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Visiting Anime Expo 2015

Posted by mountainoluv, 07 July 2015 · 2110 views

Anime Expo AX cosplay Los Angeles anime Crunchyroll art
Visiting Anime Expo 2015 It’s been a couple of months since my last blog entry, so I figured it was about time for another one.

They held Anime Expo at the L.A. Convention Center again, from July 2 – 5, 2015. I purchased my ticket for $45 the night before I went. I attended with a family member on Fri., the third. I had some stuff I had to do on Fri. morning, so we didn’t get going until 12:15 p.m. It took about an hour to get there by car. I couldn’t find the parking lot we parked in last year (maybe it was full). Anyway, we parked in a structure (Hope St. Structure, by Flower St. and 11th St.) for $20. There were some parking lots closer to the event, but they were charging $40 or $45, which I thought was outrageous. The structure where we parked was about two blocks from the venue.

As we approached the Convention Center, we saw some Christian protesters, with picket signs and megaphones, etc. They were trying to recruit people to Christianity.

Picking up our badges went very smoothly this year. There was only one guy ahead of us in line, and it took ~2 minutes. They handed out canvas goody bags to all attendees. The nicest thing inside the bag was a fan from Crunchyroll , an anime streaming site.

We went in an exhibit hall. It looked like a bunch of people sitting around tables, playing games. Well, that wasn’t for me, so we looked for the main exhibit hall, with the vendors and ‘Artists’ Alley.’ We spent some time in there. It was pretty crowded. There were a lot of artists . . . row after row of them. Some of the rows were so crowded, we didn’t even want to go down them. So, if you are into purchasing original anime art, this would be a place for you to go next year, if you haven’t already been here.

One thing was missing that was there last year. At the Crunchyroll booth, they didn’t have the camera for the attendees to go in front of, like they did last year. I thought that was a fun attraction in 2014, so it was a disappointment that they didn’t have it this year. Also, the live events on the Crunchyroll stage didn’t seem as interesting as they seemed last year. Like, they just had some studio executives on stage, and an MC was asking them questions. It was boring for me.

They were going to have a workshop on fan fiction. The person I attended with wanted to go to that workshop. We found the room where it was scheduled, and we got in line. After a few minutes, an employee or volunteer for Anime Expo went through the line. He told everyone that this particular line was for the premiere guests only. (Note that a premiere ticket cost $245.) The people in line who weren’t premiere guests were supposed to go outside, around the block, find some other line, and wait there. Heck, it was just a silly workshop on fan fiction, so we said ‘forget it.’ That was something that impressed me about Anime Expo. With the exception of the people distributing the badges, the employees /volunteers weren’t interested in helping people. Instead, they were concerned with telling people where they couldn’t be. They even wore vests that said ‘Access Control.’ Besides that guy who was kicking people out of line, I saw other employees/volunteers telling people “You can’t sit there. You have to move,” on two occasions. That was kind of a downer for the event. I mean, who wants to pay money, go to a really crowded place, and then be herded around like cattle?

With regard to the food, they had a cafeteria-like vending area. We got two cheeseburgers with fries. I got a small drink, and the person I was with got a large drink. It cost $33. Based on the quality of the food and the portion sizes, I’d say it was way overpriced. It was like, ‘Well, we have all these people here . . . they are probably going to get something to eat . . . so let’s charge them the highest price that we can!’ On a positive note, we were able to find a table, so we didn’t have to sit on the floor and eat. I did see some other people doing that, though. (By the way, I don’t want to come across as someone who is obsessed with the cost of everything. I’ve gotten to the point where if there is something I want to do, I accept the fact that it is going to cost some $. In this post, I’m just trying to give people an idea of how much resources they are going to need if they choose to attend AX in the future.)

One final positive note was the opportunity to see so many cosplayers. This was the main reason I wanted to go to this event. (I’m not knowledgeable about anime or gaming or that type of thing.) Anyway, the attendees did not disappoint. I saw so many cool cosplay outfits this year. That made it fun. I saw this one guy who had skin that grew completely across his left eye. I thought he had a real medical problem. Maybe it was makeup, but it looked so real. I talked to someone afterwards, and they said that this would be a great event for someone with a problem like that to attend.




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