Three Days at AnimeNext
This is the second year that I’ve gone to AnimeNext (in Secaucus, NJ) and like the previous year’s experience, this was another laid-back anime con. For what it was worth, I actually enjoyed myself.
Two of our friends had a bunch of panels throughout the weekend, so the Boyfriend and I spent most of time sitting in the panel rooms and partially listening to what people had to say, and partially snarking on some of the panelists’ statements. I thought the Manga Translation and the Manga Production panels (both run by Mari Morimoto) were informative and practical, especially since the panelists were trying to give the “straight talk” of the business of manga & publishing. I think it’s important for fans to be aware of the realities of this industry — yes, most of these companies exist because of the fans, but at the end of the day, we as fans must realize that these companies also have to think about their bottom-line, and if that means disappointing a segment of fandom, then that’s what they have to do.
We also checked out the AMV contest, and like others have mentioned, a good majority of them were just awful. But, I do have to appreciate the fact that the some of AMVs that were selected used series that aren’t Naruto or Bleach. They had a Baccano! and a Nodame Cantabile AMV. I think that alone cancels out the Advent Children and FMA AMVs.
Otherwise, I had a good con experience. Maybe being “away” from fandom and anime has made me slightly more tolerant of fan quirks, so now when I see them acting out at cons, I think it’s more amusing than annoying. I still hate those yaoi paddles though. Anyone who buys those deserves to get slapped on the head with their own paddle.
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:59 am
Did you end up staying for the whole AMV contest? We saw the comedy ones on Saturday morning and were pleasantly surprised by them. They were like, the exact opposite of all the ones that bored on Friday.
June 23rd, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Yep, stayed for all of the videos. The drama ones were so painful to watch, but yeah, I also thought the comedy ones weren’t bad, esp. the Itsuki/Kyon one.
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:51 pm
I’m so glad you like you the Mari Morimoto panels. She’s done so many events in the New York area over the past few years, and every one of them have been so interesting. She just nonchalantly talks about translating books like Dragonball and Naruto as if they weren’t the most popular manga over here. She’s one awesome woman.