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Messages - nemuneko

#1
As I mentioned before, my main problem with the Artist Alley being in South Hall was the poor lighting. It was just not bright enough in there for displaying artwork, especially for people who don't have the best eyesight. My friends agreed and many of the artists we talked to found it annoying. I appreciate the much larger space (and I'm sure the artists do, as well), but the lighting really needs to be turned up if they're going to have it in there again. Artwork really needs good lighting in order to fully appreciate it.
#2
Thanks again for all your replies, guys. It's reassuring to know there are others that feel the same way as I do. I'll probably attend Fanime for a few more years, if money and time allow. Also, pre-reg being such a mess this year doesn't help my enthusiasm about going back anytime soon. I think that just put a damper on my whole con experience this year and being surrounded by so many hyperactive youngsters didn't help my mood.

I try to keep up with the newer series (thankfully I have a friend who is a major anime addict and always keeps me updated on newer series), but so many of them just don't interest me. I find many of them too moe, ecchi, or generic for my taste. The ones I've been watching lately are Attack on Titan, Say "I Love You", and Shirokuma Café. I find myself more of a video game player (mainly JRPGs) than anime watcher these days, though.

I still enjoy going to anime conventions, but getting older has changed my interests a bit. I find myself going for the panels and video rooms more than anything else and not so much the dealer's room (I used to love collecting anime merchandise, but sadly I just don't have the funds or the room anymore for it) or other events. I'm really disappointed that I missed so many of the panels I really wanted to see this year due to horrible lines and having to wait in line for hours in pre-reg on Friday. I find that more people my age go to some of the panels, so I don't feel quite so out of place there.

And yeah, the nostalgia room is pretty awesome for us older fans. : ) I remember going there last year with some friends and hardly anyone was in there. I think The Irresponsible Captain Tyler was playing. I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for the oldies (Sailor Moon, Ranma ½, Tenchi Muyo, El Hazard, Please Save My Earth, Magic Knight Rayearth, to name a few). Especially Sailor Moon, since that's what got me into anime to begin with. Ah, the good old days...

I think having a meet-up or panel for older fans next year would be awesome. Has Fanime done this in the past? I honestly can't remember, but I think it would be a great idea if it hasn't been done already.
#3
Thanks guys for your responses so far.  :) I was just a bit curious how others felt about it.

Yeah, I realize a lot of staff are older. I'm not sure if I have the patience to be part of staff, but it's something I will consider next year (if I even attend, which I'm still debating after the whole pre-reg fiasco this year).
#4
While I love anime, manga, and video games, I feel like over these past couple of years that I've gotten too old for anime conventions (I'm almost 30, by the way). This year's Fanime made me feel especially out of place with all the teenagers and people in their early 20s around. Some of these people (not everyone, but quite a few) have the maturity levels of 5-year-olds, also, which doesn't help.

I remember back in the day (the 90s, mainly) when these conventions were full of people (mainly men) in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. I was in the minority as a kid/teenage girl going to cons. Now it's mainly teenagers everywhere. I just can't relate to the fandom anymore. Times change, I know, and anime has become much more mainstream. But boy, do I feel old and out of place sometimes.

So how old is everyone out there? Any people in their late 20s or 30s (or older) still attending anime conventions? Has your enjoyment of cons diminished over the years? When do you think you'll stop attending?
#5
Quote from: Firefury Amahira on May 27, 2013, 05:53:27 PM
-Seemed a bad move scheduling the Poke-scandalous panel back-to-back with LittleKuriboh's panel; both were traffic-blockingly huge and I think staff was just overwhelmed trying to manage exiting the crowd from one and keeping the line in that hallway in something vaguely resembling order. When a line gets that massive, it would probably be easier to send the excess to some sort of waiting position out of that hallway. Maybe once the construction is finished in the convention center, managing line overflow for panels could perhaps extend to the bottom floor of the convention center or something. Trying to keep the entirety of a line that huge in that hallway just is not working out, resulting in blocked hallways. Another possible solution is setting the panel rooms (especially the big room) with one door as the entrance and another the exit. That floor is set up in a loop, making it a one-way traffic flow might help ease congestion when one of the really enormous panels is lining up.

Totally agree with this. We wanted to go to both the Poke-scandalous! panel and Little Kuriboh's panel, but the lines were horrendous. The entire hallway was literally crammed full of people and we couldn't figure out where the line started and ended. The line for Little Kuriboh's panel was already forming 15 minutes or so before the Poke-scandalous! panel even started. We had to just give up and leave. Very bad move scheduling those two very popular panels back to back. I really wanted to see them both, but it was just too crowded

For the artist alley, while I really liked the larger building this time, the lighting was horrible. It was dark and it made it hard to see a lot of the artwork. We talked to several artists and they were complaining about how dark it was inside. Not very good lighting at all for displaying artwork. I hope they move it back to the convention center just because of that or at least adjust the lighting somehow to make it brighter in there. Other than that, I appreciated the larger, less cramped space. It was a lot easier to move around than in previous years.
#6
It says on the official San Jose website that construction and renovation at the San Jose convention center will be complete in fall 2013, if it hasn't been mentioned already on here. Here is the web address for it: http://www.sanjose.org/content/san-jose-convention-center-expansion-and-renovation-opening-fall-2013.

There was a lot of misinformation circulating the con and forums about this, so I just wanted to let others know that are concerned about this construction affecting Fanime 2014.

#7
I believe construction will be finished this fall, according to the official San Jose website (http://www.sanjose.org/content/san-jose-convention-center-expansion-and-renovation-opening-fall-2013). MercuryNews.com also had an article about it. Some people are saying next year, but this is incorrect from what I've read. Just wanted to throw that out there for people who are concerned about that.

Construction or not, I'm unsure if I will be returning to Fanime after the mess it was this year.
#8
It definitely was my worst Fanime, in all my years of attending Fanime since the late 90s. Pre-reg was a total MESS and I've never had to wait hours in line for pre-reg before on a Friday afternoon. This will most likely be my last Fanime because of that.

I think Fanime has just gotten so huge that staff can't keep up anymore and have stopped trying altogether. Organization was never the greatest to begin with in previous years, but this year it's like they just flushed it all down the toilet. It definitely soured my entire experience with the con and we missed out on a lot of panels and other events due to waiting in line for pre-reg for hours. It's hard to enjoy anything there anymore with the huge amount of people that attend + lack of organization in general. I really don't look forward to ever going back.

Also, something REALLY needs to be done about people blocking walkways in the con (including photographers). I remember staff telling people to move along or move to the side when people gathered in the middle of hallways in previous years. This year, I didn't see any of that. In one case, people were blocking an entire area (just standing in their huge group talking) at the entrance to the Marriot area where the panels are held and refused to move. I said "excuse me please!" really loudly to get their attention, but they just stared at me like an idiot and wouldn't move. Someone in a wheelchair was trying to get through and they still wouldn't move! This happened a lot and I'm really getting sick of it. There needs to be some sort of traffic control by staff since there are so many people attending now and a lot of these people are just plain self-centered and rude.

All in all, a very disappointing year for me and my friends. We might go back if construction is finished before Fanime starts next year, but if not and/or if pre-reg is going to be an utter mess again, forget it. I'll save my $60+ for something else.
#9
I don't understand the whole Homestuck thing, either. Maybe I'm just too old to get it (I'm in my late 20's). There did seem to be a huge amount of them this year, though. That's their business if they want to cosplay as that, though. They are all in their little cliques and I just try to ignore them.

I did have a major problem with people blocking walkways this year, though. Was it just me or were a lot of people just downright rude this year? There was a large group of people just standing in the middle of the hallway (at the entrance to the Marriot and the rooms where the panels were held), blocking foot traffic so no one could get through except a very narrow space. I said "excuse me please!" really loudly to get their attention and they just looked at me like I was an idiot. Someone in a wheelchair was trying to get through too, and they still wouldn't move! I noticed this in several areas. They need staff to tell these people to move out of the way because they obviously wouldn't listen to anyone else. They did this in previous years, but this year I hardly saw any staff members telling people to not block the walkways.

And the stench did seem a lot stronger this year. When we walked into the convention center on our first day (Friday), the B.O. just completely overpowered us and we felt like going home and taking another shower. Yikes.

And, yes, pre-registration was a complete MESS this year (the absolute worst in my 10+ years of attending Fanime), but everyone knows that by now. Fill out their feedback form, although I'm not sure how much good that will do.
#10
This was, by far, the WORST year I have ever experienced with pre-reg at Fanime. I've been attending since the late 90s and I've never had this much of a wait for pre-reg, except on the Thursday before the con when I took part in the swap meet in 2010. In previous years, we've waited less than an hour (usually just 5-10 minutes tops) in line for pre-reg (normally getting there on a Friday afternoon). Last year, it only took about 10 minutes on a Friday. We waited over 3 hours today, while my boyfriend, who didn't pre-reg, got out in 4 hours (just a little bit after we got our badges). What the heck happened?

What is the point of pre-registering if you have to wait in line for 3+ hours? I thought the point was to avoid that. For Thursdays, I can understand (since everyone likes to get there early to get their badges before the con starts). But on a Friday afternoon? I can understand that construction is going on and the registration area had to be moved, but shouldn't this have been planned out beforehand? We asked a staff member why it was so slow and he said it was because more people were showing up than last year. I get that, but why hasn't this happened in previous years? Seems very odd to me.

I love going to Fanime (I go every single year with friends), but this was just ridiculous and really soured my experience with the con. Horrible organization and complete lack of planning. If this is how it's going to be next year, then count me out.
#11
From what I recall attending Fanime since 2000 or so, the weather tends to be on the cool side and can be a bit windy. I live in Benicia (small town near the bay up north from San Jose) and it was HORRIBLY windy yesterday. I really hope it won't be that bad this weekend. I plan on cosplaying and wearing a long wig, so it will be a challenge if it's windy. So many tangles. -_-
#12
I've been attending Fanime since the 90s, so I'm a long-time attendee. We had a lot of fun this year, but some things could be improved.

We pre-registered, but came on Saturday afternoon to pick up our badges (we didn't stay at a hotel, but commuted from the Concord/Walnut Creek area), so we didn't have any trouble with registration and long lines like a lot of people. By that point, there was no line at all, which was great. I can definitely understand the frustration with waiting in long lines for registration, though (we waited in line 4+ hours last year on a Saturday because my friend didn't pre-register).

PROS:


  • Pocket schedules - Loved the pocket schedule again this year. Very convenient. Definitely bring it back next year, if possible. Not everyone has a Smartphone or tablet to quickly check the online schedule, so this was a huge plus.
  • Artist Alley - Artist Alley was awesome this year. I was very impressed. Lots of very talented artists and a great variety of styles and subjects. Loved it!
  • Dealer's room variety – I was pretty happy with the nice selection of goods this year. They had a good variety of items and I bought several things this year (probably more than I should have, whoops).
  • Panel variety - Great variety of panels this year! I enjoyed the majority that we attended. Wish we could have gone to more, but they were scheduled at odd times or on days we couldn't attend.
  • Masquerade – I thought it was a lot better compared to previous years. Lots of great costumes and clever skits. The host was also funny and the pacing was just right (it didn't drag on like previous years, at least to me). It seemed shorter and I liked that they showed AMVs during the waiting period for judging to pass the time.
  • Sailor Moon marathon – Please bring this back next year! I love Sailor Moon and was really hoping to see more of this, but got side-tracked with other events. Ah, the nostalgia!
  • Banzai Arcade – This was our first time attending and it was a blast! Loved all the anime and video game trivia mixed with the on-screen RPG-type game. Wish we could have participated, but we arrived late from the masquerade.

CONS:


  • Schedule release – If at all possible, it would be great to be able to see a finished (or semi-finished) schedule online a week before the con. This would make planning so much easier. It's hard to plan when the schedule is released one or two days before the convention starts, especially for people who are trying to decide which days to attend (for those of us that can't attend all four days).
  • Panel lines - Like someone else said, the lines for some of the more popular panels were AWFUL. It was hard to distinguish which line belonged to which panel and even staff members were confused. It was just a mess this year. The line for the panel on "What's Wrong with Square Enix?" was especially bad. Perhaps get some rope barriers or something similar to divide the lines next year, as well as signs to indicate where the line starts and ends. That would REALLY help. It was just very frustrating at times not knowing what line you're in (and other people not knowing, either).
  • Panel scheduling - A lot of the panels we wanted to go to were scheduled for Friday and even Monday morning when we couldn't attend the con. I know sometimes this can't be helped, but it was just a disappointment for us this year. It just seemed like some of the more popular panels were scheduled at odd times on less popular days. Hopefully we can go all four days next year and this won't be a problem for us. I guess we just expected more of a selection on Saturday and Sunday that interested us.
  • Dealer's room temperature - The dealer's room seemed very warm and humid this year (already mentioned, but thought I'd mention it again). I don't recall it being that bad last year. This seemed to increase the various smells (not good ones, I might add) and made it not very pleasant to be there. Bad B.O. seemed to be more of an issue this year and this just intensified the problem.
  • Masquerade volume - The volume was set WAY too high for the masquerade, especially for some of the songs. I understand you need to make it loud so everyone can hear and understand what's being said (although, even with the loud volume, it was hard to understand some of the dialogue due to static and poor audio quality), but it seemed a lot louder and more high-pitched this year compared to previous years (and we were sitting in the back of the room). We had to plug our ears during some of the louder parts because it felt like our ears were going to bleed. I know this doesn't bother a lot of people, but I prefer to keep my good hearing for a long time. Then again, I don't attend loud concerts that often or listen to blasting loud music on a regular basis, so perhaps my hearing is more sensitive than others. I enjoyed the masquerade, but left with a pretty awful headache due to the loud volume.
  • Construction / No more fountain – I know the con has nothing to do with this, but it was just kind of a bummer that they took the fountain out in front and replaced it with random plants (including Lamb's Ears, which tend to attract a LOT of bees and aren't exactly pretty plants, in my opinion). It would be nice if the hotel puts in a pretty flower garden for next year (which would be a great backdrop for cosplay photos) or brings back the fountain. I know construction is going on, so hopefully things will be better next year. I'm just curious what they will decide to do with it or if they will leave it as it is.
  • Crosswalks and jaywalking – Not anything the con can really do anything about (except maybe hire people to direct traffic and people in crosswalks on busier days... I could have sworn they did that one year, but maybe I'm mistaken), but it's really annoying when a ton of con-goers cross the street against the lights in huge groups and walk like they have all day to cross. It annoys a lot of drivers (including myself) and I'm honestly surprised nobody has gotten hit yet. If it says not to cross, DON'T, or at least hurry across the street and don't dawdle. Having to commute to the con, it really annoys me how awful this can be each year. Also, there was a lot of jaywalking, too (which is really dangerous when there is a lot of traffic and irritated drivers). I understand people are in a hurry to get to events and are in their own worlds, but please abide by the traffic lights (especially when there's a lot of traffic) and stay safe.

Sorry this was so long, but I just wanted to elaborate a bit on some of the problems we experienced. We still had an awesome time at Fanime and appreciate all the hard work you guys put into it. Keep up the great work and thanks for reading my comments! Looking forward to next year! :D
#13
MANime!: It was a lot of fun. I enjoyed "Guess that Chest!" and all the facts about manliness in anime. More video footage would have been nice.

An Intro to Memes: This was awesome. I even learned about a few new memes I didn't know about before! The two girls running the panel were full of energy and made it all the more fun. My only request is to have it be an extra hour. It was that much fun and there are so many different memes to cover.

Awesomely Bad J-Music Videos: Went to this last year and came again this year because I love watching bad j-music videos. There were several new (and hilarious) videos I didn't see last year, so that was a plus since I thought the majority would be repeats from last year.

J-Pop Vs K-Pop Battle Royale: We only stayed for a half hour because some of the videos were on the long side. The K-Pop ones were definitely more entertaining and seemed to be getting the most votes. Wish I could have stayed longer.

WOWOWTF?! Filipino Cinema: My boyfriend and I REALLY wanted to see this (my boyfriend being Filipino and a fan of bad movies), but we went to the room at the scheduled times on Friday and Saturday and nobody was there except a few people. We waited around and nobody came. I'm guessing they never showed up? Can someone confirm this?

Anime Name That Tune!: This got rescheduled at the last minute, it seems (it was originally scheduled for Sunday, but got moved to Saturday). I enjoyed it, even though I didn't know 3/4 of the songs, haha. It was fun guessing, though. My only suggestion is for the panel host to repeat the song name/series/artist after someone correctly guesses since it's very hard to hear with the music blasting. He did this a few times, but not for every song.

My requests for panels for next year: More Vocaloid (I missed the Vocaloid: The Fan Phenomenon panel because I was waiting in line with my friend for registration... perhaps have it later in the evening next year?), Japanese-language panel (maybe basic Japanese in anime or just Japanese culture in anime), and more video game-related panels.

All in all, great panel selection this year.  :)
#14
I've been going to Fanime since the late 90's (way back when it was held at Foothill College and was a LOT smaller) and this is my first time posting on the forum. Though it wasn't my favorite Fanime so far, I still had an awesome time this year. I didn't run into many problems and I found it very enjoyable.

Schedule: My main complaint is the lack of printed schedules this year, but I know this has been mentioned 1000+ times already. The pocket guide last year was awesome and very convenient, and I think that should be implemented again. Thankfully, I studied the schedule before going and wrote down most of the events I wanted to go to with the times and locations, so I didn't have too much of a problem. The couple times we did use the Info desk, though, they weren't very helpful and didn't seem to know where things were, which was a little frustrating.

I did like the mobile schedule, but since I only have an iPod Touch and not a fancy smart phone, I had to rely on WiFi (which was only available in minimal places). My boyfriend does have a Droid, so we were able to access the schedule on the days I went with him. A PDF of the schedule would be really appreciated and easier to access because it can be saved (I don't believe there was one this year and if there was, I couldn't find it on the website). A downloadable Fanime app for iPhone/iTouch/iPad, Droid, etc., would be awesome (preferably one where you don't need an Internet connection to view the schedule), but should be coupled with a printed schedule/pocket guide for those who don't have smart phones or other mobile devices.

Dealers Room: Yes, the dealers room was expensive, but most imported items are and I only bought one item there, anyway. I did enjoy the more diverse selection this year, however, and the selection of cosplay items (especially high-quality wigs) was nice. The lack of video games was a disappointment, though, as was the lack of CDs (which mainly my friend was disappointed about... she really missed the booth with all the J-pop and J-rock CDs and merchandise, which we couldn't find). Other than that, I thought the selection was good. My boyfriend really loved all the Gundam and other anime models in the middle of the dealers room.

Panels: All in all, a good selection this year. The ones I went to were quite a bit of fun and not super-crowded. I really enjoyed MANime! and An Intro to Memes (though I wish it was an hour longer... there are a lot of memes to cover!). I'm guessing WOWOWTF?! Filipino Cinema was cancelled because my boyfriend and I went to the room Friday and Saturday at the scheduled time, but nobody ever showed up after waiting 15-20 minutes. It made me a bit sad because we really wanted to see it. : ( My boyfriend (who is Filipino) said they were probably running on "Filipino time," so that's why they were late or never showed up, haha. It was just a bummer that it was never mentioned online about being cancelled or whatnot since it would have saved us some time.

Videos: Good selection this year. We enjoyed the DBZ Abridged Series showing (although it would be nice if it was more specific on the schedule next year about the specific Abridged series that is showing, since there are several out there... it was just too vague). The music videos were fun, as always, and we found a new show we absolutely love (the Nostalgia Critic, which was so freaking hilarious!). I hope that is brought back next year. Hentai Nights was fun, too, although we didn't stay long for it. It was VERY crowded in there Sunday night (we barely found a seat), but that's to be expected. ID checking was very strict this year, as it should be.

Rovers: I didn't have any issues with the Rovers this year. Actually, they seemed a lot nicer, helpful, and laid back compared to previous years, in my experience, but perhaps that's because I didn't dress up this year and didn't go to any big events, so I had minimal contact with them. No problems there.

Dance Room: I didn't enjoy having the Dance 2 room (Market) down where the food is sold on the lower level of the Hilton across from Peet's Coffee. We usually buy food there at the restaurant once or twice each year during the con and I don't recall it ever being that noisy. It's been one of the few places there in previous years to have a bite to eat without a lot of disturbance and noise, so that was disappointing. The noise level was awful (very loud bass), along with the constant opening and closing of the door, so we had to take our food to the Marriot side to eat in relative silence. I don't think we'll be eating there again if it's going to be held there again. One of the employees there did give us a free soda because of the noise, though, so that was nice. We usually only buy food there because of the selection and better quality (otherwise, we bring small snacks to keep us energized throughout the day so we don't have to spend too much money on food), so the amount of noise there was very disruptive to us.

Parking/Security: Does anyone know if you can get someone from the con or hotel (like security) to escort you to your car late at night? I drive in from Benicia and usually go back to my car late at night to go home (past midnight when the events we are interested in are over) when a lot of weirdos are out. It seemed like there were more shady people than usual (ghetto, "gangsta"-looking guys in large groups taking up the whole sidewalk that made insulting comments at us, scuzzy-looking (homeless, I'm guessing) people (one of which was peeing all over a pillar in clear view), a few hookers (yes, hookers), etc., that were clearly not part of the con) hanging out a couple blocks from the convention center where we usually park and it was only my female friend and me on Saturday, so I felt a bit paranoid walking there with no other con-goers around. It honestly makes me want to carry pepper spray. Next year, I'll try parking in the parking garages that are closer to the convention center, but since we get there relatively late in the day on the busiest days because the main events we are interested in aren't until late afternoon to evening, it's hard to find close parking at times. For future reference, though, I'm curious if there are people who can escort you to your car at night. If not, then I think it would be a great idea to offer that as a service in future years for those who have to park further away and don't have a group of people to go back with to the parking lot late at night to go home. It would be a huge help.

Sorry for the length of my post. All in all, I had a great time, despite those few problems. Looking forward to next year! Keep up the awesome work!  :)