Prepping for the Anime Expo 2010 Smorgasbord
There is so much stuff going on at AX this year, it’s insane.
Once you add on top of the parallel media/PR activities that are not related to AX, it gets even worse.
And on top of that, there’s the usual fandom gatherings. And there are some seriously blur in that category.
It’s also a week away.
But let’s break it down~
What’s on the schedule:
The AX schedule gets updated all the time, with each passing announcement. They have 2 more TBA panels on Saturday as of this writing, so logically that suggests they still have something to announce in the next week (or were planning to). Well, I think it’s extremely safe to say that AX2010 has way too many guests and special events. I mean let’s forget the con drama, the cost SPJA incurs, and the logistical nightmare of herding otaku and non-otaku, from Japan and from elsewhere. There is just way too much going on, too many similar programming tracks that nobody can go to everything they want to go. Unless of course, none of that stuff really interests you.
Single-mindedness, or loyalty, perhaps, is a desirable trait. If you are a huge Megumi Nakajima fan for example, well, you would be able to prioritize her events over everyone else’s events. And there are (thankfully) enough of her events that those who do not prioritize her over everything at the con can still play along. It’s a win-win solution for true hardcore fans, but a logistical nightmare for wannabe wotas like myself.
Speaking of which, Danny Choo has a meet-up! You gotta RSVP, but it probably is not the best place to make a Chinka joke. (Well, there are few places if any I suppose.) And I think he’s saying that the sneak peek of Black Rock Shooter OAV is going to happen at his panel on Sunday. A good time if I might say.
And yes, there are “good” and “bad” time slots at the con. This is based on current information so uh, it’s safe to say that’s subject to change, with caveats. And of course, this is my estimates, which is based on programming I would like to attend.
Sunday however remains a safe day, because there aren’t that many things going on in general. It just is; it’s the day to pack up and go home, but those who know better party till the sun sets. That Charity Auction thing is not for the faint hearts and thin pockets, but it would yield some pretty serious loot. That’s on top of the usual sales in the Dealer’s Room, which AX has one of the best as far as US cons go in terms of diversity and selection. Not so much in price though.
Friday on the other hand is terrible. I am basically booked from the first thing in the morning to late at night, sometimes double booked. There’s way too much going on.
Early Saturday is also kind of iffy with a few parallel tracks of programming that overlap, that are both interesting.
Thursday is a solid block too, and if I was into AKB48 I would have died. But I’m not, so I can actually get some autographing done if I can scope out what’s happening on the ground, on the battlefield. It’s no joke. This AX is going to be like, war. And I don’t mean the crowd it draws, as it always grew year to year. I mean the logistics, the principalities, the mode of consumption and the temptation to give up. Fight the power? No, there’s no reason-kicking or to-curbs.
What’s not on the schedule:
There are, however, a lot of unknowns. Information is ammunition. For example, MangaGamer is hosting a scarily large list of guests at AX. What’s scary is that we don’t know what MG is going to do. When’s their little stage show? How can I confirm the size of Minami Kuribayashi’s “cheeks” otherwise? Anyways, joking aside, there are so much stuff going on that it’s hard to get a grip on who’s doing what, even if they did announce it. It can get lost in the flood of information. This war is one about the quality of information, too.
WTB Anime Expo version of Izaya.
There’s a bit of a competing track going on over at Club2theMax. Like Yoshiki’s party and the play and Erina’s movie and the AniMaid people. Without going into details, it’s just more things to do, although they do provide a potential detraction for some AX attendees.
To repeat what I said before, for another thing not on the schedule, the Black Rock Shooter sneak peek is supposedly on Sunday.
And sometimes what’s not on the schedule is stuff like the autograph ticketing policy. That is important if you want autographs, because it links panels with autograph sessions that you have to attend in tandem. There are countless con-related logistics things that needs to be figure out, and probably we will know at a time no sooner than the very last possible moment.
As you can imagine, with twitter and the iPhone app, it’s a new and crazy world at cons this year. Live updates!
What’s not even on the radar:
I go to cons to meet people. I can’t say if I can make it to various meet-ups because I don’t have all the information I need. I still make a best effort, right? If you don’t know about it you can’t make a best effort. So I’ll just drop a couple.
1. I think Deb Aoki is organizing something for bloggers.
2. I think these guys just want to talk about stuff. Japanese is OKAY! Intimidating, yet so interesting! And these guys know when to pick a time!
There’s probably another gathering happening that I will try to attend, but that is yet to be determined!
Did you know they’re showing the Trigun Badlands movie again? It didn’t do very well in Japan but I’ll take what I can get. Look for it in your schedule.
What you might not even know:
Who the hell is she? (Maybe it doesn’t help to know.)
What’s going to be at the charity auction?
Who’s MangaGamer’s next guest announcement?
Is Sunday’s autograph session Free-For-All?
DJ Schwarzenegger? I might buy a CD. (And he’s on the official site! Okay, so you might know.)
They aren’t fronting translators for press interviews? Booo.
Shingo? At AX? Woah.
Peter Beagle? Really? Wonder if this has anything to do with CrunchyRoll.
But what will you do?
I have no idea. But hopefully within all of this we can make better plans at AX and get the most out of all of this noise. If I missed something interesting (and I am sure I did) that you know, please share!
The main stuff I’m hitting Saturday (only day of attendance) are the Toradora! premiere/panel (10 a.m. to noon), the Black Lagoon OVA premiere (12:15 to 12:45 p.m.) and the Yui Horie/Eri Kitamura autograph session in the exhibit hall (12:30 to 1:30; I will be hauling some ass there!). Everything on top of that will be icing on the cake — looking forward to meeting people and having a kickass time!
I take it this means you’ve decided to go to AX, after all?
Yes, I am going to ax. I guess I was not clear on that with my last post.
@Shinmaru: good luck with those autographs!
Indeed, way too many things this AX. I guess the new management really wants to impress, but there is such thing as “too big for its own good”.
Priorities: MELL, Yui Horie, Yuu Asakawa, Rei Hiroe, May’n.
Bonus: Eri Kitamura, Megumi Nakajima, Danny Choo, AKB48, Mangagamer’s guests.
Also looking to greet con acquaintances.
Good news is that AX is going to implement the “no line until 15 minutes” rule for autographs. It has been pretty efficient as a deterrent in other cons (Anime Boston, Sakuracon). So hopefully no more SOS-dan autograph nightmares.
My last AX was 2007. Looking forward to this year.
Now to decide what I want autographed…. Unfortunately I don’t have good ToraDora! items.
protip: Sign up for a free account on NISA’s site and read their latest Prinny Bomb newsletter. You won’t regret it!
I’ll be going on Friday and Saturday – Friday for the Nakajima/May’n concert, and Saturday for shopping and other events. I didn’t get to go to any cons last year so I’m really looking forward to this one =)
Yeah, Sunday’s autograph session is a free-for-all, so no autograph tickets are required for that session. Not all Guests of Honor are guaranteed to be there, but it’s your best chance at getting an autograph if you missed the regular autograph sessions.
Thanks for the tips dude :) and maybe see you there Yumeka~
[...] to their releases since the ARIA franchise finished. No Danny Choo though. Not even for the Black Rock Shooter OVA and I’m not sure Chinka is in the cards for [...]