Forum - View topicNew York Comic-Con 2014
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Raneth
Posts: 271 |
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I've been to NYCC in years past, but I didn't make it this year. NYCC is definitely a con best enjoyed in one day. Making the trek for all four days just becomes overwhelming and doesn't feel worth it. There's typically some video game demos and tons of things to look at, but little to actually do, unless you enjoy waiting in line for overcrowded panel rooms. Pushing through the crowds to stare at the same booths gets boring after two days, much less four. You find yourself, as an anime fan, hunting for things to do, which should never happen at a con. On top of it all, shoppers won't find much, if anything, unique, unless they're somehow the first in the door and able to get comic con exclusives.
I'm not saying its not worth going at all, but NYCC wears out its welcome really fast. It's a shame, too, because NYAF (and does anyone remember Big Apple Anime Con?) were thoroughly enjoyable back in the day. |
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GundamZX
Posts: 36 |
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Man, this makes me really glad to have quitted going to NYCC way back in 2011. It seems like the anime/manga side of the con never improved since the merge.
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revolutionotaku
Posts: 896 |
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I miss the New York Anime Festival.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0NlTE2n0Jk |
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ColonelYao47
Posts: 274 |
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With so many people at the con, you're really forced to exert great effort and time to get anything truly meaningful out of this event. It's more of a hyper-inflation of sweat equity. For every exclusive toy and ticketed event, there's a three hour wait awaiting you (and that's if you're lucky to have a VIP pass to get to the front of said line). For instance, the line to get tickets for Saturday's Walking Dead panel was capped a half-hour after people were allowed to enter the Javits Center itself (two hours before the con opened). I don't want to know how long people with general admission had to wait outside beforehand to even make it to that line.
This is hardly an ideal event to be casual and hang out with friends as well. Just getting from point A to point B is a huge trek. Really, competing to get into those exclusive events was the only thing keeping me coming back day after day. As this article mentioned, it's practically a buffet of ALL things pop culture and to its credit, many of these events would be THE marquee in 99% of other cons. Legend of Korra? Adam West promoting the Blu-Ray for 60's Batman? George Clooney crashing a Tomorrowland panel? Those happened on Thursday. And for the anime-centric fan? Well, mangaka Takeshi Obata did make the trip to this con as well. His panels are great and all (naturally impossible to get to but great nonetheless). Here's the thing, he had two signings off-site that didn't require a NYCC pass at all. There was also an intriguing Sunday panel about Japanese animators traveling abroad to learn from the American industry and vice versa. Those were the only two events distinct and suitable for a standard major anime convention. As Raneth said, it becomes hard to find something to do over time...much harder given the crowds. It continues to boggle me that New York doesn't have a dedicated anime convention at least on the scale of Boston's. The venue for AnimeNext is just not up to par. I find it hard to believe that costs to set up a con here are SO prohibitively high that it's not feasible. Alas, this is the current situation for the NY anime scene. It's a shame because this event is impressive just for the massive spectacle that it is. Where else does this happen... 
and this... 
in the same con? Of course, the problem isn't that NYCC is too big for its own good. It's that the city only has this kind of gathering once a year and anime has always been low on the totem pole. Surely, this city can do more to satisfy this obviously large craving we all have here. But hey, what do I know? Last edited by ColonelYao47 on Tue Oct 14, 2014 5:31 am; edited 3 times in total |
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mdo7
 Posts: 6371 Location: Katy, Texas, USA |
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Well it's not surprising, I remember reading a 2011 article from Japan Times that anime section of Comic Con hasn't expanded. Really sad to see after reading that 2011 article and now this. 
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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San Diego. |
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ColonelYao47
Posts: 274 |
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Point taken. 
It should be said, you have AX and SDCC in relatively close proximity (distance and time). What I would give to have a show half as grand as AX over here (and I mean HERE here, not Baltimore/D.C. here) |
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Agent355
 Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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Why go to NYCC? Well, if you live in the five boroughs or Long Island, it's the only con you got. There are some events, like Japan Day in Central Park and Brooklyn Botanical Garden's Sakura Matsuri (which has a cosplay fashion show filled with anime characters) in the spring, but NYCC is our only real con.
Now for the good parts: this article was a bit hard on NYCC. There is plenty to do and see over four days, to the point where I'd argue that one day is not enough to take it all in. This year, I was only able to go on Sunday, and I didn't have enough time to see the whole show floor! Not all the panels were full, either. I was surprised to be shut out of the Crunchyroll Manga panel, but I wandered into The Mary Sue's diversity in gaming panel, which was only half full. Last year, there was plenty of room in a panel about how All You Need is Kill was adapted into an American graphic novel (and movie). I guess panel attendance and wait time is a bit of a crapshoot. I was surprised to read that only the main stage has panel clears. They should change their policies about that. The Artist Alley is a treat. It's not as crowded as the dealer's room and is filled with both professional and independent artists. I've gotten some really nice autographs without having to pay extra or wait in line for hours. As for anime fans, the only free (and official) NYCC after-party on Sunday night for 4 years running is hosted by the New York anime club Gaimova. This year they had a screening of Gundam Unicorn as well as video gaming, karaoke and a cosplay contest, so that's something. I wish we had a smaller anime and manga focused con in New York, but I'm glad we have NYCC and I hope I can get a 4-day pass for next year (Thursday is the best day, imho). |
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Shadowrun20XX
 Posts: 1936 Location: Vegas |
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According to the harassment board, at NYCC you can simply stare at the floor and absorb all the rhetoric that panels throw at you. Anything less will get you thrown out. WTF? Has it really come to this?
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Cutiebunny
 Posts: 1767 |
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No, you don't want that. 85K with AX's usual piss poor organization is not fun at all. You need to buy a Premier Pass to even enjoy the convention now. Couple that with the standard 5 night hotel stay for a single room running at $1000 for anything that's not in the ghetto, and yeah, it's just not worth it. As for Obata, he's going to be doing a signing in NYC. So you could have just gone to that event and probably gotten what you wanted to have signed there. |
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FranceHopper
Posts: 38 Location: South Waterfront, Portland, OR |
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Crunchyroll has been there before, granted when it was still NYCC/AF. Believe it was 2010, my first time there.
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yamiangie
 Posts: 465 |
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Last year some YouTubers with a press badge were total dogs when interviewing female cosplayers and a the ladies rightfully made a lot of noise over it. Edit sorry on moble Last edited by yamiangie on Tue Oct 14, 2014 6:33 am; edited 1 time in total |
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enurtsol
 Posts: 14886 |
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(Guys, don't post too large an image. It breaks the forum view.
If it's too large, either just link to it, or put it up on image sites like imgur.com and reduce its size.) Anyways, it's expensive and sells out before it's even available to the general public, but this year the VIP Pass feels like it was worth it. They moved the VIP Lounge from the cramped basement room to the top skyview floor (where the anime/manga section was segregated the last time it had its own separate section and its own stage - ahhhhh, those were the days). Bigger space, more couches and tables, view of the showroom floor below, bag and coat checks so you can leave your stuff, and its own food vendor and restrooms so you don't have to wait in long lines. 
More importantly, a place to crash when you're tired (even fell asleep on a couch while waiting for the live-stream of a main event panel on the LCD screens).  
(I think that's Troy Baker) It's also the same area where the press and entertainment guests hang out, so ya never know who ya may run into, especially at the restrooms (like a hunter waiting on the watering hole in the forest, that's where they gotta go when they gotta go). 
The Con didn't feel as packed as years past, now that all the reconstructions are done, and the Con has the whole space of the Javits Center. Won a free raffle ticket for limited autograph, so while waiting in the autograph line, took some pics like these:  
That's BAAF (Big Apple Anime Fest) before they were costing too much money having a con at Times Square, while NYAF only occupied half of the basement floor of the Javits Center, so ya can go thru the whole con real quick, though they did have a Maid Cafe section. (Incidentally, we went to a real one downtown after a day at NYCC. Yeah, it was real late.)  
Anime/manga has been losing regular exposure in N. America, from bookstores to TV. Rather it has been going underground, also in terms of content, limiting its audience and business power.
Because cosplay isn't consent........ that is, unless your cosplay's name is Consent (or the con Cent), then therefore your cosplay is consent:  
(wardrobe malfunction) Don't recall anyone getting thrown out though. And the con is relatively well-run with paid staffers (except for the new policy about the main event bracelets being given out hours before the actual panel). |
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ColonelYao47
Posts: 274 |
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Frankly, if I knew about those Kinokuniya / Barnes and Noble events before I got my ticket, I probably would've skipped NYCC altogether. I'm still in disbelief that the Avatar co-creators were sketching on shikishi. Yeah, that's never happening again... Sure, an AX-caliber event would be a fan experience and budget nightmare. When taking those elements into account, that's where events like Anime Boston and Animazement really shine. Of course, the mega events ARE where people that are impossible to meet most likely gather. That's the game we have to play to get what we want.
You got a VIP too? Funny, I was there when Kevin Smith was at the lounge (joining the Marvel creators for that signing that looked like a dim sum restaurant). I heard that Mike Tyson was at the lounge Saturday at around 7:00 (darn it, ANN panel ). But yeah, those tables and couches of solitude...I'm certainly going to miss them next year.
At the very least, they divided the queue hall into separate Main Stage events and Show Floor. People that wanted to tackle the show floor first got there quicker and there weren't campers in the Main Stage like last year. It should also be said that the size of the other rooms were better proportioned. Most of the anime-related panels in 2013 were in a tiny room that couldn't have had more than 100 seats. Sure, 2014 panels were noticeably shorter because of it but I'm fine with that if it got more people in. |
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Hypeathon
Posts: 1176 |
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Although it's nowhere near the level of the more popular East Coast conventions, the only other anime con-like area in New York City I learned of last year is Springfest NY in Brooklyn at March which I think takes place in a college. But that, and to a lesser extent Sakura Matsuri, are literally the only alternatives I can think of. |
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