I'm a little surprised someone hasn't started one of these threads yet for this year's FanimeCon, so I'll kick things off.  Here are the links for my photo galleries for FanimeCon 2022.

https://stormfalcon.smugmug.com/CosplayPhotography/FanimeCon-2022-05-27
https://stormfalcon.smugmug.com/CosplayPhotography/FanimeCon-2022-05-28
https://stormfalcon.smugmug.com/CosplayPhotography/FanimeCon-2022-05-29
https://stormfalcon.smugmug.com/CosplayPhotography/FanimeCon-2022-05-30

Not as many photos this year as previous years thanks to having started a new job recently and not having the PTO available to take off for the con, but I did manage to get all day Saturday and the mornings of Friday, Sunday, and Monday.

Hey, we had a great time hosting yet again!  Outstanding attendance as well.  I want to thank everyone who attended Saturday morning!

Truthfully I'm surprised most people stayed for the entire two hour / two session panel.  Of course we were wrapping around the 1.5 hour mark as I've trailed a slow-to-leave panelist before and I know it's no fun, but we did stay for some Q&A / discussion and used our full slot.

Interestingly enough, in four sessions across three FanimeCons, every single one has gone to a Tiebreaker Round.  In the case of 2022 Session A, the game ENDED in a tiebreak even after.  Thankfully every concession I built into the game at the start has not only worked out well, they've all been used.

Only bad thing... I've gone through 44 vintage titles so far!  Things will start to get more difficult to build balanced sessions that feature all genres, eras, recent re-releases, fansub projects, and of course... a couple that are very misleading to identify.  (as well as a few that most people could get)

We also gave away a TON of prizes this year! I had a bunch of titles that I had upgraded or double dipped releases of, so there was a lot to give away...

Session A
The Anime Encyclopedia Second Edition
Rhino Records "The Best of Anime" CD album
New Mobile Report Gundam Wing "Just Communication" Japanese CD single
Neo Human Casshan full series DVD set (New/Sealed)
Armored Trooper VOTOMS full series Blu-ray / VOTOMS OVA Collection 1 Blu-ray
Tetsuwan Atom / Astro Boy cartridge for the Nintendo Famicom
Cool reusable Daiso bag to cart it all away

Session B
The Anime Encyclopedia Second Edition
Rhino Records "The Best of Anime" CD album
Super Dimension Century Orguss full series DVD
Mobile Police Patlabor The Movie DVD (New/Sealed) / Patlabor 2 The Movie DVD (new/sealed)
Demon City Shinjuku DVD
Dragon Ball Shenron no Nazo cartridge for the Nintendo Famicom
Cool reusable Daiso bag to cart it all away

I also look for cheap / extra / sale stuff throughout the year (I actually already bought some future prizes this year at Fanime).  I joked that there was no Swap Meet this year, so we gave away two Swap Meet hauls instead.

2023 is a year away but I would love to come back for a fourth year and host this panel once again.  I think it's a great way to kick off a Saturday morning at Fanime - essentially the vintage anime / Saturday Anime / celebration of anime room.

Below is the same response I posted to the Pretend FanimeCon FB Group prior to the contention:

*snip*
I’m a part of the Video team and the reasons for this are not what people think they are. Please note that this isn't because of special knowledge on my part, but I understand how Video works at FanimeCon and the complexity regarding the rights holders and showings.

The Video Rooms not happening is due to the combination of video rights holders as well as entry requirements for the convention center itself. A little known fact is that there are no badge checks for any of the video rooms at FanimeCon. This is because the rights holders allow FanimeCon to show videos, but don’t allow FanimeCon to charge for them. This has worked in the past because the video rooms have always been located outside of the badging areas. While some rooms may check for ID for 18+ events, badges are not required.

This year, entry into the entire convention center requires a badge. This is for vaccination verification purposes. Since the entire convention center has restricted access, Video cannot show anything due to not having the rights to charge. I hope this helps people understand why this is the case this year.

For my own events, Midnight Madness and Hentai Music Videos are being held through the kindness and patience of the Programming and Panels teams, but those are special exceptions and it took a lot of work to make it happen.
*end snip*

From the Q&A session at the end of the convention, there is a hope and intention to bring back all sleeping departments (including Video) next year.

Missed this on the group, thanks for repeating it for us HunterZero, hopefully it can comeback 2023.... or failing that, find out the HMV is at the center soon enough that I can finish something and enter (was too late to work on anything when I found out Silver Island wasn't a thing this year ^^; )

But how did this work then when in pre-COVID years, badge checks were being done at the entrance of the convention center itself and not the individual rooms? I remember that change happening, as beforehand non-badge holders could just stroll through the con center as long as they did not enter any rooms.

When they moved to checking badges at the entrances, the video rooms were moved to the lower level expansion, which remained unbadged.

Below is the same response I posted to the Pretend FanimeCon FB Group prior to the contention:

*snip*
I’m a part of the Video team and the reasons for this are not what people think they are. Please note that this isn't because of special knowledge on my part, but I understand how Video works at FanimeCon and the complexity regarding the rights holders and showings.

The Video Rooms not happening is due to the combination of video rights holders as well as entry requirements for the convention center itself. A little known fact is that there are no badge checks for any of the video rooms at FanimeCon. This is because the rights holders allow FanimeCon to show videos, but don’t allow FanimeCon to charge for them. This has worked in the past because the video rooms have always been located outside of the badging areas. While some rooms may check for ID for 18+ events, badges are not required.

This year, entry into the entire convention center requires a badge. This is for vaccination verification purposes. Since the entire convention center has restricted access, Video cannot show anything due to not having the rights to charge. I hope this helps people understand why this is the case this year.

For my own events, Midnight Madness and Hentai Music Videos are being held through the kindness and patience of the Programming and Panels teams, but those are special exceptions and it took a lot of work to make it happen.
*end snip*

From the Q&A session at the end of the convention, there is a hope and intention to bring back all sleeping departments (including Video) next year.

But how did this work then when in pre-COVID years, badge checks were being done at the entrance of the convention center itself and not the individual rooms? I remember that change happening, as beforehand non-badge holders could just stroll through the con center as long as they did not enter any rooms.

Thank you so much for hosting! We were small but mighty this year, and I look forward to seeing you all next year. ;oD

Thank yOu so much for coming, taking pictures, and giving us all more Faygo than we ever wanted! You helped make the gathering such a fun event, and I'm so happy it turned out the way it did!

Hello old schoolers!!!

Here is the link to the unofficial gathering photoset, featuring all photos taken by the gathering co-host!  These are unedited and non-watermarked.

Feel free to tag anyone you may know and share!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1947430818779384

Facebook has gotten really weird with hosting images as of recent and doesn't seem to have a full resolution option anymore. If you need a higher resolution version of a picture - please message me (either here or on Facebook) and I'll send it to you directly.

If there are any images that you would like removed, please message me as well and I'll accommodate you as best I can.

Thank you to all who attended or showed interest in this gathering.  It was awesome to be back again and see so many amazing cosplayers once more!  I am so happy that the gathering has continued to remain popular, as I was worried that the momentum we had been gaining into 2019 would be lost by the time away - but that was totally not the case!

We hope to see you all again for FanimeCon next year and the 2023 Old School Cosplay Gathering!! It will always be held the evening of Fanime Friday!

It was a good gathering indeed. I'll be back next year!

Thank you for attending!!

Thank you so much for hosting!! I hope to see more Star Trek cosplayers next year haha

You're very welcome! I think we've had at least one or two 'Trek cosplayers every year!

Thank you, HunterZero, for by far the most credible and articulate explanation I have heard about this. Hopefully, by next year the pandemic will be under control or behind us, but even if not, maybe the Convention Center would be satisfied with the vaccination wristband (free) for access to the screening rooms then, rather than a paid badge.

Thank you so much for hosting! We were small but mighty this year, and I look forward to seeing you all next year. ;oD