AM^2: Was It Successful?

You'll honestly have to tell me. As I was unable to attend AM^2, I have no idea if I would have called it a successful venture. A friend of mine who attended said they succeeded in going 24 hours all 3 days but the con felt "small," especially in comparison to AX.

Chase Wang seems to feel that his venture was a huge success, touting 8,000 attendees showed up for the weekend. Ref. It certainly sounds as though AM^2 will push for another showing next year, although this has yet to be confirmed (as opposed to AX which is already offering badges for 2012).

Again, I can't express how much Wang will choose a different weekend. Even if AM^2 remains free it will still cost gas/mileage and extra parking fees to attempt to attend both cons. Anaheim is close to Los Angeles, but not that close. Also, I would want to fully enjoy both cons and not feel like I'm some child picking a side of who I like best. It feels...unfair.

Original thoughts on AX vs. AM^2 here (includes background info on AM^2).

Anime Expo: Recap

There were a number of panels/programming I missed that I would've liked to have seen.
Such as:
Acting Like A Pro
The Copic Beginner Workshops
Storytelling in Comics: From Writing to Penciling to Coloring
Getting into the Animation Industry
AX Idol
Gallagher
Masquerade
Maid Cafe

As you can see I'm into comics and animation so really at any con this is what will appeal to me most at a panel. I have a soft spot in my heart for AX Idol because a dear friend of mine, Julie Rei Goldstein, is a former AX Idol winner. Gallagher would've been interesting, I think. I've been a Megatoyko fan for awhile now. The Masquerade is always an event, especially if you're into cosplay. And I have yet to go to a Maid Cafe and am super intrigued.

There was also stuff I didn't mind missing, mainly, the Miku concert. I'm not a huge Vocaloid fan and really don't understand it's popularity. I am fascinated by the technology but didn't want to pay an extra $15 to gaurantee a seat or stand in a line. Just not my thing. Actually, I don't usually see any of the concerts at anime cons. Again, not my thing.

Midnight Tea, actually I would've loved to go if it was an actual tea. But looking at fake tea settings just isn't for me.

So I had originally planned to take some time this weekend to check out AM^2. Obviously that didn't happen. I did get some feedback from CJ who went. I was told it's basically open almost 24 hours, similar to Fanime, and was very small. I do hope AM^2 will be around next year, hopefully not during AX. I'm sorry but I have to give priority to AX AND I don't want to commute back and forth between the cons.

So yeah, that was AX for me. I wish I had more to say about panels and programming and that will definitely be a goal of mine next year.

Anime Expo: Day 4 (aka Happy Fourth of July)

Mood: Are we done yet?

Another early morning. I had some major D20 Girl business to take care of and was pretty damn pissed when I realized the Starbucks was closed because it was a holiday. Luckily the L.A. convention center has a Starbucks and my coffee was slightly cheaper. Unfortunately I had to make do without internet for the day. (One of these days I’ll a nice smartphone.)

Today’s outfit is what I consider “lazy cosplay”. I don’t own an actual gothic Lolita outfit, yet, so I improvised with some cute black and white pieces from my own wardrobe. Also, I knew I would be helping to break down the booth so I didn’t want to wear anything super uncomfortable/constricting. I also brought my only pair of sneakers to wear as soon as the con was over.

(photo courtesy of T1nk) Me working at Anime Gift.

Today the con went pretty quick. We tried hard to sell as much as possible, not only to make money but everything that wasn’t sold would have to be shipped back to North Carolina, where Anime Gift is located out of. The breakdown took longer than I thought it would because everything that was torn down and repackaged had to be dragged across the hall to the main booth. Luckily, there was a small dolley. Joe was kind enough to let me take home some merch as part of payment and doing an awesome job. Sweet!

We finished breaking down by 4pm-ish and then I changed into jeans and a t-shirt for the long ride home. H4773r and I pretty muched just left the con at that point and headed home. I had told H4773r I would need to try and find internet access somewhere along the road. I figured it would be easy enough to find a McDonald’s or Starbucks and get some work done. We stopped first at a McDonald’s near CalArts, and surprise-surprise, the stupid internet there wasn’t working. So back in the car and further down the road we stopped near Tejon Pass. I really, really wanted Chipotle and knew there was Starbucks and McDonald’s in the lot. But Chipotle was closed. So we ate the McDonald’s and AGAIN the internet there didn’t work. I finally gave and walked across the lot to Starbucks and used their internet. Starbucks, I love you.

That was pretty much the last stop for the night. I managed to stay awake and keep H4773r company and we made it into San Jose at about 1am.

Anime Expo: Day 3

(photo courtesy of T1nk) Food court before the Exhibitor Hall opens.

Mood: In Pain

Today I wore my American McGee Alice costume. I actually saw quite a few ladies dressed up as the classic American McGee Alice. I had not seen anyone with any of Alice new costumes from Return to Madness. This one amazing girl had the horse rook as a prop.

I was in a bit of a panic this morning because I had not prepped from the night before. I still had breakfast to make, lunch to pack, and get to the Starbucks to get my caffeine and internet fix, as well as send out a fax. I was surprised/relieved when I managed to get it all complete and still get to the con early. As a note, the Westin does have a “24 hour” Fed Ex service center. It’s a 24 hour set up for internet/computer use ($0.40/minute for internet; I don’t remember the prices to use the Business software), fax machine and photocopier. I didn’t get the photocopier price but it was $2 a page for faxing, not including the cover page (ouch). I’m sure there was a FedEx/Kinko’s within walking distance from the hotel that probably had cheaper rates, but I ran out of time to search for that kind of information.

Since I arrived at the Exhibitor’s hall earlier than before I wandered around to check out all the Exhibitor’s and some of the Artits Alley. I saw many things I wanted to buy, but only purchased some new kneadable erasers from DickBlick, who were kind enough to sell them to me even though they weren’t officially open yet. In the A.A. I saw Nigel Slade, but didn’t stop to say hi (H4773r had already contributed to his rum fund from the both of us yesterday). I did manage to find Mary Cagle and say hi and give her a very small donation. She was set up right next to Kelhound, but Kel wasn't around yet. I also didn’t stop to see Fred Gallagher which was a bummer.

Today's highlight at Anime Gift booth was watching the G4 crew hanging around the booth across from me, Panda Hat. Panda Hat had also hired a couple of booth models that wandered the floor in their outfits and passed out stickers. Candace Bailey was there and soon a huge crowd surrounded the booth as Candace and the models began to make some mischief and have fun. I was a bit bummed I couldn't talk to the G4 crew or Candace, but there's always another con.

I decided today I was going to stick around and do SOMETHING at the con, other than work. H4773r and I ended up watching some more anime. This time: Utena and a few episodes of Corpse Princess. Both of which I enjoyed. After the anime we decided to head back to hotel since it was getting late and we wanted dinner.

LisaLisa and Rabbit had gone to Disneyland for the day so H4773r and I were left on our own for dinner. The plan was to check out the hotel food court to see if they had any good options. For some reason I got confused and ended up on the wrong floor, where we found a Subway but that was it. The actual food court was two floors down. The Subway guy saw us standing outside and told us to hurry up and come in if we wanted food since they were closing. Honestly, neither of us really wanted Subway but we figured it was the only thing open at this point so we went in. I had my delicious veggie patty and H4773r had a fiasco, not really. Essentially everything H4773r wanted they were out of. EVERYTHING. Eventually H4773r gave up and had the Subway guy just make him whatever sandwich he suggested. I felt bad, but it was all still delicious, so not too bad.

Since tonight was our last night in the hotel, I spent my evening packing up everything. The plan for tomorrow is H4773r will check us out and then park in the lot across from the con. When I'm done with my day tomorrow we'll head straight home.

Anime Expo: Day 2

Mood: Exhausted

I woke fairly early again and got dressed, again, in my Pikachu outfit. I felt super tired and stopped by the same Starbucks as yesterday for a coffee pick me up and to catch up on some business. This Starbucks is turning out to be my savior.

(photo courtesy of T1nk) The hall before it opened for the day.

I actually took the shuttle this morning to the con since I managed to get up early enough not to feel rushed. I ended up sitting next to a lady who was volunteering at AX. She said the parties at the hotel last night were pretty amazing. I wouldn’t have minded going to one, but having to get up early and work just wouldn’t have been conducive. The shuttle wasn’t too bad. It felt pretty organized today with a volunteer directing people standing in line. They had two different types of shuttles running: the tourist buses and school buses. The school buses were awful. There just isn't much room on them and they're built for smaller people so you end up with a seat belt buckle in your ass.

Since I managed to get to the hall a little bit early I used the time to wander a bit and check out some of the vendors. It's a bit nice to see everything without all the crowds, of course since I was early I couldn't buy anything.

I thought I would have another D20 girl with me today, but alas, she was working at the other Anime Gift booth across the hall. So it was me and "mom" again. I also brought my bento lunch like I planned. Things went smoothly enough, although since it was Saturday it was insanely busy. I hardly had a moment to sit down. My next goal is to come up with cosplays with comfortable shoes.

I finally got to meet my new D20 girl at the end of the day. Scarlet is bomb and absolutely adorable. After finishing up business in the Exhibtor’s hall I tried to be a trooper to catch either a panel or some video programming, but I didn't have the patience to wait in line. My feet just hurt too damn much. We decided to call it a day just to head back to the hotel, get dinner, and sleep. We still had to wait for the shuttle to pick us up, but at least I got to sit down.

Back at the hotel it was decided that we should order pizza. Yumm!!! We ordered online from Domino’s and they delivered right to our hotel room. It was awesome. We spent the rest of this evening giggling and watching more Hetalia.

Anime Expo: Day 1

Mood: Nervous

So up at an ungodly hour, for me anyhow. I wanted to impress Joe, the guy I would be working for today, so I decided to wear my Pikachu Gijinka cosplay. I also had to get some work done so I walked on over the Starbucks across the street for internet access. So far I have found four Starbucks within walking distance. Almost every building here has a Starbucks inside it (it most likely has to do with being in the heart of the financial/bank district). The Westin does offer wifi but at the cost of about $12.95 per day it’s just not in the budget. Unfortunately the Starbucks wifi wasn’t the best (also my netbook decided it was time to update EVERYTHING!) so it took forever for me to get shit done. But I managed.

I hate being late and started to worry that I would be late for my first day. When I finished at Starbucks it was only about 9:30am and I though I would take the free shuttles being offered by AX. But then after waiting for 15 minutes with no shuttle in sight and no idea when it would arrive I started to panic. Luckily H4773r was with me and offered to just drop me off at the con, which worked out perfectly. I got to the con earlier than I expected and tried calling Joe since he had my exhibitor, but he didn’t answer and I left a message. I attempted to wait up by the exhibitor hall entrance but con ops was trying to organize things and eventually I had to leave. Turns out I had the wrong number for Joe. I called the right number, but Joe still didn’t answer and I left more messages. Turns out he couldn’t hear me over all the noise but we still managed to meet up before the hall opened.

(photo courtesy of T1nk) AX Expo Hall before it opened.

Joe got me settled at one of his two booths, Anime Gift. I worked at the one nearest the front of the hall with his sweet mom. Seriously she was so nice. Since we were short once person we worked our butts off pretty hard and slammed until about 4pm-ish. The booth sells a wide collection of small plush, collector swords, character beanies and some other anime kitch. I was a bit bummed I didn’t get to wander the hall at all and examine the other exhibitors, but I came to work. I do hope I’ll get some time this weekend, but no gaurauntees. My work consists of customer service and sales. Essentially I’m being played to dress up and help sell items, you know collect the cash, make change, sales stuff. Which is fine by me since that’s where I’ve spent most my realm working in. I was thrilled when a couple of people asked for pictures of me.

(photo courtesy of T1nk) My view at the con.

Since I'm working all day and we didn't bring a lot of money I am bringing my own lunches with me to the con, for the rest of the weekend. I have some adorable bento boxes from LisaLisa and just bring them with me. The boxes are perfect for saving money at con. Today however, H4773r brought me a sandwich from the Quizno's that's located right inside the Los Angeles convention center. The L.A. con center has the standard range of con food for vegetarians: salads, pizzas, and maybe a sandwich. Aside from the Quizno's there is also a Starbucks and some food carts that sold Mexican food, Chinese food and smoothies.

As soon as my day was done we headed back to hotel to relax and get dinner. I was just so wiped out from my day I didn't have the energy to stick around and look at programming. Also, since I didn't get off work til the Exhibitor Hall had closed, most of the panel programming was already finished for the day.

H4773r and I caught a shuttle back to the hotel. The shuttles were organized fair enough, but since the Exhibitor Hall had just closed the lines for the shuttles were pretty backed up and we had a bit of wait before getting onto one.

Back at the hotel we got stuck in the elevator. Luckily we were still on the lobby level and H4773r totally handled everything like a boss. We didn’t wait too long in there so it was ok. LisaLisa was kind enough to make us some dinner; she brought this neat hot pot water boiler thingy and we had pasta and wine! We took a mini adventure to an underground food court, City National Plaza, in search of utensils, since we forgot them. We managed to find a convenience store that had bowls, but no utensils. LisaLisa ended up asking the Weiland Brewery for take out utensils which they kindly gave us. In return we’re going back tomorrow for a beer. We had a nice dinner and watched a few episodes of Hetalia and Black Butler.

I expect tomorrow to be another long day. But that’s ok because it’s what I’ve signed up for and I plan on getting to eat a bit more to keep up my energy. AND I’ll have another D20 representative with me.

Anime Expo 2011: Day 0

Mood: Unimpressed

So we woke up fairly but as I was still trying to pack and had some last minutes errands to run we didn’t get out on the road til 9am. It turns out we still left at an ok time. And I felt like we made decent time. I was quite happy I didn’t get too car sick so we didn’t really have to stop as much. We did make one stop…somewhere to use the bathroom and have a snack. And then a second stop right before the Tejon Pass for Chipotle. (I can’t help myself.) I made H4773r listen to the latest musical tracks I downloaded-Wonderland, Addams Family, and The Little Mermaid.

We arrived in Los Angeles about 3:30pm (not bad). We got lost for just a second looking for our hotel but managed to find it thanks to VG Navigator (I love that “app”). We literally drove by the hotel and went “Oh! There it is” and then kept going to the convention center. They had pre-reg open til 9pm, yay!

We had parked downtown at our favorite lot, Joe’s Auto Parks, on Figueroa and paid only $10. (Stilll cheaper than SJ.) We then got in the line to get in the line. I am still not sure how the line was organized, but I do know that we waited in a line, in the sun, that didn’t move for almost an hour. I heard something to the effect of: they were letting people inside in massive chunks at a time. And we were the last chunk. So we waited about 2 hours to get our passes. I don’t think I would’ve minded much if I had been prepared to wait in the sun. Luckily, getting the passes themselves was easy, although I did threaten to kill one girl who tried to jump the line in front of me. She smartly backed off.

We did have a bit of an experience trying to get our stuff to our room. LisaLisa had already checked into the hotel but we didn’t have our room number. So there was something of a trial trying to get the car checked in by valet. And then for some reason I didn’t think to pull into the main hotel front to unload our luggage so we ended up doing it in the valet lot, but the valets wouldn’t let us use the dolley. So it was either haul the luggage up ourselves (about 15 bags worth) or have it sent up and then tip (because you should always try to tip). We had it sent up.

We’re staying at the Westin Bonaventure. Originally we were going to stay in the Kawada, but got bumped to the Westin because the Kawada couldn’t accommodate 4 people to a room. The Westin is pretty nice. The room feels a bit cramped, but that’s because we have 4 people and a ton of cosplay stuff and food (the Westin has a fridge in the room). The layout of the Westin is a bit confusing, but I do enjoy the “food court.” It’s moderately priced, probably just slightly higher than a mall food court, but they seem to have a nice selection, especially for vegetarians.

After getting settled in I then spent some time on a conference call for my new work/project – The D20 Girls Project. I am currently the Manager for the state of California. I’ll mention more in depth about the D20 Girls Project in a separate post. Through the D20 Girls I managed to land a paying gig at AX by working for a vendor, Anime Gift. I feel quite lucky to have landed a paying gig even though I’m still a bit unsure of what exactly I’ll be doing and that I’ll be the only representative tomorrow. But I’m a trooper and this isn’t the first time I’ve had a situation/job like this.

So until the joys of tomorrow, I’m going to enjoy my nice, comfy hotel bed.

Night World,

T1nk C0n FaIrY

AM^2 Vs. AX

So plans were in the process for Armor-Geddon to have a booth at AX this year. Last year H4773r and I were sent on a scouting mission to see if it would be profitable to have booth there. As we were settling out the details for this year we learned about AM^2. The people we had talked to were tellings us the AX is going down the hill and that more people would be attending AM^2 would be the big thing for the future. Plus, AM^2 registration is free. Upon hearing this news, NBL decided to abandon going to AX. H4773r and I had a wonderful time last year and we have friends also going this year so we decided to go anyway.

I have had to do a little internet digging to learn more about AM^2 and it's "controversy" with AX. Initially someone told me AM^2 was started by former AX volunteers that were tired of how AX was being run. I managed to find an article on Anime News Network that addresses the quitting of several AX employees over disputes with the Board of Directors of the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation, the organization that oversees AX. Another post on Project 760 has a list of specific "greivances" against the CEO, Michale Lattanzio.

One thing that is specifically mentioned, that seems to lead up to the supposed creation of AM^2, is the dismissal of Chase Wang, founder of BAM! Marketing, Publicity
and Promotions, who had served as AX's Publicity Director. Chase Wang is now the creator of AM^2. From several articles I've read that interview Wang he seems to want to cater this con towards fans, creating allowing them "to have control and choose, a la carte style, which activities they wanted to participate in." Ref

I completely respect what Wang is attempting to do and it will be amazing if he pulls it off, especially attempting to maintain badge-free registration and going up the same weekend as AX. Part of me is disappointed that Wang is choosing to do up on July 4th weekend. I am hoping to visit both cons, but plan on staying mostly at AX. I hope in the future Wang reconsiders putting up the con a different weekend.

I also wonder how Wang expects to keep things badge-free and run the con nearly 24 hours for 3 days straight. Perhaps through the Passport badges they're selling? AM^2 is offering "Passport badges" for the price of $25 for one day, $35 for two days, and $45 for all 3 days. These badges apparently serve as VIP passes. You can supposedly get into all events for free, but the Passport badges get you perks like priority seating and some discounts. Personally, as a first-time attendee I would probably pass on the Passport badge.

Also this isn't the first time Wang has attempted to set up such an event. Internet research reveals that AM^2 was actually created last year as a one day event known as Club 2 the MAX. It was held at Club Nokia and featured Tales from Earthsea US trailer. Based on the success of Club 2 the MAX, Wang decided to re-create it as an actual 3 day con.

Again, I very much hope I'll be able to check out AM^2 over the weekend and that in future it won't be held on the same weekend as AX.