Anime Expo feels unsafe

[@Emirichu]

The way you called out the "artists like to put me on in the background while they do their thing" and i looked up from my tablet 💀💀💀 Also im very sad to say if the butler cafe dancer was in a dark hoodie then we saw the same dude and hes 100% a plant but he absolutely killed it

[@hunterishomophobic]

WAIT OMG EMIRICHU??????

[@thesoupchronicles]

SAME

[@RavensCake]

Something about seeing your favorite youtubers in comments is so fun imagine the colab you provide the saale side missing from amandas anime expo videos!

[@startingace]

collabbbbbb

[@1e1001]

@ville__ no we can't all agree

[@mintybagels]

i went last year and somebody had a seizure right in front of me (like 2 meters in front of me) but it was 8am and the health tents hadn’t opened despite the line wrapping around the entire convention. that man hit his head on the concrete, started turning blue, and foaming at the mouth. he was only saved because a genshin cosplayer knew first aid and we called an ambulance. this convention is a complete and utter disaster waiting to happen.

[@gomillust]

Genshin cosplayers, of course

[@lifeisadrag7705]

The first time a genshin cosplayer is based. Jokes aside that's horrendous, this shouldn't be happening. I'm glad that cosplayer knew what they were doing.

[@vaehtay]

Not to be insensitive, that’s horrifying and I’m happy they were okay, but imagine you’re having a medical issue and someone cosplaying raiden shogun or whatever is the one to give you first aid… I find that funnier than I probably should

[@ravensep]

I am not a genshin player but i need to know what they were cosplaying as

[@madamaonyx8844]

@@vaehtay Raiden Shogun saved my life. If nobody got me, I know Raiden Shogun got me. Can I get an Amen!

[@MsEyelinered]

Crowd crushes can be extremely dangerous and take dozens to hundreds of lives. Crowd control is a really serious issue.

[@hihey229]

Right? Stampedes are fucking terrifying and so many of these events seem criminally negligent

[@princekyun]

fascinating horror has plenty of videos on crowd crushes, particularly ones that were so brutal, horrific, and especially fatal that caused the safety precautions we now have today.

[@yourlocaltheatrekid900]

@@princekyun Rotten Mango also has a video of one that happened recently

[@KingOfGaymes]

This is why conventions need to implement a cap or only a certain amount of attendees, so many don’t seem to have a limit on attendees and it’s a nightmare. If I can’t walk through a hallway, how would I get out of there was a fire? It’s not safe.. I love anime cons but god

[@RoMayDrako]

@@hihey229 Remember what happened in Korea where a lot of people shoved into an alley and ended up getting crushed. It just takes one person tripping in a crowded hall and falling and people pushing in to cause a similar situation. Or people try to leave because the fire alarm was pulled and they panic and bottle neck at the door and end up crushing each other.

[@xtuffcookiex]

As someone who is 5'2 AX was scary for me with the amount of crowds. I had a guy * gave permission* pick me up to move to an artist booth I was trying to go to. Guy was built like a bear but, what a sweet heart he is my unspoken hero. He had lifted me through a crowd in AA because, I was getting shoved...gotta love day 1.

[@1e1001]

@ville__ those are two entirely distinct words :)

[@floydjohnson7888]

"Helping a fellow enthusiast" - FTW

[@Sleipnirseight]

​@ville__Calling people's hobbies and interests "cringe" is cringe. People are allowed to enjoy what makes them happy. I'm sure you enjoy things other people don't find appealing... Hopefully that doesn't stop you from enjoying them. You should learn to extend that same courtesy to others.

[@mfitzburger5137]

I think I just found a new kink.

[@AB-py6jl]

"yes you may pick me up, stranger" 😂

[@learning2live_brokeninchro157]

I am disabled, and in a wheelchair. I do appreciate that you always talk about and are concerned about how the different events you cover are for people who are disabled. I’d love to go to one of these, but is just way too crowded. You mentioned how hard it is being short, imagine being even lower. Not only does quality of air go down, but risk of getting hit (like you mentioned), and the major one for me is that when a crowd is tight I literally lose light, I get claustrophobic. I’ve also been injured by a person tripping over my leg. My leg broke. I now try to stay away from events that are too packed. It’s just too risky. Which again is why I enjoy watching you go to these places I’ll never be able to go. Thank you Amanda. Be careful please.

[@moonsigil]

oh god when you said your leg broke from someone tripping on it I winced

[@kiingsomniia]

I don't know if this would be a good area for you, or if what I'm thinking is a small enough crowd (definitely smaller than AX), but in the DC area where I am, we have Otakon and I've managed to see one or two people in chairs there every time I go. They seem to have a much easier time and the center that it's held at has pretty accessible pathways for everyone (ramps, elevators next to escalators ect). So if that's something you'd like to try it might be fun for you (it is for me :) especially since it's leagues smaller than AX buy still big enough to be well known and have fun stuff to do. And if that's too big Katsucon is in this area too, and even smaller than Otakon to my knowledge (I've only been once there though so my memory may be off since I just went to Otakon). Hope this helps! :)

[@akahanan]

I’m a disabled person in a wheelchair who talked to Amanda, she heard me out and I greatly appreciate it. Honestly AX was a fight for my, they way people treated me was a mix of: absolutely accommodating and so terrible that my blood boiled. Luckily I’m a voice actor, so I know how to scream properly for long periods of time. But it’s ridiculous having to scream, “wheelchair coming through!” And still have people step in front and still get their ankles nicked. I would go to AX again for the cosplay community and voice actors, but they have to promise they won’t over the convention and turn it into a safety hazard 😮‍💨

[@bellacapulet1933]

I am an ambulatory wheelchair user. I had to have a talk with my husband about when he pushes me close to people I'm basically eye to ass level and can't breathe. I've been elbowed in the head too. It sucks.

[@EveryDooDarnDiddlyDay]

Shut up and get out of the way there wheelie.

[@EmilyLMcArthur]

I'm former event security and I developed a huge passion for event safety. I was in the music industry 10 years in various jobs so let me blow the lid off for your audience. Crowd management is a very specific training and the certification only exists in Europe. I quit an event security company after 3 weeks because they had ZERO staff communication on site and yes there was a mass shooting in one of their contracted venues in my city and I cannot even fathom. Training on this stuff is minimal at best.

[@erinb2887]

I'm sad that they haven't learned from all the previous tragedies at concerts & sporting events.

[@saraschu2735]

@nharber9837 in my state, security and event managment staff are run by separate subcontractors. I worked in the event management on the venue side (not security) for 5 years and we had some training regarding evacuation, emergency situations, active attacks, alcohol, medical situations etc. This was on top of training for the actual duties of ticketing, ushering, etc. There are stateside companies for these trainings but usually for sport venues event management not music venues. Different venues, cities, and states have different requirements, policies, and liabilities which means a standard certification doesn't really exist. Unfortunately that lets a lot of companies disinvest in those types of trainings.

[@standdownrobots_ihaveoldglory]

Years ago, I was the marketing person for a nonprofit. A wealthy & connected volunteer of ours decided we shud have a Jimmy Buffet concert to raise funds, and I had to get involved. Luckily the plan got shut down, as the original budget called for entirely volunteer staffing, other than 4 off duty cops that the county required. I threw several absolute tantrums over the security and the alcohol control issues, and I was livid to realize how many people involved in events are very comfortable to do things loosey goosey or to say that absolutely essential risk management conversations are "negativity." Considering how often things go very wrong, it's disgusting how many people refuse to see reality. And there's a lot of people involved in events who are just trying to make their own daydream happen. I really avoid large events, tbh, they are usually mostly just lines and uncomfortable seating, and spending 5x the normal cost of food, drink, etc is not fun.

[@standdownrobots_ihaveoldglory]

​@@nharber9837Until legal requirements are increased, the motivation to do better is hard to find. No one ever asks what's the biggest/best event they can host if they do everything by best practices, it's almost always hinky and shady and they figure put how to spend the least but make optics look appealing. And nonprofit events are not necessarily better, many use 3rd party companies or substitute knowledge with uninformed enthusiasm

[@The.Nasty.]

You’re one of the few security guys I’ve seen who takes their job as seriously as they should. I’ve had to be a bouncer for a bar I tended years ago… had a few close calls that made me take security and awareness in those situations VERY seriously. I always see security out and about in my city with their eyes deep in their phones, or with their back to the entrance of the business, little stuff like that…

[@rory2393]

So glad that dad was there to protect his daughter and other cosplayers. There are soooo many creeps in the anime community, parents need to be aware when their kids are attending events like this

[@COSun25]

He deserves to be the Head of Security of Anime Expo.

[@Unfortunately_Mickey]

Excellent dad. 10/10 dad.

[@kiricappuchin]

Genuinely awesome dad. Beat that creep!

[@lifeisadrag7705]

Fully support, I'd do the same shit, creeps don't need to feel safe when they make others unsafe

[@EinherjarV]

Many Factors their though. As a guy, in the same situation I'd want to beat his face in too. but he could have been kicked out, charged with assault, sued, banned from further attending any even hosted by the companies, ruined his daughters experience. Inform security or police about this possible Pedo.

[@freshlysqueezedpopsicle]

i think the main issue with any popular convention is prioritizing quantity (in this case attendees) over quality (having enough space to move around properly). i always love the last day of the convention tho since they give stuff out for a lot cheaper/free + it’s much less crowded hehe

[@imsotiredofthiscrap2341]

thats why comic cons that are non profit like san diego and such are so well known. It's still crowded, but they limit the amount of tickets because they don't need as many people as possible to come. there aren't many other cons that have an attendance cap unfortunately.

[@pandabugdiaries2384]

yea its sad bc they can't pull big acts/events if there aren't enough people but because of those ppl it becomes basically a fire hazard nightmare

[@moviesquad73]

GalaxyCon in Richmond had that problem where they oversold tickets and didn't have any proper organization or procedures. It was a mess

[@FukaiKokoro]

Not just fire Hazard a hazard to humans in general especially people who have different needs like wheel chairs, crutches, guide dogs etc or any other medical needs.

[@datafoxy]

​@@imsotiredofthiscrap2341Even with the limit it is very crowded. They pack so many people in.

[@4amlibra]

My college went on lockdown once after reports of a “heard gunshot” at the nearby mall caused a panic. Turns out it was a chair falling off a table and hitting the floor. Imagine that kind of panic in this overcrowded an event; the inciting incident doesn’t need to be deadly to cause a deadly reaction.

[@kristelbrok998]

Imagine living in a society, where a *chair falling from a table onto the floor* would cause a panic 🥲 I'm sorry, but that sounds absolutely dystopian

[@4amlibra]

@@kristelbrok998 It is. The majority of Americans that aren’t hate-posting on Twitter constantly live alongside fear daily. I saw a post a while back from a Mom who’s daughter came home from school crying about needing different shoes. Turns out they ran an active shooter drill while she was in the bathroom and she realized her light-up sneakers could give away her hiding place and get her killed. This girl was 8 years old.

[@grabrielle]

the crowds also make it much harder for paramedics to help if there's an emergency. at nycc last year, a cosplayer had a seizure/heart attack and it took paramedics 20 minutes to get to them. unfortunately, that cosplayer passed. I'm not sure why it took them so long to get there (was it crowds or outside traffic) or if they could have even helped had they gotten there sooner, but where it happened (top of escalators) was always packed and generally a really stressful place to be. I can't imagine the lack of crowd control helped at all.

[@MrWarners14]

That’s awful. Generally, I have a serious issue with cons overbooking on tickets. Results in serious overcrowding that can turn deadly very quickly. That’s not good enough. They need to seriously cap the amount of people getting tickets for conventions. It’s really irresponsible for the organisers to not cap these events.

[@Zyphera]

There needs to be an overview of allowed guests at some places. Too many are allowed.

[@macabremiles]

“I’m apparently really good background noise for artists while doing arty things” me actively drawing while listening to this video: 👁️👄👁️

[@jennacided6502]

me crocheting was not prepared to be called out mid video lmao

[@mildgrooveon]

Me designing in my day job: same

[@Jayfive276]

I dont understand why this is a surprise to any of you.

[@sarahkp729]

me still playing cities skylines while still listening to swell videos after years-

[@goliathtigerfishes]

Me painting while listening

[@1003513]

I'm glad that a content creator that isn't in the anime community is addressing the crowds at AX. Anime cons have been ignoring safety for years and since we're a fairly niche community, event planners feel emboldened to keep up the unsafe practices. Hopefully something changes in the future because people will eventually die because of this. It's honestly a miracle nothing has happened yet.

[@FukaiKokoro]

Imagine how scary it is for people with different needs. If they care so little about people without different needs they definitely don't think about people with different needs like wheelchairs, other medical problems etc

[@randomtinypotatocried]

@@FukaiKokoroFrom the horror stories I'm heard over the years and yeah it's even worse for those people

[@KomoraKriogeniczna]

Have you ever had organizers make the only elevator in the building be barricaded by a stand? And just shrug at you in a wheelchair unable to attend half of the attractions? Also refuse you a ticket refund on top of that. It was a local, not very big convention admittedly, but gosh that's my shittiest experience with anime conventions ever.

[@yozha92]

​@@KomoraKriogenicznawe have a con where the EXIT/Emergency exit is barricaded by stands (only has 1 floor)

[@ghoulchan7525]

@@yozha92 ... that's illegal. or should be illegal. i'm pretty sure that is illegal where i live

[@lilac841]

I had severe heat exhaustion (very borderline heatstroke) and wasn't able to get out when I was stuck in the crowd. I could hardly stand, I was severely disoriented and confused, I puked, I was about to pass out. My friend left to get help and water and couldn't find me again (in hindsight this was a bad idea but I was not in the right state of mind and she was panicking). Thank god for this other couple saw me stumbling around and basically dragged me out of the crowd and found a place where I could sit down on the floor. If I had passed out in the crowd I could have definitely been tampled. They are seriously lucky no one died there. I've been going to conventions for 12 years. I've probably been to close to 60 cons in total. This was definitely the most dangerous conditions I've ever seen.

[@lilac841]

@@VampyBlood17 I'm so glad you also got out ok. Yeah they definetely should have set the limit way earlier. I've seen some people blaming the attendees for showing up when they "should have known it would be crowded" but at the end of the day the convention shouldn't be putting their attendees in danger when they could have easily not sold the four day tickets. There are plenty of conventions that can't meet their demand (like comic con) but don't sell a dangerous amount of tickets. It means some people won't be able to go but at least there won't be any deaths. The solution to this is more conventions on different weekends. Not selling out over capacity.

[@RoMayDrako]

Have everyone you know carry a whistle. If someone starts going down blow it hard as you can duck everyones ear drums and tell them to make way to the door medical emergency. This from a security guard for over 13 years and previous convention experience. Yelling and pushing won't make them move but a whistle will make people pay attention

[@lilac841]

@@RoMayDrako that’s an excellent idea

[@_xiosa]

Trying to find a water station was hard! I’m glad someone helped you. I was definitely dehydrated on day 1 bc I couldn’t find a water station. Music festivals put up tall signage for water and I don’t understand why AX couldn’t do the same.

[@lilac841]

@@_xiosa a lot of popular conventions have water stations on every major periphery but that wasn’t the case at all here. And people have had heat problems at this con for the entire time at has been run (no wonder it’s LA in summer) so it’s crazy that cons I have been to up north and during winter have more water stations than this

[@Soundgardenklok]

As someone who worked for anime expo about 6 years ago, the miscommunication thing is *definitely* an ongoing issue. It's not uncommon for event staff, volunteers, venue staff, and attendees etc. to all have/give conflicting information..

[@CorvusCorone68]

related to miscommunication but unrelated to Anime Expo, i've had employees at Subway repeatedly tell me that the ham at Subway is turkey-based; i looked it up, no it isn't; there's just about only 1 meat item at Subway that's turkey

[@quartzy4914]

@@CorvusCorone68 I don't know why but this comment made me curious and it turns out, Subway does sell ham but they also have the "Cold Cut Combo" which has turkey-based "ham". As a result, there is both actual ham and turkey "ham" at any given Subway at the same time. That might be the reason for the miscommunication!

[@SolarPower8866]

Hahah miscommunication is prevalent especially in retail.

[@LewisDruid]

As a tall lad (6’6”), my concerns in crowds are: - Stepping on or elbowing shorter people - Tripping and crushing several people - anxiety t o o t s on short people - Seeing the freedom past the crowd The last one is probs my biggest one. I get super claustrophobic in crowds when I can see freedom but can’t get to it and that usually leads to a panic attack. Besides money, it’s the other reason why I could never go to a concert large concert like the Eras Tour 🥺

[@poke-talia268]

I'm sorry, the third one made me laugh.

[@LewisDruid]

@@poke-talia268 honestly fair 😂 It’s funny to me outside the situation but such a concern in the moment ☠️😂

[@thoticcusprime9309]

A tall snowflake

[@jeremyhall2727]

Oh you know how people are. You have to push back

[@Flesh_Wizard]

Relieve claustrophobia by brapping as loud as possible. ez fix 👍

[@buzzingRoyalty]

Hi swell I was there too and the sentiment of “it was fun but oh my fucking god” is so so accurate

[@andrewf8366]

As a 6'4" person I can confirm I've never been worried about elbows in my face. It's also nice being tall in crowds because you can see the flow of traffic in the whole hallway usually.

[@Ric3ballRav3]

As someone who is a whole foot shorter than you, does it annoy you when we short gremlins ask for traffic reports.

[@nativeportlander]

as a 6’2 person, i accidentally elbowed a short girl in the face at a concert. i apologized then and after the show and she recognized me from a couple priors shows. she seemed super casual about it like it happens all the time.

[@Username0467]

I'm 5'6 and I've never been worried about being elbowed the face tbh.

[@fubytv731]

@@Username0467 Same. I think 5'6 is a pretty ideal height. Not too short not too tall. I can see being a few inches shorter will get elbowed a lot though.

[@sahie]

I’m 5’3” and I often wonder what it’s like to not have to literally climb the grocery store shelves to get things. Must be nice! On a positive note, I rarely have to duck to avoid hitting my head on things. 😂

[@rememberpickles]

With the terrible Halloween tragedy in South Korea, you would think the expo planners would be more mindful of overcrowding danger.

[@jayphoenixcos3136]

They care more about money and only when a tragedy happens at their event is when they'll pretend to care

[@24fretsoffury]

@@jayphoenixcos3136 bingo. It’s all about the money, more tickets, the better. The customers can deal with the overcrowding, even if they oversold, not their problem! They made their money!

[@bobauxite]

From the few staff and organizers I have meet over the years they have knowledge of safety things and have no desire to learn until an issue occurs.

[@AB-py6jl]

All it takes is one false alarm for all hell to break loose.

[@user-ho1ih1uj6w]

The difference is they had narrow streets while this one was more open😅 plus it's not even that bad idk why people complain. Just go to anthrocon since it's almost the same day as AX

[@Tink00]

Amanda, as a wheelchair user, I want to say thank you for your tone policing. If my first experience with the accessibility at an event is someone talking down to me (figuratively), it's so disheartening. I've had event staff be so rude I've considered just leaving before even getting in.

[@lelalu101]

First, that Dad is a HERO. No one recorded, why would someone snitch on that hero? Also, you were a Cosplay Handler for the weekend. Your enthusiasm is fantastic 😤💕

[@Emh19]

While i'm sad that Australian con's are way smaller, i am so happy that there is way less of the overcrowding problems

[@clairejacobs205]

Tell that to Crunchyroll Expo lmfao

[@lordtickledck7012]

@@clairejacobs205 That was a mess

[@shinlee3921]

What are you on about? Crunchyroll expo in the city was absolute dog shit, with a whole bunch of people who lined up couldn't get in or waiting 5 up hours to get in. How is that not "overcrowding"

[@KingOfGaymes]

Big con over small con any day for me xD they offer way more, especially in dealers rooms WOO

[@caitb262]

They have accessibility issues though. I went to supanova in my wheelchair one year and to get into the entry area a bunch of cosplayers had to lift me and my chair up stairs.

[@briannacraig8825]

This year I had a friend with disability with me and I had a back injury. They didn't give us much grief to get ADA luckily, but it was horrifying for both of us at some moments. On the website, it said we were supposed to be let in early to the dealer's hall, but when we did, they kicked us out and told us to wait into the ADA line. We just agreed with them because it's no big deal, but they let us in at the same time as general attendance so we both got squished by people, which worsened my injury. My friend couldn't stand for long and we were trying to get into the ADA line with everyone else during a concert and they almost didn't let us in because we had to stand in the general line to have our bags checked. We complied, even though I made some comments that what they said doesn't make sense so I was gonna look into it, but they changed their mind as we walked away and let us in finally to where everyone else with ADA was waiting. It seems like communication is horrible every year, especially because they hire staff from different companies who have been told different things. When a convention is THIS big, it gets so much harder to maintain and run it smoothly so they are ruining the quality of their con by not capping tickets. I went last year as a vendor and they wouldn't let us bring food in, which sounds dreadful for people running their booths by themselves. There is no order and every year it continues to be a problem.

[@cassinipanini]

ADA issues have always been a shit show but i feel like they're getting even worse lately :[ Im sorry you and your friend went through that

[@FukaiKokoro]

Events really need to do better for people with different needs. It's screwed up and I'm sorry you have such lame experiences. Especially at a event like this where people wear massive / pokey cosplays. That can potentially hurt people. No food? That's crazy. What if you have a medical issue the requires food every so often. Idk more people should care about this because it's not okay to mismanage ADA people.. people who are ADA deserve to feel safe and comfortable

[@randomtinypotatocried]

⁠@@cassinipaninihey don't really train event staff when it comes to ADA. Or atleast when I did a few event gigs

[@KingOfGaymes]

@@cassinipaniniit’s probably because of Covid, made everyone forget how to have events properly it seems

[@peacespark1880]

​@@FukaiKokoro from what I have learned from going to many cons before is, if you do have an illness like Diabetes or have certain food allergies/ restrictions the con staff or security can't really deny you from bring in outside food. They can't deny it because they don't know what type of food allergy you have, they don't know if the food they offer is allergy free or not, so they can't deny and with people that have issues like Diabetes a lot of the time I saw them showing staff or security their diabetic bracelets or their insulin pins, just so they could see and understand they have this issue they can't control.

[@MaddyM_1.0]

A lot of artists I follow on Twitter had so many stories of theft. There was even talk about bringing portable O2 cans since the air is so thin. It sucks that some of these issues aren't taken seriously because they're just the artist alley

[@LanieandMatt]

Oh Amanda how badly I wish I would have told you about a festival we just had in my hometown! A company threw “the largest Rockabilly festival in Alabama” it was supposed to be 3 days and it was shut down the morning of day 2! Bands came from all over the world to perform and weren’t paid! They made a fake charity that they claimed the festival was supporting! They lied about paying bands, deleted posts of people talking about what happened, and have now deleted all their websites! **editing to add that it was all held outside during a record heatwave with no ac or water provided for the bands by the event organizers.. (a vendor kindly provided them water)! Event was called Rockabilly Bamalama!

[@sari9645]

Sounds about right for a rockabilly festival in Alabama 😭😭

[@LanieandMatt]

@@sari9645 Right😂! Funny thing is rockabilly isn’t a thing in our area (beach/farm towns) so it was an oddly placed festival to begin with!

[@piscinaiv7937]

somebody came up with that name and a dream and just ran with it 🤣🤣🤣

[@cha0sb1rd]

I stopped going after 2018. It felt so unsafe. We were constantly harassed and touched, a couple of my friends got heat stroke due to the insanely long lines and overcrowded halls, and we'd have to miss a panel or a meet and greet just to wait in line for another one. The last two years I almost exclusively sat in the far right hand corner of the pit every day. 2015 and 2016 were awesome. I miss those times.

[@puck621]

The wider aisles were definitely to prevent crowd crush. I own a business that goes to a ton of the larger/mid comic cons in the US (75k-150k attendees)and some companies running the event (mainly one chain) only do fire code and will not get it through their head that it creates the mosh pit. The number of people I have had panic attacks (who don't normally get them so don't know what's going on) in from of my booth is stupidly high.

[@bugsyard4276]

im autistic and the crowd crush at dublin comic con made me so overstimulated and have 2 meltdowns in a short period of time, it was bad

[@gilded_lady]

What's infuriating is that AX has had logistical issues for TWENTY YEARS. Its been a mess since like 2003. I had thought about going, but I am glad I passed. This kind of crush triggers my claustrophobia.

[@chelseas6474]

I attended sometime in the early 00s. I think it was '04 or '05. My main memory of the event is how crowded and uncomfortable it was. I remember struggling to breathe and nearly fainting. It sounds like the event hasn't improved much in all this time.

[@COSun25]

​@chelseas6474 This convention should've been GONE years ago. This is crazy that Anime Expo is still being held.

[@gilded_lady]

@@COSun25 I think it just needs new management to run a more enjoyable con and not *just* the most profitable.

[@gaxiola1701]

Truth. 2003 was the last year my friends and I went. We had experienced back to back years of scaling problems and it seems like they never got institutional memory and proper training of staff down. There's so many good anime and general pop culture cons across the US, we just never found the need to go back.

[@Shadow08707]

I had no idea Anime Expo has been around since 2003 lol. It’s as old as me 😂 (I’m not 20 yet as I’m commenting this but I will be in August)

[@CorinneStephens]

Btw, "cosplay assistant" in the way you described is totally a real thing. Usually they're called "handlers" :)

[@aicosu]

This is what we call ours!

[@Fwootgummi]

There was one time I saw a person in a costumed as a cosplay helper. They had a big backpack and a vest covered in rolls of duct tape, hot glue, saftey pins, paint bottles, etc.

[@sabiyadusk7357]

Furries who have fursuits also use handlers at conventions! TIL it's also a cosplay thing as well :)

[@rebeccaedkins9987]

my friends usually call me the bag b*tch - I bring a backpack full of snacks, water and carry the phones and wallets haha.

[@itsaUSBline]

@@sabiyadusk7357 it's especially helpful if you're in a fursuit because they can seriously limit your field of vision and make it harder to hear what's going on around you.

[@NipahDUBS]

So funny this came across my feed ahaha I was a cosplay senpai this year and was neighbors with Aicosu, the fight happened in front of my booth and it was indeed real! Everything you described happened with what led up to it, our head of Guest relations was the one who jumped in to stop the fight. It wasn't a full on fist fight, more so heavily verbal. It happened rather suddenly ahaha. Also as an artist as well on my tablet watching this, your comment made me laugh.

[@quartzz1496]

"i make good background noise for artists while they do their thing" I FEEL SO CALLED OUT WITH MY SKETCHBOOK IN MY LAP AND PENCIL IN HAND

[@rachelcurtisb5639]

It always irks me when there is theft in an artist alley. These are small businesses run by small ether one person or a small team. Some people literally make the money they use to survive over these one weekends. Save the theft for the local Walmart or hobby loddy these people put so much of themselves into these products.

[@LexFerraro]

Seeing Amanda go out and do so many things gives me such a boost as an introvert. I’m a pretty confident person but seeing her solo events just shows me it’s okay to go out on my own and enjoy things without a care. And it makes me intrigued in so many different topics. Also feel like we need a “I tried training my dog” video just for some Hermes content

[@Fwootgummi]

If it's any help, I'm also an introvert and I've long struggled with debilitating anxiety and a fear of the world. I've been going on solo outings intermittently for years that I call "me dates" and it's been a HUGE boost in my self confidence. Sometimes people still bother me, and sometimes I still flub an interaction with the cashier, and sometimes I get into a bit of a pickle that I have to find my way out of, but I still have a good time and come home proud of myself for going out and sticking it out. Of course, cover your bases, bring snacks, make sure your phone is charged and that you know where you're going, and brush up on your street smarts if need be, but even if it's scary do it anyway! It's so freeing to be able to wander wherever your heart takes you and it's an invaluable inreplaceable lesson that you can trust yourself to take care of yourself. Next time you get the chance, please do it, it's one of the best things I've ever done for myself. Have fun!!

[@oceanknives]

as an introvert who mostly only does things on my own (concerts, cinema, clubbing etc) it's SO much fun! biggest appeal for me is not needing to plan in advance with anyone else (which also gives me wiggle room to cancel if I don't feel up to it with no extra guilt) and being able to leave whenever i'm done. there's a stigma around doing things alone for some reason but it gives you so much more control over what you're doing, i really love it.

[@1e1001]

@ville__ "you can't get 99% of americans to agree on anything", even for a favorable subset (of which this probably isn't) there'll still be significant disagreement

[@andymurray5045]

I'm all for doing what you want and enjoying it but don't do it without a care, stay safe out there guys!

[@CaulkMongler]

Honestly sometimes it can be really enriching to even go out with no expectations to interact with people! Just be a fly on the wall. But I’ll also say this: being someone who knows you won’t see these people again provides a certain level of freedom in itself. Why filter yourself with someone you’ll never see again?

[@ColorMePixel]

LA local here and I worked at anime expo in 14 & 15 (& LA sucks), but the reason for the scanner is that people sneaking in was a major problem where workers, sellers, and talent would sneak in friends. Apart from that, a lot of the expo security is just apathetic about it since they have 1 security guard for every 200-300 people and they're not paid enough to deal with that. Also in 2015, a security guard was fired for letting people in after hours, from what I heard at the time he was paid 5 figures so the stealing has been going around for a long time since some just want the merch and others are resellers that just make a killing on selling it online.

[@Bonita.Vampira_]

You’re so right abt how LA sucks. Ppl also need to leave LA 😀

[@christiellenwhite4289]

My daughter and I were in Artist Alley at AX last year and this year. Last year we both ended up with what I can only describe as CO2 “poisoning”. It took roughly 2 weeks for me to not be dizzy and exhausted. This year I’m fine. So I know that coughing feeling you talk about.

[@cakegamu9605]

As an artist who works Artist Alleys at my local conventions, it breaks my heart to pieces to hear that people were getting their stock stolen.. 😭

[@SolarPower8866]

It will get worse since places like anime expo attract lots of scum. Makes me wonder who births these kind of thieves.

[@TheTrunks340]

Unfortunately the 'creepy dude taking sneaky pics' is waaaaaay more common than people think at cons

[@jeremyhall2727]

No joke about that & people grabbing you where they're not a post too.

[@Cbbartelt]

Thank you for pointing out the accessibility issues. Mobility device users love cosplay too and should be able to attend safely. I’m also going to say it’s not tone policing to ask people not to be rude when someone is asking about access. It’s demeaning and dehumanizing for someone to talk to a disabled person like they don’t deserve to be around and it’s just…bigoted to act like that. I would argue saying “treat disabled people like humans” is more common sense.

[@FukaiKokoro]

Yeah it's messed up. People with different needs deserve to go and do anything they want without having huge issues. Also people with invisible disabilites. Alot of people treat them like they are faking their issues to get special treatment. We need to do better at events. To ensure everyone can access whatever event and actually feel safe and comfortable.

[@floydjohnson7888]

@ditzyblonde53 I would have considered your statement to be a "calling out" of the guttersnipes ("trolls", "neckbeards", "ISIS sympathizers") who whine, "tone police!", "virtue signaling!", or "judgmental!", when such basics become an issue.

[@thenotsoamazinggracetnsag3463]

@@floydjohnson7888What?

[@floydjohnson7888]

@@thenotsoamazinggracetnsag3463 By "basics", I meant, as @ditzyblonde53 put it, "treating disabled people like humans" . Overall, my reply amounted to, "I see what you mean" regarding the online troublemakers who use such cop-outs when people call out "knowingly bad behavior". It was probably my use of an arcane term for "the ill-mannered", despite the context clues, that caused the confusion.

[@NoirTheSable]

Theft at cons seems to happen regardless of the type of con (and item). During this year's Anthrocon (one of the biggest furry conventions), someone actually stole the walking cane of one of the performers. Like, not a prop cane, but the literal mobility aid he needed to walk around without significant pain (hip injury from car accident). People are selfish and crazy.

[@GrimmDelightsDice]

Yeah, when I table cons I always bring my product + lockbox home at the end of the day. It's hell to set everything up again every morning but it's worth it to not lose anything

[@Bargadiel]

I've been to comiket in Tokyo before, which is way more huge than anime expo, and they seem to handle it extremely well. Everyone is quiet, lines are handled in a different area then "brought in" in groups to the booths they want. All cosplay is only allowed in a specific area so that all photo ops and stuff happen away from the crowds of people trying to walk. Blows my mind how in the west we can't handle large groups of people efficiently and safely.

[@SolarPower8866]

Nobody wants to pay the shepard.

[@YesHumphreyAppleby]

Low trust society

[@TJRune]

It's quite sad that safety is so minimal at massive events like this. Just seeing some of that crowding gives me intense anxiety. All organizers tend to see are dollar signs. Probably because venues and management don't seem to get called out and fined harshly in the event of a deadly emergency. They still seem to think they can blame the situation itself, or the crowd itself, for any issue that comes up.

[@EmyN]

Exactly, the government needs to step up or whatever the entity

[@Zyphera]

They main issue is that the number of maximum allowed in the building is too many I would guess. The government needs to lower the maximum number allowed.

[@399-CY]

Thanks for shouting out the attendance issues. They need to significantly cut back on ticket sales next year. The fact they haven't had any serious injuries/stampede issues is a miracle. I went last year and this year, and definitely appreciated the wider lanes in artists alley. It helped... slightly. Probably my last AX though, unless they bring back premium badges and cut ticket sales, it's just not worth the crowds anymore.

[@COSun25]

Seeing from a previous comment that this mess has been happening since 2003, the con needs DRASTIC change.

[@_xiosa]

Same. I’m not going back until they handle the crowd issue. All it takes is one accident for people to panic even if it’s just someone pulling the fire alarm. There’s many cons to attend in the US that can provide a better experience.

[@JenKunoichi351]

There was a year when the con had a credible shooting threat. Guy was caught before the con happened I think, but when I went and I realized just how many people were there and how poorly things like security was being handled, I thought, oh my god, if anything bad ever happened at AX, they would not be prepared. Shocked that that alone wasn't a wake up call to management and completely unsurprised whenever I hear horror stories year after year.

[@popenieafantome9527]

Wake up calls and management don’t mix. Their oil snd water. Only mixing when forced to by something.

[@JKSSubstandard]

In my life I've only gone to one con, and then volunteered for the same con the following year. This sounds like a horror story. Like, I understand how hard crowd control is, I've been there. But you cannot let people congregate and form crushes like this and you cannot allow the convention hall to be packed like this. It literally sounds like they violated the fire marshal capacity and rules of operation.

[@Vagitarian01]

Was this around 2016 or 2017? I think I remember hearing about it the next day.

[@JenKunoichi351]

@@Vagitarian01 2018. I believe there were a few articles about it on Anime News Network.

[@Shoob-k5u]

I’m sure management knows, but they’re probably not attending, just picking up the check. I can’t believe fire marshals aren’t watching these events more closely

[@charlirogers6235]

This brought back so many memories. I'm a convention girl, I go to Animazement, Katsucon, and my big one DragonCon every year. When I got invited to NY ComicCon I thought I knew what to expect. I was so wrong. It was one of the most unpleasant experiences of my life. DragonCon is like 80,000+ people but its spread out over several buildings. This was just one long giant area crammed with people. I'm 5'2 as well and it was awful. So many people smelled and I was in the funk zone. I couldn't get to any tables cuz I'm short, heck I couldn't see anything but people's bodies and again, I cannot express how bad some people smelled. All the ATMs were broken or out of money. There were so few chairs in the food court everyone was just sitting all over the floor to the point that we couldn't walk around to get food. We all got headaches almost instantly. All the panels were "campout outside days before" room, so it was all for just a giant dealer room. Never again. Never. I'll stick to DragonCon. We paid for a 4 day pass, we went one day and only lasted about 3 hours. Oh, and we all got sick.

[@COSun25]

I hope that the NYCC staff will see this and will make the necessary changes to make the experience of being there better.

[@LoveAndSnapple]

Aww, that sucks. :( I'm so sorry that you had an awful experience...

[@jamesedwards8387]

Off subject a little bit, I always forget about Katsucon. Until recently I was going to AwesomeCon and Otakon every year, but I've never been to Katsucon. Otakon seems to be set up like Dragoncon. It's a huge group of people but there's things happening in the hotels, across the street from the convention hall.

[@Personarose]

@@jamesedwards8387 If you are into cosplays you’ll have a really good time at Katsucon and that goes double if you like party (well they are starting to cracking down on that end)

[@deadpoolnerd]

Yeah I go to NYCC a lot, and totally agree there's always one crammed intersection of stuff going on that it's just a bad funk zone. Between heat and people not bathing, it's like a middle schoolers locker room. Like they need better ventilation, circulating air, or like a rule if ya stank cant get in. Something to help.

[@kawaiiaine4986]

I’m an artist and I’ve been in AX’s AA for two years now. Last year my mom and I, and at least one of my friends, actually got CO2 poisoning. We were affected by it for MONTHS after the con. I’m glad no one died because it was honestly really scary wondering why it was so hard to breathe. This year was better but still way too bad, they’re lucky no one suffered anything serious. That being said, the crowd was expected but also so shocking, especially after the Itaewon tragedy … so many people could have been killed. But unfortunately the more tickets that are sold the more money is made, so I can’t see them capping tickets anytime soon unless something bad actually happens. I am all for creeps being punched in the face too, so I hope that father (a hero!) didn’t get into trouble and that the creep was arrested. Unfortunately cons are full of gross weirdos and kids aren’t safe at them … it’s sad. Security was definitely bad. This is only a story I herd, so I didn’t experience it first hand nor was there video evidence, but allegedly there was a staff in the AA that went behind a booth, forcibly dug through the artist’s belongings, took a bag of unopened food, opened it, ate some, and threw the rest in the garbage. I guess there were a lot of issues with the staff that I luckily didn’t experience, but I saw SO many artists getting written up for … seemingly nothing? They were more strict towards artists than they were literally anyone else. I would never want to attend AX as an attendee. Not to be dramatic but I would fear for my life. Though, I had such an amazing time as an artist despite the crazy bs going on, and I didn’t get sick this year lol. I’m glad you still had fun despite everything

[@kawaiiaine4986]

As for night time security I’ve been to ONE con that had good security, and I’ve been to a LOT of cons before. Momocon had security patrolling pre opening and post closing. I’m not sure if they were overnight, but I was actually questioned while walking around AA pre opening and watched to make sure I didn’t steal anything.

[@eegernades]

@@kawaiiaine4986 "scared for my life" not to seem rude, but why are so many artist over dramatic?

[@basilmemories]

@@eegernades because...they could have died? co2 poisoning is a pretty good thing to be scared of.

[@happicheshirecat]

@@eegernadesfor attention

[@aquarius5719]

CO2 goes to the bottom, just like water. You need a long pipe to bring air on top of you. CO2 problem would be easy to solve if they had a door open to the outside so CO2 leaks to the outside.

[@ettalillie5451]

My friend traveled all the way from Rome (we're from the east coast but she was on vacation) for AX. She got in line at 5 AM and was already far from the door, but everyone was in a straight, nice, single-file line. Security came over at 7:30 ish and moved them all into what she describes as "a big clump right next to the door." Completely nonsensical and unsafe.

[@aicosu]

It was an absolute pleasure to meet you, and it was so cool to see you out our panel!! We were starstruck by our favorite cosplay craft background noise 🩷🩷🩷!! And we get you on cosplay being a hard thing to also step into. Once you put your feet in, it's hard to do anything else. For follow-ups: the creep was identified and apprehended by AX and local authorities! They were extremely responsive to the situation and had zero tolerance. Shout out to all the staff who immediately handled it!

[@hg4029]

OH WAS THIS THE GUY THAT WAS ARRESTED AT THE BUS STOP?!

[@sarahkp729]

If you insist on stealing at a con, the LEAST you could do is to not steal from small creators!

[@COSun25]

Or don't steal EVER!!

[@MewGirlZ]

Yeah, can't say I agrer as to their being a standard for theft. Can you even draw a clear line between who's a "small creator" and who's not?

[@linus1703]

No honour amongst thieves, unfortunately they go by how easy it is to do and small creators are less likely to have the resources for theft prevention. An established brand can have multiple staff who have breaks and two people on at a time, whereas a small creator who is there by themself won't have anyone to watch things whilst they are talking :(

[@MrYandereKun]

Hey Swell! I have been attending anime conventions for 17 years. My first convention was Anime Expo 2006 back when there was only 67,000 attendees total for all 4 days. Over the years AX accumulated more and more attendees with each passing year. 2016 was the last year i went because for the 3 years leading up to it, AX allowed 110k+ attendees and it was impossible to move around the con. The fact that its in the summer made the crowds body heat so much worse. We stopped attending. We hate it, especially in comparison to other anime cons in the area. I used to go with a group of 10 people. Out of the 10 of us, only 2 of us still attend AX. The rest of us refuse to go even though we live a 30 min drive away. But we have been complaining about capping attendee numbers for YEARS and AX refuses to do it. Everything you have been saying has been a problem for almost 10 years that AX ignores and plays dumb to. The experience you had has been happening for the past 10 years. If you enjoyed AX but hated the crowds, i recommend attending ax chibi in november in ontario (california), PMX, ALA, or Fanime. But AX is too greedy to ever put a PROPER cap on badge sales.

[@Peacebunnie]

Ditto the Fanime recommendation. It's a bit smaller post-pandemic shut downs, yet sizeable in a far more manageable way? Saturday gets real crowded, but most of the time things are good.

[@giantdad1661]

Is any of this documented sounds like we're going to have to sue them to make it happen.

[@ashleighhahn5476]

19:27 My cosplay was broken from how tightly packed everyone was. My friend injured their knee in the area between the entertainment hall and the escalator. There wasn’t any big crowd crush but they got close

[@averyeml]

So here’s the thing; PAX tried breaking their successful gaming convention into several smaller regional ones and it didn’t work out for a handful of reasons. But it really seems like this could EASILY become one that successfully does it to prevent issues like this. Do an East/West within enough time of each other that companies could attend both but superfans might not feel it necessary.

[@maryford3676]

It doesn't work. AX is not even the anime con that kicks off the original anime con season. That should be in the east with Anime Boston. People still go to AX because it is in LA and during 4th of July. I was in downtown LA that Friday. The spillover crowd that visits Little Tokyo during the con was already there waiting for their hotel check-in time. The mall also had some Artist Alley booths set up as well with people buying and talking to the artists (never been to the mall during AX; never noticed they had those) I had to ask the bus driver how his route was because Little Tokyo was busier than normal. He said the traffic was bad. I honestly don't know how to fix the problem without capping tickets.

[@BlackOutDisco28]

I can confirm as an artist, your videos are perfect for background noise while I make art!

[@hikawagetsbitches]

i second this as another artist

[@princessgarbage]

As a cosplayer who kinda gave up on going to AX after 2016 and refuses to go until they get their shit together, I really like hearing such a thorough breakdown of what the experience was like this year. Seems just as mismanaged as ever,. But I really do hope it'll improve bc it holds a special place in my heart as the first con I ever went to (and Darling and Sylar were always such huge inspirations to me too, I'm glad they were panelists again this year!) . Btw, speaking of big LA events.... any chance you'll be covering any of the nights of Eras Tour?

[@freazeezy]

Is this a community wide thing with this con? I'm looking at the crowd shots and there is very little cosplay. 32:53 like in this crowd shot there's gotta be 100 people and I can see one girl down there in pink. I don't see any wigs. Nothing. A big part of why go to cons is to see cosplayers but the number of them seem too thin here.

[@KatrinaBMoon]

@@freazeezythere were actually a lot of cosplayers i saw on day 2, i cosplayed too! probably just an off chance shot that got no cosplays

[@marymac3572]

Re: photo creep I used to go to conventions with my sister and her friends. One of her friends in particular is a creep magnet. She's petite and looks younger than she is now (in her 30s), when she was a teen creepy dudes were just constantly after her attention. Fully support the dad pounding the guy, I hope the authorities get ahold of that phone.

[@carelsby]

As a tall person, i absolutely do still worry about getting slapped/hit/run into in crowds. People tend to be more aggressive, or maybe less courteous, to tall people bc there’s a perception that we can take it better than a small person. I stopped going to cons and stuff bc i would come out with bruised arms from people shoving past me. I bruise easily and my skin is very prone to pain so i got kinda sick of it!

[@milessolomon4864]

My issues with AX: 1) too many people 2) terrible accessibility 3) nowhere to sit: they told us where we couldnt sit, but not where we could, except the 21 lounge 4) terrible signage 5) no one knew how to help unless you somehow found an info booth 6) poor security: on my way to a 7 11 by the center, i saw an expo security officer chase a man running away. Thats not his job at that point and the security person could have hurt someone as he ran. At least the guy he was chasing was considerate in his escape path. Thats all im saying. 7) not enough cash for street churros

[@tattooedkittykat]

Can confirm that many of my pin maker/artist friends got their stuff stolen or damaged while AX was happening. I saw quite a bit of IG stories talking about this. Major theft also happened at SuperCon in Florida the same weekend. I'm a small-time pin maker, and I have always wanted to attend AX, but after seeing all these stories the last couple of years I'm good on not going 😆

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

Has anyone aggregated all the stolen item descriptions/pics into an "do not buy/please report if seen" type of browsable list-site?

[@tattooedkittykat]

@picahudsoniaunflocked5426 that I'm not sure of. I know some makers have identified some thieves within the community and have shared their pictures on social media so others can be on the lookout, but that's the extent of my knowledge.

[@SnapCrakleD3ath]

"Nobody is MAKING me go to a kawaii concert, a navy rave, and anime expo" Shhh you love it.

[@harriyanna]

i wanna go to AX so bad but omg they let too many people in this place. at this point, they need to get a bigger venue or do better about how many ppl they let in there.

[@Baconlovesreddead]

AGREED! I want to go but I feel like the place would smell like a dumpster with cow shit inside and I would probably be squished so much from all the people I’d look like a pancake. Also love the content!!

[@COSun25]

I do wonder how long it would take for the new venue to be built? I believe that there aren't any in California that can hold the attendance of Anime Expo.

[@oof_flores3425]

​@@COSun25I think the Anahiem convention center can probably handle it? It hosts Vidcon so thats a possibility. They could also do what Dragoncon does and spread the convention throughout buildings, Microsoft threater and Crypto Arena are literally right next to it. It certainly would be somewhat of an improvement.

[@MDOTRAGE]

15:33 That was us. They broke our door and stole the last display for our new collab release. It had been sold out on the first day and we had one that we were showing off to customers so they could purchase online. Interestingly enough they didn't touch any of the other displays or locked product. It had to have been another exhibitor, con staff or a convention worker, as the break-in happened overnight. They basically jammed the deadbolt on our door until it broke open. I'm surprised we didn't lose more. Last year we had over $1000 in product stolen. This year it seemed to only be one jacket once we built our backroom.

[@moniebee]

Can confirm, as a 6‘3“ person, I don’t worry about elbows in the face. However, I do worry about tall cosplays and props like umbrellas knocking me out.

[@madkatt333]

I am extremely for more air-conditioning at cons to cut down con funk and help the cosplayers! A lot of places post Covid have had over selling prices. Conventions, amusement parks, museums, ect. should know the comfortable limit and cap it there. Then they can focus on a great experience and sell more branded merch!

[@samanthamarko7845]

As a crafter/baker can confirm - your videos are great for background noise while working :)

[@TimothyCHenderson]

It looks like they were genuinely over capacity in some of those rooms/halls. That's a huge safety hazard if anything went wrong like a fire or shooting, etc. They may need to start metering the doors in the future.

[@nongshimrizzforce]

I went to a smaller con called animethon this weekend. It was sold out and full, the only chaotic place was the artists' alley but everything else was really organized and fun

[@underthebookcover]

I’m a volunteer for Safety at DragonCon and I think you’d have a great time there! It’s big (spread across five hotels and a giant building called Americas Mart) and there are a lot of people that attend but it gets so spread out that the crowds aren’t awful. I work nights mainly so I experience all of the parties/raves and it’s so much fun.

[@gracietheamazingperson1200]

i went to DragonCon last year and i loved it! I thought with how big it was it would be too overwhelming for me, but I found it to be really easy to navigate, even in the more crowded spaces like the Marriot. The only thing that was too much for me was the Dealer's Hall, but that's like that even at mid size cons I go to.

[@tanachoas]

This makes me take comfort in the fact that the fire marshal loves to just roam my local convention, and convention staff takes crowding VERY seriously. AX is on my bucket list, but not any time soon. Thanks swell for braving it!

[@cosmicpopstar]

i went to go see a panel here and we waited like an hour or two in line AFTER the panel me and a whole bunch of people were in line for even started, the people managing the line literally did a “cut off” and told all of us we were for SURE gonna get in to see it. once the panel started we realized the line WASNT moving, after we all realized the panel we were waiting for was OVER and the next one was literally going on while we were waiting, they come over and tell everyone “oh yeah we didnt even clear the panel room so we couldn’t let anyone in”. So basically hundreds of people were standing in line in that hot sun like idiots for nearly 2 hours for nothing

[@xtuffcookiex]

The not clearing the panels made me not see ANY of the ones I tried to get in for. I would rather a ticket system set in place to try to get into a panel because, I had 5 set I was trying to see ( 4 day pass) and got into NONE of them.

[@cosmicpopstar]

@@xtuffcookiex the fact panels weren’t ticketed with the sheer number of people who attended is baffling, if they knew for sure not everyone could even get in to see them, the least they could have done is ticket them so people wouldn’t end up just being disappointed thinking they had any opportunity to see them in the first place

[@JMcMillen]

As a multi-year veteran of SDCC, getting into a panel you really want to see can sometimes be tough, especially if you aren't prepared to get to the room well before that panel. I've sometimes sat through multiple other panels just to make sure I was in the room for the one I was waiting for. Mainly because most conventions won't clear the room as it's time consuming and causes complaints from those that really wanted to see the next panel as well as the one that just finished. And sometimes it leads to sitting through some panels you'll find vastly more interesting than you realized. I was at the original, pre-broadcast, Bob's Burgers panel because I was waiting for the panel immediately after it. Needless to say, I was watching the show when it premiered a few months later. As for ticketed panels, they do happen at smaller conventions, but you almost always have to buy the ticket ($$$) because they need to offset the cost of getting a higher profile guest to show up. It's usually restricted to just one or two panel rooms where it's well advertised that you need a ticket and the room is cleared between panels.

[@cosmicpopstar]

@@JMcMillen i totally get that, i just think it was rather terrible on whoever was managing the line for cutting it off and promising everyone who spent almost two hours lines up outside in that heat that they would be able to get in, especially if they knew the panel wouldn’t clear for anyone to even make an effort to get in. and like i mentioned before, they didnt say anything until after the panel ended and just told us “oh the next panel is gonna start soon so you guys can probably get into that one” it would be one thing if we WERE waiting for the next one but no they told us the panel we were there for was the one we would definitely get into and they cut off a bunch of people after us specifically because “any more would not fit”

[@mhkamath]

I went to AX in 2018 and 2019. 2018 felt large but "normal" for the most part. 2019 was atrocious on Day One. I was in a line down the street that stretched around a corner and underneath a freeway overpass for three hours. The other days were "ok" but I was in line for 45 minutes each day. Then Covid hit and I waited. I kept watching stuff come back and told myself I probably wouldn't go back then AX 22 happened and I was so glad. Stories from people seem so much worse than pre-Covid and they seem insanely packed vs what was "just" overcrowded and full before.

[@COSun25]

The fact that you're going out to many events on your own because you want to, and to craft content, especially the rave on the battleship, makes you 1 of my favorite creators.

[@VanessaViceVersa]

I went to AX in 2019 during the earthquakes and I was paranoid over a crowd crush happening then. Its super scary and I think people underestimate the possibility of it occurring. My gut dropped seeing the pictures of the traffic on Saturday.I think its really valuable to have many voices raising their concerns over the safety and disorganization of this event. They can and should do better. I loved going to AX in 2019 but I doubt I'll go again until I feel like safety is taken more seriously by this convention.

[@MitchDemers0324]

Is it just me or have we gotten more content from Swell lately than usual?

[@entrcpy]

Typically there are more conventions in summer and fall. Like concerts.

[@alwaysjiji7198]

IKR i'm loving it

[@hayleyleiberman8491]

Yeah it's been wonderful to have event season = tons of swell content

[@starspangledhiker]

She's blessing us

[@isamzie]

I'm 5'8 but I still managed to get elbowed in the face as busy conventions, people are unhinged at cons when it's busy. 😩

[@samuelline9573]

At this point I'm convinced it needs to be a 9 day every or spread out over two weekends. They just need more days with a lower cap on the tickets for each day

[@LaCrownedGamer]

Sadly spreading it out might not really work because of panels and peoples interests. I for example have went to AX for about 8 years now, and this year was stacked with panels that each day I never made it to exibit hall or artists alley. Day 1 was love live, Day 2 was yakuza, day 3 was atlus /P5T, day 4 was basically the free day. Maybe it would work is certain days are dedicated to shopping and others for panels and exhibits? I can already see people with a lot of money just eating up all the tickets because they can. A lower cap is a must however. While I was never really in any crowds for my 4 days, I met people who said they were stuck in areas for 15 plus minutes because of the crowds. What I personally think needs to happen is some sort og ticketing system for events and panels, kinda like disney where you get a "come back at this time" deal so people are not waiting in likes for over 2 hours for a panel they might not get into. A lot of the congestion was because of people rushing to get to places to line up. I also think the shopping portions of AX need to run longer. They close at 6pm so everyone is forced into one half of the convention center when most events for general public end at 7 or 8 pm. Overall a rethinking of the system needs to happen to help attendees get to their destinations, or not have to rush if they plan accordingly. A lower cap needs to happen or they need to rent out more space in neighboring hotels to hold panels. If they do add more days, make week 2 as close of a replicla of week 1 as possible, so people wont feel the need to go both weeks.

[@arieg.9439]

I was there at this year's anime expo. They most definitely almost had a crowd crush because I was stuck in the building closet to the food trucks. The crowd in there was insane and it wasn't moving but getting closer and closing in. My and friends and I managed to escape because one of my friends spotted a bridge we could cross and another friend, random stranger, and I forced ourselves to escape that way. Not to mention how I believe I was followed by a trio of guys for a solid 10 minutes. Every turn I would make to get away from them they would follow.(Thankfully I wasn't alone, I had one of my friends with me)

[@skelliie2726]

as someone that lives in new england, i've always envied anyone that got to go to anime expo because all my favorite artists always have booths there. however, after watching this video, that envy has gone. i honestly don't think i'd be able to enjoy this convention with how packed it is. i think i'd be stressed out and overwhelmed the entire time. it genuinely seems awful

[@bonnielovely]

i've been to over 100 cons across the usa over the last 15 years, and anime expo iss THE most packed, and feels the most dangerous of any convention in the country from the size alone. one year there was an earthquake and no one hid or anything because it was so packed, no one had time to react. a fun experience, but i would not recommend it for children, i wouldn't go alone, and i wouldn't go all weekend. and if you're curious, dragoncon is the BEST anime convention in the country, hands down

[@gregorysteffensen3279]

After my own ~13 years of going to conventions (with a total probably closer to 50) I think for the average large convention center 25,000-40,000 is a good sweet spot. 15,000-25,000 for a midsize convention center. Though I've been to hotel cons of 2500 people that felt crowded, so obviously it depends on the con

[@bonnielovely]

@@gregorysteffensen3279 i agree with you 100%. some larger east coast cons that are between 50k-80k are pretty solid, but there will always be those long lines and difficulty walking the dealer room. so 25k-40k is usually a great time ✨

[@KatrinaBMoon]

not the earthquake in malibu early morning sunday 🙃

[@bee_bch]

im in a discord group for a jewelery business i like who had a stand at the con, and someone kindly did pick ups for people who couldn’t go, but the talk around cons is always so weird, lots of “make sure to rest lots afterwards” and “stay safe” and “make sure to stay hydrated” which is all normal but the *danger* of cons is always felt EDIT: 15:23 NAUR not Mikan she’s struggled through so much with her business, I have a set from her and hope to get more in the future

[@pandabugdiaries2384]

lmao yeah the infamous "con-flu"

[@Chachixo]

Right I felt so bad for her. Her pieces are not cheap :/

[@phillysky]

As someone who lives in Japan but used to live in America and go to anime conventions it’s nice to watch videos like this to get a glimpse of how the anime scene is back in the states! Despite living in Tokyo, Japan I almost wanna go to America just to experience that anime convention feel since events like Comiket here in Japan have a bit of a different vibe.

[@smome777]

What's the vibe like over there?

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

@@smome777 Yes please describe for us! You made me so curious!

[@invokethemuses]

Bigger cons are really just falling apart because they can't handle the sheer amount of people. They need to start hiring more staff who care and managing how many tickets they sell. I mean ticket prices might bar some, but there's always more who are willing to pay for the experience so they might as well just limit it. I went to my first and second "big cons" in NYC about three years ago now (NYCC and ANYC) and they were already incredibly anxiety-inducing. At Comic Con I literally had to physically hold onto my best friend the entire time because there were so many people I was basically surrounded at all times and constantly being hip/shoulder checked by bigger guys (And I'm 5'7" so I'm not tiny! In fact my friend is only 5", I'm just very light and non-confrontational). ANYC was only marginally better because I camped out in Artist Alley. But post-pandemic I think people have so much FOMO that EVERYONE is going and these places are just not set up for it and the staff either is not trained well enough to be confident spotting trouble, stepping in, and taking charge or they just aren't hiring enough people to manage lines and capacity. I'm sticking to smaller, more local cons for a while until things hopefully settle down.

[@kpturn42]

I haven’t gone since 2014 and a DECADE ago it felt incredibly unsafe and crowded. I can’t imagine what it feels like nowadays.

[@raine2918]

As an avid con-goer (albeit on the east coast), it makes me really excited to see you talking about AX. I have a lot of cosplay friends in the west coast, and I'm involved in the cosplay community so I've seen a LOT about this con already. I've been horrified by how bad the crowd sizes are, and I hope AX and other cons will do better in the future.

[@darkninjafirefox]

My local con has been really good about requiring vaccine cards, a negative test and still encourages mask use. My only problem is that after almost 10 years of going to that con straight, it feels a little samey

[@HawkOni]

That’s insanity. What year is it?

[@katzea.a7880]

@@HawkOni look at the bright side, less possibility of overcrowding

[@DarknessDust]

"My studio appartment is mad at me" is a mood I can 100% understand 😂😂

[@divalea]

Anime Expo’s pedigree goes back to when I started working for Gainax/General Products USA in 1989. My first task was getting a US anime con rolling. I hired a guy who, against my advice, hired Mike Tatsugawa. Tatsugawa sucked at his job. Tatsugawa eventually founded Anime Expo. Although he’s not been involved in years, I think AX’s shiftiness was baked right in from the beginning. I have so many stories.

[@Flustered_Potato]

Anime AX was my “local con” when I was 12 back in ‘08. I remember having a great time. The lines weren’t too long either. Even when I went back in 2019, it wasn’t too bad. It’s sad to see it so overcrowded. They really need to limit tickets sales like Dreamcon & Anime NYC.

[@lisahoshowsky4251]

I just went to my local farmers market yesterday, during the middle of the day on a workday when it was supposed to rain and it was still like a sardine can. This is probably the closest I’ll come to a con like setting with the different booths and events going on in different areas and I was instantly reminded why I don’t go to popular events, I just can’t, it’s no longer enjoyable with that many people there. Partly anxiety, partly germaphobe, partly that I just find too many personalities crammed in a space really brings out the worst in people.

[@tearie4150]

The pictures of the crowds give me such anxiety that there'll be a time that crowd crushing happens if they don't decide to fix their overcrowding and overselling of tickets

[@caitie8921]

I think I enjoy your event review videos for events I never would have gone to because it gives me the opportunity to get my dose of going in public without actually having to. Be in public

[@PeeperSnail]

That convention is 1 prankster yelling "FIRE!" away from its very own Seoul Halloween Crowd Crush

[@Olivia-cx1hs]

as an artist, currently working my art job, with this playing as background noise, i was very much caught off guard about the artist alley comment lmao

[@ModernAladdin]

Thank you Amanda for being our cosplay assistant!!!! 🫶🏻

[@Arting_Through_Life]

As an artist, can confirm I would 100% recognize you! But anxiety would also prevent me from admitting that most likely lol!

[@streakydesignart]

SO I can say as being short (5ft 3in) at cons im always worried about getting elbowed in the face or getting pushed around in general. Nowadays if I go to a con i'll go with a friend or my hubs and if they are taller then me i will walk behind them and hold onto their bag or arm to 1. not get lost and 2. not get elbowed in the face. Having a taller friend protect you is pretty nice when your short and can barely see where your going.

[@FilmStains]

Hey swell, love the video as always. I actually have done security for multiple places, including conventions and high rise building and still do to this day. Ive heard plenty of angry stories surrounding event security, some fair and some absurd. If you wanted to do a phone or zoom interview, I'd be glad to go over some of the stuff you bring up in your videos. Im not a content creator so this isn't some attempt to boost myself. I just like the job and talking to people about it (within reason of course lol)

[@PoptartGladiator]

noticed over like 2012-2015 new york comic con became so increasingly crowded that all of the fun i had was sucked out of it, just standing there waiting for crowds to move for 20 minutes at a time... smaller conventions are ABSOLUTELY where it's at, and you can actually interact with people there

[@anarkee]

YOU BOUGHT ME FOOD YOU DON’T NEED TO PAY ME BACK

[@jordanball-z]

#1 concern as a tall person in a crowd is accidentally punting someone's unattended child

[@nandoginkaku7610]

The first time I went to AX was in Anaheim in 2006. It was free. Hardly any people, so not much security needed. AX has gotten way out of hand in recent years with the amount of people attending and it's extremely apparent of the greed from the organizers that they want to squeeze as many people as they can in 4 days.

[@knitsmeganb]

Back in college, I used to volunteer to work operations for a large-ish con (not as big as this one, but still enough to fill a convention center). I have so many security issue horror stories and a fun list of things we confiscated at weapons check (someone brought a cast-iron skillet and didn't understand why she wasn't allowed to carry it around). I had a great time working there (I even got to hang out with one of the bands they brought in because I spoke enough Japanese to help them with something when the actual interpreters were busy), but if I were to ever go back to an event like this I would probably be super alert and would avoid going if the crowd was that big. Less people would definitely help.

[@CHEFPKR]

This year's AX felt more busy than any other year before it. I've been to AX 15 years in a row and this one was wild. The Entertainment hall was absolutely packed, when it is usually there for video games, Cosplay pictures etc. Day 2 felt a lot better for sure, not sure how Monday/Tuesday was. Food was damn near an hour for most lines. Wild this year.