Forum - View topicInterview: Japan Expo USA First Impact CEO Sean Chiochankitmun
|
Goto page 1, 2 Next Note: this is the discussion thread for this article |
| Author | Message | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Splash
 Posts: 76 |
|
|||||
|
Good interview
Japan Expo is still my favorite con this year and can't wait to see how it goes next year. And I hope Gamushara Ouendan can come back too!!! And Japanese guests ftw!!!!!! I hope they keep the Japanese cultural things going too. :> Definitely the most unique con experience >w< ~~~ |
||||||
|
||||||
|
GeorgeC
Posts: 795 |
|
|||||
|
Nice to hear you can afford these cons!
I don't miss that part of the "West coast" experience (amongst a few others) for sure... I wonder sometimes how cons last this long with such high prices and lower-than-expected convenience.... Then again, from past experience, I've known people to save their money up all year-long and blast it all out on one con experience. I guess I've gotten too old to really understand the whole con experience anymore. |
||||||
|
||||||
Cutiebunny
 Posts: 1746 |
|
|||||
No. He goes to EVERY con. I like my cons Vic-free. I've witnessed some bad behavior from this particular guest and I would rather not see him at any con again. There were some significant issues with your con that need to be worked on, of which, "We want badge holders" was not primary issue. Drop the practices that work in France and adopt the ones that work here. If you're reading this, Sean, can we have an auction featuring the items that the guests signed and sketched instead of shipping off all this nice stuff to France? It would be nice to actually bid on stuff that the guests at this con created, especially if it were for a 503(c) charity. What's the point of having great artists come to your con if you can't take anything really nice home? I spend a lot of money at convention charity auctions every year, and was hoping I could have done so at JX. Other than that, I think this is the first article I've seen which actually touched upon some of the issues that JX had this year. So, in that respect, thank you. It was a good article. |
||||||
|
||||||
TarsTarkas
 Posts: 5823 Location: Virginia, United States |
|
|||||
You are probably in the minority when it comes to your anti-Vic'ness. He is an in demand guest for anime conventions, so there is a good chance he will attend this one too, his schedule permitting. Don't know how much freedom the CEO has in deviating from the main European convention. You are probably right about the badges, but they still might stick with the European motif to keep the convention different from most US anime conventions. |
||||||
|
||||||
|
Cutiebunny
Posts: 1746 |
|
|||||
My experience has been that those requesting Vic are 1) Those whose sole exposure to anime is whatever's dubbed on network TV (ie. teens) and 2) Those who don't live and/or can't travel to a larger con, and thus are not used to Japanese guests. Yes, Vic will always have a following. When I last saw him at AX, his lines were packed. But look at who stands in these lines - Younger fans and those with their parents in tow. This leaves a large portion of attendees, mostly older fans, who tolerate having Vic around because he serves as a distraction from the guests that they're interested in seeing.
I don't have any issue with them keeping the culture aspect of the con - That was fine, and it was enjoyable. The lack of badge holders is such a trivial issue when compared to problems this con had. It's as if JX is a leaking dam, and one whose maintenance workers are far more concerned with beautifying by planting flowers around it, rather than fixing the leaks. I would hope that the CEO has some say in how the convention is run. Otherwise, this interview amounts to nothing more than event promotion. |
||||||
|
||||||
P€|\||§_|\/|ast@
 Posts: 3498 Location: IN your nightmares |
|
|||||
|
OMG Gamushara Oedan? I've never heard of them before reading this interview. I would totally go to their performance if they showed up at a convention I was at. That just sounds totally fun.
|
||||||
|
||||||
Vapors
 Posts: 139 Location: Bay Area |
|
|||||
|
If having Vic could attract more people, then I say invite him. I would like for this event to succeed and to do that, they need to get people in the door. It also helps justify to vendors and industry folks who probably felt burned by the promises that were made and not delivered. That is probably concern one, assure vendors and future vendors that this is an event that is going to succeed. The other is getting word out about this event. I told people about this, but it seemed that none of them had heard of it. Perhaps doing an interview prior to the show and doing more outreach to other parts of Northern California will help.
I really enjoyed this convention, especially their ties to the tourist industry (since I am planning a trip, this was invaluable) and the cultural performances (which is really unique so this is something that will set them apart from most of the other conventions on the West). Don't know what they can do about timing though. May is Fanime. July has AX and San Diego Comic Con. August has Otakon. October has NYCC. I suppose they could hold this in either early Spring (March/April) or later in the fall (late Oct/Nov). But yea, having it this year in the beginning of school was bad for their attendance on Friday. Sounds like even after the bad first year, they plan to stick this out, which is encouraging. Continue to get the caliber of Japanese guests and have fun panels and concerts like this year and improve your outreach. Hope they rectify things and make it better for next year. |
||||||
|
||||||
Asrialys
 Posts: 1160 |
|
|||||
|
If they wish to continue to call their show a festival rather than a convention, then they need to find a venue that will give them that freedom.
You don't go to them. They come to you 
|
||||||
|
||||||
tuxedocat
 Posts: 2183 |
|
|||||
This is a good thing. I know this really was off-putting to a lot of people who passed on the expo because of it.
I can understand this, since this is more of a demonstration rather than a food vendor. However, to my understanding, the only food vendor allowed in the premises was Aramark, the exclusive caterer of convention centers and penitentiaries. They were probably really happy with the "one in-one out" ticket policy since the attendees were forced to eat their prison food or go without food or drink. Prisoners eat prison food, right? Aramark is like the Nazi SS of food service. Of course, they have an exclusive contract with the SC Convention Center, so that's all you get. I really hope that you are able to change the venue to a place that is not in lockstep with Aramark. Food is a large and important part of Japanese culture. Besides no one in a foodie area is going to be happy if a festival, celebrating a specific culture, is unable to celebrate the culture's food. If you guys are stuck in a contract with the SC Convention Center, please at least consider inviting the famous Bay Area gourmet food trucks to park outside. http://bestfoodtrucksbayarea.com/ At least it would give the attendees an option other than the prison food, since there is no other options in or near that venue that don't involve getting in a car. |
||||||
|
||||||
|
dracilcegon
Posts: 6 |
|
|||||
|
Oh god, do not want Vic. Why would you want someone that anyone could go to any other con and see? That's just another step to make Japan Expo another cookie-cutter con which just means they're competing equally with those cons for my money then, instead of being a must-go con like this year.
If anything, it was *really* refreshing the amount of Japanese guests they had and something I'd like to see continuing. It was obvious that was the draw for a lot of the attendees because the autograph lines for the American guests were almost non-existent compared to the Japanese guests. I can go to any number of other conventions here if I wanted to see American guests, but Japanese guests is what will set Japan Expo USA apart from the others and get them my time and money. I mean, it's fine if they want to increase the number of American guests, as long as they keep the same amount of Japanese guests and events around. |
||||||
|
||||||
|
ANN_Lynzee
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 2939 Location: Email for assistance only |
|
|||||
This policy was dead before the convention even started. No one at First Impact was forced to stay in the convention center. |
||||||
|
||||||
|
tuxedocat
Posts: 2183 |
|
|||||
I understand that there was one entrance where re-entry was allowed, though people still had to drive or take a taxi if they wanted decent food. |
||||||
|
||||||
|
ANN_Lynzee
ANN Executive Editor
Posts: 2939 Location: Email for assistance only |
|
|||||
Oh, that's entirely true. I just mean people weren't captive by re-entry fees. More so by proximity to any other restaurants. |
||||||
|
||||||
Sheleigha
 Posts: 1671 |
|
|||||
|
I just have to say that it was the smoothest anime con entrance ever! Scan your paper badge and you're in! Fanime takes freakin hours due to everyone signing their info up all over again for.... I'm not sure why. Takes hours due to slow typers though, like being in a long lineup for self checkout at a grocery store...
The quick scan was simple and took only a few minutes to enter on Sat morning. |
||||||
|
||||||
|
tuxedocat
Posts: 2183 |
|
|||||
To be honest, My original post was mostly addressing the food situation. I think Japan Expo could be a huge success, not only with the anime con community, but also with the local community who love exploring different cultures. They would go for the cultural events and to sample things they have never seen or experienced before. However, this area is a big foodie mecca, so people will expect food to be a part of it. Also, since most people who live and work in this neck of the woods are most likely employed in tech of some sort, they have experienced the Santa Clara Convention Center first hand. Most people here don't regard it as a place to go for "fun". A venue change would be in the best interests of the con. |
||||||
|
||||||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group