If I don't go to Fanime '09 what will I be missing out on?

[narutofan17]

I predict this thread getting closed.
Sorry OP.

XD

[SOawesomeness]

If you don't go to Fanime, you miss out on life, dude!

[BrightHeart76]

One thing you won't be missing is the drama.  We tend to get that taken care of on the boards.    ::)

If I didn't go to Fanime I would miss Black and White Ball, Artist Alley, more anime than I can watch, Cosplay Gatherings galore, Stage Zero, the auction.  There's a lot of fun to be had, I think that's what you'd be missing out on. 

[ewu]

*gasp* we are back on topic?!?!? O_o

[Tony]

I wonder if Tony is asking to leave it open so I can reply...

A little! You have a ton of experience, so yes, I'd want to read your reply. But mostly I just want to hear opinions on how this year is going. I expect this to be a little heated, and I expect that to... nucleate responses on all sides. That's invaluable feedback for me.

I take this stuff to heart, and I really want to know what people think. If the consensus is that the convention isn't worth attending, then - and I say this plainly - I'd just as soon find a successor and stop wasting my time.

I predict this thread getting closed.
Sorry OP.

:P

To answer the OP:

From what I can tell most of the guest are RE5 people.  Nothing on the events or band list really caught my attention.  Are there any particular series merchandise that will be debuting in the dealers room this year?  Or what events should I be looking forward to?

I have no idea, and I'm the chair.

But that's because FanimeCon is not produced that way; it's incredibly organic, and often very on-the-spot. "By Fans", very much so.

Last year, GAINAX brought over, like, the entire company; we didn't know about it until late in the season. Every year, GAINAX is a mystery - they bring over who they like, for fun. An Cafe was not on our list of "bands we expect for Fanime" - in fact, I was explicitly told "that's not happening." We hosted free, catered receptions with the guests last year, and we'll probably do it again. Getting a Wii autographed by dozens of guests - totally unplanned. And that is just on the staff side: apparently there's a guy on the forums who is making his own fun by tweeting his location and giving away prizes; people often open up their hotel rooms for gaming and video; there are all the gatherings... this all in addition to the things we actually plan out, like day-long concerts, masquerade, black and white ball, non-stop stage zero antics, maid cafe, charity auction, arcade & gaming, new dealers, new artists, new panels, new dances, etc.

*shrug*

[neko ewen]

Cons are always better if you have friends going, but even with some of my good friends attending, I'm kind of searching for stuff to do, so I'd appreciate any suggestions.

I'm hoping to get in some (tabletop) RPG action, though the reaction on these forums, from both fans and staff, has been less than encouraging. (I'm still hoping to run Maid RPG at the con though.)

I'll definitely be checking out the artists alley; I've gone totally crazy commissioning artwork of my mascot character for one thing. And for once there are a few things I want from the dealers room.

I've reached the point where I'll be skipping the masquerade this time around, though I'll probably still go to the AMV contest. The panel schedule is apparently totally full and then some, so I'm hoping there will be some good stuff there.

What else is neat?

[TC X0 Lt 0X]

Cons are always better if you have friends going, but even with some of my good friends attending, I'm kind of searching for stuff to do, so I'd appreciate any suggestions.

I'm hoping to get in some (tabletop) RPG action, though the reaction on these forums, from both fans and staff, has been less than encouraging. (I'm still hoping to run Maid RPG at the con though.)

I'll definitely be checking out the artists alley; I've gone totally crazy commissioning artwork of my mascot character for one thing. And for once there are a few things I want from the dealers room.

I've reached the point where I'll be skipping the masquerade this time around, though I'll probably still go to the AMV contest. The panel schedule is apparently totally full and then some, so I'm hoping there will be some good stuff there.

What else is neat?

I would be up to play in a Maid RPG game. So if that works there's one thing.

[Kyra_Maverick]

What else is neat?

I always enjoy Musicfest. I've usually never heard of the bands playing, but its a great way to open up your musical horizons.

Whenever I fall into a lull or am waiting for something to start is usually when I go on a food run or head back to the hotel for some snacks.

The arcade is a good place to ditch some of the change you acquire from your shopping purchases. Just watching other people play can be entertaining. I once saw a 12 year old girl with a 28 win streak on a Street Fighter cabinet.

And, if for some reason you just cant find anything to satisfy you at the convention, you've got all of downtown San Jose at your disposal.  

[PyronIkari]

The arcade is a good place to ditch some of the change you acquire from your shopping purchases. Just watching other people play can be entertaining. I once saw a 12 year old girl with a 28 win streak on a Street Fighter cabinet.

You sure that wasn't me? wwwwwwww

[Kyra_Maverick]

The arcade is a good place to ditch some of the change you acquire from your shopping purchases. Just watching other people play can be entertaining. I once saw a 12 year old girl with a 28 win streak on a Street Fighter cabinet.

You sure that wasn't me? wwwwwwww

Pretty sure. Unless you're the type to wear plaid skirts and kitty ears, that is.

[PyronIkari]

Pretty sure. Unless you're the type to wear plaid skirts and kitty ears, that is.

Hmmm... I don't think I've worn a plaid skirt.



Did have a 32 win streak wearing that...

Jean skirt... 200$ designer skirt... ... OH WAIT I HAVE WORN A PLAID SKIRT... but not at fanime.

[Kyra_Maverick]

I saw this girl about 3 or 4 years ago, pretty early in the morning too, if I recall correctly.

However I did see you last year. I remember watching a few of your rounds, and thinking of giving it a go. Then I decided I didn't really want to wait in line to get my ass handed to me.

[ZIMdudeAlchemist]

DANG! I wish I can come this year, but alas, I'm planning on going to the ScrewAttack Gamming Convention in Dallas, TX on July 4th weekend. It sucks that I won't make it for my 5th year-in-row, but at least SGC will make up for my Fanimeless year.

I hope everyone else will have a great time at Fanime 09! See ya'll in 2010.

[Pengin-san]

Last year, GAINAX brought over, like, the entire company; we didn't know about it until late in the season. Every year, GAINAX is a mystery - they bring over who they like, for fun. An Cafe was not on our list of "bands we expect for Fanime" - in fact, I was explicitly told "that's not happening." We hosted free, catered receptions with the guests last year, and we'll probably do it again. Getting a Wii autographed by dozens of guests - totally unplanned.

Oh yeah, and GAINAX and An Cafe are so not big.

/sarcasm

What I love about Fanime is not only because it's so local, but it's generally a friendly con.  I've never really had any trouble getting along there.  Sure, there's the occasional pick-pocketer and creepy guy, but they're not that abundant.  The fact that Fanime is smaller (and trust me, it's not that small) makes a bit of a more... happier place.  I like the atmosphere better, overall.  I could care less about what the guests names are or if they're from some famous company.  In my opinion, Fanime has done a pretty good job with choosing guests.  I may not be into MOMOI, but I've definitely heard of her.  People only act like she's not famous because she's not as recent as other J-Pop idols. 

I like Fanime.  I love their artist alley, panels, dealers, and really, the people.  Who cares if you can buy some (-cough- bootleg -cough-) figurine online?  You go to Fanime for the experience, not to whine about how the prices are too high.

@Pyron - That's an incredible picture.

[ZIMdudeAlchemist]

So I won't be coming to Fanime this year as a registered attendee (since I'm still saving for SGC), but is it still cool to still hang around the convention halls and visit Stage Zero?

[ewu]

stage zero yes, but you will not be allowed in the exhibit halls.

[PyronIkari]

Last year, GAINAX brought over, like, the entire company; we didn't know about it until late in the season. Every year, GAINAX is a mystery - they bring over who they like, for fun. An Cafe was not on our list of "bands we expect for Fanime" - in fact, I was explicitly told "that's not happening." We hosted free, catered receptions with the guests last year, and we'll probably do it again. Getting a Wii autographed by dozens of guests - totally unplanned.

Oh yeah, and GAINAX and An Cafe are so not big.

/sarcasm

Well to be honest, An Cafe isn't as big as people promote them to be. Like, Inoue Joe is bigger than An Cafe is currently, and how many people in the states know who Inoue Joe is? He's pretty new, made his a debut last year and grew a lot of popularity, but never made it really big. Realistically though, he's bigger than An Cafe is in Japan. I don't know, fandoms of a genre tend to exaggerate about how popular their groups are.

Uh just for a small small small comparison. AnCafe's biggest Mixi group is under 5k. Haruko Momoi's group is nearly 7k. Perfume's is 80k.

The Pop'n Music community is 16k. The Denpa Song community is is over 5k.

Like I said it's not perfect to show popularity, but it is a small comparison when AnCafe's group is smaller than Momoi's and both are nothing compared to perfumes.

Edit: this I just found funny.

The TacoBell community on Mixi >>>> AnCafe. Here's the funny thing. I didn't see a single Taco Bell in all my trips to Japan.

[Jun-Watarase]

I would have to add that Visual-kei and Oshare-kei was never really big in the first place. However, I acknowledge that it's VERY popular amongst fans in California, at least. AnCafe's fandom doesn't really extend much outside of very small sub-groups that follow these sorts of things, which despite being international... is still very small.

I would also have to add that AnCafe, for Visual-kei fandoms in general... ESPEEEEEECIALLY in California, are more erm, for lack of a better word (at least, that I'm allowed to say) are more "loudly expressive" than that of the fandom Momoi's audience would be, outside of concerts.

A lot of people don't care for niche genres like Oshare-kei and AnCafe, whereas Oshare-kei fans don't care about Denpa-kei artists like Momoi. But in either case, there is a fandom for both.

And Akiba-kei/denpa-kei is on the rise in Japan, becoming more mainstream, whereas Oshare-kei... never has.

This means, fans of Momoi... coming across the globe to Fanime to see this concert, despite the swine flu scare. This means, Perfume (which are of the same genre) becoming widely advertised and mainstream, i.e. HUGE internationally, despite being a extremely new group. This means.... both K-On's (a anime series of the same genre) opening and ending singles hit Oricon Charts weekly as both #1 and #2.

@PyronIkari: P.S. There ARE NO Taco Bells in Japan... outside of army bases. That's saying something.

[TC X0 Lt 0X]

Who could blame them. Taco Bell is delicious.

[narutofan17]

Who could blame them. Taco Bell is delicious.

I second that XD