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I really liked the FMV Contest this year, but I didn't get a chance to see who won! Can anyone share?

By the way, for anyone else who's looking for the featured AMVs, I was able to find most but not all of them on Youtube, so I put together a playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxvDqf0FLdQ9L6ixkuHis5MXJFKmfCg-f

Not in the playlist (yet):
- A couple of the pre-show AMVs including the great Redline one
- Cherry Bomb (Kill la Kill); not posted on the creator's youtube channel yet
- 32 Degree Symphony (Yuri on Ice drama category, also not posted to the creator's youtube channel)

I didn't get to vote (went on Sunday to the encore since the Saturday showing clashed with panels) but if I had, I'd've voted like this (it was hard):

Best Action: Numinous (though honestly this is a really close one! I almost went with "Leave it to Fate")
Best Drama: Devoid (literally brought tears to my eyes, although this is also a really tough category and I wanted to pick "Delusions of Grandeur" at first)
Best Trailer: Yuri on Ice!!! The Honest Trailer (even though I want to hate it for the pandering, it's too witty. I did get a kick out of "Sailor Mars" flipping the Wonder Woman logo upside-down though.)
Best Upbeat: Pixel Perfect (another tough category, I can't even decide on which of three or so should be a runner-up)
Best Comedy: Twintails and Music Clubs (the editing won me over, although the YoI #selfie and Fujoshi AMVs were great too)

Best in Show: Devoid
I almost gave it to Numinous because the technical aspect of the editing were so impressive, but Devoid has such a perfect combination of story, editing, good music, good anime fit, and the unification of everything to make a greater whole picture.

[The Good]

The Good
* Staff and rovers were courteous and helpful the vast majority of the time
* GAINAX panel was awesome as usual
* Lots of chairs and more tables in the gaming area, put to good use
* Mai Aizawa was a surprisingly good singer!
* New location for Swap Meet worked out well. Sort of out of the way, but the carpet was nice and there was a decent amount of space available. I liked it better in the game room, but it was getting way too crowded for that at Fanime's current rate of growth.
* Yokota Mamoru continued to be a great guest (sketches, Artist Alley; and probably the night panel if it was anything like last year's)
* Video rooms seemed well organized and mostly running on-time. (I didn't spend much time confirming this though)
* The new(?) anti-alcohol rules seemed to help deter some of the most brazen drunkenness.
* Pocket schedules and program guides ready and provided in the pre-reg baggies!

The Bad
* Excessively strict rules on cosplay props, egaming BYOC, dance DJs
* Boring selection in Dealer's Room again. Apparently high prices of booths (or dealer badges) are deterring some potential sellers who might make for more variety
* Yokota Mamoru's Sunday autograph session became a big mess after a while. It was nice of him to stay and sign everything, but the way they reorganized the line (eventually jumping people from the back of the line to the front based on having the same character) was frustrating. I'd encourage people who want full sketches of particular characters to commission him in Artist Alley, and limit the (free) autograph session to a quick pre-decided sketch that's basically the same for everyone. Yokota-san's daytime panel also still sucked (his answers were short and unenthusiastic and several questions seemed to get lost in translation).
* Igaguri Chiba was a disappointing guest; nobody at his panel seemed to know anything about him, and his performance lacked the punch of a real headliner. It was more of a gag than a real concert.
* Mai Aizawa only sung two songs! Between that and Chiba-san, it was a really short and disappointing music fest. Showing us the video of a Vocaloid concert (which by its nature was sort of a video anyway) felt more like an insult than a treat.
* In general, it seems that Fanime got its stuff together much later than usual this year -- pre-reg, hotels, guests of honor, and so on. I hope next year everything isn't so last-minute. I think it can't be an accident that so many notable would-be guests sent us their condolences in videos at MusicFest, when equally big-name guests made it to smaller cons held around the same time.
* Elevators at both Marriott and Hilton sucked, as usual.
* I never went to Clockwork Alchemy at all, and most people I know didn't spend much time there. It seemed like more of a distraction and a diversion of Fanime's time and money than a worthwhile contribution.

The Ugly
Registration. 'nuff said.

This game is likely not going to go over 16 entrants.  People never really picked up the game in America.

But if it happens, I would enter.  I entered the Unlimitedcodes tourney in '09 too.

Didn't you win in 09? Or was that 08?

I've played mahjong casually in all of the past 3 or so Fanime cons (mostly with people I already know who play mahjong outside of Fanime). It seems there are actually a decent number of people know riichi/Japanese rules because of Tenhou, but there are a lot of things they don't realize they don't know because the computer does it for them, like building walls, knowing when they can legally riichi, counting and scoring hands...

Yeah, I met the mydjsobad guys at Fanime, bought a few CDs, and ended up going to the event at Anime Expo. The venue itself wasn't that big (probably smaller in size to the hall Fanime uses for its dance, though it was an actual nightclub) but it was pretty packed and I had a totally amazing time. The Japanese DJs were pretty awesome guys and I would totally love to see a couple of them at Fanime, plus I know some amateurs in the area are actually pretty decent DJs too.

So yeah, I've love to see a Hardcore Synergy event at Fanime.

FMV contest was... interesting, this year. Very disappointing that it started 30 minutes late. Shocking that Drama was the strongest category. Action was pretty weak -- there were about three solid videos and then the rest were generic and subpar. Some of the drama videos would have probably passed for action. Comedy was also a smaller turnout than usual. A couple of them were funny but there weren't as many stand-out ones as in prior years.

I am disappointed that we don't have the old structure from prior years, which goes like this:
Action is first, to get everyone fired up and drawn in (this was the same, thank you)
Experimental is next, which broadens people's expectations. It's also a small category most of the time so it's good to have early.
Drama is third, which gives some time to relax while people have been sitting there for a while.
Comedy is last, so that people can go out with a smile.

Putting Experimental at the end this year was... weird and anticlimactic.

Overall though it wasn't a bad year, and as I've already said, I was very impressed by the broad selection of quality drama videos.

[one of the smoothest-run cons]

Gosh, I'm a bit late in posting this, aren't I? Well, by and large, I thought Fanime 2010 was one of the smoothest-run cons I've ever been to. In fact, having just been to Anime Expo 2010 this past weekend, I can say that Fanime was more organized by leaps and bounds. I guess this is part of why Fanime keeps getting bigger at such a shocking pace!

Pros:
- Guest selection. FLOW's concert was great, Momoi Halko's return was a lot of fun, Yamaga-san managed to remain fascinating yet again... I mean, there's still room for inviting more guests I'd really love to see, but it was still a great start.
- The handling of the protestors (with that convenient moving fan) was a stroke of genius. Excellent non-confrontational creative problem solving by the staff.
- The gaming room was once again one of Fanime's top attractions. Having everything combined, easily accessible with so much space is immeasurably better than most cons where various types of gaming are divided into different areas.
- The much-welcomed return of the pocket guide! Super convenient! I hear the mobile site was also really convenient, although I didn't personally check it out.
- Use of Twitter. This year,we had more and relevant updates without going overboard, which was great.
- Rovers were great this year: on target where they were needed, well-informed, not excessively officious, very practical... a smooth run machine (unlike AX!)
- Translators at most of the panels were fairly competent and well-informed. Definitely felt like a bit of an improvement over previous years.
- Lending boardgames were available from the very start and at all hours; the selection could've done well to include more Eurogames, but it was solid as-is and I appreciated the availability.
- Day 0. With so much activity going on, it feels more and more like a legitimate day of the con every year.
- Passerby lanes at Stage Zero. This made it a lot less of a fire hazard and a hassle to get past when big events were happening.
- Viewing rooms. There was a nice variety of things on display (fansubs, official releases, classics, new things) and they largely seemed to start on time. Though admittedly I didn't watch a whole lot of things.
- Swap meet. There were, as always, a couple people with delusional prices ($40 for .hack//INFECTION? I saw it at GameStop for $12!) but in general, I found more things I wanted to get, at bargain prices, at the swap meet than in the dealer's room.

Suggestions/Annoyances:
- I agree with Dracil's suggestion of shifting the pocket guide so that facing pages show the same time block rather than having to flip back and forth constantly.
- My biggest complaint was with the one way entrance/exits for the game room. It makes sense to set up a single path for traffic during peak hours (i.e. while swap meet is mobbing the room) but some of the volunteers were making tired-looking old ladies walk all the way around at midnight while nobody was coming or going. Can't we have the entrances be two-way during off hours?
- The Momoi Quest event was fun, but I think it could've been organized in a way that was more exciting. In general, I think that it lost some hype by breaking her performance up into many smaller concerts with no single, long concluding live. It felt like each time right as people were really getting into the spirit, she was done with that particular session. Also, having the lives at timeslots that weren't announced ahead of time made it difficult to plan around schedule conflicts.
- It was a bit of a shame that we couldn't get DJ Max Technika online, and Pop'n Music was a disappointingly outdated version. The lines at the arcade were fairly long for most of the con -- even in the middle of the night or very early morning, Technika had like a 5-person line.
- The dealer's room was a bit lackluster. I liked having the mydjsobad booth, and there were a few other places with OK selection, but the merchandise at most booths felt far too familiar and there wasn't particularly much I was interested in buying.

Other Observations (Not positive or negative):
- I notice that the Artists' Alley is having a bit of a height escalation lately. Nearly everyone has their little frames showcasing their art vertically, which I guess makes a lot of sense since that way people can see what you have to offer from farther away.
- In terms of Cosplay events, the downturn in FMA costumes was a little surprising since Brotherhood is currently running, while the total explosion of Pokemon costumes was impressive. In general, though, it seemed like this year had a bit more variety than previous ones.
- Attendance was visibly up, especially on Friday! Usually, Friday morning feels relatively empty (since presumably people are largely still at work or school) but this year's Fanime was packed throughout the day.

Overall I want to commend Tony and the rest of the Fanime staff for running one of the cleanest cons to date. My complaints are minimal, but I offer them because Fanime over the past few years has shown a most impressive quality: the ability to learn from mistakes and fix them, while keeping and bringing back the things that go right. Thank you all!

[Asakawa Yuu]

After seeing her at Anime Expo, I'm convinced that Asakawa Yuu would make a perfect guest for Fanime. She's witty and good with English, has several well-known roles (e.g. Sakaki from Azumanga), down-to-earth, and friendly. A great fit for the con.

Hey Suspi - I was just thinking at the gathering a few weeks ago that it was time to get hype on Fanime badges again!

As usual, it's hard to decide on an image (last year I couldn't find anything that I was satisfied with, so I made one) but let's go with http://danbooru.donmai.us/data/ad0976e0beff1a5e9f8e3bca7d13d782.jpg unless I come up with something that trumps it in the next couple weeks...

And as you probably know by now, I don't change my avatar and my fan name is always the same as my forum name...

[Otakuya]

Otakuya - Man, it's been forever since we hung out. Maybe we can replace Poker Night with Mahjong Night sometime!

I think you're talking about Jyun, cuz I don't know how to play Mahjong. ^__^,,,

Sorry 'bout that, I hella get your screennames mixed up sometimes. >_<

Anyway, I'm definitely down for another meetup before the con. I'm basically free Saturdays, late on weekdays, and occasionally on Sundays. May 5 is out because there's a Technika tournament. But if it's a time when I'm free... count me in.

Man, I just watched Summer Wars a few days ago. It was pretty good. Had I known it was going to be at No Name, I would've waited and watched it there!

[fripSide]

lol@Johnny Yong Bosch. One of those guys who sounds exactly the same in every role! I guess he was OK in Tales of Symphonia 2 Knight of Ratatosk Dawn of the New World.

Musical talents - I would be super hype to see fripSide, KOKIA, or Kajiura Yuki and any other singers she might bring along (Kalafina, Yuuka, etc.) but I don't expect to see any of them out here. Taniuchi Hideki (composer for Death Note & Kaiji, among others) would be cool. Maybe Oshima Michiru (FMA, Xam'd, So-Ra-No-Wo-To) too. And then there's boa, the UK band that did Duvet (the Lain OP) - they're still around and making pretty good music. And I only know one song by THYME (the Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Mono: Natsu no Sora OP), but it's really good so I'd be interested to hear more. Kubota Mina also has some really good work (Kannazuki no Miko OST, ARIA theme composition, and Kaleido Star). And just about anyone from I'VE SOUND would be exciting. I would also be pretty excited to see most any artist that's featured in DJ Max Technika. Finally, this last one is shooting for the stars, but how about Supercell?

For voice/performing hybrids, everyone wants Momoi Halko back, but I'd be even more excited for Makino Yui, Toyosaki Aki, Horie Yui, or Mizuki Nana.

As for artists and mangaka... too many to name. Big names like Fujishima Kousuke and Urasawa Naoki would be a grand slam, but there are plenty of smaller artists I'd be excited about, like Makutsu (Rui-Rui) or huke (Steins;Gate). I'm not sure how much Kantoku counts as small-time anymore, but he's amazing, as is pretty much any of the artists in 100 masters of Bishojo painting.

Hobby Search - http://1999.co.jp/eng/chara/ Great selection and really solid prices. Just beware that you're going to get nailed on shipping (like minimum $20 shipping last time I ordered), so it's best to bundle a few orders.

[ININ]

That's a bummer, DarkShinigami - next time, have a little more courage!

As for everyone else, it was a pretty fun gathering. Kind of helter-skelter but not bad overall. Fun to meet some of the new people, and ice skating was great (although it's unfortunate that some people didn't have as good a time). Sorry I didn't really get to know all the newbies, but there's never enough time for everyone. And what a bummer about the people who couldn't make it.

And we totally should've had more people show up to the Game Kastle flea market beforehand, 'cause it was great. I got a copy of Rocketville (pretty fun boardgame) for $1, a couple Magic cards off of Loktera for $1 total, and a copy of Starcraft to replace my old one for $1. Which, all told, used up all the cash I had on hand. XD

Individual shout-outs (roughly in order of appearance!):
ININ - Thanks for organizing, for the ride, and for spotting me! Next time, I'll hit the ATM first. ;)
Loktera - My Fallen Empires collection grows ever closer to being complete. How'd you do at sales?
Menchi - You were pretty quiet! Next time, I'd like to talk to you a bit more.
Ultramangaia - How was the movie?
SunaraIshi - Made it home safe, I hope? There was no one at Golfland when we got there, so you didn't miss anything.
Jerry - Bummer timing on showing up to the rink right as it closed! And hopefully no major catastrophes at your house later on?
Otakuya - Man, it's been forever since we hung out. Maybe we can replace Poker Night with Mahjong Night sometime!
jacktchance - Good times, talking about comics and stuff. Definitely add 20th Century Boys to your backlog!
Barnes - Y - The Last Man is the comic you need to check out. Great read!
Tsubasa - Sounds like your dinner was seriously bangin'!
LastElixir - Next time, let's get more pumpkin cookies.
buzzsaw - Thanks for the Starcraft 2 tips. Now I hella wanna try the beta!
Dakanya - How'd the BB tourney go?
Devreaux - Where'd you go?
RyuHayabasa - I didn't see you, either! What gives?
Mordyan - You were missed!
Spiritsnare - What a cop-out!
everyone else - I couldn't catch everyone's screennames and everything, so I don't really know who to call out! Maybe next time.

I vote that we plan an activity to take up some of the time, like ice skating or bowling. I guess some portion of the group watching a movie is a possibility (I wouldn't mind seeing Shutter Island, which'll definitely be in theaters) but we'd have a hard time getting even a large majority of the group to go, I think. At least if we go to the Century and the rest of the group just chills in the food court, it won't be hard to re-join the two parties when the movie's over.

Whatever we do, though, I'm sure there will be time for general talking/socializing, tabletop gaming, or "Just Wingin' It".

If we want to go somewhere other than the food court for dinner, moderately cheap is the way to go with a mixed group of this size. We don't want a repeat of the infamous Cheesecake Factory Incident (note, I was not involved in said incident, I've just heard about it).

[Moyashimon]

Bartender.  As one might imagine, it's about a bartender.  It's a pretty awesome series.  Basically people come in with problems and leave with answers found through alcohol.

I *love* Bartender. A lot of people I know can't get into it because there's no action, no craziness, no ongoing drama. But it's really a beautiful little slice of life in every episode.

Yeah, basically any show that's "slice of life" and not overflowing with moeblobs is going to get very little attention.  Bartender is an especially good example of that. Another pretty solid and under-repped show, albeit with more craziness and less slice of life, is Moyashimon, the show about a guy who sees microbes with the naked eye and goes to agricultural university. At least Japan seems to like it.

Asatte no Houkou is another underappreciated show. Nothing about it really stands out, but basically everything about it is above average. Good music, good character designs, good drama and character development, and pretty funny from time to time. It was one of those shows that comes along once in a while to remind me why I watch anime, anyway.

Finally, éX-Driver is a great OVA for me at least, Cool cars chases, great character designs, and a fun plot. A perfect example of why Kosuke Fujishima is awesome even when he's not drawing Ah! My Goddess.

I'm inclined to make the evening events more low-key, but ice skating is kind of the opposite, so I would personally put it in the slot you've currently reserved for a movie. The more I think about it, the more I think we're unlikely to find a movie that most people wanna watch, anyway. I could be proven wrong, though.

As for dinner in the evening, IN-N-Out is an OK choice. Sushi Factory has been good to us with big groups before and it's not abhorrently far from Oakridge, so that's also an option of course. It is in the opposite direction as Sharks Ice, though. I guess the issue with ice skating is coordinating the move to the rink from where me meet up (Oakridge) and then to wherever we hang out after, since I'm sure some people will want to continue hanging out past 4pm when open skate ends.

So sad to hear that Boba and Lok can't make it, though. We're losing a new face and an old friend!

[Sharks Ice]

Wow, this is shaping up to be quite an afternoon. Are we definitely doing a movie? Did we even decide on a movie? At this point, it feels like there might not be enough time to meet & greet, go ice skating, see a movie, and do anything else.

The laser light show sounds pretty awesome but that's also very late so I'm not sure we wanna do that. Also, since it's so dark, it'll probably be harsher on the people who haven't skated recently or at all. Sharks Ice is much closer to Oakridge and if we do the group rate then the cost is the same. The hours are very similar as well.

I'm looking for some anime that get seriously confusing and depressing towards the end, like Evangelion. Please help me :o

Then May I suggest Elfen Leid (if you don't mind the violence).

Bokurano. Seriously, a pretty screwed up anime in terms of psychology.

Saishuuheiki Kanojo is a little confusing at the end and depressing the whole way through! [but seriously it is a pretty OK show]

Wow, this may be the most promising season in a while. There's a lot of stuff with some potential, a few things I'll watch 'cause they've been OK in the past and will probably continue to be OK, and several things to really look forward to! Good times.