The-O Network Blogs

After so many years that I dedicated to Anime it has finally paid off somebody has finally noticed my contribution to the Anime industry. I am attending SalAnime as in Sal short for my name Salvador (which reminds me I have to let them know they have a misspelling on their site it reads SacAnime) which I take it’s to honor me for all that I have done for the Anime community. It was nice of them to hold it the weekend after my birthday (can’t blame them since it would be hard to have a convention during mid week) but Aug 31^st – Sept 2^nd still works for me I just hope my many fans bring me gifts.

(manager-san walks in to my office and whispers in my ear)

What?...So that is not a misspelling?....I see….Oh…..Oh….I misunderstood then…So that means no limo for me?....and no entourage?...and no bodyguards?....I guess I need to make a few calls and cancel some services then.

Ok back to what I was saying um…. It happens that I will be attending SacAnime in Sacramento and not SalAnime as I thought (I see what they did there Sac=Sacramento *Sigh* not Sal). Even though I won’t be the center of the attention *sigh* there will be a lot of events to attend such as AMV contest, Maid Café, Open Gaming Room with lots of games, Karaoke contest, Matsuri festival, J fashion runway (gothic, lolita, visual key, gothic lolita, and more), Live outdoor concerts with 'Akai SKY' and 'Eyeshine'. Also a lot of GoH such as: Johnny Yong Bosch (Adam Park from Mighty Morphin Power Ranchers and Vash the Stampede from Trigun), Jennifer Hale (Naomi Hunter, and Emma Emmerich from Metal Gear series and Commander Shepard from Mass Effect 1, 2, & 3), Laura Bailey (Henrietta from Gunslinger GirlLust from FMA, Tohru Honda from Fruits Basket), and more to see the full list go HERE I will also be there if anyone cares. Did I mention a Rave? Well there is one which goes from 10pm till 2am on Friday and Saturday. Plus there will Itasha’s from Team LoveHATE who are from NorCal and are professionals in the Itasha scene and they will be showing off 3 new designs or their art I am so looking forward to seeing them maybe we can get one for T-ono soon. There will be the vendor hall, artist alley, and masquerade so there is a lot of things to attend. This convention is small if compared to other convention but don’t be fooled it is jammed packed with activities for those who want to go to the Q&A for actors, or get autographs, or just go buy stuff from artist alley or vendors hall. Also if you just want to cosplay it is great convention to dress up and make new friends while taking pictures at the same time. If you are a new convention attendee then this is a good one to attend you won’t be overwhelmed and also make sure to read this before you attend Convention Survival Guide.

This year was my first time going to AX as press; every other year I was a general attendee. This year, after working as a staff writer for different outlets and presently for T-ono, I got to see things through a press member’s perspective, and boy was I in for a shock; the experience, both good and bad, was not like anything I had in mind.

First, let’s talk about the bad: mandatory attendance of panels and events translates into a lot of running and no time for rest. Also, the walking from panels to interviews to events, then back again for more interviews, was just as intense. Plus, the sense of not having up to date information on events we had to cover was very frustrating. I swear, some information kept changing more frequently than the stock market ticker. We had some details change on us at least three times from when I left my room to when I got to the convention, and that was just the first twenty minutes of the con. Since it was my first time, I was more confused than shocked, and I felt like a complete newbie. The last gripe I have is that I was in the exhibit hall not to walk around and look at vendor booths and artists, but to attend events. My schedule was so constrained, I didn’t get to spend my money in the exhibit hall, but I’m not sure if this should be considered a bad thing or a good thing.

Now for the good: I got to do my first face to face interview and sat in on another to do a live tweet which I also did from panels. One of the highlights of my experience as a press member was interviewing ANIMETAL USA. Further tempting my inner fanboy to gush, I also got to give a Stitch Disney figure to LiSA as a late birthday present and interview gift before we talked (I think she liked it). I had a great time and now that I have gone as press, I don’t think I can ever go back to going as a general attendee. I kind of like the craziness of not knowing if the schedule, or any other aspect of my plans, has changed. It is chaos, but there seems to be a slight order to all this madness that we like to call an Anime Convention. I hope to do it again soon.