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An hour before the rabbits dance, on the dark side of the moon, to celebrate their liberation from having to drive chariots from one star to the next.

Why is there a no swimming sign in a field of grass?

^Congrats and good luck.

I am currently really self-conscious about my hair and am seriously contemplating just wearing wigs the entire time at fanime. D:

Faceplam.

Please refrain from leaving these sort of comments in this section of the forum, it gives literally 0 input/discussion into the topic.

Alright, then let me explain my single word response to you so you can have the proper input you ask of.

You suggested that (you as a moderator) everyone should post their feedback in the ideas and suggestions section. I then told you there is not an official feedback thread and then ask for you to make a pinned official feedback.

Now here's my reason for the "faceplam" comment. 
You concluded that I'm right, there is no feedback thread, then that your not really a moderator and you can't do anything about it, but "you'll ask some one ".

That my dear, was nothing more than "passing the buck" type of response. That also got me thinking why do you have a moderator title and can't make a simple pinned feedback thread? Is there a lot of red tape you have go through? Do you have to ask your higher ups for approval, or wait till your next staff meeting to make a simple request? So there you go. I hope this is enough input or discussion for your satisfaction.

I apologize if it sounded a tad rude, but sadly emotions don't translate well over the internet.

Actually in his original post, he said he was the moderator for this section of the forum where this thread is hosted. Aka the sub-forum "Things of a Serious Nature." He never said he was the moderator of the sub-forum "Ideas and Suggestions." The fanime-con related boards are modded by other people.

I'm guessing you don't look at the main forum page thoroughly, as each sub-forum clearly states who mods each one? You seem to have a mistaken idea about how forums are normally run. Usually each sub-forum has its own mods but they can only mod the forums they are assigned to; usually only the admin can mod all sub-forums. That is common throughout the web; not just at fanime.

I believe he was implying that he has to contact (PM) the mod of the "Ideas and Suggestions" sub-forum to ask that the mod in question create that sticky.

On a positive note, more guest announcements just went up!

I'm super excited for Ai Nonaka. Great job on staff for getting her to come to the US for the first time!

Whoops, it looks like the website might be wrong on that last bit of info. She was invited as a guest to Otakon in the past, so unless she didn't make it, this'll be at least the second time here. Not like that makes a difference to me at all, however. I'm just thrilled she's coming.


Aaand scratch all of that. "Western United States" is on the website. That'll teach me to read in super fast excitement!

Thanks for letting us know. I loved Ai Nonaka as Fuuko; now I can see if I have something with Fuuko (or another character.) Assuming autographs happen.

The guest list looks a lot better now. Starting with those first three was a little worrying... like fanime was going in some strange direction. -.-; Though, why didn't you guys announce Gilles Poitras ages ago? I don't think there has been a fanime that he hasn't come to. However, having both a Japanese and English voice actor is a nice touch; with the whole fan divide, this is probably a great idea.

I still wonder who the musicfest guest is; I hope it is someone great (thus the secrecy...? )

Two of the main things, of spotting counterfeits, are poor quality and misspellings of brand name, other key info, etc.
Specifics depend on what type of product it is. I think with figures, the quality of the eyes can be a huge giveaway if its legit or not. Bootlegs tend to be of cheaper material, crappy paint jobs, and so on.

But there's some grey areas like with asian dvds that are "supposedly" legit releases in their respective countries... The ones that have usually have english & chinese subtitles with japanese audio but are of iffy quality. I'm still not 100% sure on these (whether they are legit or not)...

That aside, Dealer's Hall does a very good job of keeping counterfeits out. And swap meet used to check for counterfeits but I don't know if they do anymore. But if you do spot something, let staff know. Also, be aware that Dealer's Hall also has a bunch of professional artists that sell there and it is largely obvious that their product isn't official.

I also feel like all the guests suggestions aren't listened to. I know that staff says they read the suggestion thread, but I don't know if there's a failure in actually obtaining guests people want, or if there's a failure in staff reaching out to guests people want.

This is why I stopped posting in your thread so many years ago.... it started to feel useless. And it seems like less and less people post every year. I thought at first it was because of all the old fanime forum regulars leaving the boards for other things but it is more than that.

With how the con has been going, I've been giving it 5 years before it implodes, so I guess I'm a little more generous than you are. I think that once people from afar decide that it's not worth travelling to, and once people who are local decide to mostly ghost the con instead of buying for badges, the con will collapse. It may still gain mass, but might not gain enough money to keep running. Of course, I'm not privy to the budget information, but I know that this model is not sustainable if they want people to keep coming and paying for badges. The con's reputation is only getting worse, and I think it'll gain mass unless something catastrophic happens, but may not gain money.

This has already been happening. I've witnessed it with my friends. Some have already decided fanime is just a place to hang out with friends or just for cosplay. And they don't think its worth paying for a badge. Those that stuck around mostly joined staff or artist alley. I know they all try their best and I'm sure there is quite a few stuck cogs. But it isn't their areas that are the problem. (Yes, I've thought about joining staff but its useless at this point. )
And heaven's forbid if they made the con center badge only... I bet the cosplayers and crowds would drop in half. Perhaps they are reluctant to release numbers because it would be obvious that the con doesn't have as many attendees as it appears?

I've been actually thinking about SacAnime because it is now closer to me. Fanime used to be my home con but unless the guests attract me in future years, I may only come to San Jose just to hang out with friends but not necessarily for the con. If I come down for a week, it has to be worth it.

I'll try to attend as Elize from TOX-2. Hopefully the gathering will be at a time I can attend.
[Edit: Sunday sounds good for me as well. Any day but Sat. I should be there assuming my costume fits, there are no autograph sessions or major events at the time, and as long as I don't forget. -.-; ]

I think I might bring my Erza. But whether or not I'll attend will depend on other events.

Not too thrilled about the guest lineup. Sure, the Chalk Twins sound cool but I'm not sure I would want to travel 6hrs to see them. And really hoping this cosplayer isn't another one with an over-inflated ego but one that is actually nice & has some good advice. So far, the only one I'm somewhat interested in is Kazuhiro Soeta. I really hope the guests yet to be announced are awesome.

I'll see how this year goes and then decide if its worth it to come back.

Various years but these all have re-watch value in my mind:

Vampire Princess Miyu
Slayers
Sorcerer Hunters
Utena
Tokyo Babylon & X
Blue Seed
Chrono Crusade
Boogiepop Phantom
Crest of the Stars
Dragon Half
Maze
Serial Experiments Lain
Blue Submarine No. 6

Thanks. I wanted to make sure it wouldn't be a problem. I have to travel quite a distance this year and didn't want to get there & be turned away.

I recently moved and my ID still has my old address. I updated DMV awhile back but they do not seem to send out new IDs automatically anymore. I registered for fanime with my new address so I want to make sure I can still use my ID to pick up my badge. I need to know whether or not my ID would be acceptable so I know if I need to get a new card.

Thanks in advance.

That's too bad. I'm sorry to hear that. I'd volunteer to help but my current internet is terrible and I can't spend a lot of time online.

I guess we can always just add the current season(s) to it? Summary pages like Glitch's or just people posting what they're watching?

I think this is an interesting idea. Maybe not necessarily for nights but perhaps select time blocks for each genre? Maybe a couple hours each? It would allow people to explore random genres and provide variety of shows for the casual viewer. But that's my opinion. I'm not staff or anything...

Is there a reason this is still stickied? Seeing as it is 2 years old?

[Edit:]

I'd really like to see (Japanese) mangakas and seiyuu. It seems the last few years didn't have much. Manhwa authors/artists would be awesome too. We never see those. Perhaps even japanese game creators/artists/story writers/seiyuu?

As for specific people:
(Please note that I can't say if they are suitable or not as I don't have enough knowledge. I don't really think it is the fan's place to do the screening... I'll do my best to my knowledge regardless. )

I'll just list some of the more mainstream ones I like. (And ones I know are current.)

Mangaka artists/authors:
Kakinouchi Narumi (Vampire Princess Miyu, etc.)
NAKAMURA Yoshiki (Skip Beat, etc.)
MASHIMA Hiro (Fairy Tail, Rave, etc.)
IKUHARA Kunihiko (Mawaru Penguindrum, Utena, Yuri Kuma Arashi)
Kinoshita, Sakura (Matantei Loki Ragnarok)

Japanese Novelists:
NARITA Ryougo (Durarara!!)

Seiyuu:
Miyuki SAWASHIRO
Sayaka OHARA
Tetsuya
Tomokazu SEKI

Anime character designers:
Maho Yoshikawa (Amnesia, Fairy Tail, etc.)

Game companies/people:
Maybe someone from Idea factory, Key, or from the "Tales of" game staff?

Possibly unrealistic:
I like RHIM Ju-Yeon (manhwa - Ciel, Last Autumn Story) but she probably doesn't have a huge fanbase. I could be wrong.

[Edit: Forgot some big ones:
Clamp
Naoko Takeuchi (Sailor Moon) & Yoshihiro Togashi (Yu Yu Hakusho, Hunter x Hunter) [obviously they'd most likely have to be a pair]
Yana Toboso {Kuroshitsuji) ]

Probably a bit late for this year but:

Kalafina
Aimer
Aoi Eir
Suara

There are some other ones I'd like but I have no idea if they're still around...

Fanime is the biggest hangout con there is. You really can't expect huge voice actor/industry guest, music guest, or anime premiers. I guess that's why a lot of people expect big names for a con this size. If all you want to do is look,be in, take pic of cosplays then that's Fanime's main dish. But if cosplay is just on day of Fanime then the rest is kind of meh.

I agree with you on the programing last year. There was not much to go around. Unless you love fan panels. Which are fine and fun, but two or there homestuck/MLP panels a day, it kind of feels like there are filling in time. Makes you think why the official schedule has been released 2-3 prior to the start of the con, for the last 4 years. 

Actually, they had some awesome music guests, voice actors, mangaka, etc. in the years past. (I've been attending for about 12 years...) They can get them but it requires a lot of outreach. And it is probably harder now with so many more conventions competing. Though my biggest issue with the past few years was that they were promoting more American industry versus Japanese industry. And the behavior of their fans does impact who they can get. (such as the booing Citrus mentioned. )

Programming can be a hit and miss. And it really requires input from the fans. What they want, etc. Day 1 used to be dead because everyone used to be checking into their hotels, stuck in reg, or at school. And the big events have always been on the weekends. Now that reg. is shorter, maybe they can do more?

I believe a lot of the late schedule release issues actually had to do with guests and guest panels & autograph sessions.

@citrus: Whether it is worth going to is really up to you.
You could find a facet of the con that you enjoy (artist alley, cosplay, etc. ) or join staff to try to make it better/ how you'd like it.

Are they close enough that it would be unforgivable if you miss their 50th? Most people would consider missing their 50th, for a convention, unacceptable. It is one of those big life events. As much fun as fanime can be, is it worth possibly losing an relationship?

If they are distant enough, they may not care if you don't show.

Is it possible enough to do both? If you leave San Jose on May 22 or May 23 (depending on the time of the event), you could probably do both. Monday is pretty much a dead day anyway. Just give yourself enough time, rest & maybe a car buddy? You can probably talk to hotel staff about leaving early.

If you need to, skip fanime. Though that'd be a last resort for me. I'll be driving 6 hours to attend. XD

Go ahead and change me to confirmed. I should be able to make it.