I find it weird that I'm back on this subject, especially after looking at AX's website for the first time and looking at everything AX is doing, and trying to compare to what Fanime was in 2007.
AX is pulling out Midnight Tea, Otaku Parlimentary Debate, AX Idol, all the Japanese VAs from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (and all of them are being flown into the US just for AX), Premeir ticket purchasing, and a whole bunch of stuff for this year.
Can we even compare the two? Like what someone said, AX is manga while Fanime is dojinshi...
I haven't even been to AX before, but from what I heard is that AX is on a totally different level compared to Fanime. As you stated, AX is a manga and Fanime is a doujin...
They are seriously bigger in attendence rates and have to cater to more people. I guess with more funding, they can pull off alot of things. D:
Makes you want to go and see what it's like.
The most common and apt way to see the two is that AX is much more of an industry convention while Fanime is more of a fan's convention. As an industry con, AX gets the presence of the various anime & manga publishers in North America, whereas Fanime only gets a few of them to stop by. Also, that means that AX gets more money to play around with in terms of their budget. That means bigger facilities, more guests, bigger events, etc. That in turn draws in more people.
However, the downside to that is that there's far less, if any, fansub showings compared to what Fanime shows. In short, the latest and greatest that AX shows will be what the industry brings, not what can be had on the net. Also, with AX being so big, it's easy for fans to get lost in the crowds and the con does have more of an impersonal air to it. That's not to say that there aren't any fan activities what so ever (there are), it's just that the industry side of things is much more dominant and gets more attention.
I haven't been to AX yet but from what I hear there's a line for everything (or more specifically anything worthwhile). Basically you stand in line to get into the con (which is expected) and then stand in line for the events. (sounds like Disney Land huh?) That seems like a very plausible story considering AX has triple the attendees.
You guys may remember the unusually long line for registration this year when some people had to wait 3 hours. Remember how apologetic the Fanime staffers were? Rumor has it AX makes no such apologies ---> it's to be expected! :shock:
On the bright side as mentioned before with it's "deep pockets" and "unusually close" connections to industry:
1) Guests - enough said
2) The charity auction can get pretty intense. There are some "heavy hitters" people with money to burn and willing to bid high prices on some of the artwork.
3) The dealers room can have some amazing booth set ups
(https://forums.fanime.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.usagichan2.com%2FAX2006%2Fimages%2FAX2006-0474.JPG&hash=669f7f547d407102123c631d6374c24022b1967f)
(https://forums.fanime.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.usagichan2.com%2FAX2006%2Fimages%2FAX2006-0475.JPG&hash=992f2ec81f3700741905974f005125532b949cc1)
Even if they were the same type of con, you couldn't even compare them because of the sheer size of the two. Fanime is 10,000 people whereas AX is roughly 50,000. Therefor they need a bigger venue, and probably have a little bit more money to throw around get some good stuff there.
Dealers and guests are also more willing to come to a convention of such a large size, it gets them more business.
The way to look at them is that fanime is a talented punk band, while expo is a shiny boy band. I am notoriously loyal to fanime :P
Haven't been to expo,but this comparison is what I imagine when some of the folks here describe the cons.
I also noticed that the Guests of Honor for this year's Fanime have been past Guests of Honor and that they love coming back to Fanime year after year...
Yeah, the cast of the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and AnimeTV are there at AX, but why? Because of the publicity? The amount of money they're getting? Would be it for the same reasons that the Guests of Honor for Fanime keep coming back year after year? I would guess not...
Quote from: astroboyFRumor has it AX makes no such apologies ---> it's to be expected! :shock:
Please refrain from posting rumors about other conventions.
perhaps I chose the wrong word....anyhow
AX is actually on my list of "Places to visit before you die."
Call me weird but one of my favorite events at a con is the gripe session!
some masquerade / cosplay gripes: :D
http://youtube.com/watch?v=2ekF2T8KhCc&mode=related&search=
Since my friend moved to LA last year, we're going to make our first trip to AX for a day (and later, Comic-con). I think I'm going more for the atmosphere than the anime, since because it's so heavily industry oriented, there aren't fansubs, and there are a lot of dubs (which I have no interest in, personally). I AM excited though about the cosplayers (looking forward to taking lots of pictures) and the dealer's room (one of my favorite artists from deviantart has a booth). I'm not looking forward to the crowds or the lines, but I think it'll be an interesting experience.
Of course, I'll be back for Fanime 08! That's my favorite con. But like astroboy said, "AX is actually on my list of 'Places to visit before you die'" which I totally agree with. Kind of like Vegas.
I went last year. It's definately bigger and more industry, and yes, there are no fansubs there. It was annoying that there were no marathons to go to, everything was 2 episodes here and there. And they had two halls dedicated to lines, one for the registration, and one for live events. I went to AMVs and the Masquerade and spent at least a couple hours in each in line, well, not including the lines to get the tickets, yeah, honestly I'm not looking forward to that again.
It was great to see the guests they were able to being out, though I did miss Clamp since I came in a little late. It's definately worth it to check out, but I can't see myself going every year. Also programing stops at midnight and starts again around 6am I believe, that sucked, expecially since my only other con experience was fanime which runs 24 hours a day.
Oh, the cosplay was awesome as well, I guess with more people you get to see a lot more cosplay, there were a ton of Shinigami from bleach, there was this one girl who cosplayed the Xenosaga girl with a bike, looked awesome.
You're basically trading waiting in long lines, no marathons, and nothing to do after midnight, for bigger name guests and a lot more people.
Here's my opinion,
AX: long lines (For everytinh), big crouds everywhere, pissy stafers :x
Fanime: still, long lines (but not for everything), air to breath, and not so pissy staffers :shock:
I think it depends on what your going to do.
I'll be going to ax for the first time this year, and can't wait. My main goals are cosplaying, and checking out the dealers room.
With cosplay i think AX for me has a lot more to offer than fanime, since the size of ax is bigger=more photographers to see my costumes and that means more photo's, and other cosplayers to interact with since there's people all over that come to ax. Fanime has so many nice cosplayers, and I love them all, but it seems like everyone saves there big stuff for ax, fanime has a lot of great cosplays, but I never see too much extravagent costumes, which i expect to see at ax.
And the dealers room, i don't know what to expect at all with that at AX, i hope to have great finds, but i'll have to wait and see when the time comes. I loved fanime's dealers room this year though, and it seems to get better and better every year.
Fanime will always be my fave, it was my first con, and the one i've attended the most. =)
I want to AX several years ago, and I didn't like it much. People stuck with their own cliques. I go to FanimeCon to meet new friends and people, not to mention that there were a TON of crowds so it's not like there were much places to just sit and hang out. Personally I'm not very fond of AX since it's so impersonal, and the crowds were waaaaay too large..and that was BEFORE they got even more attendees like they have now.
Suffice to say...FanimeCon is the best for me...^_^
There really isn't a comparision. If you like hanging out with friends and watching anime with them, go to Fanime.
If you enjoy meeting guests and listening to industry talk about upcoming releases, go to AX.
It's true that the cosplay opertunities at AX are better, but it's so impersonal, I have only met one new person that I met at AX, where as in the freinds I have met at fanime put's AX to shame, matter of fact the only reasons that I go to AX are for the cosplays, the guest (althoug not so much this year), Aloha Anime (a dealer in the dealers room, tons of doujinshi) and it's the only con that I get to bring my cousins to (they live in southern Cal).
I love both.
Gackt is gonna be at AX..and so is MIyavi. *dies* xD
AX can get crowded and it doesn't have the personalble feel like Fanime, but they do get more guests cause of the cashflow. And it has all the industry groups there. It's better at Anaheim, not at Long Beach (though I can't really say cause I haven't been to it at Long Beach, yet, but Anaheim is still better). Still, Fanime has the fansubs, the closer/personalble atomosphere, guests that don't get the much needed attention from larger cons like AX, up and coming indie musicians which totally kick ass (KARMA SHENJIN FTW!!), etc. I have to say I love both. But my shoutout goes to Fanime for being the very first anime con I've ever been to, it holds a special place in my heart. :D
Quote from: laminatedbunnyGackt is gonna be at AX..and so is MIyavi. *dies* xD
GACKT!!! *faints* Yup, so can't wait to see him. :D
GACKT steals souls. :D
AX is a massive convention in comparison to many others. For those of you who haven't gone before give it a shot for the experience. It could give you an indication of the type of conventions that you would rather attend.
I've gone to two AXs and I found myself rather bored at night. And yes..it was a lot of waiting. :shock:
one thing you should bring, and this goes with just about any con, DR. Sholes (sp?) :P
Quote from: K&K4everone thing you should bring, and this goes with just about any con, DR. Sholes (sp?) :P
Dr. Scholl's, and hell yes. :P
You'll need 'em. I guarantee it. Be safe, not sorry. ^^;
Yeah, I forgot to get it at Fanime this year, and my feet learned the consequences. :(
Quote from: pandaconAlso programing stops at midnight and starts again around 6am I believe, that sucked, expecially since my only other con experience was fanime which runs 24 hours a day.
I'm watching the latest AnimeTV podcast, and during the break they ran an ad for AX, and they're now promoting it as a 24/7 convention. Maybe they have realized the importance of having something going on at all hours of the convention.
well, the video room usually has something showing all the time don't they? :?
I've been going to both cons for a couple of years now. Although before that it was just AX(and I live in Sacramento, lol), I'm really starting to like Fanime more and more. So far, Fanime 2007 was better by leagues and bounds than Fanime 2006(always nice to outdo yourself) and AX 2006. We'll see how AX 2007 goes, but after the lines from 2006, I'm not getting my hopes up.
Someone said earlier that fanime is a lot friendier atmostphere while AX everyone hangs out with their own cliques. I'd say this is pretty true although I do the same while I'm in AX.
The comercialization of AX does make it a very different con though and I encourage everyone who's never been to go. While it's true there isn't much to do after midnight it's mainly because everyone's gone to their hotel parties or hanging out with their cliques. But they do have the video rooms open all night long as well as the arcade and tabletop gaming rooms.
Because of the comercializtion of it, or maybe the size, the dealers room is huge for AX compaired to Fanime. I can usually find people I lose in the dealers room in Fanime, if it's AX, forget it, you'll see them later.
Probably the biggest thing I love personally about Fanime is their Asian/Live Action Film room. This year they had three rooms! I loved it. AX has nothing like this, although I heard they would be playing the Death Note live action movies, they don't have anything dedicated to Asian films.
Man, this post is a horrible mess, but I hope my expirence and thoughts on the two cons will be of some help to others. I'll see you guys in line at AX, if not, I'll see you at Fanime next year.
The first time I was in the pre-reg line at AX I was in it for six hours (no joke)
Quote from: K&K4everThe first time I was in the pre-reg line at AX I was in it for six hours (no joke)
No surprise.
And that wasn't a joke. -_-
that's one of the things I hate about AX, the lines are to F**King long! . . . Every Year.
that's why I'm hoping to get my badge on day 0 again (I barely made it in time last year.) :oops:
Is this the topic that gets new life every year?!?! Seriously, AX and Fanime are worlds apart. Trust me I know. I've staffed both events.
Quote from: K&K4everThe first time I was in the pre-reg line at AX I was in it for six hours (no joke)
I've heard AX do have a long ass line but danm six hours to get your badge. To bad I'm not going this year to check it out I wish I did.
Quote from: ShinsengumiQuote from: K&K4everThe first time I was in the pre-reg line at AX I was in it for six hours (no joke)
I've heard AX do have a long ass line but danm six hours to get your badge. To bad I'm not going this year to check it out I wish I did.
Well, if you get there on day 0 the line is reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally short in comparison
Frankly, I think AX is FINALLY becoming the show it was always supposed to be. Did you see the list folks? Amazing.
And it is to be expected. With AX's board filled with industry, it was about time they stepped up and helped make AX the flag ship show. With all that talent and all that space to grow, they should out do Otakon simply because Otakon will never grow past their 22,000 ceiling (that is max capacity for their venue)
In addition I have heard that AX will be moving closer to San Diego Comic-Con in dates so that dealers who attend both won't have to travel back and forth.
Anyway, as I sit in the home of all things Anime, I see anime from a different perspective. I will be listing my report on Fanime's forum. Look for it in the coming days.
Sincerely,
Blame Ebner
From what I've seen at Fanime and AX, here's a concise summary of the conventions.
AX: Waiting in line
Fanime: Doing stuff
Quote from: ReikonFrom what I've seen at Fanime and AX, here's a concise summary of the conventions.
AX: Waiting in line
Fanime: Doing stuff
from reading the reviews of AX so far, it looks like they fscked up big-time.
Quote from: otakuapprenticeQuote from: ReikonFrom what I've seen at Fanime and AX, here's a concise summary of the conventions.
AX: Waiting in line
Fanime: Doing stuff
from reading the reviews of AX so far, it looks like they fscked up big-time.
From what I've heard from friends who've attended, it was pretty boring.
Quote from: dealerJason on June 27thFrankly, I think AX is FINALLY becoming the show it was always supposed to be. Did you see the list folks? Amazing.
...
I will be listing my report on Fanime's forum. Look for it in the coming days.
Now that we know AX was a total, unmitigated disaster, I am very interested in hearing this report :lol:
(( Uhg. I didn't even know you were there. My girlfriend and I were so frustrated with AX that we went sight seeing like tourists.. we could have hung out :( ))
Quote from: alkalineNow that we know AX was a total, unmitigated disaster, I am very interested in hearing this report :lol:
I'm curious, what went so wrong at AX?
Quote from: Pimpstress ReiQuote from: alkalineNow that we know AX was a total, unmitigated disaster, I am very interested in hearing this report :lol:
I'm curious, what went so wrong at AX?
This thread is full of fun stories!
http://forums.fanime.com/viewtopic.php?t=7877
Due to the fact that I moved away from California last summer and don't have enough money/time off to keep flying to CA, I had to choose between going to Fanime, AX, or Comic-Con. I chose Fanime because of the great time that I've had the past 2 years, but I wondered if AX would have been more fun/more worth the money because it's larger. After reading this thread and others, I'm am SO glad I went with Fanime, and I'm sticking with Fanime.
Thanks again to all the Fanime staff and volunteers for making Fanime 07 great!
Quote from: alkalineQuote from: Pimpstress ReiQuote from: alkalineNow that we know AX was a total, unmitigated disaster, I am very interested in hearing this report :lol:
I'm curious, what went so wrong at AX?
This thread is full of fun stories!
http://forums.fanime.com/viewtopic.php?t=7877
That's exactly why I like Doujinshi better.
ha ha ha, thanks everyone for posting the thread links. yes, barely survived the convention. too dang hot and having to wait in line in the SUN was almost too much for me. I did not make any panels I wanted to attend due to being in line for concerts. nuff said about that.
BUT the artists' alley was fun (tho Ryu was right, the setup was terrible - they need a separate area for the artists' tables, not in the middle of a narrow walkway that was a major entrance for congoers). The Nippon Engineering Technology artists were fun. Bought way too much, but got some excellent art deals! Chatted with a gentleman who has a webcomic and another one had cream buns one morning!
The dealers' hall was a nightmare, even with a map, I had trouble finding the booths I wanted and it turned out that some of the dealers listed in the program didn't even show up. The first two days you could enter and exit from the same doors, the third day, the staff decided that, because of fire safety codes, that you had to enter from one side, and exit at the far end of the hall. unfortunately they did not tell everyone entering this until you tried to get out. So I'm trudging back and forth with all my goodies, getting hotter and more tired, sigh.
I may or may not go to AX next year. I dunno about the LA Convention Center setup and I've checked the website but I don't see any hotels attached to the center :? I don't feel like having to walk a half mile to get to the center from my hotel, and feel weird if I drive to park at the center, and how reliable would hotel shuttles be?
Yep, all in all, I've become more grateful for Fanime being where it is, and the way it is. Although I still want a matsuri. I painted some paper fans, a Kokeshi doll, and won some manga at the raffle. Also bought some kimonos at one of the booths for cheap!
Enough from me, I left Long Beach (Artesia) at 10:30 this morning and got home at 9:30pm. I'm exhausted so I'm going to see if I can't get some sleep now.
FANIME WINS HANDS DOWN!
when we got back into the bay area, we drove by the sankose convention center and praised it, saying "THANK GOD FOR FANIME!!!!!!"
and looking at where they're having AX next year, threre are only two things that will make me go to AX next year and they are named Watsuki-sensei and Hayou Miyazaki-sensei.
Because I love to be the voice of opposition.
I loved AX FAR more than Fanime this year.
You can take that for what you will. *shrugs*
Quote from: ip136Because I love to be the voice of opposition.
I loved AX FAR more than Fanime this year.
You can take that for what you will. *shrugs*
I take it as...Treason!!! You will be punished for the highest crime in the land! :twisted:
In all seriousness, I would only like to hear "fanime is better than AX" because of something great fanime did. Rooting for Ax to mess up leads us down the road of "at least we suck less than those guys".
I'm planning on going to FA08, and it's only the second (big) con I've ever been too. I went to AX 06 (for CLAMP), and I had a fantastic time. I didn't know what to expect, and the only not too horrible thing that really happened was that Man-Faye called me out in the Dealers Room. I was dressed as Phil from Bondage Fairies so that's self-explanitory.
There's no way I was going to LACC for AX08 so I figured my best friend and I go to Fanime instead since we're driving from AZ. XD
WHO DARES TO SAY THAT AX WAS BETTER THEN FANIME!!!
THEY SHOULD BE DRAWN AND QUORTERED!!!!
Quote from: GlitchQuote from: ip136Because I love to be the voice of opposition.
I loved AX FAR more than Fanime this year.
You can take that for what you will. *shrugs*
I take it as...Treason!!! You will be punished for the highest crime in the land! :twisted:
In all seriousness, I would only like to hear "fanime is better than AX" because of something great fanime did. Rooting for Ax to mess up leads us down the road of "at least we suck less than those guys".
*nods* I completely agree on why a Con should be praised. . .My biggest hang-up was that at Fanime I didn't do anything but stay at my AA table...and got tons of pins in the Dealer's room(about 100 stick pins)... so yay for the dealer's room, but not my pocket.
At AX, I was at my AA table for just as long, but I also went to SKIN, saw more than just Naruto & Bleach cosplayers (Srsly.. saw a ToD group and nearly fainted.. or made the girl dressed up as Philia faint from me hugging her so hard), Got to watch Man Faye SUCK at Guitar Hero :D , got info on industry stuffs coming out, met the author of The Last Unicorn and got his sig. Had a fun conversation with Bang! Zoom people and saw a great masquerade... though it was really rushed.
My BF even got to see the SOS Concert on top of what I saw/did.
So for me, if Fanime wants to be better than AX, they need to get things other than Anime to watch; I can do that on my own without the fanboy funk. The only person I saw that was of interest at Fanime was the dude from Devil May Cry.. and I didn't bother going to what he was even doing (like I could even really figure it out with the print-out schedules). And I only saw him in the karaoke room and nabbed a 'funny' picture. It's priceless, but that was my highlight of Fanime07..
And I understand that AX has the larger budget and has the industry people backing them, whereas Fanime runs a bit short on both. That still doesn't change the fact that I actually DID more at AX than at Fanime that didn't have to do with hanging with friends (which I did at both) So to me, it means that AX was more engaging than Fanime and more worth the money I paid.
Quote from: ip136
So for me, if Fanime wants to be better than AX, they need to get things other than Anime to watch;
Such as?
There was plenty of non-anime viewing stuff going on at Fanime. What was missing that you would like?
I posted my summary in the Things In The Universe-->AX: Aftermath of Evil thread (I think that was the title), but I'll do a brief recap here.
I wanted to attend AX at least once, just to see what it was like. And I had a pretty good time. Granted, we didn't go to any of the big huge events, which I think was where the majority of the problems were. But my friend and I went to the ADV preview panel and saw some good anime. We also visited Artists Alley and the Dealer's Room, which was a blast (but we were short on time, so we didn't get to enjoy it as much as we would've liked). I greatly prefer Fanime's Artist Alley for layout and space. LBCC's was crowded, and split into two sections, one of which we didn't even know about. There was a lull between 6-10 pm of nothing, so we went off to the nearby theatre and caught a movie. The good thing about LBCC and SJCC is the nearby places to eat and things to do, if you don't want to be at the con 24/7--I wish we'd had time to go to the aquarium. Came back at 10 to watch Hellsing Ultimate, but AX hasn't gotten the hang of raising the screens so subtitles can be seen (Fanime finally learned that this year, which I was ecstatic about).
Definitely going again next year, this time for a full weekend. We were only able to attend one day this year.
Compared head to head though, I have to say I enjoy Fanime more. More anime to watch, especially since Fanime allows fansubs. Not as crazy crowded. Seems friendlier. More spacious Artist Alley. The only things I probably liked better at AX was the bigger Dealer's Room and the larger number of Industry previews (which unfortunately we didn't get to see because of the longish reg line; we underestimated the amount of time it would take to get in on a Sunday).
EDIT: Oh yeah, and Fanime has bishie bingo! Hehe. :D
Quote from: CowpunkQuote from: ip136
So for me, if Fanime wants to be better than AX, they need to get things other than Anime to watch;
Such as?
There was plenty of non-anime viewing stuff going on at Fanime. What was missing that you would like?
Whatever G.O.H. there were, I barely saw coverage of them. I couldn't get excited over things that I could barely hear on a muffled mic by someone who was either way too nervous or stuttered a lot. :/
And the one JRock band that had caught my eye was actually playing at AN07 and only came for the Pre-reg day to do a concert. So I didn't feel much buzz at all for the other bands.
The only Panel I was even interested in, Canceled last minute. (The gamer's one)
And the biggest hit was the lack of con programs and the extremely confusing print-out that was set-up to replace it really broke the con for not just myself but also my BF and our friends. We didn't know what was going on because by the time we could figure it out, the event was already gone.
Quote from: ip136So for me, if Fanime wants to be better than AX, they need to get things other than Anime to watch; I can do that on my own without the fanboy funk.
There was a good chunk of Asian Films shown. There were Asian movies, dramas and comedies. I think that's a pretty good addition to an anime convention. What else do you think we should get that would contribute to us being a mainly anime-based convention?
I understand that you wanted to see other guests and industry previews, but we offer what we offer and sometimes that doesn't interest some members. All we can do is take your suggestions and work from that and our own interest in certain guests and hope that they want to come for free.
If we had money, then the sky's the limit, but we don't have that. We prefer to not "sell out" to sponsors and industries so we can retain our flexibility to cater to our fans. If we accepted the monies offered to us from various companies then we'd have to cut out fansubs and have to cater to the companies' needs. That's not what we're about. We're By Fans, For Fans and that's how I think we should stay.
Like others have said, AX is manga whereas we're doujinshi. We are what we are. As long as people keep going to our con and enjoy their experience, we'll work to better our own con and not worry about having to compete with AX.
Quote from: Pimpstress ReiWe're By Fans, For Fans and that's how I think we should stay.
Like others have said, AX is manga whereas we're doujinshi. We are what we are. As long as people keep going to our con and enjoy their experience, we'll work to better our own con and not worry about having to compete with AX.
I completely agree. Which is why I liked attending both this year. Between the two, everything was covered satisfactorily for this geek girl. ^_^
Quote from: Pimpstress Rei
There was a good chunk of Asian Films shown. There were Asian movies, dramas and comedies. I think that's a pretty good addition to an anime convention. What else do you think we should get that would contribute to us being a mainly anime-based convention?
The reference was more to the fact that I felt there was a lack of Events compared to showing rooms. Not that everything was Anime being shown. Rather.. a lack in the announcement and advertisement of Events.
I also understand the difference of the two. I was merely commenting in the thread how I felt about AX vs. Fanime.
Or do you rather simply find my comments to be ill-placed and off-topic in this thread and would put to use better somewhere else? I can do that too.
Quote from: ip136Quote from: Pimpstress Rei
There was a good chunk of Asian Films shown. There were Asian movies, dramas and comedies. I think that's a pretty good addition to an anime convention. What else do you think we should get that would contribute to us being a mainly anime-based convention?
The reference was more to the fact that I felt there was a lack of Events compared to showing rooms. Not that everything was Anime being shown. Rather.. a lack in the announcement and advertisement of Events.
I also understand the difference of the two. I was merely commenting in the thread how I felt about AX vs. Fanime.
Or do you rather simply find my comments to be ill-placed and off-topic in this thread and would put to use better somewhere else? I can do that too.
Part of the lack of announcement of events was my department's fault. Our printing company totally dropped the ball and failed to deliver the program guides, so people didn't know that there were various panels and other programming. We are working on that issue and hope to never have this ever happen again. We were also experimenting with new ways of getting info to the members and apparently things need to be tweaked a bit more!
And your comments are not off topic at all. If there are any improvements that you feel should take place or if you have any suggestions for new programming, etc., feel free to leave comments in the Ideas and Suggestions section. We run the con for you guys so we want your feedback on what you want to see and what you want to happen. We would like to grow with you and hopefully provide you with a good experience. :)
well, fanime wasn't the only one with printing problems, there were a few events that were not put in the scedual they handed out (example: the open autograph setion). and do I even need to go into the badge feasco? they were saposed to mail them to us before the con and it didn't get to me till after the con (and no I do not live out of state). And if you want Jpop, then how about the music fest?
one other thing that makes fanime better then AX was that it was not "Line-con" as some have dubbed it
i personally havent been to AX and i hope to go at least ONCE but what from what i heard it sucked this year
i read in the earlier link about the american and japanese voice actors.
sheesh rude.
I like fanime because it has more of a family feel(somehow) and plus i heard AX isnt open 24 hours D:
i miss fanime...
Quote from: Pimpstress Rei
Part of the lack of announcement of events was my department's fault. Our printing company totally dropped the ball and failed to deliver the program guides, so people didn't know that there were various panels and other programming. We are working on that issue and hope to never have this ever happen again. We were also experimenting with new ways of getting info to the members and apparently things need to be tweaked a bit more!
At least you guys had schedule printed out and gave to people - that helped me a lot ^^ I think I was able to go most of the panels I wanted to go. Autograph session was listed on that paper, too, at least for Inui-san's that I wanted to get. (But it is true that I didn't get to have program guide for my first Fanime expeirence :P)
I went to AX twice (06, 07), Fanime once (07), and I say both have its own good and bad thing.
I personally like AX because that's the con many of my online friends come from other places, ie. New York, Tronto, Alberta, etc. My first year at AX was more of hang out time rather than actually going to con. Still, I took lots of pictures of cosplayers and such, then had fun hanging out w/ them at karaoke/dance and stuff.
Fanime 07 was probably the first con I actually tried to going to panels. I like panels done by fan - they were interesting. And ZZ concert! The line was super short and I get to see them right at front. (I later heard from friends that went to AN that line was really long and they just gave up going to ZZ concert.)
@azuma_uzumaki, I think AX is 24 hours, too. Karaoke, dance, etc.
I didn't go to this year's AX for once. I like Fanime better because of their night activities.
I went to AX only once, in '03, and while I liked it, I didn't really know much about cons at that point, it being my second con, and I do not think i really got out of it what I could have. Though, I love the Fanime atmosphere, especially since I am not really much of an anime fan and there are plenty of other activites for me to do. I am not sure how I would feel in a place like AX. I would probably not fit in at all there, really, but I would still like to check it out again.
HEIL MEIN FANIME!
To paraphrase Lewis Black for my own purposes: Now Fanime is a con! Going to AX is for pussies!
(besides, AX is being held in the ghetto for 08. at least thats what I heard)
I was able to go to AX this year (been going since 2000) and had a good time. Especially at the SOS Brigade concert. I did miss a few panels that I wanted to attend but that's because more than one that I wanted to go to was happening at the same time. Waiting in line in the hot sun really sucked. But that's the only bad thing that really happened to me at AX.
I really wish I could have gone to Fanime this year, but couldn't because I didn't have enough vacation time to attend both. I've been wanting to go to Fanime for quite some time now, but couldn't because of my previous job. Though I'll finally have the opportunity to go next year and I'm really looking forward to it. Already started saving for it too. :D Guess I won't be able to compare the two until next year. And the only other con I've been to is Pacific Media Expo in '04, it's first year.
I went to Anime Expo this year. I was in the most part not exactly the happiest guy. It could've been better. It just went wrong for me. I ordered a hotel at the Westin. I ordered it the first day. And guess what happens. Westin over books, and moves 50 rooms 10 miles away from the Expo to San Pedro. And guess who is in that 50.
Anyway, I got there and it was fun, hotdogs were expensive. Anime Music Contest 1/3 Finished. I was a creator so I say there expecting to make great use of the seats I got, but it ended pretty badly. Plus one of they confiscated my friends Katana, and he went to get it back, but it wasn't there.
Then I was standing around and one of the angry Staffers sees me just standing waiting around for my friends and starts cussing at me for ease dropping. Plus there was way less free stuff this year. They didn't allow them to throw the free stuff out. Also the exhibit hall was just annoying. They'd make you walk all the way around the exhibit hall all the way to the back just to get to the front. I mean not saying that it's bad or anything, but it was kinda heavy because I was carrying so much stuff.
Not that I have a problem with LA, but I can't go to next years AX. So after hearing about all the greatness of Fanime being a Fan's convention, I'm not going to Anime Expo 08, but instead going to Fanime 08.
And sorry for the Rant. I didn't want to revive the Fun Stores of AX aftermath.
It wasn't all that bad though, SOS concert was delayed, got free Ramen, I mean the fans at AX, their awesome, just they need somewhere else to go. Hope Fanime is way better though.
it is.
and I agree with everything you said about AX this year.
The only things that will make me go to the entirety of AX next year will be Nobuhiro Watsuki-sensei and Hayao Miyazaki-sensei, and if they arn't coming then I may not come because at all. If I do go then it will only be for one day (the Rurouni Kenshin gathering).
AX is about one incident next year from being finished.
I don't have to worry about that anymore: Got banned from future AX's for basically telling a lot of these idiots off.
(Like I almost did for Fanime -- and it's not to say I might not be in jail come Memorial Day next year anyway...)
I give the people running AX as a fan-driven con one year, MAYBE two... They'd need the facility they're moving into to be two or three years further toward the completion of LA Live if they wanted to succeed.
Suffice it to say that I've lost a lot of respect for the major con-people after both Fanime and AX.