Forum - View topicAM2 2011
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John Casey
 Posts: 1853 Location: In My Angry Center |
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Well, that certainly explains the patheticness of it all. |
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Sailor S
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I hope this is a case of "the pictures don't do it justice" because going by the pictures, it looks like a pretty pathetic offering. Not that it matters much, if Chase is going to remain on his spite path and keep it the same weekend as Anime Expo, then I'll probably never go to AM2. I rather like the feel of AX, maybe because I can only go every other year at the most.
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Jessica Hart
 Posts: 219 |
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Wow I.. kinda wish I'd gone there just so it looked a bit more populated.. like going to that one guy's birthday party you know no one is going to show up at.
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ljaesch
Posts: 299 Location: Enumclaw, WA |
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Wow, after reading this, I have to say that, overall, AM2 sounded rather, well... lame.
Did I really read this right that you had to pay to participate at an arts and crafts table? Seriously? Hopefully it was an origami demonstration or something that has to do with Japanese art. And those games (the ball toss and ring toss in particular)... ummm... well... they sound like something my six-year-old might enjoy playing... From reading the writeup, I think Bamboo's on the right track thinking that the folks behind AM2 need to seriously look at narrowing their focus down to a Japanese music and culture festival... and not trying to compete directly with Anime Expo. While what AM2 had to offer might work well for a small convention, it just doesn't work for the type of convention that AM2 was trying to bill itself as. |
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ANN_Lynzee
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 2993 Location: Email for assistance only |
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I really would have thought after reading all the press releases for this that it was going to be a pretty snazzy convention but it looks like the actual display quality was pretty low. All the rooms look the same, the cafe looks pretty sad, and I wonder if anyone bothered to buy a passport to "beat the lines/wait" because there doesn't seem to be much of one anywhere.
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor
 Posts: 3904 Location: CO |
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To their credit, the concerts were pretty well organized, although the MC they had was horrible. But the sound quality was fine, and the crowds were pumped. AM2 is already much better than PMX in terms of music programming. Chase has a lot of solid contacts. |
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FireChick
 Subscriber Posts: 2455 Location: United States |
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Man! Why do I have to live in New Jersey!? I would've loved to take my family and friends to that little convention since my dad's always worrying about admission fees. I would've gone on an epic shopping spree without worry!
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Cutiebunny
 Posts: 1766 |
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I went to both conventions this year and I have to say that I was very pleased with AM2.
I went to AM2 for their anime guests - Shimogasa & Yamashita. Wow. It was a refreshing change. The panel had about 50 people in attendance and there were no stupid "Are you single?!" questions that seem to run rampant at most of the AX panels. The autograph line had about 20 people, which allowed the artists to take their time and sketch something nice for everyone. At AX, if I don't get cut off, I'm told that I should be grateful for just a signature on my shikishi board. And this is despite waiting at least an hour before the autograph session... From what I've been told, it appears that AM2 will be returning next year...they were implying it in the charity auction yesterday. Had it not been for the fact that it occurred during AX's weekend, I would not have been able to attend. So, I hope it does return next year during the same AX weekend. Seeing as AX's guest list was pretty poor this year, AM2 was an excellent alternative. |
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ljaesch
Posts: 299 Location: Enumclaw, WA |
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Looking back at my last response, I may have been a little harsher than I had intended to be.
While I've never planned an actual anime convention, I have experience planning my high school class' ten-year reunion. Planning a high school reunion is work enough (especially when you're the main person doing all the work, and you live about 300 miles away from where the reunion is taking place), so I imagine that planning an anime convention is even worse of an endeavor. Hopefully, though, the people behind AM2 can use this year as a learning experience to figure out what worked and what didn't if they decide to do this again next year. |
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k_ozdragon
Posts: 19 |
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If they would have set this up AFTER Expo they prob woulda had a TON of people show up! Competing directly with Expo = Suicide. I talked to a LOT of people at Expo who said they would have went to this event had it not been on the same days as Expo; which sucks because they music line-up was very awesome. I always enjoyed visiting the Anaheim Convention Center. It's closer to me, but it's also easier to navigate and the panels and other events are never too far away from the main hall either. Hopefully they do this again, next time using COMMON SENSE and book it *anytime* Expo *isn't* going! They will probably have a hard time getting guests for next year since this year bombed due to poor planning...
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CareyGrant
Posts: 453 |
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Not to sound critical, or to offend, but -forgive me- a few of those "female" cosplayers looked a bit, well, like dudes. Now, I'm not saying it was full-on Admiral Ackbar "It's a trap," but... whether it's just bad lighting or... yeah, dudes cosplaying as girls.
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TokyoGetter
 Posts: 416 Location: CA. You can tell by the low moral standards. |
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Guests tend to put the focus on how their own events go and how the experience is overall for them. If guests are happy with how things went and the relationship is good then they'll probably come back. Vendors might be an issue though. I hope AM2 focuses more on the extreme Japanese pop culture angle and gets into more obscure j-rock, j-horror, tokusatsu, etc. It'd be cool to see more cons like that. |
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Vapors
 Posts: 139 Location: Bay Area |
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I wanted to really go to Shimogoasa and Yamashita's panel and get sketches from them. This was my first year going to AX so I decided I did not want to stretch myself too thin. I had a blast at AX, but I was very interested in attending AM2 myself. Might I suggest an alternate date if they decide to continue this? How about the weekend of Comic Con? I know what some of you might be thinking, but considering that there is a large segment of fans who are either priced out or have no way of getting tickets due to sell outs, it could be something to consider staging. Also, since some of the anime studios will already be on this coast with their wares and booth personnel, they could conceivably send out small teams to man a table or two during that time. Plus some of the smaller companies (Sentai and Aniplex) don't have booths or any presence at all at Comic Con, so it could be a way to get some eyeballs to their products. I'm hoping that they do continue and I have a chance to check this event out. Despite some of Chase's bold predictions not necessarily coming true, it would appear he has some good connections, so this event could have legs for years to come, if he makes some changes to improve. Also, from what I read in the closing remarks and Board meeting at AX, there is the possibility that AX could return to the Anehiem convention center due to possible expansion of the LACC for the football stadium (although, nothing is concrete yet). |
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lostinagoodbook
 Posts: 114 |
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Thanks for sending someone to AM2. I was really hoping for an unbiased report on how it went. Good job Bamboo.
I hate crowds. Easy access in a dealers room looks like its just up my alley. I had trouble understanding what the shipping containers with tv screens were all about though. Was that their idea pf a screening room? |
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TJ_Kat
Posts: 398 Location: Saskatoon, Canada |
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so, chase tried to position am2 as the ax killer (while pretending that's not what he was doing), but instead it's going to be know as the con who's best feature is that it's not crowded due to poor attendance?
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