Linus Lam Network News
convention coverage report of
Fanime-con
2012!
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Welcome to another edition
of Linus Lam Network News for 2012! This news report covers our trip
to Fanime-con 2012 for a huge weekend of anime and manga enjoyment and
a whole lot more! Held at the San Jose Convention Center over the weekend of
May 25-28, Fanime-con 2012 saw lots of attendees ready to party on with a bunch of
dedicated artists, live performances, gaming events, cosplay fun, and plenty of opportunities to hang
out with fellow anime and manga fans. Our exciting trip to Fanime-con
2012 starts here! Coverage you can count on, here at Linus Lam
Network News! |
| Highlights: Various live programming events kept the attendees well-covered throughout the weekend.
Guests of Honor included Hiroyuki Yamaga, Mamoru Yokota, Kia Asamiya, Shigeto Koyama, Mai Aizawa, Igaguri Chiba, Ric Meyers, Gilles Poitras, and David Vincent.
Big events included the Cosplay Spectacular, Anime Music Video Contest, Karaoke, Black and White Ball, Swap Meet, Gaming Tournaments, Dances, Speed Dating, Anime Trivia Contests, AniMaid Cafe, and lots more.
Panels and workshops included How to Break in Gaming, Deleter Neopiko Workshop, Digital Manga Guild, Gaia Panel, Viz Media, eigoManga, Ambient Light Photography, Cosplay Makeup, Live Sewing Demo, Sewing Basics, How to pose like a Pro, Crossplay Tricks, Wig Styling, Shinkendo, Intro to Memes, Death by Fanfiction, Hetalia for all Ages, Moon Prism Poptarts, Old Anime for New Fans, Equestrian Embassy, History of Lupin III, History of Lolis, Anime's Most Hated, Horrible Nerd Comedy, Persona for You!, What's Wrong with Square Enix?, Anime Colubs, What is Touhou?, Deep Thoughts on Con Culture, Zelda Timeline Debate, Bento 101, Geeky Networking 101, Nerd Courting, Surviving Masquerade, Cosplay Photos: Basics, Amatuer Voice Acting, Art of Kumihimo, Figure Collecting, Making Armor with Wonderflex, Philosophy of Cute, and lots more. |
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| Cosplay:
This year's trip to Fanime-con
saw lots of inspired costumes from numerous anime and manga characters and more! Chart-topping displays for this year included characters from
Legend of Korra, My Little Pony, Final Fantasy, Panty of Stocking, Tiger and Bunny, Monster Hunter, Bleach, Madoka Magica, Touhou Project, Sailor Moon, Blue Exorcist, Pokemon, Vocaloid, Code Geass, Dynasty Warriors, Black Butler, and much
more! Please check out more cosplay photo coverage from our Fanime-con stock convention archives! |
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| Report:
Fanime-con is one
of those anime conventions that seem to defy every known obstacle you can
throw at it and it still keeps rising in the ranks of popularity and
attendance. This year's obstacles came in spades. First there
was the block-wide power outage that knocked out a major portion of the
area around the convention center and rendering all the pre-registration
systems ineffective. All pre-registration had to be performed by
hand but the massive crowd seemed to take it in stride. Second was
the shear crowd numbers that showed up to get registered, rendering the
Fanime rovers inundated with line control that had people surrounding the
building for a bit and finding parking was impossible. Third was the
major construction taking place that rendered most of the outside area
around the right of the convention center completely blocked off for the
new extension for 2013-ish. And of course, a couple of bad eggs in
security seemed to go on power trips every now and then but that's kind of
the usual for every convention. One of the staffers or rovers seemed
to ignore the police and firefighters happily taking pictures of the Tron
Bike on one rather light night and instead take it upon herself to declare
the bike a security traffic hazard or something. At 10pm? A
stark contrast the huge crowds earlier in the day that filled up the
convention center walkways and regular gathering areas. Despite all
of these efforts to ruin the spectacle that is Fanime, the convention
seemed to run it course as it always has done. Cosplay has always been a major focus on the convention for years but this year, the Rise of the Videographers has garnered their own niche in the busy atmosphere. You can see them whizzing around the gatherings, circling around numerous cosplayers, and gleefully dancing around some areas of the convention center to put out some very neat videos that get posted to YouTube. Some of the most popular videographers are Ackson and Michael Zhang and a cadre of other Steadicam enthusiasts. Also rising in popularity are the bring-your-own photo studio photographers with major pieces of lighting equipment that surrounded the left part of the convention walls on the outside. Kind of a fascinating spectacle since cosplay photography started up around 2003. The Masquerade has always been kind of a hit or miss. The staff is always extremely helpful and courteous to the press and it's always a delight to work with them and fellow press photographers behind the curtains in the photo area. Though at times it seems the entrants themselves don't bring out many fabulous costumes as those seen outside in the halls, but I'm sure there are perfectly understandable reasons for that. Not everyone can crank out a wonderful costume to see for the Masquerade but it still leaves us wondering if any more really nice costumes will be walking across the stage. Still, Fanime is well-known for busting out some really cool cosplay skits, and that something nice to see as ACParadise has kindly added to their YouTube page. As usual, the major functions of the convention don't leave a whole lot to the imagination. Not a whole lot of surprises, but with a good eye, you can find some nice things. The Dealer's Hall is large as usual and certainly didn't need to worry about crowd control. Plenty of cosplay items like wigs and contact lenses were available, as well as figurines and artbooks. As expected, it's getting harder to find videos and some manga as most of it is finding their way online. The Artists Alley continues to grow, with many artists camping out on the website to nab the very coveted spots. The same can be said for the rising popularity of the Swap Meet as well. One curious sight of the convention was the roaming Info Desk staffers. They helped lost souls, directed cosplayers to weapons tagging, and other issues. I think more of those kinds of people would be useful for other conventions. And the volunteers dressed up in bright orange jumpsuits to move the convention gear around; an excellent choice. And so ends another big Fanime-con adventure. I'm sure everyone had an all-around pleasant time in the sun, despite the hiccups. Last year it rained a bit, but thankfully, no rain! Not sure if attendance actually rose this year because the construction going on, but it did seem like a slight increase judging from eyeing the crowds for a bit. We'll see how it goes for next year when the Great Run for the Hotels occurs again. Not really looking forward to that, but everyone's gotta do it. Thanks to everyone who allowed Usagichan.com to take pictures of them and we'll see you all again next year. |
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Come check out more cosplay and events photo coverage from our Fanime-con stock convention archives! |
Be sure to visit the next Fanime-con!
