Trooper: Dependent on where you're getting them. Quality of good truffles vary, quite a bit, as well as price. I've gotten pretty good truffles for a small box of 10 for about 6$. I've also had a truffle that was 3$ that was worst than the boxed ones I had.
With all due respect, CrackPr0n does have a point but it could have been better said without so much profanity.
1) Pocky: I personally find Pocky a decent snack every so often (although I don't have chocolate often) and it is the most easily available export from Japan so its no wonder that people brag about it.
When have you ever hread of someone bragging about... cadburry cream eggs. Or like, Licorice rope. Or a taffy bar. It's the fact that its "Japanese" that people even give a damn about it. If it were an American product, no one would give a damn at all.
2) Hugging your girlfriend: I don't feel any animosity toward another when they hug my girlfriend because I put my full trust in her (not to say that you don't) and know that she won't betray my trust.
I don't mind if people hug a girlfriend of mine, and I don't make a big deal out of it(this particular one made a bigger deal out of it than I did). But it's the fact that people have no tact. First off, she wasn't in a costume, and she was obviously my girlfriend since we were holding hands and she was leaning on me at the time. She also cosplayed as Tohru from Fruits Basket. Many guys asked her for a hug(after asking to take a picture, or asking if he could hug her in the picture), she always asked if it was okay with me. I always said "It's up to you, you're being hugged, not me".
That's totally different than some guy approaching her out of the blue and going "CAN I HUG YOU?" or just standing in front of her insistant with a sign that says "PLEASE HUG ME". These are unacceptable actions in terms of personal space. I don't care about most things, I don't care if people curse, or how they dress or anything, as long as it doesn't push into someone's personal space(at a respectable level). Things like this should not be tolerated, and frankly, none of these people would dare do these things any where outside of a convention, because people know that "they can get away with it".
3) Gaming know-it-all: Yes, I agree that they can be annoying. However, haven't you ever rambled on in a speech when you talk about your passion and stated things you only think you know by accident?
For the most part, I'm not that ignorant, and I don't do it out of frustration. I'm not going to make false claims to someone who is obviously more knowledgable or experienced in something than I am. When discussing something that is factual, it's just stupid to do so.
4) Signs: Signs are often meant to be funny, and although they attract attention, do not think of them as attention-getters. Rather, just read the sign and think it interesting or move on and not give it a second thought.
you missed the point completely on this one. Signs are degenerate and stupid in terms of behavior. Think about the real world. Why do signs exist?? Why would you carry a sign? A sign is something you want others to read, therefore you make a sign to get the attention of people. Street signs are there to post information. Advertising signs are to display information to catch your attention.
Who carries signs like this otherwise? Homeless people who want something from people. In their case, it's money. In the case of conventions... it might be money, but usually it's just "attention" they want. I'm a firm believer of giving people what they deserve(not what they want). If some idiot is caring a sign around, then I will give them attention, but it will be very negative attention. But just so you guys know, signs can be very damaging. AX comes to mind, where a kid cosplaying as someone from Naruto had a signed saying "Ninja's killed my family, please help" with a cup next to him as he sat in the main hall. THat kid made more than 60$ an hour. First off, that's peddling, which is illegal already. Secondly, staff is allowing this to happen, so this means that the convention itself is taking responsibility for this peddling act. Although realistically, 60$ isn't that much money, it is, when it's one person in a situation like this. The convention CAN BE FINED for this, and it would not be a small fine. It would also look bad to the convention center, and any sponsors, hosts, or anyone else dealing with the convention.
Then there's the more extreme cases. Girls prostituting themselves. Sure, it's masked, but it's still prostitution. Some girls(and guys) had signs like "Sleep with me 10$" or "5$ for slave neko boy". This could get a convention into serious party.
Oh, but those are extreme cases, most people's signs aren't that bad... But it doesn't change that they're only their to attention whore, and solicit people. Anything involving money=solicitation. Anything offering a service or an action, is considered solicitation.
5) Getting away from reality: I agree with SKN on this matter because anime, quite often, is not seen as "normal" in the eyes of many of my peers and I suffer as such. In fact, I could even go so far as to criticize the racism that I face on a weekly basis, solely on my ethnicity and ethnicity-based preferences. As for being sociable, yes, I believe I am. I have the respect of the majority of my classmates (not to be mistaken with those in my grade level) and have more friends than I can count. Conventions are good places to escape persecution and express what you like without fear.
Expressing what you like, doesn't mean acting like a child. As I said, I'm willing to bet I'm a bigger nerd than you are. I go upwards to about 6 conventions a year(not just JP cartoon/comic conventions). I go to about 3 national level fighting game tournaments a year, and local tournaments twice a month. I used to go to Scifi conventions, and US comic conventions, RenFaires, I've gone to E3 for the past 7 years and a number of other gaming shows, and for the most part, JP Comic/Cartoon conventions IN THE US are the only ones where people act this stupid. At no other convention to people run around and tackle each other to the floor and roll around like an idiot in the middle of a convention floor(They might do it for panels, or in special rooms, but never in general public areas). Never do random people run up to you and ask to hug you for no damned reason other than they think you are cute(unless you count S&M bars... which I have also been to).
So your "We do it to escape reality" is not a valid excuse to act like children. All it does is validate my wanting to punch someone for hugging me without my position, or propisitioning me in a terrible way.
6) Convention newbiness: Yes, sadly I am a newbie to conventions; I began my convention going with Fanime 2006. You may believe that I have little room to speak with such little experience, yet I believe that my opinion does carry with it, at least, some weight.
Thank you for reading my post and I hope to ease this conflict of flaming.
Back on topic: My group did not get to Fanime until Saturday night so I waited around at a table for most of Saturday : (
I have a 100% serious question for you. Before you witnessed what happened at conventions, and before people told you things, what did you picture in your mind a convention to be? Did you imagine it that people are allowed to run around and hug people without asking questions? Did you fathom that people would run around screaming that they want pocky crawlking on the floor begging people to give them pocky? Did you think for a second that people would be running around with signs saying "PLEASE GLOMP ME!" or "CAN I GLOMP YOU?!?!?!"?