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FanimeCon Events and Discussionmentarianism => General Convention Discussion => Topic started by: TC X0 Lt 0X on May 29, 2017, 08:09:10 PM

Title: How was everyones Con Weekend?
Post by: TC X0 Lt 0X on May 29, 2017, 08:09:10 PM
I hope everyone had a good weekend this year?

I unfortunately did not.

PreEvent
For the most part everything was ready and I was excited and rearing to go. Despite my terrible allergies this year which developed into a annoying cough, I actually was a bit more energetic then I normally am, and I took all the usual precautions to help alleviate those allergies.

Thurs
Fine for a Day 0 for the most part. Got Pretty drunk and Swap Meet, went around town eating. Found this Icecream Sandwich place called Creme a couple of blocks out after learning B&J closed, amazing place with fresh warm cookies for the sandwich as well as some other options.

Fri
Wasted a lot of time waiting for people to show up for our dinner deal we usually do, as well as getting people into cosplay. Overall an Ok, but uneventful day.

Sat
Started out alright. Then came back to the hotel to find a friend over-drank. Long Story Short, he fell in the bathroom and threw up several times while unconscious. Requiring us to get into the muck and turn him over on his side so he wouldn't drown on his own vomit. After a few hours when he regained some consciousnesses he could not tell us some basic information, and one of our guests (Great guy that stayed around the entire time to help out) told us we had to call the ambulance after that because he may have a concussion. So after they came and took him away, I had to go and clean up the pool of vomit. Most of my latter part of the night was wasted there.

Sun
I was determined to make use of this day best I could and not be held up by my friends dilly dallying, but at this point it seems I got extra unlucky and developed a sinus infection of sorts, and after a few hours out at Con I was incapacitated and had to retire. Missed the vast majority of the night, but still managed to stay up from the ruthless cough that I had developed which required constant maintenance.

Mon
Well I still felt like shit, but was mobile enough to clear out my rooms and get a few items out of the dealers hall, though I didnt get to bargain at all being effectively as dead as I was, which for me is usually half the fun of the Dealers Hall on Monday. Overall I was looking forward to getting back home. Had some miso soup at a sit down Chinese place near Ramada. Got my traditional Buritozilla as my Fanime castaway. Immediately went to my parents place to get antibiotics. Hoping this infection dies down over the week.

PostWrapup
Overall, probably the worst Con I have been to, and that sucks because for the most part it had little to do with the Con itself, which from what I saw had some decent content available that I would enjoy. And this is usually my one vacation for the year where I can ignore school and work and relax (albeit while getting plenty of exercise from walking around).
Title: Re: How was everyones Con Weekend?
Post by: Nina Star 9 on May 29, 2017, 08:41:06 PM
Actually...probably the best Fanimecon I've ever had. I had a fantastic time. Sorry that yours was such a terrible experience. :[

Though, mine also had very little to do with the con itself, and mostly had to do with the social situations that the con enabled. I gave my panels on Friday, which was fine, but then the rest of the time I did little in the way of actually scheduled programming and more in the way of cosplay and socializing. Sadly I only got around to one karaoke song this year, but I didn't want to stay up too late. Lots of cosplay gatherings, shoots, and hanging out, for the most part, and it involved some great people and fandoms. :D

Broke my personal record and wore 4 cosplays in one day. That was a bit much, but in my defense, one could only be worn for a few hours because it's painful (Ultimecia), one is only somewhat more comfortable, and the wig on my "comfy" cosplay was bothering me after wearing heavy things on my head all day so I threw on the most comfortable cosplay I have.

Got asked by a stranger to step on her for a photo as Lady Oscar, and that was one of the highlights of my con tbh. Best photo request I've ever gotten.

My first JJBA cosplay went super well and I had a lot of fun rolling around con with Jojo friends. I had a great first experience with the fandom and can't wait to do more cosplays from the series.

I've always felt like this con can be a letdown in terms of programming/guests/etc., but the cosplay scene and the social scene make it really worth it to me, and that can easily make or break the con.
Title: Re: How was everyones Con Weekend?
Post by: otakuya on May 29, 2017, 08:53:32 PM
Um, most of that has nothing to do with the convention itself...

I am very happy that I was able to spend time with new and old friends at any time. The convention was very well run and everything that I saw went smoothly (actual convention events).

My highlight: CWF FaniMania
Even though there was a LineCon for FaniMania, everyone was so nice that we were all high-fiving or fist bumping as we weaved through inside. The event itself felt like a big deal and encouraged fan interaction. I lost my voice, haha.
Title: Re: How was everyones Con Weekend?
Post by: aetherltd on May 29, 2017, 09:02:23 PM
Great, from the Clockwork Alchemy side. A busy, but quiet convention. Great group of six classical musicians in cosplay playing anime themes. Some good panels.

At last, the bus service between CA and Fanime works perfectly. Bigger, more comfortable buses, lots of them, and drivers who knew the fastest routes. Easy to dash over to the other side, see a panel, and dash back. Liked "Cthulhu for President", which is supposed to be comedy but seems all too real now.

Fanime vendor hall was big on plushies. Plush toys very big this year. Deadpool cosplayer with Hello Kitty plush backpack.

There's food in the convention center, and there are tables and chairs, but they're a long way from each other.  The $1 Pocky was the cheap stuff from Thailand and had melted together.  Convention hall corridors not so jammed as in previous years. 

Sadly, this was the last year CA and Fanime will be on the same date; the next Clockwork Alchemy will be in March 2018, in Burlingame, at the Hyatt Regency. It's a bigger hotel; CA has outgrown the Doubletree.
Title: Re: How was everyones Con Weekend?
Post by: InsaneDavid on May 29, 2017, 09:03:03 PM
I completely feel you pain about sinus issues at con.  In 2016, the Wednesday before Day Zero, 11pm, three stitches before finishing up the last cosplay, I felt my throat get irritated.  I felt feverish during Day Zero but was able to get my badge, one of the few with no issue, and came back for swap.  Friday I was in a bit of a daze (from the allergies and sinus issues + the decongestants I was taking by that time), but good until I blew out my voice during my gathering.  Saturday even worse so my wife and I spent the day sitting around and getting some autographs.  Sunday we bailed immediately after the Sailor Moon gathering as now the meds were making me loopy.  Went home, slept for three hours, then came back that evening out of cosplay - by then I had broken the sinus crap and could get off the meds.  Monday back to normal.  It sucked ass, completely sucked ass, my extreme condolences!


For 2017, things were awesome all around - and throughout the weekend I remarked how great it was not to feel like I did in 2016.  I was a little raspy from the wind at the start of the weekend but it went away - and I need to realize my voice is just going to keep getting more raspy the older I get it seems.

Friday: Got in early, got our peacebonding done for the only day we would require it.  Settled into the Nostalgia Room to watch City Hunter (as that was what we were cosplaying from) - pretty good turnout!  Mokkori!!  Actually got recognized by a few people - not bad for a series that has been out of print in the US for a long time and is 30+ years old.  Hosted the Old School Cosplay Gathering at 6pm - outstanding turnout there!  I cannot express how much I respect and appreciate my fellow pre-2001 cosplayers!  Can't wait to do it again in 2018!

Saturday: Mobile Police Patlabor cosplay, which I freaking love to wear.  As it's the most mobile (har har) this is the day we knock out most of our shopping.  Bought some Patlabor and City Hunter cels in the dealer's hall, pretty awesome.  As pretty much every Patlabor cosplayer ever will tell you - people will assume you work for the convention center, assume you work for facilities, assume you work for the convention, assume you are security, assume you are a parking attendant, and generally think you are authoritative and ask you questions when they need help.  Even one of the convention center facilities guys checking badges to get upstairs complemented us on how nice we looked. ahaha ;D It must be the blazing orange vests - they do make us stick out like a sore thumb.  That all said, I'm happy to help out any fellow con-goers and point them in the direction of official channels for things I don't know or are beyond a question suited to ask another attendee.  Ran into a couple out front on Saturday night while coming back from dinner that attended AnimeCon '91 and we got to talking for a couple hours, that was really nice.

Sunday: Convinced two of my sisters to come out for a few hours for the day so we met up with them in the morning.  My wife and I were cosplaying as Motoki and Makoto from Sailor Moon for Sunday, the one cosplay we do where she is more recognizable than me.  However this year I did have a few people recognize me as Motoki Furuhata!  Awesome!!  I've only ever seen a very few Motoki cosplayers online.  Tons of fun at the Sailor Moon gathering - the one other gathering we attend besides our own.  Then we took my sisters around the convention center, went through the halls a few times, watched some videos, general stuff.  They really want to come back next year - was the first large con they've ever been to.

Monday: Low key day, my wife stayed out of cosplay and her and I went around and got some shots of myself as Ryo Saeba from City Hunter around downtown while it wasn't so busy and the lighting was even.  Hit the halls a couple times more and then called it a day / con.


No issues what so ever this year other than small, very brief shake it off, type things.  Really looking forward to 2018.
Title: Re: How was everyones Con Weekend?
Post by: Nina Star 9 on May 29, 2017, 09:05:52 PM
Quote from: otakuya on May 29, 2017, 08:53:32 PMThe convention was very well run and everything that I saw went smoothly (actual convention events).
I agree that this is one of the better-run Fanimes in a long time, at least at the con itself. Reg was super smooth, everything I saw seemed to run like clockwork. Pre-con organization can still use improvement, but the con itself was pretty good at this. Good crowd control, the badged upstairs area worked very well for the second year, etc.
Title: Re: How was everyones Con Weekend?
Post by: Xanreo on May 29, 2017, 09:57:01 PM
The con itself from the pre-reg to badged entry-ways are outstanding.
No more loiterers around upstairs and not once did I bump into someone because it was too crowded because of smooooth flow.
Plus, being in cosplay, I have to keep my badge in my pocket but now I don't have to pull it out every time I enter a room with the worry of losing it.
Just once at the entrance and I'm good to go.
Only issue I bumped into on the organizational side would be the system for autographs.
This might have been the first time a really sought-after & prolific guest has attended Fanime in a while so I can't put all the blame on Fanime's line management staffers but there were mobs instead of lines.
I did end up getting an autograph but I had to get physical. Just a tiny bit.

As for the stuff outside of con:
I had a pretty similar experience as OP.
Possibly the worst Fanime for me.
Fanime has been SocialCon for me for the past few years but I think it's time I go back to sticking with convention-exclusive events.
Most of my friends kept getting wasted every single night and caused scenes worst than in a college frat movie.
My two roommates, bless them so much, were the only ones around me who knew how to have fun without drinking but they had to fly home early so I was all by myself for the rest of Sunday since I didn't want anymore shots for the third night in a row.
If it wasn't for my roommates, I would have wanted to leave Fanime Saturday night.

All in all, I'm unsure of whether to return next year unless I find more friends who aren't alcoholics or I just have to learn to love the booze, hah!

Fanime itself was a well-oiled machine this year, though. Just one small loose part.
Title: Re: How was everyones Con Weekend?
Post by: Alyxiane on May 29, 2017, 10:03:21 PM
Definitely one of the better Fanimes I've been to so far, at least from my experience and even despite some mishaps along the way:

PreEvent
Was overall stressed out from the combination of budgeting money, badgering parents regarding school, and dealing with crummy co-workers from work. Last year's Fanime was ok-ish at best, so I was also anxious to how this year would turn out. I still managed to pack well and in time for Thursday.

Thursday
This was actually the first year that I've gone to Day 0 since I stayed with people who booked the hotel from Thurs-Mon. Got to San Jose at around 1:30, dressed as a Ravenclaw student. Got in line before the reg opens and ended up chatting with a group behind me, and once we got our badges, we all decided to get dinner and learn more about each other. I then met up with my roommates who would help bring my luggage to our hotel and we all just settled in, getting ready for tomorrow.

Friday
Was casual!D.Va and pool party!D.Va. Got my light pistol peacebonded, and had my first out of three planned photoshoots which went well. Checked out Dealer's Hall and got a free D.Va-related trinket from one of the vendors since I was cosplaying. My shoes were snug on me so I've gotten blisters and sore feet throughout the day. I started to take a look at Artist's Alley but stopped midway to take a couple breaks at the hotel to just overall decompress and get bandaids on. Was supposed to have my second photoshoot that night, but had to push it back the next day since I was way too tired.

Saturday
Was Trainer Moon for the morning, went to the Cosplay Hangout for a bit before the Pokemon gathering which was fun. Looked through the rest of Artist's Alley, and changed midday for the 2nd D.Va photoshoot, but didn't have concrete plans afterwards. Ended up bumping into a group I know and joined them for dinner.

Sunday
Casual!D.Va once again for the Overwatch gathering. Had to pick up my friend and barely made it to the gathering. Gathering itself was HUGE, which was expected. Felt it was cut off short considering the large amounts of both cosplayers and photographers. I still took a lot of selfies as D.Va though lol. Right after, I went to Caesar Chavez park to have picnic with the same group from last night. Then I went through Artist's Alley again since my friend hadn't seen it before, and we got a little charmander cushion. Went back to the hotel to change for the Black&White Ball and realized that the housekeeper mistook a box of mine that contained $300 worth of stuff as trash because I foolishly placed it next to the trash can. I asked front desk about it and left my contact info so they can update me on it. Since part of the "trash" were some jewelry that I intended to wear for the ball (which themselves costed at least $200...), I just went to Idris' Closet and got some stuff that can work well with my outfit, which was formal!D.Va. I was the one with the awesome LED skirt, so throughout the night, I received countless compliments over it! My group left before the very end of the event, but we somehow lost the charmander cushion on our way to the car so I had to trace back our steps but eventually found it in Lost and Found. Thanks, unknown kind person who founded charmander and turned it in!!! <3

Monday
Frantically packed since I got back to the hotel late the night before because of the ball and the wild goose chase of the cushion. Went to front desk again about my "trash" box since it became more and more likely that the contents have already been thrown out and lost forever. Because they're worth $300 and it's Memorial Day, I'll have to wait at least another day to hear back from them and most likely will have a reimbursement if, at the very least, my jewelry is no longer there. Very sad. Very disappointed. And yet, I can't entirely blame on the cleaning staff just on the fact that I put it next to the trash can. Roommates helped me once again to bring my luggage back to my car. Went back to the convention to grab whatever's left and I happened to want. Waited for my roommates to finish their Artist's Alley stuff, and we had dinner outside before they finally head back to LA. I just stayed in San Jose for a little more, mostly to get some beignets to bring home to my parents. haha


The good moments that happened over the weekend definitely outweighed the bad ones. And I'm just happy how well everything went compared to last year. I'm now hoping the next year keeps it up (and perhaps without losing some stuff).
Title: Re: How was everyones Con Weekend?
Post by: otakuya on May 29, 2017, 10:06:38 PM
For those saying that this was the worst Fanime ever, the common denominator I noticed so far is alcohol and social issues. Those are you and your friends' choices for ir/responsibility, not the convention.
Title: Re: How was everyones Con Weekend?
Post by: Xanreo on May 29, 2017, 10:26:05 PM
Quote from: otakuya on May 29, 2017, 10:06:38 PM
For those saying that this was the worst Fanime ever, the common denominator I noticed so far is alcohol and social issues. Those are you and your friends' choices for ir/responsibility, not the convention.

It's been compliments all around.
No one has blamed the con for their own personal issues... at least not yet. Dun dun dun.
Title: Re: How was everyones Con Weekend?
Post by: keyblademaster333 on May 29, 2017, 10:27:33 PM
I felt this was better then last year's fanime but kinda awkward. To start with; Last fanime I got sick the day before with some kind of stomach bug that left me in the bathroom most of the day. I went to fanime still because I spent money on the ticket dammit, plus my at the time girlfriend was going to wanted to go. Was sick all through the con and it ended monday, nice feeling.

Pre Con
The start of this con had me a bit stressed. I was extremely busy with college and work so I had to cancel all my cosplays planned for the con save ones I had previously done. I graduated a week before too so I was extremely busy till the con rolled around. I also had to worry about finances too. Worst of all; Thursday I discovered a nail in my tire at 6:30pm, after all the auto-care places closed.

Friday
Got up and went to get the nail out of my tire. Place I went to opened at 8 and I had to wait an hour for it to be done. After, I had to finish getting my stuff in the car and pick up my friend. After that I drove from Dixon to Benecia to pick up my ex-girlfriend, were still friends. Got to the hotel and dropped our stuff off. Had a good time but ended up waiting for almost three hours for the shuttle because it decided to skip the Fairmont stop for no reason, meaning instead of getting back to the hotel to eat dinner, me and my friend got back and had cold food.

Saturday
Honestly pretty good. I had a good time, nothing bad happened. Went to the Persona/SMT/Atlus gathering as Adachi and only got to be in two photos which sucks but it's w/e. Later I went to the midnight gathering for it and had a good time. Also went to AFK and had some drinks so I had a pretty solid night. I think it was the best night of the con for me.

Sunday
Pretty uneventful, but in a good way. Went to the Erica panel, wondered the con, and bought three really nice posters. Unfortunetly the sushi places were closed early so we ate at a Denny's near our hotel. Went back to the room and watched the first episode of One Punch Man for the first time and that was it.

Monday
Spent some time cleaning our hotel room and packing before we went to the con. The Hilton is a great hotel for those who drive because they allow free parking if you put the car under your room name, plus the shuttle goes to it. Cosplayed as Amon Koutarou and went to a panel that was really small because it was announced last minute but it was fun. Worst of the days but only cause it was short.

Over all I'd say this was a better fanime then last year, and a much better con then Sac Anime in January for me. Some awkwardness and lack of interesting panels was a let down but I had a pretty fun time. 8/10.
Title: Re: How was everyones Con Weekend?
Post by: InsaneDavid on May 29, 2017, 10:41:50 PM
Quote from: Xanreo on May 29, 2017, 10:26:05 PM
Quote from: otakuya on May 29, 2017, 10:06:38 PM
For those saying that this was the worst Fanime ever, the common denominator I noticed so far is alcohol and social issues. Those are you and your friends' choices for ir/responsibility, not the convention.

It's been compliments all around.
No one has blamed the con for their own personal issues... at least not yet. Dun dun dun.

Ah, you just jinxed it.
Title: Re: How was everyones Con Weekend?
Post by: TC X0 Lt 0X on May 30, 2017, 03:03:07 AM
Quote from: Xanreo on May 29, 2017, 10:26:05 PM
Quote from: otakuya on May 29, 2017, 10:06:38 PM
For those saying that this was the worst Fanime ever, the common denominator I noticed so far is alcohol and social issues. Those are you and your friends' choices for ir/responsibility, not the convention.

It's been compliments all around.
No one has blamed the con for their own personal issues... at least not yet. Dun dun dun.

Yeah generally alcohol can be a pretty bad issue over con. I myself like to get a bit of a buzz before heading out over the night, but a lot of my friends feel the need to get completely wasted beforehand. The guy that passed out in my room did unknowingly drink Absinthe not realizing how much alcohol is contained in it usually (about twice that of whisky and other usual hard drinks), but also is known to have a drinking problems in general.
On the flip side alcohol did make myu other buddy with an infected tooth able to function during con by keeping his tooth relatively clean, but eh still would be nice if they didnt have to drink so much. At least I didnt have somebody snorting coke in my bathroom this year =P
Title: Re: How was everyones Con Weekend?
Post by: Abyss1 on May 30, 2017, 09:45:33 AM
this was my 18th con ...I enjoyed this year more than the previous years.

I missed Sat and Mon because the con gives me a lot nostalgic anxiety so I was only able to go once i was calm enough to hang out.  The only event i wanted to attend was the FMV contest, which i missed, but saw the encore and loved it.

I spent the last 15 FanimeCons drunk and couldn't do it this year (did have a few pints tho for a buzz, but nothing heavy).  Given the nature of things some of us have shitty day jobs and don't typically party on weekends.  The con offers the best let yourself go experience IMO, so its easy to go from 0-100 with drinking in a matter of hours from the con starting to finish. 

Drinking at Fanime actually has created the most friend fallout, last time I was at Anime Expo (2013) i made such a fool of myself that i banned myself from attending any future AX's.  I probably will retire after i hit 20ys of Fanime

Title: Re: How was everyones Con Weekend?
Post by: Giantsgiants on May 31, 2017, 12:38:44 AM
It was very good for me. Registration was short and smooth (at least for those who pre-registered). Met up with some friends and hung around the gaming area. Bought some cool merchandise from artist's alley and dealer's hall. Dance was lit!!!

However, I didn't see anything that interested me in terms of panels. And a Your Name print I really wanted was sold out so I had to settle for one made by a different artist (although the art was still gorgeous).
Title: Re: How was everyones Con Weekend?
Post by: deonchan on June 03, 2017, 01:22:33 AM
Only went for Sunday but, it was well worth it!