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Thoughts on Anime Expo Chibi 2022: A Compilation

A9ent 760 - Staff Writer When Anime Expo announced an event in Ontario, California for November 2022, I thought it would be a good opportunity to get back into the anime convention experience after being away from the scene for years. The recent passing of my friend Greg Hignight, who had been a well-known personality in the L.A. anime scene, brought out many friends that I have not seen in a long time and have reconnected me with the convention scene at first with Pacific Media Expo in San Gabriel a couple of weeks ago and with AX chibi his past weekend. In the spirit of Greg's "Go out and show them what you've got and be proud of it" motto, the following thoughts I've had about the convention this past weekend have initially made their way on my social media, and for the sake of posterity I've decided to make those thoughts available in one blog post on a site I haven't touched in a long time. Hopefully, it will give you a sense of what it's like to be at a convention in Ontario, California and plan accordingly and also to give you a taste of how Anime Expo did with their first "mini" event and give you a sense of whether you want to spend the money to attend or not.

DAY ZERO Ontario is a great venue for throwing an anime convention because of its access to hotels near the convention center for travelers, whether they are driving there or flying in (if you don't mind shuttling over from ONT airport). Mass transit options aren't readily available to the convention, outside of the Ontario East Metrolink station on the Riverside line and what seems to be a 35-minute bus ride from there to the convention center. Since it's a commuter line, don't expect weekend service to take anyone back and forth from the show, though. Hopefully the county can do something to improve on the ground transportation options heading to and from the convention center in the future.

The big issue for attendees on a budget, eating at the convention center can be super expensive, but what the food choice in convention center catering lacks, the "night market" food trucks make up for it while giving attendees a chance to get some variety in what they're eating for the day (food costs may vary). The only issue that may be a deal breaker is the "outside food and drink policy" inside of the venue area. You aren't able to bring food or drink upon entering the premises and con center staff will ask you to dispose of it before tapping your wristband to enter. Speaking of which, no badges were issued for AX chibi but you will be issued an RFID wristband with a "tighten once" adjustment and if it gets lost you have to pay a replacement fee, so plan accordingly.

While no indoor events were held on day zero, the bathrooms were available for attendees to use, but masking is required anywhere inside the building unless you're eating or drinking. To make up for events being held outside, careful consideration has been made to provide most of the outdoor sitting areas with a heat lamp to keep everyone warm in the 40 degree weather til the event ended around 11PM. Artist Alley was open for business and was inside a tent, but I haven't had a chance to see if it was climate controlled somehow. The outdoor stage handled all of the live programming of the show including a City Pop Dance Party event run by Gregory A. Hignight's Tune In Tokyo Events team and the DJ's dedicated their set to him in light of his recent passing. Other live events included performances by Koto, S4X, Super Soul Brothers, Black Ros3 and tsUgU Itagaki with each event ramping up the energy as the show went into the evening. With the temperature in mind at this time of the year, my suggestion for attendees would be to dress warmly if most of your time will be spent outside hanging out with friends or catching cosplayers around the show.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the convention has in store for the rest of the weekend and hope that the powers that be at SPJA continue to improve on it and keep bringing events like this to the IE. DAY ONE I finally got a chance to check out the artist alley. Despite being outside in a big tent, it looks like artists were in a mostly climate protected location and the crowds inside the tent weren't a complete fire hazard. A look into the dealers' room had a really good selection of merchandise that was sure to cater to anyone looking for anything from clothing to traditional offerings like posters and the occasional sword and plushy. Seeing Hypland's display of a Lambo and a Porsche decked out in Naruto and DBZ was the first thing to catch your attention the moment you walked into the dealer's room and makes me think of how far dealers' rooms have evolved from the days when most halls wouldn't have had that 30 years ago. Other offerings included the manga room where one can read a manga while resting in a room with other anime fans, the arcade room for vintage and current arcade video games, a tabletop gaming room, Lounge 21 for the 21 and over crowd with musical performances on a mini stage, a cosplay set space with different scenes for cosplay photographers to do photo shoots in different settings and a maid cafe provided by the Dreamland Maid Cafe crew, which I would have found out more about if there was enough visible signage telling attendees that there was an actual second floor with tons of other stuff to do.

I also spent part of the day hanging out with a con attendee who had never been to a California anime convention before and it got me thinking that sometimes it takes a fresh pair of eyes to show you what it is that makes conventions special. While most of the time was spent looking through the dealer's hall and "speed running" the artist alley (which never really ended up not speed running at all lol), the rest of the time was spent talking about what anime fandom was like in Missouri (the conversation felt so wholesome and innocent it made me appreciate how lucky California has it sometimes) and watching him take photos of cosplayers from different anime shows that are popular these days. It all goes to show that no matter how different the scene has changed, the whole core of the fandom and how attendees act has not changed significantly in the past 30 years and it was refreshing to see enough to re-invigorate the spirit. I swear the energy just felt so infectious that you wanted to get motivated to do fun stuff at the convention, and I really appreciated that feeling. Fast forwarding a couple hours and outdoor live events continued to catch people's attention with music shows, cultural workshops and performances concluding the night with Dueling DJs at the end of the night. I was able to check out the Bon Odori Dance lessons provided by Little Tokyo's Ondo dance group where they were encouraging crowd participation while teaching you Japanese folk dancing and how it could also be easily applied do modern music (which they called "Pop Ondo") and it was very fun to watch. If my legs weren't so tired from all the walking around and standing, I probably would have joined in. Night Market/Food Vendors and photo booth were still running and the larger turnout of people on Saturday really filled out the place til about 9-10pm when crowds started to dwindle. Things wound down around the 10 o'clock hour with no one at the food trucks and most of the indoor programming and artist alley closed, but the DJs carried the night with a healthy amount of stragglers til the venue closed up around 11PM.

Knowing that the night market and food trucks* will not be available on Sunday, that leaves the outdoor stage, artists alley and indoor events left to carry out the con til closing at 6pm, so I hope they can finish the weekend off on a high note. Here's hoping they can pull it off.

[*Editor's Note: the food trucks ended up being available on Sunday until the end of show at 6PM]

DAY TWO: THE FINAL DAY What could they do to end its inaugural weekend and leave attendees on an emotional high? While the final day of convention is usually a recover from wild partying and pack up to leave, the convention felt like it was doing the same. Night Market and Night Market Stage were closed off to prepare for closing, so events were moved into the "North Rotunda" of the convention center so that basically translated to events being mostly relegated to the back of the building that hardly anyone noticed. Although there were rumblings that the stage was used for events, but I didn't really spend much time outside on the south end to notice. In AX's defense, I thought that their use of the outside patio, which they DID call the North Rotunda was a very creative use of space, making the upper balcony stairwell from the second floor into a DJ booth which gave everyone a clear separation between the performers and the attendees. For me it was more of a chance to spend some time on the events happening inside the building to appreciate some of the indoor events I might have missed from the past two days. It was also a chance for me to get a bit silly thanks to the help of the folks from Furyu in the form of some cardboard bunny ears they were handing out to everyone while promoting their figure company to North American audiences. It sounds like they'll be doing more promotional events in the Los Angeles area, so it will give me an excuse to visit LA city more often.

One of the newer trends with anime conventions in recent years is the inclusion of a maid cafe, and AX chibi had one that seemed to be one of the busier rooms that needed a reservation to get into. A larger room would have probably helped them over the weekend, as attendees were literally filling every hour slot available and there was a limited number of spaces to get into it. This was one of, and only, events which required payment to get into and for the $35 per person minimum with a 2-person party minimum requirement, it was an enhancement to the modern anime convention experience. Dreamland Maid Cafe did a wonderful job at keeping the audience entertained for the hour long service and their dance routines were on point without a movement out of place. My only complaint was probably the waitlist if you wanted to eat at a certain time of the day. Even though I waited in line to make a reservation at 10:30AM, the earliest they could accommodate for me and my party was 5:00PM, which was the last hour of the convention, but it did give me a chance to maximize the time I had left to interact with the con before it closed for the year, which was spent catching up with my cosplay friends (in between photo shoots), my con photographer friends (in between shooting my cosplay friends) and the new friends I've made along my AX chibi journey.

Surprisingly, this one of the few times I can say I've had a good time at an Anime Expo event. The large show in Los Angeles has become an overpriced mess of claustrophobia and herd mentality in recent years, this is a pleasant change. It provided its guests with a taste of what's to come with their large event in the summer while maintaining a harmonious convention-attendee schedule balance. The overall consensus from attendees and vendors has been that it was one of the most relaxed shows they've been to in a long time (and no doubt a money maker for anyone in a seller's capacity over the weekend) and they should be applauded for their effort in making that a reality. I hope that they keep this positive momentum up and that it gives them an incentive to keep this convention going in the years to come.

GOT A CONVENTION TIP OR A NEWS ITEM TO CONTRIBUTE? Share them with us at worldofanime760@gmail.com.

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Variable Geo OVA Review

Image Credit:  KSS Films Chris Morton World of Anime Reviewer [reviewed circa 2001]

While the concept of this anime does give rise to much sleaze it isn't as bad as you may think. Yes some of the fighters lose their clothes and are forced to exhibit their naked exterior but it doesn't happen as often as you may think. Well actually it happens quite frequently but the show tries to deal with it by highlighting the immoral nature of the practice.

The fact that Variable Geo battle arenas just spring up in the middle of a busy street and the prime minister of the country drops what he's doing just to focus on a VG match is also quite unbelievable.

While the story is a little far fetched it does give birth to some truly awesome action scenes. These scenes are animated really well, which surprised me a lot. All of the female fighters have some amazing talent and each of them are equipped with their own range of colorful, powerful special attacks. The actual fighting though is more like general street fighting than true martial arts combat. This is okay though because it means some of the moves are quite brutal, including one scene where a fighter had her back smashed across another fighter's knee.

Something else to note about this series are the different characters and their individual personalities. Out of all the different female fighters three really stand out. There's a 'bunny' woman, a lesbian and a young girl with a breast fetish. The 'bunny' woman has her own entourage of bunny women, each with bouncing breasts and high-pitched voices.

Overall I would give Variable Geo an A-. It is a very good series that may surprise some people. Fans of action or fans of nudity should get a real kick out of this series.

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CONVENTION WATCH: AM2 POSTPONED INDEFINITELY

A9ent 760 - Staff Writer

LOS ANGELES, CA.  Anime.Music.Manga- also known as AM2 (read "A-M-squared")- announced on July 24th that it will be postponing its event until an indefinite future date.

"It is with great regret that we are postponing this event", states Chase Wang, "all exhibitors, Artist Alley participants and attendees have either received FULL refunds or are in process of receiving their FULL refunds-this is due to inaccurate mailing/email addresses, if there are any issues individuals can contact us at info@am2con.org".

Visitors are still encouraged to visit the AM2 facebook page and follow its twitter account at @am2con.

CONVENTION TIP #4:  When you’re at a convention, be sure to bring spending money with you.  You’ll never know when you might find that hard-to-find item you’ve always wanted, and it’s always a good idea to have money to spend for food or to pay back those friends of yours that you owe money to for convention traveling expenses.  Another advantage to having cash on hand is for bargaining with a vendor, where you could get a low cash price on an item that you want to buy.

There are some dealer’s room vendors that accept credit cards and check cards, but not all of them are set to accept those as a form of payment.  Convention locations may or may not have a nearby ATM machine and those that do also carry a heavy transaction fee or they might run out of money.  It is always good to research the convention’s local area in advance to see if your bank is nearby and to give yourself some time that you could be spending on enjoying the convention itself.  Just like with all valuables, remember to  keep money in a secure place at all times.

GOT A CONVENTION TIP OR A NEWS ITEM TO CONTRIBUTE? Share them with us at worldofanime760@gmail.com.

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ANIME EXPO 2013

A9ent 760 - Staff Writer / Jacky Lau - Photojournalist LOS ANGELES, CA (Jul 4-7, 2013).  Anime Expo took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center from July 4-7, 2013.  Guests in appearance included Good Smile Company founder Danny Choo, cosplay ambassador Alodia Gosiengfiao, and musical guest Pornograffiti. For more photos that are not shown here, please visit our World of Anime 760 Facebook Page. GOT A CONVENTION TIP OR A NEWS ITEM TO CONTRIBUTE? Share them with us at worldofanime760@gmail.com.

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NEWSBYTE: Anime Explode

A9ent 760 - Staff Writer / Image Credit:  Agit Gallery

LOS ANGELES, CA.  Agit Gallery will be hosting "Anime Explode!!", a celebration of anime, manga, cosplay and art.  The six hour event will take place at the Agit Gallery, located at 3974 West 6th Street in the Koreatown area of Los Angeles starting at 6:00 PM.  

"We've already confirmed a bunch of amazing artists doing their style of an [sic] anime or manga that inspired them," according to Agit Gallery's event description on Facebook.  "If you love anime, manga, video games, or if youre [sic] just a hentai maid lover, come on!"

Scheduled events will feature event giveaways and performances by Momotama, Paparika Mari and Midnight Shinigami, as well as a comedy showcase hosted by Danny "D-Boy" Gonzales.

Anime Explode is free to the public and cosplay is encouraged.  For more information, please contact Agit Gallery's event organizer at deathpopart@gmail.com or visit the Anime Explode event page on Facebook.

CONVENTION TIP #7:  Maintaining proper hygiene is essential to all social interactions at any convention.  Good oral hygiene (e.g., brushing and flossing teeth, using mouthwash) is recommended for maintaining spoken communication with people and even better personal hygiene (e.g., properly groomed hair, deodorant use and bathing regularly) will increase your chances at making more friends and decreasing the appearance of looking like a homeless urban dweller outside of the convention area.  For best results, perform these hygiene checks daily.

GOT A CONVENTION TIP OR A NEWS ITEM TO CONTRIBUTE? Share them with us at worldofanime760@gmail.com.

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CONVENTION WATCH: Kraken Con

A9ent 760 - Staff Writer / Image Credit - Kraken Con

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA.  A new multi-genre single-day convention focusing on anime, cartoons and comics will be taking place in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Kraken Con will be taking place on Saturday, October 5th at the South San Francisco Conference Center located at 255 South Airport Boulevard.

"We have high aspirations to create a friendly, fun convention that fosters community," says Kraken Con Director and Mastermind Lindsey Daugherty.  "We really hope to provide interesting, fun content to attendees that will entertain and maybe even educate." Current program offerings include exhibit hall, panels, interactive events including a cardboard robot building competition and a photo scavenger hunt.  Guests of Honor will be announced shortly. "We aim to bring fans from all backgrounds together to just enjoy the characters and stories- whether they are on paper, in Japanese or Saturday morning cartoons," says Daugherty.  

Pre-registration for Kraken Con attendees is $12 until September 1st.  Vendor and artist pre-registrations are also available. For more information, visit the Kraken Con website at http://www.krakencon.com.

CONVENTION TIP #9:  Don’t look like a mooch to friends and people that you meet at conventions by having some money saved up before heading to a convention.  Attendees generally carry enough money to buy the things they need and do not always have enough money to pay for other people.  As a general rule, carry enough money for meals, registration fees and lodging for each day that you are planning to attend.  For items that you wish to purchase in a convention’s vendor’s area, carry a minimum of $25 and for bigger ticket items, research the item online in advance and be prepared to pay the actual retail price in case you see it. GOT A CONVENTION TIP OR A NEWS ITEM TO CONTRIBUTE? Share them with us at worldofanime760@gmail.com.

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NINJA-CON 2013:  Not Your Average Anime Con

A9ent 760 - Staff Writer / Jacky Lau - Photojournalist

Ninja-Con 2013 took place on June 8th at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, Miyako Hotel and Anime Jungle in the heart of Los Angeles' Little Tokyo district.  A grassroots effort in the true sense that also included the shopping areas of LA's Japanese cultural area, Ninja-Con focused on the artists and performers inspired by anime and the anime, video game & cosplay convention culture, replacing the dealer's room with Swap Meet and provided enough areas for cosplay photography and for fans to be themselves without the pressures and limitations of large-scale conventions.  Little Tokyo retailers also participated in making the single day convention experience an enjoyable one by providing discounts to Ninja-Con attendees who presented their badges or wrist bands.

Additional events included the Tokari Maid Lounge, comedy showcases featuring Jon Allen and voice actor appearances including Cristina Vee and Danielle McRae.  California-grown talents in the convention and cosplay community that were in appearance included The Shogunate, Takeriya Samurai and Chocolate Covered Cosplay.  The convention concluded with an after-hours event hosted at Jungle.

To see what you might have missed at this year's Ninja-Con, visit their website at http://www.ninja-conla.org.  Plans for additional events throughout 2013 and its 2014 convention are in the works, so visit their website often.

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CONVENTION WATCH: ONI-CON HAWAII'S 2013 INAUGURAL EVENT

A9ent 760 - Staff Writer

HONOLULU, HI.  Texas-based Oni-Con announced on April 11th that its first convention in Hawaii will take place on November 1st-3rd at the Hawaii Convention Center on 1801 Kalakaua Avenue in Honolulu, on the island of O'ahu.  This will be Hawaii's new convention on anime and Japanese pop culture, replacing HEX-XP which announced on February 8th that it will be closing its doors and will not be doing a 2013 show.

Partnering with Oni-Con for its inaugural event is Babel Entertainment.  The California-based company managed the live entertainment at HEX-XP, including video game composer Nobuo Uematsu and singer/voice actress Megumi Nakajima.

More information about Oni-Con Hawaii will be coming soon.  Current guest information, registration and program offerings can be found on their website at  http://www.oniconhawaii.com.

[ADDITIONAL SOURCE MATERIAL:  Honolulu Star-Advertiser]

GOT A CONVENTION TIP OR A NEWS ITEM TO CONTRIBUTE? Share them with us at worldofanime760@gmail.com.

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CONVENTION WATCH: NINJA-CON DATE CHANGE

  A9ENT 760 - STAFF WRITER

LOS ANGELES, CA.  D-Boy Productions, the creators of Ninja-Con has updated its website to make it a little more obvious that their date has changed from April 6th to June 8th.  The location for the event, originally announced to be at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo district remains the same.

Ninja-Con's original website information was not clear enough for its web visitors when the event would take place, except for a posting on January 7, 2013 that the event was scheduled to take place on April 6, 2013.  Visitors would have to dig through the website's additional information (mostly listed as 'Coming Soon' under most tabs as of April 1, 2013) except for the "Convention" tab nestled under the "Location & Page" sub-tab.  The masthead on the Ninja-Con website now features the updated date and location information as of April 1st.

Whether or not it was an April Fool's joke to put the updated information on the website on April 1st or not, I'm pretty sure that there are a number of attendees that are not amused by this last minute update, especially since it was revealed that the organizers had been aware of this date change in February, according to sources close to the Ninja-Con staff.

GOT A CONVENTION TIP OR A NEWS ITEM TO CONTRIBUTE? Share them with us at worldofanime760@gmail.com.

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NEWSBYTE: SF Anime Costume Parade To Take Place With Changes

[image credit:  sfgate.com]

A9ent 760 - Staff Writer

SAN FRANCISCO, CA.  Japan Video & Media- the organizers of the first Anime Costume Parade in the United States in 1999- presents the 15th Annual Anime Costume Parade on Sunday, April 21st at the start of the Cherry Blossom Festival Parade route located in front of San Francisco's City Hall on Polk and McAllister Streets.  The Anime Costume Parade is part of the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival's Grand Parade, a 1.3 mile parade route that starts at City Hall and terminates at Post and Fillmore Streets near San Francisco's Japantown.

"More than 200 participants with their favorite anime costume will march through the streets of San Francisco in the Grand Parade," according to a flyer released by Japan Video & Media.  "This is your opportunity."

A major difference to this year's parade is the absence of the annual costume contest.  To replace the contest, there will be a raffle drawing that is open to participants of the costume parade upon check-in at City Hall. "Please note that there will be no costume contest this year," according to Japan Video & Media.  "Instead, we will choose some participants for [the] Anime Fashion Show, which takes place after the parade."

Following the Grand Parade at approximately 4:00 PM, Japan Video & Media presents its first "Dream Show" on the Peace Plaza Stage at Japantown Peace Plaza, featuring the Anime Fashion Show as well as musical and dance performances.

Pre-Registration for the Anime Costume Parade is required for all participants.  Pre-Registrations must be received by Japan Video & Media, located at 1737 Post Street in San Francisco in Japan Center's West Mall.  Any further information can be requested by contacting Japan Video & Media at (415) 563-5220. CONVENTION TIP #1:  Are you traveling out of town for the convention weekend?  Make sure to plan out the travel details of your trip beforehand.  Some of the most important things to work out before going to a convention are accommodations, transportation, dining arrangements and money for the bare convention necessities.  The more you plan before the convention, the less drama you have to deal with when you’re there.

GOT A CONVENTION TIP OR A NEWS ITEM TO CONTRIBUTE? Share them with us at worldofanime760@gmail.com.

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CONVENTION WATCH: HIGH SCHOOL ANIME CONVENTIONS



[Image Credit:  ASAHiCon]

A9ent 760 - Staff Writer

When anime conventions were originally created, they were made for college student age and up.  In recent years anime and cosplay have become a haven for high school students, but very few have been organized by young adults.  Here are two anime conventions organized by high school students and supervised by teachers and staff at their high schools:

CHIBICON SAN JOSE, CA.  Branham Anime Club presents its fifth Chibicon on Saturday, March 23rd at Branham High School, located at 1570 Branham Lane in San Jose, California.  On-site admission is $8 with ASB and $10 without.  Its 2012 convention has an age restriction for adults not accompanied by a minor as 25 years of age, but there is no information on whether or not this age restriction will be continued for the 2013 event.  More information can be found on the Branham Anime Club page on Facebook or by contacting Branham High School at (408) 626-3407.

ASAHiCON ANTIOCH, CA. Anime Society of Antioch High presents its 2013 ASAHiCon  event on Saturday, April 13th at Antioch High School, located at 700 West 18th Street in Antioch, California.  On-site admission is $5 with student ID and $7 without.  Further information can be found on the ASAHiCon website or by contacting Antioch High School at (925) 706-5300.

CONVENTION TIP #10:  PARENTS!  If you were an anime fan or have a child that is into anime, take the opportunity to learn or continue to learn what the fandom is all about.  Mainstream media point out the negative and the freakish side of anime fandom, but there are two sides to everything.  Instead of giving your children some money to spend and dropping them off at the convention like it’s daycare (or weekend-care in some cases), take an interest in your child’s hobby and be a fan together.  Some conventions encourage parents to attend with their children and provide “parent-in-tow” badges at a discounted rate.  Keep in mind that some subject matters and activities at conventions may not be suitable for younger audiences, so do your research and use your own discretion.

GOT A CONVENTION TIP OR A NEWS ITEM TO CONTRIBUTE? Share them with us at worldofanime760@gmail.com.

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CONVENTION WATCH: Ninja-Con Inaugural Event

A9ENT 760 - STAFF WRITER

LOS ANGELES, CA.  (Jan. 24, 2013).  DBoy Productions, in association with Azure Lorica Productions and Raging Nerds, will be hosting its first Ninja-Con event on Saturday, April 6th at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center located at 244 South San Pedro Street in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo district.  Confirmed Guests include voice actress Cristina Vee, vocalist/actress Xio and anime convention celebrities Chocolate Covered Cosplay group and San Francisco Bay Area based musical group The Shogunate.

Registration until March 23rd are $20 and will include a free t-shirt with pre-registration.  Vendor Registrations and Event Hours have not been announced on the Ninja-Con Website as of this article, but will be updated in the coming months before the convention.  A portion of the registration proceeds will benefit the Wildlife Waystation.

CONVENTION TIP #9:  Don't look like a mooch to friends and people that you meet at conventions by having some money saved up before heading to a convention.  Attendees generally carry enough money to buy the things they need and do not always have enough money to pay for other people.  As a general rule, carry enough money for meals, registration fees and lodging for each day that you are planning to attend.  For items that you wish to purchase in a convention's vendor's area, carry a minimum of $25 and for bigger ticket items, research the item online in advance and be prepared to pay the actual retail price in case you see it. GOT A CONVENTION TIP? Share them with us at worldofanime760@gmail.com.

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NEWSBYTE: MAI-CON DISBANDED?!

A9ENT 760 - STAFF WRITER

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (Jan. 14, 2013).  An update on the Mai-Con Facebook page announced that Mai-Con, the convention featuring Hatsune Miku as one of its guests, has "disbanded" until further notice.  Although, the wording of the announcement seems a little confusing.

"Mai-Con is Disbanded till further notice," according to a Mai-Con status update.  "Work will still be going on but the convention was not ready to be released. Work is being done to make this successful, but sadly this was not the time. I hope you all understand."

Facebook status update on January 14, 2013 at approximately 2AM.  Source:  Facebook.com

Since the convention hasn't started and no information about its organizers has been made public, it's safer to say that the event has been postponed rather than disbanded.  The latter means that EVERYTHING about Mai-Con is stopping and the organizers have 'broke up'... and if that's the case, we shouldn't be hearing anything more about the event.  But that's just my two cents.

The fan page will remain on Facebook to take suggestions for the event and to promote anime and cosplay.

CONVENTION TIP #8:  Conventions invite guests of honor from a variety of industries and may do autograph signings.  Support their work by having an authentic copy of their work to sign.  Having a guest sign a bootleg item is considered an insult by the guests of honor.

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NEWSBYTE: Animation on Display Announces Guest List

A9ENT 760 - STAFF WRITER

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (Jan. 8, 2013).  Animation on Display announces its first round of guests for its 10th year anniversary convention.  Among its guests of honor are Puella Magi Madoka Magica voice actors Christine Marie Cabanos and Cristina Vee, Dragonball Z voice actor Kyle Hebert, "The Lounge" web comic artist  John Joseco and Transformers: Robots in Disguise voice actor Neil Kaplan.  [UPDATE]  An extensive guest list can be found on the Animation on Display website.[UPDATE]

CONVENTION TIP #7:  Maintaining proper hygiene is essential to all social interactions at any convention.  Good oral hygiene (e.g., brushing and flossing teeth, using mouthwash) is recommended for maintaining spoken communication with people and even better personal hygiene (e.g., properly groomed hair, deodorant use and bathing regularly) will increase your chances at making more friends and decreasing the appearance of looking like a homeless urban dweller outside of the convention area.  For best results, perform these hygiene checks daily.

[worldofanimenews]

CONVENTION WATCH: Yaoi-Con Postponed to 2014

A9ENT 760 - STAFF WRITER

GARDENA, CA.  Digital Manga Inc., the presenters of Yaoi-Con, announced that they will be postponing their next convention to Spring 2014.

"We've identified many aspects we would like to update and improve, and doing so will require more than a year's worth of preparation," states Digital Manga Inc. President Hikaru Sasahara in a statement on Yaoi-Con's website. "We are aware that spring is a busy time in the convention season, and we are working to accommodate the schedules of guests, staff, volunteers, vendors, and attendees. As soon as we have more information, we will pass it on to you." Yaoi-Con was transferred to Digital Manga Inc. in 2011 from Biseinen-ya of Northern California, who has been hosting Yaoi-Con in the San Francisco Bay Area since October 2001.  Digital Manga Inc. hosted its first Yaoi-Con on October 12-14, 2012 in Long Beach, California at the Westin Long Beach Hotel.

CONVENTION TIP #6:  If you want to get a good night's sleep or a shower in before the next convention day, make sure that you have a way to get to your accommodations at any time.  Most hotels offer their guests a maximum of 4 key cards per room for a room with two beds.  While it is not encouraged to overcrowd hotel rooms, it is a common practice by many attendees in order to save money.  However, one of the major drawbacks is the varying schedules of everyone staying in the same hotel room.  If you are one of the unfortunate ones crashing in a hotel room and do not have a room key, have a method of contacting the people that have access to a room key so that you aren't locked out.

[worldofanimenews]

CONVENTION WATCH: 2013 California Conventions

A9ent 760 - Staff Writer

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Already planning your convention trips for 2013? The following conventions have announced their dates so that you can mark them on your calendar!

Anime Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA) - Marriott Los Angeles Airport, Jan. 4-6, 2013. Sac-Anime / Winter (Sacramento, CA) - Sacramento Convention Center, Jan. 4-6, 2013. Bak-Anime (Bakersfield, CA) - Bakersfield Marriott at the Convention Center, Jan. 20, 2013. Animation on Display (San Francisco, CA) - Hotel Kabuki, Feb. 16-17, 2013. Anime Conji (San Diego, CA) - Town & Country Resort, Apr. 12-14, 2013. Asahi Con (Antioch, CA) - Antioch High School, Apr. 13, 2013. DaiCon (Davis, CA) - UC Davis Location TBA, May 4, 2013. Fanime Con (San Jose, CA) -  McEnery Convention Center, May 24-27, 2013. Anime Expo (Los Angeles, CA) - Los Angeles Convention Center, Jul. 4-7, 2013. Kintoki-Con (Sacramento, CA) - Holiday Inn Capitol Plaza,  Jul. 27-28, 2013. Kinyoobi-Con (Newark, CA) - Hilton Newark Hotel, Aug. 9-11, 2013. AM^2/Anime Manga & Music (Anaheim, CA) - Anaheim Convention Center, Aug. 23-25, 2013. Japan Expo USA (Santa Clara, CA) - Santa Clara Convention Center, Aug. 23-25, 2013.  Sac-Anime / Summer (Sacramento, CA) - Sacramento Convention Center, Aug. 30-Sep. 1, 2013.  Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo Presented By POW! Entertainment (Los Angeles, CA) - Los Angeles Convention Center, Nov. 1-3, 2013.  Pacific Media Expo (Los Angeles, CA) - Hilton Los Angeles Airport, November 8-10, 2013 

No Dates Announced Yet… Ani-Jam (Fresno, CA).  Previously held at the Fresno Convention Center. Branham Chibicon (San Jose, CA).  Previously held at Branham High School. Anime Five Cities (San Luis Obispo, CA) - Previously held at Ludwick Community Center. Hyper-Con (San Mateo, CA) - Previously held at San Mateo Events Center. Yaoi-Con (Long Beach, CA) - Previously held at Westin Long Beach Hotel. Anime Destiny (Berkeley, CA) - Previously held at Martin Luther King Student Union/UC Berkeley. AnimeIcon (Monterey, CA) - Previously held at Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel & Spa. This list does not include Cherry Blossom Festivals or Japanese Cultural Festivals with anime programming content. Source:  Various. CONVENTION TIP #5:  Shopping for supplies in advance for a convention visit will help you save time and money during con time.  Most hotels and event centers may not carry supplies that you may need and if they do, they get really pricey.  Whether you’re a cosplayer or attendee of any kind, insuring that all of your important supplies are in your stockpile before con will save you the headache of finding nearby places and give you more time to at the con to have a good time.

[worldofanimenews]

CONVENTION WATCH: Macross World 2012

[IMAGE CREDIT:  macrossworld.com]

A9ent 760 - Staff Writer

ARCADIA, CA (Oct. 5, 2012).  Macross World announces a one day event on Sunday, October 21, 2012 on 11:00AM to 6:00PM at Concept Cube located at 1313 South Baldwin Avenue in Arcadia, California.  Macross World is a free convention and open to the public celebrating the Superdimensional Fortress Macross television series and subsequent franchises.

CONVENTION TIP #4:  When you're at a convention, be sure to bring spending money with you.  You'll never know when you might find that hard-to-find item you've always wanted, and it's always a good idea to have money to spend for food or to pay back those friends of yours that you owe money to for convention traveling expenses.  Another advantage to having cash on hand is for bargaining with a vendor, where you could get a low cash price on an item that you want to buy.

There are some dealer's room vendors that accept credit cards and check cards, but not all of them are set to accept those as a form of payment.  Convention locations may or may not have a nearby ATM machine and those that do also carry a heavy transaction fee or they might run out of money.  It is always good to research the convention's local area in advance to see if your bank is nearby and to give yourself some time that you could be spending on enjoying the convention itself.  Just like with all valuables, remember to  keep money in a secure place at all times.