Fanime 2014: Robbie's Report (Part 2)

And now we get to Sunday. I suppose you'd think, "Oh, this is the part where things start slowing down," but you'd be wrong, for Sunday was just as busy for me.

Fanime 2014: Robbie's Report (Part 1)

Fanime has come and gone once again, leaving a mess of tired attendees in its wake. Last year had some difficulties, but with construction over, the convention promised to fix all the issues that plagued it previously. Let's see if it managed to live up to its promises.

Big Wow! ComicFest 2014

Twas the week before Fanime, and throughout San Jose
People were preparing for the con days away.
But there was one con held there before all the rest,
For the center was home to Big Wow! ComicFest.

Okay, I'm going to stop the rhyming now and just deliver a normal report. So, Big Wow! ComicFest is still in its early years, but last year managed to impress me with its quality. This year's convention promised to be even bigger, so I went again for a day to check it out.

The convention has grown, taking up more halls than in previous years, although the setup was mostly unchanged; it was focused in one large room, which was separated into sections for vendors, artists, and guests, with some room outside where people could rest their feet and play some Rock Band. One addition of note was a section dedicated to Batman memorabilia, including a Batmobile from the classic TV show.

There were quite a few guests in attendance, including many comic artists, actors from old movies and new alike, and quite a lot of cosplay guests. Maybe too many, it seemed, although most did seem to draw a crowd. Now, I have a simple philosophy about cosplay "celebrity" guests: I'm fine with it as long as they give back to the con in some way. If they host a panel, judge the masquerade, help organize things, or in some way to anything more than sit at a table and sell prints, then I am all for it. There were quite a few cosplay guests who did just that, but looking over the lists of those in attendance, there were still quite a few who did not seem to be contributing to anything. Of course, that's just my opinion, and you're more than welcome to disagree.

Although I was unable to make it to the convention on Saturday, I arrived on Sunday bright and early. I was trying out my Mo-Larr, Eternian Dentist (from Robot Chicken) cosplay, though I changed later on into the Riddler, which was more appropriate, considering the amount of Batman cosplayers there.

Once inside the convention, I began to wander to see who I could run into. There were, of course, a fair amount of friends I knew, some who were there for the full weekend, others who were just stopping by for the day. I was also lucky enough to meet some wonderful cosplayers who I had not known before, but am now friends with, and that is one of the best things about going to a convention (in my opinion).

Big Wow is to be commended on its selection of panels, which covered a variety of subjects. It had panels on monster movies, on the comics industry, and even topics such as cultural diversity in comics. The aforementioned cosplay guests who did host panels covered some important topics, such as why everyone can cosplay if they want to, and preventing cosplay bullying. On the other hand, there were also panels on the "Heroes of Cosplay" show, which I personally do not care for. But again, that's just me.

While checking out the con, I stopped by the booths selling a very nice selection of comics. Bang Zoom even had a booth of its own, where artists would take requests to draw on blank comic covers they sold (at a price, of course, but one well worth it for an original piece), and Top Cow had a table of its own as well. Though I couldn't purchase much with Fanime approaching, there was still quite a lot I was interested in.

Last year's Big Wow managed to stand out well on its own in spite of its proximity to Fanime. This year's felt a little more like a step back towards a Fanime warmup. It was still a good convention, of course, and one that I look forward to seeing improve further in future years.

And Now for Something Completely Different! Ramen Yokocho 2014!

Hey all! School has been hectic for me which means I have been itching for a con that does not conflict with my schedule. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been one yet, but I did attend the Ramen Yokocho 2014 festival in Santa Anita Park a few weeks ago.

Kraken Con Spring 2014: Robbie's Report

This was the second year for Kraken Con, but my first time attending, so not only did I not know what to expect, there was little precedent to go on. I had, however, heard good things about it, so I was optimistic when I went to the convention.

Convention Eats: La Victoria Taqueria, San Jose, CA

Conventions Eats: La Victoria Taqueria

Location: 140 East San Carlos St., San Jose, CA, 95112

Cuisine: Mexican

The front of La Victoria Taqueria on East San Carlos St. (Photo Credit: gogobot.com)

Sacramento Wizard World 2014: Robbie's Report

The Sacramento Convention Center has become a familiar sight for con-goers in NorCal. Not long after Sac Anime moved to the new location, Wizard World decided to join in with Sacramento Wizard World, bringing the large comic convention to Sacramento.

Nate's Report: Animation on Display 2014

This month of January has been quite epic. Already I've been to two conventions far from home, which was Otakon Vegas and Anime Los Angeles, both of them occurring during the first two weeks of January. Now to end this grand con adventure, I'm heading back home to the bay area for San Francisco's anime convention, Animation on Display (AOD). Last year was my first AOD and it was a great convention for me that I was up to go to this convention again. With the already looming changes to this year's AOD (mostly change of venue from SF to Burlingame), I was going into this convention with hope that the con will continue to leave me a very good impression.

Ray Reports: Animation on Display 2014

I've been attending AOD since 2011, and this was my first time at the new location. At first, when I heard of the move from the Kabuki in San Francisco Japantown to the Hyatt near San Francisco International Airport, I was rather annoyed because this greatly reduced my options for food, shopping, and activities. It's understandable that AOD is expanding fast, but I still longed for being able to poke around in Japantown, where there were many things to do. Nonetheless, I still had my share of fun at the new location--for those who keep up with the Bay Area convention scene, yes, this is the same hotel that Yaoi-Con 2010 was held. Plus, I wanted to see my friends, who are the number one reason I visit conventions, after all.

AOD 2014 Review

Animation On Display (AOD) has made a big move this year, leaving the friendly confines of Japan Town and going to the SFO Hyatt, previously home to Yaoi Con. Increase attendance made it a necessity, although many lamented the loss of the dining options and the stores around the area that appeal to the average anime fan. Let's take a look and see how the con worked out in its new location.