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Forum - View topicPost-Mortem: Anime Expo 2024 Felt Roomier, Programming Access More Complicated
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catandmouse
Posts: 221 |
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I don’t get people’s obsession with the lines/crowds at AX. Since coming back after Covid, the lines to enter are things of the past. This year I felt like they might have capped their attendance. About the prices, I still think they’re reasonable (not the stupid fees they add on though). Most smaller cons charge $50 for one day, so $165 for 4 days is not bad if you do go all 4 days.
Comic-Con is more crowded (grabbed, they have the science of dealing with crowds down to a T though) and I never hear about people complaining about crowding there. |
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casenumber00
Posts: 169 |
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This year they decided to give out autograph tickets online like 10 days before the con. What happened was glitches on line: site wouldnt load and a few people open up multiple tabs to get autograph tickets and a few bots got in (bots are going to be worse next year). After that, there was a huge market of people buying and selling tickets. I saw on discords and reddit, people were selling autograph tickets for hundreds of dollar just for the sole purpose of making a profit. It was frankly disgusting seeing it before my eyes. I personally saw a transaction of the author of Dungeon Meshi Ryoko Kui ticket sell for $600 before my eyes. A rumor is out the Kui found out about scalping at AX, like her Korean signing a few days prior, and she was visibly didn't seem all that interested at her autograph sessions. In her Korean signings she drew doodles or sketches and, asking around, no one got a drawing from her from autograph lines- however she did 3 or 4 signings of 75 people over the course of the weekend so maybe she paced her self? Anyway, I dont think the autograph set up worked, tech savvy people (with bots) and people with money dominated autographs this year and a lot of people missed out, myself included.
Last edited by casenumber00 on Wed Jul 17, 2024 12:02 am; edited 1 time in total |
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CheerSong
 Posts: 99 Location: Route 7, Kanto |
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I was at the aforementioned Trigger panel. The disruptors showed up and waited in line along with everyone else. There was no indication that they would do what they did but I completely agree that Security should have stepped in much sooner. In addition to being a crass "performance", it was extremely rude to everyone who worked so hard to make the panel happen!!
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TarsTarkas
 Posts: 5958 Location: Virginia, United States |
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Were they arrested? What exactly did they do to disrupt the panel? Where they protestors?
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psh_fun
 Posts: 102 |
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A video I saw on X was two antifa people waving around a big flag with the anarchy symbol on it. No idea what they were protesting unless they were Panty and Stocking fans with the 'anarchy' thing/. |
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ANN_Lynzee
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 3053 Location: Email for assistance only |
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"Antifa" ?? Did you get a chance to interview them about their antifascist/political views? It was a person dancing and singing to a Panty and Stocking song on stage while another person with a speaker in their backpack playing a song waved an Anarchy flag. It was a Panty & Stocking bit where two people were trying to have their moment and disrupted Trigger's panel and made a bunch of people feel unsafe. |
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Zepoleba
Posts: 14 |
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Though I appreciate the comments about the Expo being roomier, that's not high on my list of whether it was a successful con or not. Living in Los Angeles, I've been able to go to Anime Expo for many years now and I'm always left feeling like I wish it was more special beyond the size. The offerings of most vendors doesn't change much year after year.
The smaller panels are often not well organized or worth the trouble. The food is never very good. And IMO the panels in the main stage are the best part so whoever disrupted them should be banned for life. |
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TarsTarkas
Posts: 5958 Location: Virginia, United States |
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Just curious, but what happens when industry panels are disrupted by protestors, and I guess those that want their 'social media' moment. Are they just ejected from the convention, are they banned for life, are the police called? The convention pays a lot of money to get Japanese guests over here. If nothing happens to the disruptors, is there a feasible danger of some Japanese guests not coming to that convention again. Or are they just accepting that this is just normal fact of the business they are in and treat it like nothing. |
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ANN_Lynzee
ANN Executive Editor
Posts: 3053 Location: Email for assistance only |
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Without knowing their identities, it would be difficult to confirm if law enforcement was involved. I would reasonably expect their badges to be confiscated and they would be ejected from the event. It's possible a guest may form a negative opinion about the event or American conventions and choose not to attend one in the future but that would be based on their personal feelings.
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dragonquiz
Posts: 73 |
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This was my first AX ever and I'm glad to say it was good to wait two years post pandemic lockdown/pandemic related restrictions. Overall it was great, lots of walking around and about and my feet were hurting even with my second pair of shoes they were still hurting and both shoes were relatively new (not cheap nor expensive) and this con got them both broken in.
The likes, lots of room to move overall, though like all places theres bound to be people bunched up in one spot or moved between the north and south halls. Plenty of food options from the crossings of Japanese food stalls to truck food to exhibit food, desert and flavor ice to cool yourself off from the LA heat and free tap water refill stations all over. Able to walk around artist alley albeit slow at times or locations in the area. The bad that might need more work on The autograph line like why weren't there tents on the line? Do you seriously want us to wait in line for mins to two hours in the sun and heat with no respite? Also like no way to know how many priority/standby tix left for a particular artist that you're looking to see prior to joining the line which can be a time waster if you ask me and there's three things that the staff can say after x mins in line are 'yes tix are available' or ' you're in luck with standby' (which isn't even guaranteed even if you're standby no 1) or what you don't want to hear is 'sorry that was out in the first hour/10 mins' and agonize why did I waste my time standing in the sweltering heat when I could be doing that inside where you're at least protected from the sun. I even asked the staff managing the booth was it possible to get two autograph tix and they said if the line wasn't long then yes, but if it was then you would get your one of two and have to go back in line to potentially get your second (if it wasn't sold out by then or by the time you get to the front again). The panel lines, like there's no communication about whether you should go all the way outside (which can take like upto 30 mins to get to based on crowd size) or stay inside where you could be standby. Even if the panel starts in 20 mins, the outside line may be already starting to go in by the time you get outside and missed the chance to enter through the back and now have to walk all the way back to just enter normally. like why!!!!!! or even worse is not having a tent on one of the room lines and making us wait for a long time for it in the LA summer sun. Or for late night panels realizing that the line was already inside for like 15 mins and having to run to the panel room. Why isn't there a system in place to prevent things like this, like what is the min time you should wait outside prior to a panel or in case if you're already at the panel room door with less than 10 mins to start, should you just wait or walk outside miss the line going in, retrace your steps and see the same security personnel saying prior 'the line starts outside' to just a nonchalant shrug when walking to the panel room. Those are my two big pet peeves, everything else is fantastic. |
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