Anime Central 2023 Review

Convention Reviews Anime Central 2023 Review
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[@JustinPinedaMedia]

This was one of the best ACen years. Period. For someone who made the cmv, the cosplay scene was insaaaaane! Also thanks for including me in the b roll!

[@ConventionReviews]

I totally agree! I used to be a bit cold on Acen but this year really changed my mind. And of course you know I love to include you hard at work in my videos when I can hahahaha

[@chikahoshi]

I literally JUST typed anime con review, specifically for looking for your channel, and saw this video had just been uploaded 30 minutes ago. What perfect timing, haha.

[@ConventionReviews]

That’s amazing! Hahaha. Almost waited till tomorrow to post it, now I’m so happy I didn’t 🎉🎉

[@chikahoshi]

@@ConventionReviews Same here! Great review as always!! :D

[@ConventionReviews]

@@chikahoshi thank you! Glad you liked it

[@Lastbornschwab7]

Ive been attending ACEN since 2011. Organization wise I would definitely agree this was one of their better years. Cancellations were updated in the Guidebook app quickly. I just wish Saturday night hadn't felt so hectic. Alot of people clearly just came for Saturday night and it really showed in crowd sizes and volume of people from Friday to Saturday. It made getting into the rave Saturday night quite the chore, as well as some of the 18 plus panels late Saturday night. However, these challenges got me to mix up my routine and I met several cool new people in the Hyatt halls late Saturday night so I wont protest the scale of the crowds too harshly. I can't wait for ACEN 2024.

[@ConventionReviews]

Yeah I should have mentioned the guidebook app! Also this has been a problem with Acen for many years, a tooooonnnn of people just go Saturday night only. Not really the cons fault but for sure a thing that happens

[@tehcheef]

3:40 I was the Yamato cosplayer. The boat took 3 months to construct and I have more info on my Twitter and FB

[@dazedlazer]

youre here cause of me arent you

[@tehcheef]

@@dazedlazer ayyyyyy

[@bismarcken1129]

Fellow Starduster

[@ConventionReviews]

I really wanted to actually film with you and get the details but we were needing to be somewhere at the time and I never saw you again. It was very very cool and impressive though!

[@tehcheef]

@@ConventionReviews F, catch me at anime magic this august!

[@RickySama240]

That Megumin at the end was a pretty nice way to end it since after a con, you'd tend to crash down and rest.. 😅

[@ConventionReviews]

Thank you! That's actually Megan from our crew. It was her husbands idea to do that shot and it looked perfect for ending out the video.

[@bakachan_]

I’m apart of ACen staff and this made me so proud 🥹

[@ConventionReviews]

Thank you so much for watching and thank you for a good con!

[@PsychoPyro813]

I skipped this year just because I'm still not thrilled that they changed their policies 4 days before the con last year, but I might reconsider in the future. I did hear that the Masq had some struggles for the competitors but that seems to be a trend across ALL cons of this scale. Regardless of all that, I just want to say how blown away I am by the improvement in your videography and camera quality! It's especially apparent how much you’ve grown in skill since you’ve been doing the retrospectives of your early vids

[@ConventionReviews]

Oh wow thank you so much for saying that! It means a lot honestly! Thanks for your support.

[@pivot500]

ACEN was amazing this year. It was nice seeing the crew back again this year! Hope to see y’all at a con soon

[@ConventionReviews]

Yeah it was great running into you! Glad you had a good Acen as well!

[@derpylovecosplay]

It was so great seeing you again after all these years! (I was the cosplayer on Saturday who showed you the picture of us from 2016). I’m glad you enjoyed ACEN as much as I did!

[@ConventionReviews]

Yoooooo! That was honestly so cool! Thank you so much for saying hi 👋. I hope you had a good con

[@derpylovecosplay]

@@ConventionReviews it was a great con! I can't wait for the vlogs to come out!

[@Samurai_Edd]

I WAS THERE THIS YEAR! AND FIRST ANIME CONVENTION TOO AND IT WAS AMAZING!! WILL GO AGAIN FOR SURE!!

[@monkeymantantan]

I completely agree with the score you gave for Acen this year, everything was dang near perfect, especially the raves. It was cool to run into by chance in the dealer's hall on Sunday, hope to see you at more cons this year and beyond!

[@ConventionReviews]

Thank you so much! Yeah it was awesome seeing you again. Too bad Dakota wasn't there with me at that time, he would have been hyped! Glad you enjoyed the con as much as I did.

[@dimensionzone8048]

Thanks for posting mate. Legit accidentally forgot about it this month (was too busy) and didn't get to go this year. Extremely awesome

[@ConventionReviews]

Haha dang that’s really too bad! It was a great time this year!

[@UnholySama]

Yo, that score is amazing. I'm really looking forward to the vlogs man!

[@ConventionReviews]

Thank you so much man! Tried some new things out this time so I’m glad you liked it. For sure went very high on this score, but I stand by it hahaha

[@vertainvt]

I just got back from the trip myself. It was my first anime con and loved it

[@ConventionReviews]

Woah that’s awesome! Glad you enjoyed it

[@sheenatheattendee]

Aww man you were at Acen! Wish I had the opportunity to run into you!

[@ConventionReviews]

Hey, maybe next time! Next con is Matsuricon

[@sheenatheattendee]

@ConventionReviews good to know! That's still a maybe for me. We'll be overseas in mid-July, so we'll see how money lands after that trip!

[@just-an-orange]

ACen 2023 was my first ever con, and it's given me reverse-FOMO, as in, I can't imagine what I've been missing all this time. It was a blast.

[@vinzwriter2.010]

Hell Yeah! Watching as I get ready for Fanime 2023 (In northern California)

[@ConventionReviews]

Hype! Enjoy!

[@XenialShotYT]

had no idea you were posting again! great to see you around again.

[@ConventionReviews]

We back in it baby! Thank you so much!

[@16peterl]

The masquerade was terrible this year. The Mcs were incredibly elitist and the participants have so many "horror" stories from this year. But otherwise agree with the rating!

[@ConventionReviews]

Woah really?? I did go to the masquerade and we all did cringe at the MCs A LOT, but i thought that was just normal cringe, not something problematic. Wish I knew about that before I made the review, but it is what it is.

[@PsychoPyro813]

Specifically I heard that they were insulting store-bought cosplays which is a pretty big slap in the face to a lot of people, particularly novices who don't yet have a decade of crafting/sewing experience under their belts. Bought cosplays open up the hobby to so many more people and as long as you don't try to pass them off as your own work, there's nothing wrong with them!

[@ConventionReviews]

Dang, that's rough!

[@ariellexpunpun]

I agree, there are many people including myself who have bought store bought cosplays before and I was put off by the way they were acting

[@chaysenoldbear1320]

After years of watching your vids, I finally decided to give this con a try, and it was amazing I had so much fun!! I definitely have to go back, I don't think I explored everything!

[@ConventionReviews]

That's so cool to hear! and yeah I also didn't explore everything! Lets petition to make Acen 4 days 😂

[@KendorkDrive]

i have been watching you since 2017-- literally the year i started cosplaying. I will be attending a con in my area all full days. It'll be my first time so your new vids are totally hyping me up. I am glad you're back with content!

[@ConventionReviews]

Yeessssss enjoy it! Thanks for your support!

[@carlosb.9032]

I was about to not go and went last minute for only Saturday/Sunday. So glad I did. Saw you on sunday and got to take a picture with you before heading to my car to drive home.

[@ConventionReviews]

Woah that's so sick! thanks for saying hi!

[@kogi8459]

Oh i thought that was you! Pretty sure i passed by you crossing the street and i was like "was that...?....nah i dont think he was making videos at cons recently" LOL Big agree on how acen was this year, honestly me and friends have been talking about how big its gotten and how honestly they could do 4 full days. Who knows what we can expect to see in the future though!

[@ConventionReviews]

Hahaha can confirm it was totally me! I really agree, I’m shocked they don’t do 4 days. Who knows maybe they will at some point. Though tbh I was pretty freaking dead after just three, but maybe I’m getting old 😅

[@georgethejedi]

Great video!!! keep up the great work!!!! they been mailing badges for a long time at least 9 years thats how long i have been doing it :) glad you loved this years acen

[@Star-pu6pj]

I fell down the stairs in platforms at that con 😍

[@momeji24]

great video! Wish i could've went :( looked like a lot of fun

[@ConventionReviews]

Next year!

[@HotZenny]

Ok, you sold it. I definitely have to go next year!

[@ConventionReviews]

Yyyeeessssss! Good call!

[@KaminariRaiden]

I think i got a glimpse of you . I was far, but i think you had green hair filming cosplays by the escalators/con lobby. Yeah they had lots of panels. had to skip cool panels because they were set at the same time

[@ConventionReviews]

Could have been me for sure haha. I did film cosplay at the spot for sure

[@MetxsightseerRailfan]

I went to ACEN 2023 this Saturday, it was great.

[@vampiricdemoncutie]

i knew i saw you again this year ^^

[@ConventionReviews]

Hahaha you did!

[@vampiricdemoncutie]

@@ConventionReviews next time ill be sure to say hi to you then! ^^

[@VoicesOfChaos]

Yes, the videogame room got a massive upgrade a few years back. Something you would have missed though is that in past years the Tabletop room had 100s of boardgames to check out. But for some strange reason they decided they didn't want to pay for the same people this year despite being given a massive discount allegedly. So the Tabletop room had like 10% of the games in past years. That being said I did like that the entire basement of the Hyatt was focused on tabletop games with rooms dedicated to role-playing games, miniature games, and collectible card games. As a panelist, I would give the staff and organization a 0/10 this year. It was awful! I am happy you could give panels and staff a 10/10 but a lot of longtime staff quit last year and it was felt for me with how a lot of staff was handled so poorly.

[@ConventionReviews]

Oh wow, interesting to hear your side of things.

[@Mikegreeley88]

*NOICE*

[@HorrorResourcesHR]

Ayy that's awesome! Will you be checking tekko out again this year?

[@ConventionReviews]

I would really love to but this year things are still a little tight for me. Next con isn’t until Matsuricon. I hope to hit Tekko next year tho!

[@HorrorResourcesHR]

@@ConventionReviews ah oh well! I hope next year works out!

[@brandonmarcial2792]

Acen still needs to pick up on having more panels. Its kind of frustrating that half the schedule is just cosplay meetups. It wasn't like that pre-pandemic. Also I'm gonna have to step in on the claim of 10/10 organization. No fam this was like a 3/10. I've been running panels and events for conventions for about a decade now. Normally, Acen gives us a rough draft of the schedule 4 months before the con. Then the next 2 months are a 2nd and 3rd draft. The 3rd or 4th draft is then released to the public as the official schedule. This year, none of the artists knew they were approved until mid-April, and the panelists didn't know we were approved until May already started. All the panels that got cancelled were probably because Acen never told the panel leaders they were approved until it was way too late to request off work.

[@anotherusername3537]

Yoooooo

[@ConventionReviews]

Yo yo yooooo

[@theboulder027]

Lol I saw myself in this video

[@ConventionReviews]

Haha that’s awesome

[@randallgoeswhere]

I think the gaming room is way too big. It always felt empty even with people in it. Liked it better when it was upstairs.

[@ConventionReviews]

Idk I really liked the open space. It helped it feel aired out and cooler than a lot of games rooms that get super stuffy

[@kekeirvin8366]

HEY i wanna go to Acen this year, but im 33 and feel like ill be the oldest person there? i dont see a lot of adults :(

[@ConventionReviews]

You won't even be close to the oldest person there lol. Of any convention Acen gets people of all ages! You will fit in just fine!

[@Wraith26]

You rated everything except the Artist Alley. They're a huge part of the con and should always be considered.

[@ConventionReviews]

The artists alley is scored with the dealers room. I absolutely mentioned it twice. I said it was fantastic

[@Wraith26]

@@ConventionReviews Yes you mentioned it but you didn’t ranked it like you did with everything else. The dealers/vendors aren’t in the same category. Vendors are middle men, they buy low to resell higher. Artist handcraft, create and draw everything they sell with there artist abilities. So they have to be in separate categories.

[@ConventionReviews]

@@Wraith26 I understand that but I do not rank artists ally based on the products sold because normally artists in artists alley apply to sell there. The type of things sold there are not controlled by the convention itself. The con only decides how much space to give the artists who apply. That's why I rate dealers based off variety but not artists. It would not be fair of me to give a super low score to a con for artists alley if the art there was bad for example. It all depends who applied to sell.

[@Sparrow779]

I personally would knock the organization rating down a few notches. There were so many complaints pre-con from panelists who didn't learn their panels were approved until like 2 weeks before con. Some artists got moved in artist alley and guidebook listings weren't updated to reflect the new location. There were some fandoms that had multiple cosplay meetups over the weekend, which led to some time slots being super short and not well-attended, probably because people wxpected to be at the 2nd meetup instead. They double-booked the last half of the Right Stuf panel and the Aniplex premiere, so Right Stuf had to rush their panel. Guest Helen McCarthy had one of her panels listed wrong in Guidebook (for midnight Sat). For those of us who showed up, it took reaching out on the con Discord to figure out what happened. The con staff available in the the area just didn't know and had trouble getting answers. Then when they updated to the "correct" time, she was double-booked in the same room, same time as another guest, so her panel had to be reassigned another time slot. And tthere were 18+ panels that didn't have staff assistance in any way for checking ID/wristband or crowd control, so anyone could walk in.

[@TheHmongol]

Why the hell is this con still only 3 days 😡😡

[@ConventionReviews]

Hahaha I’m wondering the same thing

[@TheIronChainMaster]

Bro even though it was just for a hot second it was good to see you again and doing the reviews again. Hope to see you at the next convention & play some ketchup.

[@ConventionReviews]

Yeah man absolutely! Acen is fun for me to see so many people, but it's also too busy of a con so I can never stick around and catch up, smaller cons are for sure better in that aspect.