Messages

Please go to ASAHiCon.org/marketplace to register!  Thanks a bunch!  We love you! 

Date of con, March 29th
Time: 10am to 6pm!

Should be pretty quick.  E-mail me at blameebnerATmeDOTcom if you do not have a response by the end of the day.

mod edit: anti-SPAM

March 29th, 2014 in Antioch, California is the date for ASAHiCon 2014!  That is a full two months before FanimeCon!  Plenty of time to bring your stuff and sell it at our show!  ASAHiCon is a high school based convention where the students must travel LONG distances to get ANYTHING cool!  What you have taking up space in your house might just be what our attendees are looking for!  Care to make the trek to ASAHiCon and sell your wares?  Tables are ONLY 10 BUCKS!  Space is limited, so please register for your table soon!  Go to www.asahicon.org, click on the Con Attractions link and select Marketplace!  Our registration form is there!

Do you have a friend who makes art?  Well, our artist tables are FREE!  If all your friend wants to do is sell their art, prints, or creations, then their table is on us!  We love artists!  We love passionate people who want to create!  Tell them about ASAHiCon and let them be discovered!

We hope we see you both March 29th at ASAHiCon!

ASAHiCon is March 29th, 2014, just two months BEFORE FanimeCon!  Care to come practice your panel with us?  Our panel rooms feature Projectors, document cameras, sound, and access to the internet.  All the things you would need to for a great panel!  Care to give your panel, but not travel all the way to Antioch, California?  We can handle your panel through Google Hang-out!
If you are interested, register your panel at www.asahicon.org and click on the Panels link under Convention Attractions!

We hope to see as many of you as possible give your panel at ASAHiCon!

P.S.-Please note that we are a high school show.  Mature panels may not be widely attended. 

[Lack of At-Con Information]

• Lack of At-Con Information – The Information Desks were not helpful for me but the only thing I really needed to know was where parking discounts were handled and the person who I talked to didn't know but said he would help me find it (Which ultimately he didn't because he wandered off to ask someone else but I wasn't worried) so I am glad that if they don't have the knowledge they make the effort to find out. However it seems from the general idea of the feedback I am reading that they didn't constantly have up to date information which can prove to be a critical hit to a convention on the whole. I think there is a way to improve this, but since I didn't have much interaction, I also didn't have many immediate ideas.

As head of infodesk, I have to apologize for this.  The parking discount information came to us on Friday morning and we did not follow up on where and how attendees could get this discount.  We will strive next year to try an house as much of this information as possible at infodesk.  Thank you for your valuable feedback!

As always after I read a, "What went wrong this year" thread, my first thought is, please join staff!  Especially if you think you could fix what everyone is griping about!

Congestion-We hear you on this.  But folks, we had 10,000 on the first day!  Are we talking about spreading things out?  To be sure, but will you enjoy the extra walking to have more space?

Training-We want to train everyone well, but we have lives too.  I wish I could live and breath Fanime, but I have a family, a job, and the desire to run a small con at my school.  Does that leave a lot of time for training and organizing?  We all do what we can when we can.

Schedules-Heartbreaking, especially since it had been 5 years since that SNAFU happened last.  I remember sitting on Stage Zero in 2006, telling everyone we finally had schedules, only to be out again.  Yeah, I made that schedule myself too.   That sucked because it sucked.

Yoshiki-I have to tell you guys, when someone like Yoshiki drops out of the sky for your con, you do what you can to grab him, even it it means you do not think it all through.  Yes it could have been handled better, and would have been if it had not been so last minute.  But seriously, would you want us to turn down a guest just because we don't have all the logistics planned?  I think you would shoot us.  

Folks, I do this for you, I do it to hear your cheers, to hear your squeals of laughter and joy that his con brings you.  For most of you, this past weekend is Christmas, New Year's, and your birthday all rolled up into one.  Believe me, that is in the back of my head during every planning session.  We have yet to put on the perfect con, but we do strive to every year.  Next year, it will be a new list of gripes, but I guarantee there will be many more smiles.

I have to say, the boys at Stage Zero, Mr. Rob Miles, and myself and been planning for Sports as a them for 3 years now.  We have been dying for the chance to sink our teeth into this.

Think of all the great sports themed anime.  I mean, is not catching Pokemon a sport? 
Let's break it down (sorry Kevin)
Prince of Tennis-Unquestionably huge anime with its own live show!
Slam Dunk-The penultimate anime about Basketball that spawned so many titles

Hockey?  You got it!
Go!! Southern Ice Hockey Club
My Heavenly Hockey Club

There has been boxing anime, baseball anime with most coming from Manga.

So, I know most of Fanime is not necessarily sportsmen, but most have appreciated a sports anime or two.

Now you will have to excuse me, I need to catch up on Eyeshield 21, my football anime!

Hello folks
ASAHi Con will be April 9th, 2011 on the campus of Antioch High School in Antioch, CA.  This is a small con that is created to teach high school anime fans about putting on an anime convention.  Most of my students, most of the anime fans in Contra Costa County may never make it to Fanime, so ASAHi Con is there first and maybe only con.

Please come on out and make it special!  Come to CosPlay and teach the next generation how to do it!  Come sell your old manga and anime so the next generation has more to read and see.  Come and enjoy what a con used to be, a group of people coming to enjoy what they love in its most pure form.

Come and experience ASAHi Con

www.asahicon.org

I think we have to work better with panels to advertise such panels as the ATLUS, EA, 1up panel we had last year.  When I saw that on the schedule, I was very excited that we had a presence.  However, I was mortified that fans did not show up to support the panel and industry guests.

Once we can get the schedule out to you earlier, fans can spot such panels early and support them by showing up.  We may suffer the ripple effect of 4 people showing up for an industry panel at Fanime for a couple of more years.  Word spreads when industry makes the effort to show, but no one cares to show up.

If I may chime in folks,
I said this on the Momoi forum, but I feel it needs to be said here.  If you, the fan, want to help us, here is the leg work our GR team requires:

1. Will the guest be interactive?
2. Is the guest a fan of the industry?
3. Will the guest reach a wide variety of fans?

If yes is the answer to each of these questions, then we would certainly consider your ideas.  Some of the big names I have seen mentioned would certainly not fit in with the kind of guest we are looking for.  Fanime is seeking to give its fans a very different experience than any other con.  By following the above guidelines for our guests, we hope to accomplish this every year.

Please be confident that our GR team is here, reading, and listening to your serious ideas.  Fanime is your show after all, but you share it with 15,000 others. 

Thanks for your time and passion folks, it is what makes this show great!

Sincerely,
Jason Ebner

Ladies and gentleman, I have to say Momoi was everything we could have asked for.  Interactive, fun, and energetic!  Do we have her back?  I would love it.  However, I owe it to all fans at Fanime to make their dreams come true, to hang out and rub elbows with their idols.  I would like to give another guest a chance to make an impression on our fans.  I believe Fanime owes that to everyone.

Please remember, as head of this division, I will look for those guests that give us a great show, that will make your con experience so much better.  Momoi set the bar really high.  Now it is up to the team to match or exceed such expectations.  And do this in our spare time.

Thanks for your passion folks!  It is very much appreciated.

Sincerely,
Jason Ebner

Thank you very much.  I appreciate the information.

Ebner

Hello Folks, this is Jason Ebner inviting you all to ASAHi-Con on March 21st!
ASAHi-Con is my attempt to bring the subject matter of putting on Conventions into schools.
The Convention will be small so I am relying on SWAP Meet dealers rather than dealers for this show.

ASAHi-Con will be held on the campus of Antioch High School (700 W. 18th Street, 94509)
and it will be from 10am to 5pm.  The set-up will be very basic for our first event, but then again
so was Fanime's first event. 

SWAP meet tables are 5 feet long and will be 20 dollars for a full table, ten dollars for a half table.  Please contact me through [email protected] if you are interested.

I hope to see you in two weeks in Antioch!

Hello Folks, this is Jason Ebner inviting you all to ASAHi-Con on March 21st!
ASAHi-Con is my attempt to bring the subject matter of putting on Conventions into schools.
The Convention will be small, but I would love to feature cosplayers at our first event so that
we can encourage more newbies to enter into the fun.

ASAHi-Con will be held on the campus of Antioch High School (700 W. 18th Street, 94509)
and it will be from 10am to 5pm.  The set-up will be very basic for our first event, but then again
so was Fanime's first event.

We are also looking for SWAP meet dealers in case you are interested.  Please contact me through [email protected]

I appreciate all that you do for the show folks, and I hope to see you in two weeks in Antioch!

Sincerely,
Jason Ebner

Video rooms would be condensed into the convention center

Panels would be pretty much by themselves in the Marriott area as video left for the main center.

My main concern would be moving traffic again to the Marriott, but I am not certain there would be a traffic problem.  I think we would increase traffic for sure as video and panels were so close.  My issue would be very little to draw people to the Hilton side of things.

Ebner

Hello Fanime Fans,
I wanted to know your opinion on moving panels to the OTHER side of the convention center.  We are toying with the idea of moving panels to the Salons in the Marriott.  Two reasons why:
1. Panel hallway space was just too cramped.  Big panels exiting then entering was a mess.
2. Panels can grow bigger.  We will have 3 rooms of ample size so we are not restricted on who we put where.

Your comments are appreciated on this possible change.

Sincerely,
Jason Ebner
Head of Live Programming, 2009

I am actually pushing for J-pop this year.  I feel Fanime is more of a J-pop convention than anything else.  Anyone else care to agree or disagree?

Ebner
The blamable one

Bottom line, if we have this same thread next year, then I don't think Fanime has done its job.  The two shows should not even be comparable for you should have a completely different experience at both shows.  I have always felt that Fanime should be a show that caters to the fans while AX, and for that matter Otakon as well, are the huge glamor shows that provide a huge wow factor, but not much fan interaction with guests, staff, or input into what is being programmed.

At the end of the day, you should attend both shows because you will have a unique experience at each.  The Fanime experience will just feel more like a party in your own backyard with 10,000 of your closest friends.

Ebner
The blamable one.

You know what sucks to me?  What sucks is big name bands that we have to hide from our fan base.  What sucks is limited time with the band where we can't even get them to attend opening ceremonies, a Meet the Guest Reception, and one autograph session for a luck few. 

Frankly, I would really not like to see this at Fanime...ever!

With that in mind, which of these many bands that you have suggested would actually be fan friendly?  Which ones don't have a massive label behind them calling the shots?  Which one would be so perfect for Fanime because they would love to get in the trenches and party with you all?  That is what I would love to see, a kick ass band that wants to enjoy you all.

What say you all after having to think about this?

Ebner
The blamable one.

Guests as always guys come and go with contacts.  You would think that we would have alot of guests based on our current size.  The problem is we have many problems to deal with.

1. We are not in tune with industry and nor do we want to.  What makes Fanime unique is that we look like and are a fan run convention.  The downside is that we don't have industry rushing to give us guests. 

2. Japanese guest schedules are very hectic.  We had 3 or 4 guests offered to us, but scheduling conflicts are why they could not all make it.

3. We are spoiled because Yamaga-san and his friends from Gainax are always able to make it, well he puts it in to his schedule every year.

As for an earlier post about whether or not Yamaga-San is coming, we have not released him because we are about to make a major announcement regarding Gainax.  Stay tuned.

Sincerely,
Jason Ebner
Head-Live Programming
FanimeCon 2008