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[Update for 2013]

Update for 2013

Swap meet

Evangelion
-Fan: $1
-1.0 curtain: $15
-6/11 Newtype: $4
-3 End of Eva Calbee chips unopened: $5
-12/97 Newtype: $10
-Rei figure: $12

Subtotal: $47

-Battle Angel chirashi: $5
-Shippuden shitajki: $4
-Gekinade Zenbu and shitajiki (both Nadesico): $16
-Nadesico Perfects artbook: $10

Subtotal: $35

Total: $82. Most I have spent so far at swap meet.

Dealers hall

Evangelion
-Asuka button from Anime Jungle: $3
-7 posters from Nikaku: $92
-4 idol cards and a complete set of 6 gashapon from Kimono My House: $37
-2 Rei figures from Toyslogic: $39.25

Subtotal: $171.25

-FMA and Nadesico shitajii from Nikaku: $17
-Ruri Hoshino figure and Plastic Little Shitajiki from Kimono My House: $15

Subtotal: $32

Total: $203.25

Grand total: $285.25

Including costs of food and gas and excluding reg for next year I came under budget. ;D

Like people would forget, but who wants to be reminded of this?

Last day to pre-reg for next year's Fanime before the prices go up. For me this also when I do my dealer's hall shopping since I'm tied up the other days, although I did do a few walkthroughs earlier to get an idea as to who had what I was looking for.

Went back to work and starting to inventory what I got and update my collection website.

I'm in my early 30s and this too is a question I've been asking myself as I do feel that the general age of the con-goers has remained younger. However at the same time, these people will be in the same situation as me in 10-20 years. The thing that I've found, and it's not for everyone, is to play both sides somewhat - follow a few of the newer series that I'm interested in but still stay true to my old favorites. Given how many series come out each season this can be quite time consuming. However I think that as long as you are comfortable with yourself and your fandom, this is the most important opinion of all, so get out there and represent.

What I enjoyed/liked this year:

• Roaming info desks: Used them 2x and better than having to hike over to the only desk I knew of near Stage Zero.
• Dealer's Hall map: Thank you for finally having a map and allowing it to be also displayed as a list. I still remember a couple years ago when I asked if there was a map and was told by staff to basically just walk around and find out for myself who was where. Please continue to do the online map.
• Allowing the Evangelion cockpit to be set up in the back area where reg normally is: As a hardcore Eva fan, this was a blessing.
• Autographs: Much better this time around, although the only actual artist was Nonaka. If there were more artists this likely would have thrown a wrench into things. Nonetheless, major props to Evan and his crew for being responsive, very communicative, and making things run smoothly.

Nijiya in SF Japantown carries them too if you're up that way. Or if neither Japantown is close to you and you need to order online JList stocks them from time to time.

I will be keeping an eye out for new acquisitions for the museum, in particular older merch from when the series originally aired which I don't already have. My old favorites in the DH, Cards and Comics Central and Anime Palace as well as longtime stores Kimono My House and Nikaku Animart, who I both bought from last year for the first time are returning and all 4 are highlighted on my map printout. Nonetheless I will do walk around of the entire hall, maybe someone has a gem somewhere.

Newer goods I will keep an eye out for:

-Asuka button by GE Animation
-Asuka in Test Plugsuit figure by Alter but not too pricy

Also will see if there are goods for Jormungand, Girls Und Panzer, and Attack on Titan.

Are there more people registered for one day than another or both days are about even? Trying to decide whether to skip Thursday and show up on Friday instead, from my experience 3 and 2 years back Friday tends to  be busier. Of course how seller attendance is on both days is TBD.

I was really stoked that Kia Asamiya came this year. I would love to see artists and seiyus whose works are "older" (i.e. 10+ years) come out if possible.

[Autographs]

Organizing my feedback by topic in alpha order:

Autographs
I spent all of my Saturday and most of my Sunday in line for this so much of my feedback will be on this subject.

Having the signings at the Fairmont for the most part worked out. Because the line was in the Regency ballroom it didn't get as congested as it did the past 2 years thus it didn't create fire code issues. The big drawback was that it was separate from the rest of the con. It was also pointed out earlier that the projector in Regency was on and the big screen was down, but nothing was airing. I don't know if it this was done because something was supposed to be shown to those waiting in line or what, but staffing fell through. The projector was on and the screen was down for the entire time for both days. I'm not saying that something should have been shown but maybe at least turn the projector off? It was helpful though that the water coolers in the room were stocked. However I did hear that one of the restrooms nearby opposite the stairs and escalator were locked.

I was surprised to see that this year signings were only on Saturday and Sunday and not also on Monday as they were the past 2 years. I am making a big assumption that this was tied to being able to reserve the 2 ballrooms at the Fairmont from Thursday-Sunday only because that was where swap meet and the lines for the signings and the signings themselves took place. If it can be done next year, can the signings go back to being on Monday as well? There are some benefits to this:

-Less con-goers, which usually means shorter lines unless it is a major guest (IIRC LM.C from 2010 still had a massive line on Monday as it was their only signing).
-Spaces out the signings, especially if the guest is an artist who is also sketching. It would have affected the artist guests, all of whom were at Closing Ceremonies.

This ties into the scheduling, especially for the artists. Not enough time was given for all of them especially when all of them were doing sketches. Yokota did have a 2 hour window for one signing but Koyama and Asamiya otherwise each had an hour allocated each time for both days. The Yokota signing on Saturday was actually cut short because he had an interview to do at 2! Because of the time and effort they were putting into their sketches, those who were at the head of the line got the best quality ones when the guests were able to put in the time and effort and weren't rushed. As time went on they had to be hurried up by staff and eventually the autograph-only people would get pulled out of line and sent ahead, leaving everyone else who wanted a sketch waiting. When the hour was up it was tough luck and some people who had been waiting for hours in line got nothing whereas people who had not been in there for as long or were late at least were able to walk away with an autograph. For the Yokota signing on Saturday those of us who missed out were put on a priority list for Sunday and moved to the head of the line on that day. I heard that it didn't happen for Asamiya and am not sure if it happened for Koyama. So some miscommunication happened here. I talked to my fellow fans in line about why not have the artist just do a quick monochrome sketch for everyone so the process will go faster and maybe they will get through everyone in line instead of it taking 15 minutes for 3 people. However I'm not sure how feasible it would be to ask the guest to do this before the signing starts. On the first day Koyama initially took some requests but then switched to doing a specific drawing of Chuck from PSG that he then would personalize for each person so everyone got something different. He did this on the second day as well.

The only autographs I didn't get were Aizawa (her line was quite long and I prioritized Asamiya over her) and Chiba (no interest). Each of them only signed on Saturday as they left the following day. I support the idea of passing around a list if the artist is taking requests in order to filter out anything non-relevant. This was done on the second day for Yokota's signing.

I know that the staff handling the signings on both days tried their best and had to deal with both the guests and people waiting in line for hours. They also had to work with the guests' schedules and any conflicts that came up that may have prevented them from staying longer. On the second day Asamiya actually stayed beyond his allotted time, which was greatly appreciated. Scheduling too impacted what staff could and couldn't do, but the apparent lack of anticipation of things going much longer than expected and having to deal with things on the fly each and every time this happened could have been alleviated. Please keep in mind for next year especially for the artists guests to attempt to space out their signings and give them more cushion time (maybe 2 hours minimum or not have anything occurring for them right after) because the nature of their signings is different from the other guests. If Monday is available again, try to schedule things in the morning if possible because people will show up for the signing. Given the experiences noted above I hope that this years' experience will translate into and lessons learned and improvements for next year.

Con shirts
As someone said in another thread art is subjective, so this is purely my own preference. I wish that the same artist who did the mascot characters for the program book and badges had also worked on the shirts. If they actually did, I didn't notice this. I was all psyched up to buy my first con shirt when I saw the design, thought about it, and changed my mind. I like the number 12 as a player number, but didn't like the front design. Sorry.

Dealers' hall
Did all of my shopping on Monday. Was there a reason why it was open til 8 on Friday but only til 7 Saturday and Sunday.

Food
Not as big of an issue for me because I didn't starve and packed water, snacks, and had half a footlong for lunch and the other half for dinner Saturday and Sunday. However it would be helpful to those who may not know that there's a McDonald's a few blocks away or a Subway around the corner to have a list of local restaurants and markets within 3-4 blocks where they can get food and drinks and save more money for everything else. Such a list could be at the Info Desk and provided upon request. Even a food truck parked out front for a few hours would help out a lot, but I don't recall seeing any in the downtown area so maybe there's a reason why.

Guests
It was mentioned earlier in the thread that someone would like to see more domestic VAs. Personally I would love to see all Japanese VAs so I'm not sure how you could balance both sides of the fandom.

Personally I don't mind some of the same guests repeating each year (I think I've gotten used to the regulars), because this adds a degree of stability to the con year in and year out. E.g. Yamaga has been a guest since like forever and now hosts the Yamaga Party and even extended an invite to a tea party for people who attended his signing. I've seen Yokota for the past couple years and know what to expect when he shows up in terms of sketches, so for next year I need to watch something that he worked on other than Macross F. However variety of course is also good. Major props to GR in particular for landing Asamiya. He may not be familiar to many folks because 2 of the works that he is known for are older series (Silent Mobius, Nadesico), but for me he falls into the category of "I don't think they'll ever come to a con unless it's a big one like AX or something." I was really surprised to see him on the guest list and was also lucky enough to get 2 sketches from him. Good job as well on getting Koyama.

No comments on Aizawa, Chiba, or Vincent. The lack of musical guests this year was not that big of an issue for me.

Masquerade
I was expecting Ric Meyers as usual, but Tadao Tomomatsu did an awesome job hosting. The event continues to be one of the highlights of the con for me.

Pocket schedule
A big help since it saved having to pull out the program each time, and it was in color. I don't have a smartphone so lack of an online schedule didn't impact me as much.

Reg
I decided to pick up my badge on Day 1 instead of Day 0 this year and was told that if I had been there at 4 on Thursday I might have gotten my badge despite the blackout. If I had gone I would have arrived closer to 5 so maybe it was good thing that I didn't show up on Thursday. However I did get to spend 3 hours in line on Friday, which overall was tolerable and I had no problems other than the wait and being on my feet for that long.

I don't know how feasible this would be to implement or if it has been previously suggested but I'm throwing it out there, so please just bear with me. My impression is that one of the key reasons for in-person reg is to verify the identity of the badge holder. It has also been mentioned multiple times that people would be willing to pay more to get mailed their badges. For an extra $10 to cover priority shipping and processing I say hell yes since it beats 2-3 hours of being in line. If there is a way to verify identity electronically without someone needing to stand in line to show their ID to staff all the better, such as by sending them a verification code to their cell phone or email, similar to e-banking. They could then resubmit the code securely by logging into the Fanimecon website to verify identity. The badge is then mailed out via priority mail requiring both a signature for delivery and a proof of delivery. You now have proof that the badge didn't get lost and it was delivered.

Staff
Overall my interactions with staff were positive. I want to give a shout out to the dealer hall staff who helped me on Monday determine that Anime-Link was not in the hall although he was actually down on the list. Unfortunately I can't recall their names. The first person referred to a list which did list Anime-Link but his spot was taken by JS Anime. He then suggested that I ask the head of dealers room and he confirmed that Anime-Link had withdrawn at the last minute. Autograph line staff could have used a lot more organization and help (see above).

Swap meet
I went on Friday. From a buyer's perspective I thought it went well. However whereas the Regency ballroom at the Fairmont was like a circus, the smaller Regency II was much quieter and when I set foot in there about a third of them had already left. This would have impacted the sellers in that room more because most of the foot traffic passed through Regency, from which didn't look like any of the sellers had left.

More shitajiki, specifically for Eva. Ironically Anime Palace, which had a lot more last year, was cleaned out this time.  :o

Anything for Jormungand, given that it is on air right now. Didn't even see any manga, however it is a more obscure Viz title.

[Update for 2012]

Update for 2012

Swap meet:

-FMA shitajiki/OOP Newtype postcard set: $3
-Complete set of MASK PAL DVDs: $30
-Bleach shitajiki: $5
-Ranma 1/2 OAV cel: $10

Total: $48

Dealers hall:
-Ayanami Raising Project w/Asuka poster from H.Naoto: $6.50
-Takara Transformers G1 Reissue #21 Blaster w/Steeljaw from C&C Central: $140 (finally my collection is complete!!!  :o)
-9 Eva posters (they threw in 1) and 1 Ranma poster from Nikaku Animart: $100
-Eva 2.0 folder and Asuka UFO catcher prize from Anime Palace: $38
-Portgas D. Ace shirt from Toyslogic: $22
-Tenchi Muyo shitajiki, Akira and Macross pins from Kimono My House: $15

Total: $321.50

I noticed that rovers were yelling at people not to fall down once they got into the concourse way.  Other than that and the delay, did anything else come up that can be tweaked for next year?

I want to be one of those bidders when I grow up!   ;D

I think that's the one.  He was right next to Kimono My House.  I'll send an email to confirm. 

He was near the bathrooms and was selling Trigun and Gungrave posters as well as cels.  He also had display cases for posters which I would like to get to store my own collection, but I didn't ask for a card so I don't know what his website is.  >__<

[Evangelion]

Update for 2011:

Evangelion
-Genesis 0:8 laserdisc from swap meet on Thursday: $5
-2 promo shitajiki and a promo poster for Petit Eva that Ryusuke Hamamoto sketched on and signed: $32
-4 out of print posters: $95
-Asuka piggy bank and 2 mini toys: $28

Et. al.
-Takara G1 Transformers Smokescreen reissue: $55
-Toru Furuya clear file folder that he later signed during a special session: $10

Total: $225, covered by swap meet sales  ;D

Thought I would start this to help ID some of the songs that were played at Masquerade on Sunday.

So far I have 3:

#W8: Mangafreak150 & Rexluna Luka Mika (Vocaloid walk-on) - 1st 30 seconds of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4pTmiBxEEA
#11: The Hungry Cosplayers (D.Gray-man) - http://www.acparadise.com/acp/vid.php?v=6408/
#21: One Piece Generation (K-Pop medley), will post video when one is up.

Thanks!!

Edit: Posted this topic in the wrong section.  :-\  If a mod can please relocate this to Big Event Showcase, that would be appreciated!

According to staff everyone in line got in, as there were a lot of no shows.  Better late than never!

When I walked in the door I was shocked to see how much the person in the corner had, I was wondering if he was a store or something since he had so much stuff.  That and how did he get it all in!   ???

Then I saw how little other people had, so I felt reassured.  I fall in the middle of these 2 examples.