AnimeCrossroads 2009
Well, I have a bit of time while I'm watching the end of NCIS LA, so I decided to write this up~ there really isn't much to do for this report, after all, lmao XD
So, for all of you who are interested, here is the report:
Precon:
Well...let's just say, we did not have a good start out for ACR. We had tried contacting them back shortly after ACen, I believe, and had heard nothing back, at all, even after we tried e-mailing them again. And, when I sent them an e-mail again after MatsuriCon, still, nothing. Well, I finally decided to check on the forums, since this computer likes forums a lot better than my other ones, lol. And, FINALLY! I got information~! Many thanks to usernames Haganehageshiku and ACMike for taking the time to answer every annoying question I sent them! LOL! You guys rocked~! So, we headed out Friday in the morning down to Indy for the con~!
Friday
Cosplay: Kurapica, Genei Ryoudan version (Hunter X Hunter)
Panels: One Piece (filled in for Komiko), InuYasha
We got there and got ourselves checked in before heading over to Reg. Since Urd-chan was special hotel deal, and I was pre-reg, we got our badges without hassle and set up our AA table. There was a little issue with the arrangement of the tables, but in the end, I managed to get next to KuroiTenshi and Lilly, so we were all together like we wanted to be (makes it easier for panels and whatnot). There was some communication issues about the One Piece panel, but Haganehageshiku did an amazing job sorting it all out, and in the end, though the panel was small, I stepped in to run it. We did have some pretty fun discussions, but I was in the Main Events room, LMAO! Waaaay bigger than what I needed for what I got, and of course, with no sound, I was screaming as it was XD the panel flopped towards the end though. Sorry guys! I didn't have anything prepared @_@ AA was pretty slow moving all day, so nothing really happened in that aspect. Oh, but lo-and-behold...! 6 people actually recognized my cosplay in some form or another, yay XD AA got sooo dead around 7, but after tracking down the rest of the people in our room and things completely dying around 9:30, I packed up my AA stuff, dragged it upstairs, and actually got back to do the panel, lol. It's been the first time in a while I was able to sit in on the InuYasha panel XD Not that I mind missing them (sorry Urd-chan!). We got some Chinese food, ate it all up, and I collapsed into bed. Sheesh, even when I can get enough sleep, I never manage to XD
Saturday:
Cosplay: Nami, Weatheria version (One Piece)
Karaoke:Tamashii no Doukoku (Lost Child)
well, Saturday was a pretty lazy day for me. I'm not used to not having panels or something to do on a Saturday, so I just got to sit back and do nothing XD Got some commissions in AA to keep me busy, and got to talk to a lot of people going through the AA. Oh, something that made me laugh! XD I'm always putting polls up on my DA about Zos Kias, and I got to meet one of the girls who watches me and is always voting "I've been watching you this long and I STILL don't know what ZK is!" That always cracks me up that people STILL don't know what that is..*shakes head* but it was great to put a face/user name with one of the three or so who usually vote for that, lol. One of the things that I found hilarious about Saturday in general was that around 5, suddenly, the con was sooo dead empty. People were thinking it was cause of masquerade, but it was actually cause of Vic Mignogna's signing XD it was just amusing that it got more empty for that than Masq. I'm used to Masq killing a con for people, but it didn't really hit ACR that bad. Shortly around 7, I headed out of AA, getting some of the others to briefly keep an eye on my table, and heading off to karaoke. Well, I should say, where it said karaoke was supposed to be >< It turned out they scheduled anotehr event at the same time last minute, something called a Jpop Dance party. Sheesh, they freaking had a dance, did they need another one!? and to top it off, it wasn't marked, or anything, not clearly enough. When Urd-chan went to go find about it, we were told there "might" be karaoke after masq and before the dance, but it wasn't definite, and plus, that meant it wouldn't be the 2 hours we were promised. Well, around 8:30, they DID actually hold karaoke, as they said was possible, and we had two people come to let us know that it started, cause of Urd-chan, lol. I hear the first staffer she talked to was rude and unhelpful, but the second one, the one I ran into later on myself (the Asian with the clipboard~) really did his best to appease her. I got in like #2 for karaoke, go figure XD But, I got sorta nervous since I had more time to think about it, so I don't think I did great >.> I did have a couple people stop me on my way out to say I sounded awesome, but I wonder XD I DID get a video of it, but I always sound so god awful on that camera that you'll never see it, NEVER! (I had one of Komi and I doing Parallel Hearts from Otakon, too, lol). And, if I actually sound like that...I swear I'll never sing again @_@ On the way out of the room, the aforementioned staff member stopped us to make sure we had fun, lol. Well, um, I guess? I would have liked to stick around karaoke for longer, but I can't ever leave my table long ;_; Shortly after, we got pizza and returned to the room to eat~! I spent some time doodling before going to bed.
Sunday:
Cosplay: Nergal (Tozasareta Nergal)
Panel: Full Metal Alchemist
Sunday was a pretty slow day in general. I got up early, dragged my stuff out to the car, in my Nergal cosplay, lmao! We set up in AA, and an hour later, we closed the table temporarily to go and do the FMA panel. We were given 2 hours, which is what I request if guests want to sit on, but since Vic ended up not making it due to a phone call, we were sorta grasping for straws during the last 30-40 minutes ^^; Sorry about that, too. I have a presentation I'm in the works of putting together for the FMA panel. I will make sure, without a doubt, that I get it done for ACen ^^ (assuming, of course, they don't give me crap like they did last year. Go see that con report to see what I mean). But it wasn't too bad. After that, Urd-chan spent the day running about the dealer's room and talking to people in there, while I manned the AA and finished the work I had to do. It was pretty slow moving, but we made it all the way til 3:30 before I took off my cosplay and we packed up. I met a lot of great people as we were packing things up, some of which I've actually already contacted! (go me!), and we headed off back home to Chicagoland~!
Well, as you can see, not much really went on at the convention...but I'm going to do my best to judge it anyways, lol.
Sooo...it's time for the final thoughts and the overall rating~! First off, the communication via e-mail networks was like non-existent. The website was lacking with information in regards to events, Artists, Dealer's, etc...it would have been better to have at least some information up on them. At least they had the guests up (but did they even have all of them up?). The two who did communicate back and forth with me on the forums were always quick to answer, even if it was just to say that they were trying to find the answer to my question, lol. So, at least communication on the forums was better. There were some scheduling issues with the con, but heck, the con only had Main Events and one Panel room O.O they could have used more events/panels. Most of them were cosplay-based, which wasn't bad, but it ended up seeing a bit...trite, ya know? I couldn't believe how short the time allotted for karaoke was...hopefully everyone got to sing. There were two people in the AA that should have been in the Dealer's Room >.> and I could not believe the price for the tables! I pay less than that at ACen, and that con is waaaaay bigger! There were like, 700 people at that con >.> That was freaking ridiculous! Most of the staff members were pretty helpful, though there were a few difficult ones (I suppose it's to be expected). Hm...I think that covers most of it, lol.
So, the final rating...I give this con a 4/10! I might go back next year, it will just depend on things. Hopefully, it can get over these problems it had. I did like the venue though, lol.
BTW, my pics are up at DSOD~!
So, for all of you who are interested, here is the report:
Precon:
Well...let's just say, we did not have a good start out for ACR. We had tried contacting them back shortly after ACen, I believe, and had heard nothing back, at all, even after we tried e-mailing them again. And, when I sent them an e-mail again after MatsuriCon, still, nothing. Well, I finally decided to check on the forums, since this computer likes forums a lot better than my other ones, lol. And, FINALLY! I got information~! Many thanks to usernames Haganehageshiku and ACMike for taking the time to answer every annoying question I sent them! LOL! You guys rocked~! So, we headed out Friday in the morning down to Indy for the con~!
Friday
Cosplay: Kurapica, Genei Ryoudan version (Hunter X Hunter)
Panels: One Piece (filled in for Komiko), InuYasha
We got there and got ourselves checked in before heading over to Reg. Since Urd-chan was special hotel deal, and I was pre-reg, we got our badges without hassle and set up our AA table. There was a little issue with the arrangement of the tables, but in the end, I managed to get next to KuroiTenshi and Lilly, so we were all together like we wanted to be (makes it easier for panels and whatnot). There was some communication issues about the One Piece panel, but Haganehageshiku did an amazing job sorting it all out, and in the end, though the panel was small, I stepped in to run it. We did have some pretty fun discussions, but I was in the Main Events room, LMAO! Waaaay bigger than what I needed for what I got, and of course, with no sound, I was screaming as it was XD the panel flopped towards the end though. Sorry guys! I didn't have anything prepared @_@ AA was pretty slow moving all day, so nothing really happened in that aspect. Oh, but lo-and-behold...! 6 people actually recognized my cosplay in some form or another, yay XD AA got sooo dead around 7, but after tracking down the rest of the people in our room and things completely dying around 9:30, I packed up my AA stuff, dragged it upstairs, and actually got back to do the panel, lol. It's been the first time in a while I was able to sit in on the InuYasha panel XD Not that I mind missing them (sorry Urd-chan!). We got some Chinese food, ate it all up, and I collapsed into bed. Sheesh, even when I can get enough sleep, I never manage to XD
Saturday:
Cosplay: Nami, Weatheria version (One Piece)
Karaoke:Tamashii no Doukoku (Lost Child)
well, Saturday was a pretty lazy day for me. I'm not used to not having panels or something to do on a Saturday, so I just got to sit back and do nothing XD Got some commissions in AA to keep me busy, and got to talk to a lot of people going through the AA. Oh, something that made me laugh! XD I'm always putting polls up on my DA about Zos Kias, and I got to meet one of the girls who watches me and is always voting "I've been watching you this long and I STILL don't know what ZK is!" That always cracks me up that people STILL don't know what that is..*shakes head* but it was great to put a face/user name with one of the three or so who usually vote for that, lol. One of the things that I found hilarious about Saturday in general was that around 5, suddenly, the con was sooo dead empty. People were thinking it was cause of masquerade, but it was actually cause of Vic Mignogna's signing XD it was just amusing that it got more empty for that than Masq. I'm used to Masq killing a con for people, but it didn't really hit ACR that bad. Shortly around 7, I headed out of AA, getting some of the others to briefly keep an eye on my table, and heading off to karaoke. Well, I should say, where it said karaoke was supposed to be >< It turned out they scheduled anotehr event at the same time last minute, something called a Jpop Dance party. Sheesh, they freaking had a dance, did they need another one!? and to top it off, it wasn't marked, or anything, not clearly enough. When Urd-chan went to go find about it, we were told there "might" be karaoke after masq and before the dance, but it wasn't definite, and plus, that meant it wouldn't be the 2 hours we were promised. Well, around 8:30, they DID actually hold karaoke, as they said was possible, and we had two people come to let us know that it started, cause of Urd-chan, lol. I hear the first staffer she talked to was rude and unhelpful, but the second one, the one I ran into later on myself (the Asian with the clipboard~) really did his best to appease her. I got in like #2 for karaoke, go figure XD But, I got sorta nervous since I had more time to think about it, so I don't think I did great >.> I did have a couple people stop me on my way out to say I sounded awesome, but I wonder XD I DID get a video of it, but I always sound so god awful on that camera that you'll never see it, NEVER! (I had one of Komi and I doing Parallel Hearts from Otakon, too, lol). And, if I actually sound like that...I swear I'll never sing again @_@ On the way out of the room, the aforementioned staff member stopped us to make sure we had fun, lol. Well, um, I guess? I would have liked to stick around karaoke for longer, but I can't ever leave my table long ;_; Shortly after, we got pizza and returned to the room to eat~! I spent some time doodling before going to bed.
Sunday:
Cosplay: Nergal (Tozasareta Nergal)
Panel: Full Metal Alchemist
Sunday was a pretty slow day in general. I got up early, dragged my stuff out to the car, in my Nergal cosplay, lmao! We set up in AA, and an hour later, we closed the table temporarily to go and do the FMA panel. We were given 2 hours, which is what I request if guests want to sit on, but since Vic ended up not making it due to a phone call, we were sorta grasping for straws during the last 30-40 minutes ^^; Sorry about that, too. I have a presentation I'm in the works of putting together for the FMA panel. I will make sure, without a doubt, that I get it done for ACen ^^ (assuming, of course, they don't give me crap like they did last year. Go see that con report to see what I mean). But it wasn't too bad. After that, Urd-chan spent the day running about the dealer's room and talking to people in there, while I manned the AA and finished the work I had to do. It was pretty slow moving, but we made it all the way til 3:30 before I took off my cosplay and we packed up. I met a lot of great people as we were packing things up, some of which I've actually already contacted! (go me!), and we headed off back home to Chicagoland~!
Well, as you can see, not much really went on at the convention...but I'm going to do my best to judge it anyways, lol.
Sooo...it's time for the final thoughts and the overall rating~! First off, the communication via e-mail networks was like non-existent. The website was lacking with information in regards to events, Artists, Dealer's, etc...it would have been better to have at least some information up on them. At least they had the guests up (but did they even have all of them up?). The two who did communicate back and forth with me on the forums were always quick to answer, even if it was just to say that they were trying to find the answer to my question, lol. So, at least communication on the forums was better. There were some scheduling issues with the con, but heck, the con only had Main Events and one Panel room O.O they could have used more events/panels. Most of them were cosplay-based, which wasn't bad, but it ended up seeing a bit...trite, ya know? I couldn't believe how short the time allotted for karaoke was...hopefully everyone got to sing. There were two people in the AA that should have been in the Dealer's Room >.> and I could not believe the price for the tables! I pay less than that at ACen, and that con is waaaaay bigger! There were like, 700 people at that con >.> That was freaking ridiculous! Most of the staff members were pretty helpful, though there were a few difficult ones (I suppose it's to be expected). Hm...I think that covers most of it, lol.
So, the final rating...I give this con a 4/10! I might go back next year, it will just depend on things. Hopefully, it can get over these problems it had. I did like the venue though, lol.
BTW, my pics are up at DSOD~!