Re: Anime Cons

I don’t travel very much anymore so I can’t really comment on the current state of conventions. What I can say is that Anime North is like the example you gave already, and in my opinion it has been in a steady decline since about 2004. It now boasts unrelated events such as wrestling tournaments and random guests such as Ed the Sock. Seriously, Ed the Sock at an anime convention? Speaking of guests, I feel there are not nearly enough who are actually involved in the actual creation of anime and manga (e.g. artists, writers, directors, etc.) I would hazard to guess that if you asked the average fan what they liked best about anime and manga as a genre, the response would involve something about stories, characters and/or artwork. (See example.) The things they liked best would probably NOT be the voiceover work or theme songs, so why is there so much focus on voice actor and pop star guests? Is it simply because they are easier and less expensive to book as guests?

I’ve also noticed that there are an increasing number of attendees of the let’s-just-cosplay-and-hang-out variety, many of whom are not particularly interested in any of the guests, exhibitors and events (save for the masquerade). I worry that someday they’ll realize that they don’t actually need to buy the expensive convention pass because pretty much everything they come for (photoshoots, meet-ups and hotel shenanigans) actually occurs outside the convention hall. And as much as I hope this will never happen, part of me admits that if things continue on their current path it’ll just be a matter of time.

That’s the first explanation I’ve read of why Twilight might’ve been a bad thing for the con that hasn’t been sexist, xenophobic, fanboy bullshit. So thanks for that.

I actually hadn’t thought of that potential pitfall.

One small thing – PAX is about gaming, not just video games. Obviously video games make up the majority of it, but there is a serious line of board games and tabletop RPGs that make up their programming as well alongside the video games. The focus is games and they’ve done a stellar job at curating vendors and companies that fit their target demographic to a tee. No gutter of porn stars or c-list actors, no wasted space.