Kumoricon
Convention Events and Programming => Anime, Manga, and Japanese Media and Culture => Topic started by: Daystar on September 11, 2004, 10:41:38 pm
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hello... :D
just outta curiosity... did anyone else find that in the days following kumoricon, you had this overwhelming erge to back to the marriot and party more? i know i did... my body enjoyed the sleep and my feet enjoyed the rest but i was so anime oriented afterwards that i spet the next three days before my school opened again watching fushigi yuugi for hours on end... i almost finished the whole series of 50-some-odd episodes because of my "post kumoricon high".
did any one else expirience this or am i just weird? :lol:
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heh im still not over it. each night when i sleep im back at the con in my dreams LOL and when i wake up im suprised im home and not in costume LOL. it was great fun and im dyin to hurry up and get to the next con. sakuracon and kumoricon
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Yeah, I've fully got that ^_~ At my house I feel that before I leave the house I'm obligated to put a t-shirt ninja mask around my head and cat ears over that O_o heheh, that, and yes...I too have greatly wanted to just go back to the marriot, post on here, and see how many people I could get to come and just randomly walk around in costume with me ^_~
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i dont think i got that i think i slept though and high i would of had lol
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Hey K-fans,
I'm STILL trying to get over my +30 kills on Unreal Tournament, but as for anime-oriented, plus plus plus times my 30 kills and you get a non-stop beat, however, most of my energy of that is still augmented at the Fanfiction.
I walked to the Marriot and back a few days after Kumoricon 2004, how's that for ya?
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I dressed up in my zoro costume again today XD
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My mind is all over it XD I'm wearin my enko ears, wig, and contacts to school tomorrow along with my kitsune tail. Considering this is my first week of highschool, people will recognize me off that bat and I'm back in my gravi obsession thing again @.< . I'm watching the videos I took of Kumoricon over and over and over again.
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KumoriCon was my first con and now I am hooked. I can't wait for the next con and am already saving money for SakuraCon
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A day hasnt gone by that I havent opened up my internet and browsed the pics posted from the con. I was giving someone directions to Harveys and then I realised I just told them how to get to the Marriott haha. I had a great time, got clued in on some more cool manga, and now I feel the urge to pick up Final Fantasy. :) Im also trying to save up now for sakuracon next year and Ill definately be at Kumoricon next Sept.
Mike J
Please dont hate me because I never played FF before.
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i'm absolutely there with ya
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I spent about 4 days re-watching the AMVs I enjoyed most ...
- G
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yeah I had a few con related dreams too... This was my 2nd con. I went to Sakuracon earlier this year and I have to say this. Kumoricon kicked sakuracon's butt. I know kumoricon was smaller but it was still a crapload better. I mean at k-con I can actually talk to the staff and they seem a lot more relaxxed. K-con staff also had no problems asking con goers for an extra hand. S-con tried handling way too many things on thier own and the events were 2 hours late. I guess that was ok because that was how much time the battery lasted in my laptop. As for anime watching habits, they remain unchanged. I don't really have a lot of time to watch and enjoy. More peoples wants me to make them some cool new stuff. In fact someone wants to do link for S-con and I brought up the idea (thanks to the picture with the flash in the mirror) of using an LED attached to a spring wire to do Navi the fairy. This would give the effect of Navi fluttering about. Oh too many new ideas came up at this con. Even a wand with a tricolor LED for a magic sommoning effect... Well hey I love these ideas!! And I would love it if anyone else wants to think of something else...
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I just wanted to give Sakura it's due. So many Kumoricon staff have been staff, volunteers or attendees to Sakura for years and we owe so much to Sakura. Members of their staff were so willing to help us with ideas and technical information (and even the loan of some equiptment!)
I think one of the big differences is that Kumori is very fan oriented. Kumori Staff pretty much has the goal of, "let's put on a big anime party that we would love to attend if we weren't so busy working!" Sakura is big time and exciting and has really big name guests from the Japan and the US and that seems to be a big part of their focus.
As Kumoricon becomes more successful, those of us on staff will have some big decisions to make. Do we spend a lot of money bringing in Japanese guests and tons more US guests, or do we focus on making more of a con where the "attendees are the stars" (sort of the way things have been running the past two years) and spend money on more arcade game rentals, and more games and parties? My own personal opinion is that unless we are getting guests that are the biggest names in Japan right now, I'd rather have the big party atmosphere rather than the expensive guests.
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i agree 100%, beth.
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amen to that
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So many cons seem to go the industry-trade route, and some even die (or seriously implode) along the way. I strongly prefer the by-fans/for-fans format of Kumoricon.
Sakura-con last year has just started to get that industry-focus fungal colony feel to it: lines to get into stuff, tickets restricting admission, six inlet doors to something but NO, you have to go around THIS way, and although I have never been to AX, I'd describe AX as near the end of the cycle: Industry pros and marketing managers TELLING you what's coming out, etc. In other words, one-way communication ("We are releasing this and that - we hope you buy it and enjoy it") rather than a sharing of info among enthusiasts: ("Hey guys, -this- is how you can make a hakama!")
Sure, S-kon is now big enough to regularly bring in some well-known talent from Japan, but I went to almost NO panels at S-kon this last time. Dealers was HUGE, and I really enjoyed that, but I hope it's not some sort of immutable destiny for all cons to follow a path from fan focussed fun to eventual dull, "we're pro, your're not" presentations. If so, then the best path is to jump from con to con to stay where the energy is.
So it might be a great balance to bring over a few WELL-KNOWN folks, as suggested above, BUT keep most of the programming fun&fan-oriented: gaming, DDR, AMVs, cosplay, making things, drawing things, etc. Let the 'Pro' presence and influence be about '...and this is how YOU TOO can have fun trying things, doing things, this is how I draw - professionally and that is why I think it comes out cool looking... here's a tool or a trick which saves hours..."
Next, two possibly controversial questions:
1) Why do anime cons bring in English-dub voice actors? (another way of asking: What's the ratio of sub-fans vs. dub-fans within the Kumori-crowd? Could "Sub/Dub Wars" be a panel discussion? Would it be civil, or a row?)
2) What things, although NOT strictly anime, (pehaps QUASI-anime?) might still be of great general interest to anime fans? (Possible hints: How do folks feel about guests who are involved with or events about the creation of non-anime works like Invader Zim, Megatokyo, Sudeki, or the folks in Vancouver who make Animation Master?)
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there were 8 invader zim fanfics in this year's contest. i felt i had to create a zim-specific category for it. and when i announced such at closing ceremonies, there was a big cheer and a lot of amusement among the crowd :) notably, another attendee at our workshop gave huge fangirl props to one of the zim authors when she found out she was in the room, having read and loved that person's work online. these things all suggest to me a lot of overlap in fandoms, at least in the fanfiction communities. our subsection of programming, of which i am proud and honored to have been the chair, is among the components of kumoricon most fitting your characterization of kumoricon as emphasizing fan-created and fan-oriented material. i certainly believe that it is no coincidence that we also have some of the most well attended, well appreciated, and innovative fanfiction programming around, at any con.
for all these reasons--plus the desire that we differentiate ourselves from, particularly, other regional cons, to encourage a higher percentage of folks to see it as worth their while to attend both sakura (or other) con and our con--i personally do pray that we remain a con by, for, and about fans. and i commit that that will remain the focus of at least our own programming area, at least during any time that i am chair.
thanks for your inquiries.
fondly,
rem.
p.s. regarding megatokyo: last year, i cosplayed seraphim, and was recognized by many as such. it's also quite clearly -influenced. if we sort of broaden our conception from "this con is about ," to "this con is about ,--and--the ure that spawned it,--and--the subcultures, artforms, and communities that it spawned; then we will continue to be as unique and inclusive and fan-friendly as we are, while attracting an ever-widening base of interested guests and interesting material.
yours eagerly,
rem. :)
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I've had to keep getting into my costume ever since the con so everyone who knew about it could see what it looked like finished.
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i miss my con god do i miss kumoricon i had a room i remember when i got with my friends we were so excited we all had never been to a con before i had so much fun i miss it everyday i cant wait to go to my next one i might go to anime expo and i might go to yaoi con just for the hell of it i think i miss spelled rhat oh well man its hard to think that its over even though its been a while you have freedom that cant be explaned and your just like wohoo and hehe and haha and now that its over its just {sigh} anyways i stayed tell tuesday and man no one was left everybody left monday it made mee sad
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Yes! So much on a Kumoricon High! I even went to Festival Japan to try to make it better, but that only made it worse. I've had to get into my costume so much since the convention that the jacket completely died on me during Festival Japan. (Good thing I had the backup lame/cheap Dark Misato costume to fall back on....even though I still wore my Duo costume *with packing tape all over the jacket* for the first part of the second day.) Oh well, more sewing for me.
And as for the other side of the thread....Keep Kumoricon for the fans! I don't really care if there are really big names for the panels and performers, as long as the atmosphere of the con stays the same. I'm actually only able to go to one con a year, most years. This year I chose Kumoricon instead of Sakuracon, and I so completely do not regret my decision. I'd take the fun party atmosphere of Kumoricon and *BAKAZOKU!!!* over the industry-focused "we're professionals so we are more important than you" attitude of Sakuracon and their "big-name" guests anyday. Please stay fan-focused. (But if you could somehow convince Gackt to come over and be at your con, that would be really cool, too. :wink: JK)
Heh. I wish. Anyway, Kumoricon is so fun. It's probably the only convention I'd consider debuting my new cosplay at, anyway. (Mainly because it's close enough and small enough that people would apreciate my....rather twisted and slightly bent sense of humor.) I made so many friends there! I wish I knew how to get in contact with them all! It would so rock! Okay, everyone whose reading this thread....no matter what, go to Kumoricon Next year!!! ^_^
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I had several dreams that I was back at Kumoricon last night. I've also found it hard not to ask if I can hug people I see around town.
I can't wait for the next Kumoricon...
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I had dreams about that last night, too. What was even weirder is when my sister and another Trowa Barton cosplay decided they were going to go off and become secret agents or sum such....(must move gundam wing wall scroll. It's making my head even weirder).
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hello... :D
just outta curiosity... did anyone else find that in the days following kumoricon, you had this overwhelming erge to back to the marriot and party more?
yes big huge yes the few days after were bad cuz i'd wake up almost thinking i was still there, and be like what fun things am i gonna do to day or i wonder who i'm gonna run into in the elavater then pop and i realize i am at home and kumori is over and i have to wait till kumoricon 05
i tell you its wourse then after christmas (or any other winter holiday) sniff
wahhhh!!!
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well everyone, this was my first con experience and it was FREAKING AWESOME!!! i can't thank you all enough, staff and other friendly attendees, for making this an enjoyable experience. I'm so excited for next year, so excited in fact that i already have butterflies. anyways, as for the post kumoricon high, i went out and bought 4 series of anime, right off the bat. oh my gosh, i'm so happy. i hope to see all of you at sakuracon. I was a minor fan before, and now i'm a HUGE FAN. I'M FREAKING OUT WITH HAPPY!!!! AHHHHH!!!!..........swordchucks rock.....