Chicks on Anime
Page 2
by B. Dong, C. Brienza, R. Sevakis,
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Robin: They were so much more sketchy, sometimes in a fun way, sometimes in a not so fun way. But there was so much more bootlegging and unlicensed stuff, but back then, it was the only stuff you could get. So, you know. |
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Natalie: I actually now see more new anime at the convention I originally saw anime at, which was Lunacon, which is a New York area convention. And that is now a more likely place for me to see new anime other than the internet. But when I come to these conventions, I kind of feel like I've already seen it. Not to mention, when I watch anime, I prefer to either watch it by myself or with a close group of friends. |
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Robin: You don't need to be in a room with strangers. Because the social dynamic has changed, it's almost less social now to sit in a dark room and watch anime when that used to be the big main activity. Now you've got karaoke, and cosplay, and dances, and everything. Now it's almost like people are just meeting each other, and almost don't want to waste time actually watching it, not that it was a waste of time. |
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Natalie: It's more like you want to be it, like cosplaying. |
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Casey: But it isn't that, because when you think about it, in the old days, the community was so small that the fun part of being in the video room was all the cat-calling, and all the commentary, and people subtitling the unsubtitled, and things like that. When you get to a convention this big, nobody knows anybody. Some people go into the video room and do that, and people are like “shut the f--- up!” You know? It's like being in a movie theater now. It's a completely different experience. You don't feel comfortable doing those sorts of things. It wouldn't be appropriate. |
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Natalie: Is it the same way at all the cons? I haven't been to a lot of cons. I remember there used to be a big divide between Otakon on the east coast and Anime Expo on the west coast, where Otakon made a big deal about being “for fans.” I don't know whether some of the smaller cons are able to keep that kind of clubhouse atmosphere in their video rooms, or is t inevitable? |
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Robin: I think smaller cons uphold more of that homey feeling where, quite frankly, the video rooms smell too bad to go in if they're not well ventilated. |
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Bamboo: Go to the game rooms where there's three days of DDR. |
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Robin: I think what even happens with the small cons is that fandom is growing so much bigger, and everyone is learning from their other friends who have been to more cons, about how much it's like this fantasy party. The cons keep getting bigger and bigger and out of control. There is a convention in my home town, Troy, Michigan, a Detroit suburb. They only started two or three years ago, and it was a really small con with maybe 1,000 people or something. Now they are moving to a bigger hotel. I think they're going to get possibly as much as 10,000 people. There was no convention close by in that area, so everyone went nuts and it expanded. |
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Bamboo: I wonder if it's really the anime conventions that have changed or that we haven't changed? |
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Robin: Well, I think that if you go to enough, it's not fresh and new to you anymore. When you've gone to enough, the karaoke room is not as entertaining as it once was. I would love to go to the masquerade contest, but I haven't gone to one because I don't want to wait in a line of 10,000 people to get stuffed into a a room to wait for five hours. |
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Bamboo: See, it used to fun to wait in that line. |
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Robin: What about behavior? And how that's changed with conventions? |
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Bamboo: I feel there used to be respect in anime conventions. Maybe it's because I'm from a very nice state, but the people weren't as obnoxious and crass and loud. I wanted to be friends with everybody. |
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Casey: Wait, how old are you again? *laughs* Young people these days! |
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Robin: Bamboo and I are cranky old people. |
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Casey: Well, to be honest, I haven't been to that many conventions—no more than six or eight my entire life and they've all been on the East Coast and all have been in New York or New Jersey. The first Shojocon was my first convention, and that was 2000. I haven't seen that much of a change. It seems exactly the same to me, with the exact same sort of people. I mean, the faces have changed but it's the same types of people. Maybe some of it is regional. |
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Bamboo: Maybe it is regional, or maybe back in the day, I was just as annoying, so I didn't notice. |
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Robin: I think a part of it is age. I think it is because there are so many young fans that don't act as accordingly, but also these sorts of young kids who get dumped off by their parents and have no supervision. I went to one really tiny con in St. Louis and in this hotel, someone was having a wedding. People crashed the wedding. That's so inappropriate. That's probably one of the worst behaviors I've heard of. And I heard that some people were breaking stuff. I just can't imagine the disrespect. What kind of mindset do these people have? |
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Natalie: You think it's maybe people having trouble not distinguishing between fantasy and reality? |
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