays.

I kind of feel bad for friends of mine who have only ever known this type of con, as it doesn't really nurture relationships. (I've heard DragonCon kind of does a best of both worlds, being a big con, but feeling intimate, but that's from friends who've been going for a long time. Newcomers might have a different POV.)

At my peak, I used to hit 3-4 cons a year, including the annual Otakon pilgrimage, and as far away as Animazement (Raleigh, NC), ACen, and Anime Boston. Plus I used to staff/run cons for that pay-it-forward feeling. Now I get all my convention geekery in one shot at ConnectiCon (Hartford, CT), run a few panels to give back, and use the money saved on something more persistent.

Paiprince wrote:

They go full on douche mode especially when they've had a dose of the sauce. I remember one experience where a group of preppy dudes harassed a group of cosplayers with toy swords of their own. To the crowd unfamiliar with it, they just seem like mindless playfighting, but me and and most of the con attendees knew it was thinly veiled hazing.

Not to come off as racist, but I feel that when a pop culture convention occurs in a location that is predominantly White, the chances of attendees getting the stink eye from locals goes up. Going off on this, most of the biggest conventions are all located in cosmopolitan, diverse areas where weirdness is at least tolerated. God help the man/woman who tries to start an anime convention in deep Mississippi.

I see your point. Obviously it has more to do with mindset than race but I have to admit more Caucasians drift that way than other groups.

I personally love going to Otakon every year just for the spectacle of it all. And it's really fun taking someone new. I always meet new people and seen new things. The crash did leave 08-09 looking pretty sorry so I skipped 2010 but I really missed it. I really don't like large groups but I'm surprisingly comfortable being among "my own kind". Sure it can be a bit of a hassle at times but it's always exciting and always leaves me with a smile.

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