Other than the lack of schedules that everyone else has already mentioned, the only fixable complaint I have is that it would have been nice to have had guest of honor related panels on Friday. I went to the Opening Ceremony, so, there were several guests that were here on Friday. But it would have been nice to have been able to attend a panel, or perhaps even have an autograph session or two, on Friday. I felt that this year, everything had been jam-packed into Saturday and Sunday. I know I, and about 15 other regular faces, spent all weekend in lines. And while I realize that it was our choice to stand in line for autographs and that it is impossible to do *everything* at a convention, I would have liked to have had the opportunity to show support for the guest by attending one of their panels had they not conflicted with the autograph sessions. Yes, I realize that it is easier for the guest to have a panel and then an autograph session, but one of your guests of honor really wanted to see the FLOW concert, but due to his autograph session (and the fact that he took the time to sketch for those in his line), he was unable to do so.
I think that that's one of the things that I like most about Fanime 2010 - you had the chance to do several different things. Last year, in addition to standing in line for autographs, I was not only to attend a few panels, but I also got to enjoy the FLOW concert. And while that might have been due to the amount of guests Fanime 2010 had that I was interested in seeing, I think it was also due to having a schedule that was spread out over the course of the four days. If I remember correctly, FLOW's 2010 concert was on Friday, Ishiwatari/Mori had autograph sessions on Friday & Sunday and Yokota had his autograph sessions on Sunday and Monday.
I'm not saying that Fanime should focus on limiting their guest list - I was absolutely floored by your guest of honor list this year. But, I think if Fanime is a four day convention, then it should take advantage of the four days and schedule guest of honor related panels/autograph sessions on all four days.
As for your guests of honor this year, I think I'm not alone in saying that you got an incredible list of names. Actually, it wasn't so much the names or the projects that they worked on that impressed me most, but their willingness to go all out for their fans. I attended autograph sessions where the guest was hungry, sweating in the sauna-like conditions of the autograph room and/or in the room despite wanting to see the concert. Yet, instead of cutting their line at 10 or 15 people, they worked hours after their slotted session to make sure everyone went home with something nice. That's dedication and I really appreciated that. So, really, if it was between a 'primadonna' type guest of honor that people wanted and one that was not as popular but was willing to give their all to make sure their fans were happy, I'd go with the latter.
Also, big kudos to the autograph session staffers. I remember hearing that one of them had sprained her ankle and yet was still standing up, working at the autograph session. I don't know many people who would be willing to do that and not get paid for it. And another big kudos for the charity auction staffers as well - it was a very smooth process this year.
I know that there will be complaints for whatever reason, but, as I mentioned last year, for the entry fee price, I definitely got more than my money's worth out of the convention. Keep up the good work and I'll be back for Fanime 2012!
..Provided that the world doesn't end in September 2011... ^_^