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furtechI made the trek down to the L.A. Convention Center yesterday to check out this year's Anime Expo.
I was very unhappy when I heard that they were moving to the LACC-- one of the worst-designed convention centers I've ever been to (and I've been to a LOT of them). The LACC is a hodgepodge that is a good example of poor planning and budget-over-function. The newest section was added on many years after the first (which they didn't want to tear down because of money concerns), so the result is a massive structure with no logical flow.
Add to this inadequate parking and -no- adjacent hotels and you have the mess that is the LACC. A number of large trade shows have been held there (notably the last E3's) and I dreaded each time I had to go there. The parking is the worst aspect: there is not nearly enough under the center, meaning long walks if you don't get there before open. Long walks in a crappy neighborhood. Granted, the addition of the Staples center and the Nokia Theater has meant that the police do a better job herding the homeless and criminal element back to skid row, but the area is hardly family-friendly.
The lack of nearby hotels means that there are long walks or shuttle rides to and from the con center. While this works for SDCC, it's a royal pain for cosplayers. Add to that the oppressive heat of downtown L.A. and you have a recipe for a mediocre AX.
I didn't see a lot of costumers walking on the streets, but there were plenty of them in the center itself. One thing I'll give the LACC credit for: plenty of indoor spaces to take pictures. Many costumers were also out on the various patios around the center. Even so, I miss the central gathering areas that both the Long Beach CC and (particularly) the Anaheim CC have. I also noticed that there were fewer elaborate/large costumes-- perhaps because of the difficulty of getting to and from the CC.
The dealers room was huge, but possibly had fewer dealers than last year's room at the LBCC. Notably absent were some of the larger manga and anime distributors (who also did not attend last year's con). Given the expense of a large booth, I'm guessing that they have decided that SDCC is the place to spend money and make appearances. Didn't see anything that rocked my socks; managed (fairly easily) to escape with only a small toy purchase.
I hate crowd control at AX. I'm sure there is a need for control, but they need to think it out more fully. Particularly, why no only use it when it's needed? Sure, for the initial press to enter the dealer's room...but when there is no line to get in, what is the purpose of forcing attendees to navigate convoluted trails into or out of the dealers room? I was particularly annoyed at the entrance to the artist alley: if you went in through the dealer's room, you could not return-- you had to go out of AA, around and down to the lobby and back up the stairs into the dealers room. AND THERE WERE NO LINES! Just staff-nazis who seemed to get off on ordering people to jump through pointless hoops. Grrr.
Masquerade: I guess they finally found a way to make $$$ off the masquerade...they sell tickets for $20/each. You get a reserved seat and don't have to stand in a line (which was around the center even at 4pm-- four hours before the masq start and with temps in the high 90's).
I will say that the Nokia Theater is a decent venue. Lousy snack bar (really bad popcorn, one small size of drink, prices typically $$$), but plenty of toilets and it's a huge venue. Maybe too huge: everyone got in (that I could see), but the large stage and distance meant that contestents looked like they were from the kids costume contest from where we were sitting (row GG). Fortunately, there were HUGE screens on both sides, so costume detail was visible. They need a better camera director, though: many times only one or two costumes were focused on when there was a large group (like the director and cameramen didn't notice the other costumes to the side on the stage). They get a big *nrgh* from me for the wide shots that inevitably caught the close-up cameraman taking up the front of the shot (he needed to be lower or the wide camera should have been placed higher).
General costume quality: "eh." A number of the big name groups were absent and the costumes in the master class were easily outshined by the novice and intermediate class (plus they added a new class, "advanced intermediate"?!?). There were a couple of routines that I really liked-- the Sac State Martial Arts Club did a spectacular weapons-skit and there was a funny Wii-based skit. I particularly liked a Final Fantasy monster (lots of scales and a long tail)-- and she turned out to be a novice! Nice job!
Favorite line from the masquerade: (skit about the new L.A. venue and a cosplayer noticing a homeless person): "Ohmygod-- look! A hobo!"
Overall I could have skipped the con and not missed much. I still hate the venue; most of my friends either skipped the con entirely or were working the whole time. I so totally appreciate the Lyd-fix! I think I have the most fun at anime cons when I'm with AGSMA entering the masquerade: even if the con is a bust, there is plenty of rehearsing and getting together. Plus I -need- to be there the whole time, so there are other opportunities to hang out. Stopping in for the day just doesn't cut it. But I would have been bored silly if I spent more than a day there.
One nice thing about the L.A. location: Little Tokyo (Anime Jungle! Kinokuniya!) and the Fashion District (walking distance!). Since I live here, however, that doesn't factor in as much for me (YMMV).
I was very unhappy when I heard that they were moving to the LACC-- one of the worst-designed convention centers I've ever been to (and I've been to a LOT of them). The LACC is a hodgepodge that is a good example of poor planning and budget-over-function. The newest section was added on many years after the first (which they didn't want to tear down because of money concerns), so the result is a massive structure with no logical flow.
Add to this inadequate parking and -no- adjacent hotels and you have the mess that is the LACC. A number of large trade shows have been held there (notably the last E3's) and I dreaded each time I had to go there. The parking is the worst aspect: there is not nearly enough under the center, meaning long walks if you don't get there before open. Long walks in a crappy neighborhood. Granted, the addition of the Staples center and the Nokia Theater has meant that the police do a better job herding the homeless and criminal element back to skid row, but the area is hardly family-friendly.
The lack of nearby hotels means that there are long walks or shuttle rides to and from the con center. While this works for SDCC, it's a royal pain for cosplayers. Add to that the oppressive heat of downtown L.A. and you have a recipe for a mediocre AX.
I didn't see a lot of costumers walking on the streets, but there were plenty of them in the center itself. One thing I'll give the LACC credit for: plenty of indoor spaces to take pictures. Many costumers were also out on the various patios around the center. Even so, I miss the central gathering areas that both the Long Beach CC and (particularly) the Anaheim CC have. I also noticed that there were fewer elaborate/large costumes-- perhaps because of the difficulty of getting to and from the CC.
The dealers room was huge, but possibly had fewer dealers than last year's room at the LBCC. Notably absent were some of the larger manga and anime distributors (who also did not attend last year's con). Given the expense of a large booth, I'm guessing that they have decided that SDCC is the place to spend money and make appearances. Didn't see anything that rocked my socks; managed (fairly easily) to escape with only a small toy purchase.
I hate crowd control at AX. I'm sure there is a need for control, but they need to think it out more fully. Particularly, why no only use it when it's needed? Sure, for the initial press to enter the dealer's room...but when there is no line to get in, what is the purpose of forcing attendees to navigate convoluted trails into or out of the dealers room? I was particularly annoyed at the entrance to the artist alley: if you went in through the dealer's room, you could not return-- you had to go out of AA, around and down to the lobby and back up the stairs into the dealers room. AND THERE WERE NO LINES! Just staff-nazis who seemed to get off on ordering people to jump through pointless hoops. Grrr.
Masquerade: I guess they finally found a way to make $$$ off the masquerade...they sell tickets for $20/each. You get a reserved seat and don't have to stand in a line (which was around the center even at 4pm-- four hours before the masq start and with temps in the high 90's).
I will say that the Nokia Theater is a decent venue. Lousy snack bar (really bad popcorn, one small size of drink, prices typically $$$), but plenty of toilets and it's a huge venue. Maybe too huge: everyone got in (that I could see), but the large stage and distance meant that contestents looked like they were from the kids costume contest from where we were sitting (row GG). Fortunately, there were HUGE screens on both sides, so costume detail was visible. They need a better camera director, though: many times only one or two costumes were focused on when there was a large group (like the director and cameramen didn't notice the other costumes to the side on the stage). They get a big *nrgh* from me for the wide shots that inevitably caught the close-up cameraman taking up the front of the shot (he needed to be lower or the wide camera should have been placed higher).
General costume quality: "eh." A number of the big name groups were absent and the costumes in the master class were easily outshined by the novice and intermediate class (plus they added a new class, "advanced intermediate"?!?). There were a couple of routines that I really liked-- the Sac State Martial Arts Club did a spectacular weapons-skit and there was a funny Wii-based skit. I particularly liked a Final Fantasy monster (lots of scales and a long tail)-- and she turned out to be a novice! Nice job!
Favorite line from the masquerade: (skit about the new L.A. venue and a cosplayer noticing a homeless person): "Ohmygod-- look! A hobo!"
Overall I could have skipped the con and not missed much. I still hate the venue; most of my friends either skipped the con entirely or were working the whole time. I so totally appreciate the Lyd-fix! I think I have the most fun at anime cons when I'm with AGSMA entering the masquerade: even if the con is a bust, there is plenty of rehearsing and getting together. Plus I -need- to be there the whole time, so there are other opportunities to hang out. Stopping in for the day just doesn't cut it. But I would have been bored silly if I spent more than a day there.
One nice thing about the L.A. location: Little Tokyo (Anime Jungle! Kinokuniya!) and the Fashion District (walking distance!). Since I live here, however, that doesn't factor in as much for me (YMMV).
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no subject
Date: 2008-07-06 07:20 pm (UTC)Maybe next year, depending on how things go.
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Date: 2008-07-06 07:51 pm (UTC)I'm not surprised to hear that the dealer's room has thinned out this year as well... the big media companies that used to have huge showings are having problems staying above water - aside from VIZ - which seems to have the lion's share of the best material (Shonen Jump and Shoujo Beat). I even have my doubt that they will make a notable showing at the upcoming SDCC. :\
I was basing my decision of putting a bid in for a dealer's space at AX next year depending on LJ reaction. So far, I still think it's a little too large for us and perhaps a little too expensive. I'm waiting for following reaction reports over the next couple weeks~ ^^
Thanks for the report! Do we get to see your costumes this time around?
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Date: 2008-07-06 09:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-06 11:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-07 02:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-07 02:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-07 06:04 am (UTC)I loved this thing: they really did a nice job with the construction. Missed getting a closer pic, tho'. Double kudos for even being able to get them to the convention center!
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Date: 2008-07-07 06:06 am (UTC)Not sure if they'll have any of the hotels finished by then, but if they do, it will help things considerably.
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Date: 2008-07-07 06:11 am (UTC)Are you going to SDCC? I'll have a masquerade entry and possibly the Bleach costumes (Kon and Komamura) because of Tito.
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Date: 2008-07-07 06:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-07 06:14 am (UTC)I thought Henry diverted Lyds! So, thanks!
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Date: 2008-07-07 06:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-07 06:36 am (UTC)Before I left Los Angeles, the DownTown News always seemed to have a gossip article about the infighting between the Anschultz Entertainment Group (AEG), the Hospitality providers (the planned hotels) and the city; and that 2 separate hotel groups had sequentially contracted, and then backed out, not liking what they saw going on - and never commenting to the press or the public as to why.
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Date: 2008-07-07 06:47 am (UTC)You do -not- want to park or walk there after dark (two blocks over along Hope and Grand)-- and even the day is pretty dangerous. The areas immediately around the Staples Center and down that part of Figueroa looks nicer than it is: pre-Staples, it had a number of transients and shady characters. The city just put the screws to the law and encouraged them (off the record) to clean up that area. So now they sweep that area before events. I appreciate the absence of the aggressive panhandlers (just short of a mugging), but the ethical aspects of the cure are a slippery slope. So there is a nice facade of "clean and safe", but don't be fooled into complacency.
I've lived here for years and make regular trips to that part of town. I -hate- parking on the street there, even during weekday, business hours. I had a car broken into and a jacket stolen in broad daylight on a busy street.
No arguments with the Nokia: too big, but at least everyone got seated. My problem is with the main areas, particularly the dealer's room crowd control. They've done this in other years, too: severe crowd control when none is necessary. Either the ops doesn't pay attention to crowd flow or they enjoy the power-trip of bossing people around. If there's no line to enter the dealers room and they're not in danger of fire codes, there's no need for crowd direction then. If nothing else, the larger shows that use the LACC don't need the crowd re-directing/control-- why does AX?
PS: sorry I didn't get a chance to hang with you-- that would have been cool.
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Date: 2008-07-07 06:52 am (UTC)That kind of idiocy is what got us light rail lines and busways that don't service the areas most needing it. Or better yet-- how about that light rail/monorail system down the Wilshire corridor that turned into a subway-- through a gas and oil field!
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Date: 2008-07-07 08:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-07 02:45 pm (UTC)And of course you're most welcome to bring your costumes to life on stage as well.
*hint, hint, nudge* Just send me a note.
=^_^=
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Date: 2008-07-07 03:05 pm (UTC)As for main events ticket prices, it turns out that the Nokia Theater is *expensive* to use. AX got it basically free this year, but next year it will likely get charged out the wazoo. FWIW, you only had to pay if you were impatient and felt a need for *guaranteed* seating. As it was, I used the free ticket slot from staying in an AX Hotel to guarantee Masquerade seating, and we got tickets to AMVs and one of the concerts for free by waiting in the day-of lines: no $$ paid. I don't see any evidence that AX is gouging pricing overall; the free-market dude in me likes the fact that they're passing the costs directly to those who value the events most, and not uniformly jacking up the con admission price for people who don't even plan to attend those events.
We actually strolled over on Sunday night to Hope and Grand area along 7th briefly and saw where Books Nippan used to be. Admittedly we were three full-grown men, but it was like 10:30pm and there were a number of normal folks going about their business and waiting for busses and whatnot. I won't say it was as secure-feeling as Tokyo, but the ambiance was vastly improved over what it was like in, say, 1994 timeframe. I'm not close enough to the local politics to comment on what means may have been used to achieve that shift.
The parking problems seem to have hit those with large, elaborate costumes (like you ^^;;;) the most. One of my friends was able to take the train from the Valley to Figueroa and 7th; dunno if you could have commuted that way had costume transport not been an issue. I can only hope that L.A. Live will include a generous allotment of parking stalls...
And yeah, sorry I didn't see you at the con; I had forgotten whether you had been planning to attend this year.
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Date: 2008-07-07 05:43 pm (UTC)Most of the staff at the top of the dealer's room stairs literally spent their time discussing where they should stand and telling attendees keep moving. Plus there were the ones preventing attendees from coming in from the wings to the sides or from the artist's alley and at the base of the stairs. That's about twenty staffers and a few guards to watch three doors, essentially.
Oh, I have no real problem with the $20/masquerade tickets! I'm -exactly- who they were targeting: no time or patience for standing in line (when I was younger, no prob...now-- I get tickets). I was just making a snarky remark about the concom's reputation for disliking the masquerade because it's a huge cost outlay for the venue/security/etc. and doesn't directly bring in any income (like exhibitors do).
I admit that I haven't been over to the Hope-Grand area just east of the convention center in a while (I avoid it for the reasons previously stated)-- it's possible they cleaned that up because of the Blue Line station. The trouble with L.A.'s methods is that the problem is never solved, just pushed to a new area (like those puzzle games where you shift the letters around). The area that Books Nippon used to be isn't too bad, but that park to the northeast used to be pretty nasty with bad people.
Caveat: I love the resources and businesses that are in Los Angeles...but I hate the city-- where "city" is the politics, the mean-ness, the inability to solve problems that most other cities have taken care of years ago. Additionally, I don't tend to do my fan-stuff in the area: in my business, it's not a good idea to play where you work.
Sorry I didn't make more formal or announced plans...I was really dragging my heels on going and didn't know when I'd finally overcome my inertia. I -am- surprised that only you came-- I used to think that -you- were the one dragged to the anime cons!
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Date: 2008-07-07 05:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-07 09:45 pm (UTC)*grins and replies on husband's behalf* Not at all! In fact, ironically enough we met via AX! :D
I'm kind of sorry I wasn't there actually, if only for the hangout opportunities. Speaking of which, are you planning to be at WorldCon this year? ^_^
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Date: 2008-07-07 10:21 pm (UTC)Re:Worldcon, no--I've got one more big con this year besides SDCC and Worldcon would have been too much (too much money and dog-bording: I try to minimize that). Also, it's really early this year, also throwing me. So, no...
PS: I need your head size (seeing your icon). I'm starting a few heads in the next week or so. I'm just making you a head w/o fur, right? Also need to know: romantic expression or *happy* expression?
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Date: 2008-07-07 10:39 pm (UTC)As for the Marian head, if you'll be having some time soon that would be great! Do you need any measurements besides just around the head at eyebrow-ish level? Over the top? And yes, without fur; I can handle the fur covering part, it's the structure that was driving me insane. (And I seem to recall that you said you'd rather avoid the furring part too.) I also owe you some reference pics, but I seem to have lost your email address; would you be willing to pass it along to kurayami at yahoo? (And while that is happening, I can go measure my head and ponder the question of which expression would be best. ^_^)
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Date: 2008-07-08 06:10 am (UTC)I really hope you get to display your costumes for Tite Kubo - he would have to be seriously impressed with your work! *__*!