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NEWS: Anime Expo Holds 'Lite' Event in July


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catandmouse



Joined: 02 Mar 2011
Posts: 212
PostPosted: Mon May 25, 2020 1:37 am Reply with quote
I’ve gone to Anime Expo every year without missing a beat since 2011. I’ve been going to SDCC since 2017, and I try to go to as many conventions as I can during the year. I rarely go to panels, but the few I’ve gone to I’ve enjoyed. In my opinion I don’t think live-streams could ever capture the feel of actually being there even if the news I’m hearing are the same live or live-streamed. Besides, many times panels hand out freebies that you obviously don’t get over the internet.
So to add my two cents, many people have grown jaded of cons, especially the huge ones like Anime Expo or Comic-Con, but for me personally I really enjoy the chaos of 100,000+ bodies trying to get from point A to point B, and no, I am not a teenager.
I’m glad that it seems AX will be featuring artists and vendors that were going to attend, but nothing beats being there. I’ll probably check out their “AX lite” though,
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jellybeanbandit



Joined: 18 Jun 2019
Posts: 107
PostPosted: Mon May 25, 2020 12:10 pm Reply with quote
Kougeru wrote:
Conventions as a source of news are archaic and should probably stop being a thing anyway.


Once watching new anime and finding imported goods stopped being limited to dealer rooms and view screenings conventions lost a lot of appeal to me. I guess there's still the social aspect, but really you can get that anywhere else. I don't miss the outrageous mark up of dealer rooms nor the stuffy, uncomfortable chairs in screening rooms. The internet kind of took most of the draw from cons away from me, including the socializing since I can talk to my far away friends every day already.
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all-tsun-and-no-dere
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 06 Jul 2015
Posts: 604
PostPosted: Mon May 25, 2020 4:26 pm Reply with quote
Kougeru wrote:
Conventions as a source of news are archaic and should probably stop being a thing anyway.


I don't know if you're talking about cons as a time to make an announcement or as a whole, but I disagree on both counts.

In terms of announcements, it's true that the internet is a much quicker and more convenient place to make them, and that's reflected in how most are done nowadays. However, there's no matching the feeling of hype, being in the room with hundreds or thousands of other fans when they announce something worth getting excited over. This goes double for Discotek panels, which are run by the incredibly charismatic Mike Toole.

As a whole, I don't think I could disagree more. I've been going to conventions for almost 20 years now, and still love them and find enormous value in them. They're a great reason to meet up with friends and form new personal and professional connections. I love running and attending panels, and try to learn something new at every con I go to. Meeting and interviewing Japanese creators is always a treat. Cosplay is a wonderful creative outlet and requires a lot of skill and moxy to do.

So yeah, cons are fantastic. It's a massive disappointment to me that I won't get to go to one this year.
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Cerceaux



Joined: 02 Oct 2011
Posts: 180
Location: Earth
PostPosted: Mon May 25, 2020 5:22 pm Reply with quote
Go figure the year that I actually live walking distance from LACC, there's a worldwide pandemic and every convention gets canceled. Confused
The lines were a nightmare, the weather was always hot, and there were too many people, but I loved the positive energy from all the fans, seeing the amazing cosplays, and meeting Japanese creators. I hope AX can survive this and come back in the future, because even though it's never been perfect it's still an amazing and fun convention every year I go.
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Aresef



Joined: 22 Jun 2005
Posts: 909
Location: MD
PostPosted: Tue May 26, 2020 10:57 am Reply with quote
I sure hope they're not charging for that nonsense.

Kougeru wrote:
Conventions as a source of news are archaic and should probably stop being a thing anyway.


I'm going to have to push back on this a bit. For companies, especially smaller ones like RightStuf, they get way more attention by having panels at the big cons than they would by putting out sedate press releases or videos. In gaming, that's why E3 and CES are such big deals. It's also way harder to involve fans and make them feel involved if you're just rattling off news items on a Facebook Live stream.
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Cardcaptor Takato



Joined: 27 Jan 2018
Posts: 4787
PostPosted: Tue May 26, 2020 1:10 pm Reply with quote
In addition to the social fandom aspect, anime cons are pretty much the only way fans have to meet the creative staff and voice cast of their favorite shows and movies and we always seem to learn so much valuable information about the creation of anime and the industry through the guest panels. It would be a major blow to anime fandom if cons went away though I do hope more cons would make panels available online though Anime Expo already has started doing that even before the pandemic. I've never been able to go to an anime con but I would love to go one day.
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Stampeed Valkyrie



Joined: 10 Aug 2014
Posts: 825
Location: PA
PostPosted: Tue May 26, 2020 1:45 pm Reply with quote
All this new normal crap needs to stop.. in time this too will pass.

Having been on both sides of the isle as a Fan and as Industry, conventions are a great way to meet people with similar tastes. Not to mention catching up with those you may only see in person 1 or 2 times a year.

I've been attending or involved with Cons since 1998 and its been a rocky ride with its ups and downs... From the founding of what became Otakon, and the hilarity that ensued during Anime Next's inaugural year there are lots of stories to be told. And while I am on the east coast I don't have much to do with East Coast cons anymore, the last huzzah for me is essentially AX.

I still meet up with former coworkers, and industry reps I worked very closely with. Most have moved on, but its always a pleasure to see a familiar face in the dealers room, or happen to catch up with individuals still in the business.

Not to mention the friends I still have a few days to catch up with being I am on the East Coast and they are all in CA.


I am one of the older fans in the room (I'll be 42 in June about to OK Boomer myself), but for the most part going to a Con is just partly for the Anime, the other parts are people, and keeping connections alive after 20+ years.
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Hiroki not Takuya



Joined: 17 Apr 2012
Posts: 2501
PostPosted: Tue May 26, 2020 10:47 pm Reply with quote
catandmouse wrote:
... but for me personally I really enjoy the chaos of 100,000+ bodies trying to get from point A to point B, and no, I am not a teenager.
I’m glad that it seems AX will be featuring artists and vendors that were going to attend, but nothing beats being there...
I second this, there is an excitement to being there and seeing so many varied anime fans in one place.

@Psycho101- I feel everything you mention and are all the reasons I love AX. I won't soon forget seeing world premieres like Your Name with the Man Himself there. Such are special...
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