Anime Expo was better?!

[@Keck282]

First rule of any large convention. If you see something you like, buy it right then, or else it will likely be sold out when you come back to the booth.

[@dooshmasta]

But you're gonna have to hold it all day

[@KingOfGaymes]

@@dooshmastaI’d rather have the thing and hold it, than not have it But I’m a merch fiend so-

[@shoyuramenoff]

​@@KingOfGaymes nah, this is especially true for Sunday.

[@bangchanns]

Or at least get their business card or make note of their business name so you can look them up later if you really want a product afterwards!

[@elizabeth-lmhxmx]

Mm not always, sometimes it sells out for the day but artists usually restock the next day but yeah if you want want it I buy it right away but mainly don't buy everything I was interested in until day 2-3

[@havok97818]

Omg RE: con goers and spacial awareness. This is, by far, the BIGGEST pet peeve I have as an avid con goer for many years. I swear, you could make an aisleway in an expo hall a mile wide, and people at cons will STILL find a way to jam it up somehow, just randomly stop in front of you, bump into you, etc. People will literally come from behind you, walk around you, and then stop in front of you. Like, dawg, you just walked around me so I know you saw me walking.

[@SomeplaceScary]

At least twice when someone wanted a pic of my cosplay I had to be like "hey let's just step off to the side out of the flow of traffic first"

[@Ramonatho]

If you think that's bad you should see Vegas. The very last day of the Mirage casino, as nearly the whole town was going in and out of a small entryway, there were 8 people in a circle taking up 3/4ths of the entryway just standing around and drinking, talking.

[@dusky6484]

It's so widespread. I went to Melbourne Comicon last month and people would stop the flow of traffic between booths to take photos of cosplayers. like. pls just move to the side

[@lowwastehighmelanin]

Yeah a lot of folks get sensory overload. I know for me if I'm not working I am just trying to function. That's my neurodivergence kicking my ass. I have never been to AX or SDCC because of this.

[@milessolomon4864]

I didn't go this year, but a big issue for me last year was the accessibility issues. A person needing mobility aids or brakes would have been smothered. The lack of benches made it hard for me to rest.

[@melmel304]

I did ADA this year for AX and it definitely made the whole experience a lot smoother for me! Like Swell said in the video, there was a lot more room to move around in some areas compared to previous years. I definitely wouldn’t recommend going to the artist alley still as it was packed no matter where you went, but AX definitely expanded out more and provided more room. They did have more seating areas (I mostly used a collapsible stool that I brought, highly recommend) but definitely not enough for the amount of people that attended.

[@zg3342]

That would put you out of pretty much every convention, festival, or big event?

[@aquapunkvods]

im actually planning to make a video highlighting ada it was so nice this year

[@melmel304]

@@aquapunkvods it was! Was pleasantly surprised at how easy it made everything

[@simshengvue4642]

You do know you can get a portable stool that are super lightweight and foldable to become easy to travel with

[@CHEFPKR]

They did listen! It was a MUCH better show than last year. Especially safety wise. Who they DIDN'T listen to? Food vendors. I can not explain to you the feedback I have received from food vendors. They hate it.

[@KTCA0P]

I am curious to hear about the complaints regarding the food vendors that was an area that I was not super impacted by but I may be able to submit the feedback.

[@CHEFPKR]

​@@KTCA0Pyou know where to find me :)

[@RaroHi]

It seems like almost everyone from artists, to industry, musicians and now food vendors have complained in this comment section. They made improvements maybe only for the goer experience?

[@KTCA0P]

@@RaroHi Eh, not exactly. People usually only speak if it is outside of expectations. The vendors that sold out are unlikely to really complain. While the traffic was lower, many artists still did very well and still want to come back for next year. Many artists and exhibitors I talked to were also happy to see a generally happier convention attendee experience and that made it more enjoyable for them as well, even if their sales were slightly lower this year, Anime Expo was still worth attending for them. Having worked in the service industry for a long time, I tell my staff that everyone that walks out of the door that isn't yelling in your face is someone that is satisfied with your service. People feel it would be a much more meaningful post if they had a complaint outside of the hundreds of people saying "Yeah Anime Expo was good this year" without really much else to add to the conversation.

[@DinosaurMeat]

I was staffing one of the booths in the Exhibit Hall but leading up to the con there was LOTS of drama when it came to how AX was handling Industry this year. People who have worked a longtime directly in the industry like manga translators/letterers/editors/etc were getting rejected sooo Industry was just kinda weird this year apparently. ALSO definitely check out Inkwell's AX Artist Alley recap video for more info when it comes to profits/expenses/losses/etc! It was very insightful.

[@CultOfTurtles]

There was all a lot of drama in the performer circle. We talked to a few musician friends in a few of the acts there and they were not paying most performers, and only offering one day badges (which you don't even get to enjoy the con cause you spend the whole day working, playing, setting up tearing down and having to shuttle gear back and forth to your hotel room. Most of the con day is already wasted). Especially for the performers that had to travel in from our of state and pay their way and accommodations. It was so disrespectful. Also it looked like the same sound guys were always on shift. For the beer garden that's like 10am to after midnight.

[@dooshmasta]

There was quite a bit of controversy with the entertainment too. I know a few DJs that applied for the Dance and one of them from Canada was only offered a one day pass, no help for hotel or compensation. Granted, maybe that's all he's worth but I was offered $100 and a 4 day pass for the beer garden last year and I'm local.

[@dooshmasta]

@@CultOfTurtles I'm sad to see it wasn't just the DJs

[@MiMiDiction]

Fun Fact: Bluelock was made in collaboration with the Japanese Football Association, so they genuinely do have access to some Serious Schmoney. That's also why there's references to actual soccer players in the like Messi, Neymar, and Pele, because they have access to likeness rights via fifa

[@arielle5752]

Neat!

[@radiosilnce]

I’m not gonna lie I don’t think that’s true? Do you have any links/ sources for this?😭 I know they’ve done collabs WITH them but to be “made in collaboration” is a whole different meaning. If they had access to FiFA also why would they change the club names like Psg to PXG etc

[@SlapstickGenius23]

@@radiosilnce Japanese Copyright Laws. They’re the strongest in the world, even though doujinshis (containing parody works, indie tributes and more) are still here because *don’t mess with a doujinshi maker who’s also a manga artist.

[@foreverlaila4934]

I went to LA not knowing anime expo was happening, so it threw a wrench in some of our plans, but all I kept thinking was “I bet Swell is there”😂

[@Art7220]

I just saw they have an Anime Convention in Australia. They also have one in San Diego but not at Comic Con. Shouldn't be surprised they have Anime in Las Vegas.

[@SlapstickGenius23]

@@Art7220 We have the Smash anime convention in Sydney which occurs in every July.

[@RedPandaLesbian]

"why do so many hot women watch my content" girl you know why

[@PsRohrbaugh]

Don't mess with a physical measuring tape. Buy a laser distance measurer. They're accurate to the millimeter, cost less than $50, and take an instant measurement. Super handy.

[@dooshmasta]

I have one from Amazon, cost $30 I think, but I work in audio visual so.

[@kneau]

If accuracy matters, use both.

[@emmiwee1000]

I was just about to recommend this as well! Super helpful. But maybe have a physical one as a backup?

[@micahguillemette3344]

About the "people have money but they dont" personally, i feel a lot less bad spending money when i know its on an artist or a small business. I want merch of some things very badly but i will be less likely to buy a 10$ keychain from a big manufacturer than a 15-20$ keychain from an artist. Things keep getting cheaper and dont last so i feel better spending on something that was made by a person with some amount of care put into it and maybe even better quality.

[@linzbridge4495]

Yesss!!!! You hit the nail on the head! It feels more like I'm supporting another person, and not just a CEO who makes bonkers money!

[@micahguillemette3344]

@@linzbridge4495 Yeah exactly! Especially since at conventions you can see the person in front of you, so its even more like a human transaction than throwing money at a corporation who probably exploits everyone.

[@Mualcaina]

I was vending in Artist Alley again this year and while the apparent capped badge sales affected most of us business-wise, I'm glad it was a better experience for attendees since it seemed to be less crowded in a lot of parts of the con!

[@scribblibits]

I watched your vlog as well as others too! And while I’m glad they made it better for the attendees (actaully way more than glad cause they should make the experience as pleasant as possible for attendees) I do wish on the businesses side they could have some how made it better idk how but it does make me kinda sad that so many do my fav creators were disappointed with AX this year. And as I small business myself it does kinda make me sad that it’s getting harder to get in. I know it’s a mindset thing, but I’m a little disappointed since AX is my dream con.

[@kneau]

Capped badge sales? Speaking as a Californian* within driving distance, same-day at-the-door access was available. Yes, some package deals sold out but I had the option to show up each day and purchase entry.

[@MsMvsc]

Tbf, this could be solved with better artist selection measures. Like, wasn't the fandom variety low bc most do hoyoverse?

[@mattwho42]

The state of the economy. Yup. Just trying to get a job over here is tough enough. A lot of lower paying jobs say I'm too overqualified, and the career jobs in my industry I apply to won't hire because my degree is in business and not engineering. It's so frustrating. Go to college they all said.

[@HANABiLOG]

Oh my gosh... that literally spoke to me like Jesus to his followers. Like, seriously...! And now we are all sitting on our goddamn college/uni degrees and we are literally staring into an abyss of no opportunities. Thanks... if I had known that, I would have done a Emma Chamberlin move or sumn and try to earn a shitton of money right after graduating High School....

[@XxLoveMangaGirlxX]

I just wanted to pop in about the sold out items and merch! I can imagine that people don't go to as many cons for cost reasons, so when you do go to one, you have to do ALL your shopping there, instead of maybe spacing those purchases out to four or five cons a year. I remember doing many cons when I was a kid and buying less because I knew I'd be at a new con in a few months where I could buy more. So if most people just do one con, they're probably shopping a lot too. And probably money that otherwise would go to planes/hotels/tickets that are too expensive now.

[@gaerekxenos]

The guys going "I didn't expect to see you in here" for the 18+ section are trying to mask their embarassment for getting caught being in those sections, probably xD

[@gilbertoflores7397]

It's not like she's going in there to catch them in there, they're the ones approaching her in that section.

[@TheAGcollector101]

I saw the video title and thought "omg really??" because I feel like I'm constantly seeing you make videos being like "this event was bad" and the event never gets better and eventually disbands. It's nice to see that an event can improve!

[@dooshmasta]

I think it was accidentally better. Less people attended, made everything smoother.

[@eniettelia8698]

@@dooshmasta it was sold out, completely, so it while it is true there were less people it's because ax sold less tickets not because less people chose to go

[@dooshmasta]

@@eniettelia8698 mmmm I doubt it

[@DANIxDANGER]

My sister worked for SPJA and says the director has been trying for YEARS to shut down Pico in order to make the flow of traffic better. We also think that SPJA got a huge fine for the Fire Marshal coming in last year and that's what ultimately pushed AX to have more than 2 entrances this year. I went this year and last year, and i actually was happy with how it was ran this year and i actually had fun. The only thing i didn't do was the Meet & Greets because they were in the Marriott across the way.

[@averyeml]

In my personal experience it is an EXTREME delight to follow up a “you never responded” bluff with a request for them to forward the email or send a screenshot with the email address they sent it to visible so you can “correct any errors” My last school I worked for scammed me out of $500 for completing a training by saying “oh well yeah you did it in January but since you ended up not coming back for the next year we don’t owe it to you according to the stipulations we sent” Asked for them to send me a copy of that list of stipulations (that they never sent; their going general rule is that the “no money if you don’t return” is only for stuff over the summer unless otherwise stated in writing) and it dragged out for six months of the head of HR trying to dodge me and the union and the state labor board 💀

[@monicaenns9967]

Swell needs a "Do not disturb, Swell is at work" subtle sign. Like the tie on a doorknob. Maybe she could wear just a doorknob? 😂

[@TI3RU]

I assumed you were going for "do not pet, service dog at work" until the doorknob part 😂

[@dooshmasta]

We use socks where I come from

[@verskarton]

Like a press card?

[@finleyy]

A lot of popular cosplayers will do this at cons actually, like when they are wearing glasses/sunglasses or a specific tie/hat that they are enjoying private time and for fans not to come up

[@PrincessPonies81]

the anime fans having poor spacial awareness is SO true. it feels like it's gotten worse in recent years i swear. as a disabled attendee the amount of times i have to deal with people refusing to move out of the way of wheelchairs/scooters is ridiculous. one of the last cons i went to thankfully had a system for attendees using ADA services where you could request a staff member/volunteer to go around the convention with you and they were able to get me a volunteer to go through the artist alley with me just to tell the crowds to move out of the way of my scooter. it was great and i wish more cons had that. same con that day had staff members just stationed around the artist alley directing the flow of traffic and intermittently telling people to clear the way. another con i went to a couple months before that had people darting in front of me and my friend also in a wheelchair waiting for the elevators despite multiple other people also waiting for the elevators calling out to everyone to let us go first. though maybe that's less spacial awareness and more just not caring.

[@cgdragneel]

I've been hit by prop swords by anime cosplayers in Artist Alley. Also, about the elevators, I make sure people in wheelchairs get on first. At Sakura-Con 2024 in Seattle. People were not letting any of the people in wheelchairs on the elevators. After 15 minutes, me and another person caught an empty elevator and made sure everyone who was using a wheelchair got on first. Then me and that person jumped on too. We had to ride the elevators, but it was better than waiting for people to make room in their elevator car. Anyways, my belief is were at a con to have a good time, so no one should have a negative experience.

[@PrincessPonies81]

@@cgdragneel thank you for being one of the people to make sure folks in wheelchairs get on first. there was one time we were having such a bad time being unable to catch an elevator at a con that the hotel staff took us over to ride in the service elevator up to our floor instead.

[@theanimeview]

*Light screaming* OMG! I presented four times at this convention and mentioned at one panel that I hoped you would be at the con reviewing the event, and HERE IT IS! 😀

[@Ziizoe]

13:00 As someone who does indeed have spatial awareness and is friends with a lot of anime people, I can confirm that I have to interrupt our conversations to not stand in the middle of a crowded walkway and push our circle towards a wall on several occasions, not even limited to conventions

[@theconservationist5662]

Us ladies watch you because you are eloquent and down to earth while being so open minded about what you try and watch. PS trying to do more things solo so watching you do it is inspiring😊

[@joybodelay9679]

Me too and me too!

[@melmel304]

It was so nice to meet you!! I felt bad stopping you at the exhibit hall, but I’m glad you had a great time. AX was definitely better this year. When I was walking around in the artist alley they had a dedicated room towards the front where people could file grievances about the state of artist alley and how AX could do better, don’t remember this from the 2 previous years I went but hopefully that shows they are going to make progress? Idk.

[@khaimk4r4su]

So if we ever meet Amanda we better not talk to her/say hello? I mean watching these reviews sounda like she is on the run times three and better not slow her down (her prerogatives, we respect that)

[@melmel304]

@@khaimk4r4su I think it’s more of a time and place thing, when I met her I was kind of in the middle of a walkway and since it was also the first day, I think she just wanted to get through as much as possible. Tried to not be in her way too much. She was very sweet though and didn’t seem at all annoyed that I stopped to talk with her! I’m just very socially awkward and feel bad no matter what lmao

[@chilliear]

Something that was an issue I saw online was some artists were getting copyright strike notices from Viz Media and Crunchryoll executives for selling FAN made art and merch. Anime fan art that were affected were Evangelion, Dragon Maid, Lucky star, etc.

[@notsquirtley-enough]

Viz Media has been quite notorious with giving copyright strike notices for *years* towards fan art.

[@Karma20XX]

Yeah, I head about that. It's wild. Artists aren't a threat to them.

[@cgdragneel]

That's stupid. I'm glad I didn't witness that while I was in Artist Alley.

[@hightde13]

Lol. Thank you for the spatial awareness comment. I really enjoyed my local anime convention but man, I have never been banged in to by more bags, strollers, backpacks, and costume parts at any convention I'd been to before or since.

[@freiztmare]

All I wanted from the goodsmile booth was miku racing stuff, and they were starting to sell out of stuff just 3 hours after the convention opened, so i know your pain. I really wanted that sun shade so bad

[@AobaKuronuma]

The food truck prices were insane. $30 for a small plate of curry was insane!!!

[@dooshmasta]

I spent $24 on some chicken tendies and a can of coke at the cafeteria, absolute shock at the register. Didn't realize it was a robbery at the vendors too!

[@cgdragneel]

We had a decent meal at the Yardhouse next door to the con for the same price, except we were sitting in air conditioned luxury. Also, we chose to take a free shuttle to Little Tokyo and eat yummy ramen and sushi. I'm a foodie, so I'd never waste my resources or palette on con or cafeteria food, instead I researched the area for delicious and unique food and I happened to discover the very first ramen restaurant in the US is in Little Tokyo, so yeah got to try it. Also, discovered a delicious crepe shop nearby.

[@dooshmasta]

@@cgdragneel I had to look up the ramen. Didn’t know Koraku was the first ever. Crazy it wasn’t until the 70s when JAs have been in LA since the late 19th century, but I guess the first wave of Japanese would not have even known about ramen because it didn’t become a thing in Japan until the Taisho period.

[@Clownbunnycosplay]

A cosplay (anime) convention listing to con goers? Did hell freeze over?

[@MsMvsc]

There were a lot of complaints from artists still

[@dooshmasta]

It's an anime convention

[@KingOfGaymes]

It’s an anime con, Cosplay conventions are more a Japan thing where people go JUST to cosplay and take photos, Western cons have way more going on xD

[@lostgiirl]

@@KingOfGaymesi see you all over the place and i need you to know watching yugi-oh in fifth grade with strep throat is one of the absolute highlights of my life that shit went sooooohard i watched a lot more but that was the absolute peak. i trust u with this info bc u Clearly understand yami

[@Clownbunnycosplay]

@@KingOfGaymes I’ve been to several ‘anime’ conventions, I go to cosplay and take photos I know what I meant

[@lilbluecaboose]

I took a class in college about adapting Shakespeare and we read a manga version of Hamlet as part of our coursework. I wrote my final essay about the interlacing tropes of comedy and tragedy and cited the Demented Cartoon Movie as a source. It was a good class.

[@399-CY]

IT WAS SO MUCH BETTER THIS YEAR!! (As an attendee) More entrances meant the lines were shorter all around, wider isles in artist alley was definitely real, way better organization than prior years. Here's the thing, a little birdy told me they are For Profit starting this year. No more non-profit status. This explains some of the changes, higher ticket costs, and the insane food prices (vendors had to pay fees on all food sold!)

[@kimikaami8498]

"I collect copies of dracula and frankenstein. that's my English major coming through." A WOMAN AFTER MY OWN HEART

[@bittybuggo]

you didn't miss anything not getting an industry badge, if anything, 4-day attendees had an easier time than industry badgeholders, seeing as myself and a few other industry badge holding friends were literally barred from entering several events (fan run panels, mind you) at the JW and the novo based solely on the fact that we had industry badges

[@KTCA0P]

Interesting, it was emphasized a lot more this year that industry, and for the areas that I was in, unless you were part of the entourage for the panelists and received a ticket for entry, you were to be treated as a regular attendee. But I would be curious to hear more about areas where regular attendees could enter but industry was not allowed in.

[@bittybuggo]

@@KTCA0P that's the thing, regular attendees were let in! but we were held up by JW staff simply because we had industry badges. several people that worked on the anime of the following panel were initially denied entry for the same reasons

[@KTCA0P]

@@bittybuggo Hrm, I will try to see if I can find some of the volunteers that worked in that area to see if they were made aware and see if something can be improved for next year. I know in my area I try to work with the security/convention staff to make sure we are all on the same page for access and entry.

[@bittybuggo]

@@KTCA0P yeah it seemed like there was a lot of miscommunication with event center staff specifically. all of the anime expo con staff and volunteers were amazing and very nice!!

[@fushiforever]

This shit happens every year for press/industry badges. The only way I've managed to combat it was when I was attending panels with a real "Karen" type ready to go nuclear if we weren't let in.

[@upondeathwish]

“My assistant” okaaayyyy Amanda. 👀 lol Jkjk glad you’re moving up in the world.

[@SomeplaceScary]

I went to AX this year for the first time in about 5 years, and was genuinely surpised by how much better organized it was, and how short the line waits were in comparison.

[@dooshmasta]

It was the attendance. Everyone is broke, fewer people showed up.

[@KingOfGaymes]

@@dooshmastais there a way to know that for sure? Like attendance numbers?

[@KTCA0P]

@@KingOfGaymes Yes, we should anticipate an infographic that shows the turnstile numbers etc. I will see if I can find a link and post shortly for last years.

[@SomeplaceScary]

@@dooshmasta they actually capped the tickets this year too, and didn't allow on-site ticket sales. I saw quite a few people who were intending to buy on-site being caught off guard by that change this year.

[@dooshmasta]

@@KingOfGaymes Yes there are objective measures taken each year, but you can also feel it if you're there. I only went Thursday and Friday, but it was quite obviously fewer people there, probably by like 20~30%

[@megansmess]

A lot of exhibitors were forced out that’s why you saw so many booths from the main area last year taking over other spaces. AX last minute down to the last week cut almost 100 small businesses so other big brands could have more space :(

[@mimasweets]

AX: (is shit as managing industry passes) Swell: "So i took it personally..."

[@dooshmasta]

Seriously. I thought about entering the AMV contest and submitted a question, as I make more like DJ mixes of OPs and EDs and not AMV in the regular sense. They emailed me back like 3 days before the deadline, like, bruh I'm not gonna start now!

[@wednes3day]

22:00 omg, have you seen the manga version of the count of monte cristo?? Saw it at a con some years back, was sold out the following day and I think ordered it online ... either that or I got like the display copy on that second day, something like that

[@cruztastrophe]

You should try ACen (anime central) or C2E2. They are Chicago conventions and I think a coastal perspective of a midwest convention would be interesting.

[@fenixsoul3102]

I was there helping a friend sell in the exhibitor hall. The prices for the exhibitor booth in the artist alley are roughly the same as in the exhibitor hall from what ive been told. The flow of traffic in the exhibitor hall also wasnt the best this year, a lot of people were packed in the artist alley. I will say the theft was better this year but i think there were a couple of people just try to take whatever was left out on the table during the con. Also viz media went down and striked everyone in the exhibitor hall and a couple of people in the artist alley. I know some people say they didnt touch the artist alley but i heard one-two people down there were impacted by viz.

[@khaimk4r4su]

It has been the scorching issue lately, that Viz went for fanmade items on the exhibition hall but left the artist alley alone, though there are some who argue that it was not like that. Some content creators approached the subject i believe

[@fenixsoul3102]

@@khaimk4r4su one of my friends claimed they tried to shut down a booth a couple of rows down in the artist alley. I've heard people there claim it. But not to the level of exhibitors. I think the only artist they took down were the ones who primarily had viz anime

[@scullyyyyy6788]

Who are viz and what do they do ?

[@fenixsoul3102]

@scullyyyyy6788 viz media, they license a lot of shounen anime to distribute here in the west and had representatives at the convention.

[@scullyyyyy6788]

@@fenixsoul3102 were the strikes like copyright related stuff?

[@deaf-tomcat]

Fair bit of warning for anyone wanting to get into Blue Lock and/or Haikyuu!!: They are two vastly different shows, specifically in tone and theme. Haikyuu!! is a more grounded and realistic sport anime, and it centers themes about friendship, resilience, teamwork, etc. Every character is treated with nuance, and you’re really invited to understand each players’s/teams’ philosophies. Now, I might be biased-I’ve been reading/watching this animanga for nearly ten years and deeply love these characters but it’s such a fun ride. the ending makes me cry. I saw the first movie two times in theaters and cried both times lmao. Blue Lock, on the other hand, is not about teamwork or friendship. “Blue Lock” is about a bunch of strikers who are put into a program to become the best players in Japan and thus compete on the world stage. It’s in direct opposition to animanga like Haikyuu!! The players are implicitly encouraged to be ruthless and crass and mean. it’s a hierarchal fight to the death. Players who “lose” Blue Lock can never play soccer professionally ever again. It’s also very unserious lol. Like, do not get me wrong it’s very hype. But these guys are so silly and weird. Oh and there’s no magic. that “smoke” that you saw is the physical manifestation of each player’s “ego”. Each player has their own color ego that represents their personality/drive to win. It’s the author’s way of adding contrast to each character.

[@aurorahermione]

This year was my 15th AX and I will say that crowd management was much better than before. I heard from people in the industry that they are moving towards the main exhibit hall being primarily industry booths (stuff like Aniplex, Crunchyroll, and big vendors like amiami, Kotobkiya, Good Smile etc.) while small businesses are moved to the edges or downstairs near the artist alley. Personally I think this worked well as there was more room to move around in the main exhibit hall, but I can understand how vendors would not be thrilled about it. I also heard that a lot of the traffic in the artist alley was due to several stamp rallies where people had to purchase from certain booths to get some free items, which led to huge lines at those booths. Personally I don't think that should be allowed unless they can figure out a better way to handle line ups like that because it can cause problems for other artists around them. Also, AX is the biggest convention in North America, so you were not off base saying that it's the biggest on the West coast.

[@KTCA0P]

Hrm, stamp rallies are extremely profitable and do take a lot of time, energy and effort to set up. It is also a good way to advertise booths that are selling more sets of perhaps more niche content. While stamp rallies may contribute, I would imagine removal of stamp rallies would still have lines at popular artists be an issue as they are the popular ones, with stamp rallies it kind of encourages people to say "if you cannot make it to this booth, check out some others that are selling similar things and come back later" as well.

[@EngineerOfChaos]

Food trucks got really fancy and expensive. At least the ones that are commissioned to go places. The cheap ones are the ones that dot the roads in a city center. They are still there but the fancy ones with the big wraps around the truck and the logos and everything were ALWAYS expensive. Even pre-pandemic. I remember buying a sandwich for $15 in like 2018 from one. On my campus, I could get a bigger sandwich for $6 from a different food truck

[@Crytaljam]

Blue lock got a massive boost from the last world cup where Japan did very well . Why the new movie is popular though is a bit baffling

[@zuko1331]

Kaiju No 8 is amazing!! 10/10 would recommend! Haikyuu!! is also amazing!

[@SandraStar66]

This was my first con and I had a really good time! It's funny you mentioned a line to get in because I never had to wait in any line to get inside the venue. The badges were mailed to us, we activated them online, and then got into the door closest to the crypo area. Security took 5 minutes. Though the lines to get into any of the special events/panels/showings were insane. Waiting in that heat was miserable and often it was unclear where we were supposed to wait because the lines were outside (not marked on the schedule, that would've been really nice). We spent as little time out in the heat as possible, so we unfortunately missed out on the beer garden area upstairs. But overall, it was a great time.

[@solaniarhythm7940]

This was my first AX & I’ve heard nightmare stories abt overcrowding. I expected there to be a long line & long wait times. But overall the experience of it was not as bad as I expected.

[@mousealchemist]

I was working for a vendor at ax but i also talk to aa artist downstaird and they said because of AX wider aisle a lot of aa artist had not space to exit their booths. Also at AX they did boot out some vendors. One of the vendor was selling ai/hand traced art of figures and offical art. Also there was subleasing issues with them and along with a meet and greet that got a bit out of hand. AX was def cracking down on rule breakers this year since its been going the more corperate route.

[@RobertStoll]

I follow vTubing so naturally the biggest story for me was the Nijisanji and Hyte (featuring a talent they'd very loudly sacked in February) booths right next to each other. But looking at the footage I was surprised how big those booths were. Like when they filled up, they obviously filled up. But as a vendor, I'd be a little squeamish during off hours having people see mostly empty booths.

[@catnipclementine]

21:47 I wouldn't be surprised if more people bought a one day ticket where in years past they'd have gotten a four day pass. If you're only there for a day, you gotta buy what you want when you see it.

[@Fra-gee-lay]

Dunno if this would help with clarity but something I’ve heard that better describes the money issue has been “real people economy” rather than just plain economy. Dunno if it matters that much.

[@AngelBridgeford]

I went to AX last year, and I’m glad things are better this year, I hope they take what they did this year and improve for next year.

[@MissyV72]

You should check out the pet expo that comes to Pittsburgh every year in the fall, you could probably make a great video on it.

[@sushreeshashwata]

I opened KZbin thinking let’s find and watch an old swell video but voila gifted a new one 🎉

[@Amyreadingabook]

I modeled for a fashion brand at an anime convention and it didn't really match my personality. So it was okay. I don't know how much of it they would let you film. They told us no filming but pictures were okay unless someone was actively changing.

[@mellow8920]

13:28 If this is the same artist I’m thinking about, apparently they got caught tracing a lot of their artwork that they were selling at AX.

[@dustinmasondustan1904]

yeah, you nailed the cost to vend if not costing more cause you need more space. breaking even is the very best you can do sometimes

[@hiero.]

So, i was industry last year, along with my wife. (We performed at BG and L21) It definitely did not leave a good taste in our mouths with it being insanely crowded. Im glad its better this year, and i hope it improves! Kinda thinking about applying again for next year

[@magicmike191v2]

I wonder if Food Trucks becoming a big marketing thing for a chef is what turned them to become so expensive. I gotta try more food trucks though

[@khaimk4r4su]

Okamoto Kitchen i believe mentioned that AX charges a lot to food vendors, hence most of the price hikes over there.

[@dooshmasta]

@@khaimk4r4su They're also being kept out by the Anaheim Convention Center for selling at Anime Impulse. Time are tough.

[@silverleviathan01]

I attended AX on day 2 this and it was better than last year in general but a booth i was really looking forward to in the entertainment hall (arknights/yostar) felt a lot smaller. I met you last year which was awsome too ❤

[@mannycartoon]

I really enjoyed your coverage of these shows. Have you looked into Designer Con? It'll be in Vagas this year for thr first time. I'd love to see your review of that show...its a very niche show about Asrt toys and Design.

[@kimitokki7171]

I wouldn't be shocked if they were struggling to sell tickets. A lot of people are broke 😊and they don't really think about it

[@cosmos-6580]

I ghosted AX this year (aka hung out outside Friday and Sunday and went to little Tokyo) and I was actually devastated I didn’t buy a badge. It seemed awesome this year with a lot of improvements that made it better. I am SO glad they listened to their fans. Now to see how this goes next year because a ton of people didn’t go this year. I def blame that for why it was so quiet.

[@botboifm]

Yooooo, I've been OBSESSED with Kaiju No. 8! It's literally Pacific Rim with a bit of Power Rangers camp mixed in, I've been reading new content as it drops on the Shonen Jump app. The Crunchyroll anime also goes HARD, Yungblud and OneRepublic made the opening and closing themes, I've been blasting that shit.

[@k1amc3]

One thing I never understand conventions don't do regularly at summer events, are the big misting fans???? Like the amount of concerts I've been to in summer where they have spaced out misting fans, it cooled everyone down enough to be bearable.

[@verynormalvic]

To be fair i can imagine a million and one reasons a cosplayer might not want to be damp

[@davidking8744]

I really wanted to go to AX because of the Witch Hat Atelier trailer and panel 😭

[@clairecorin5684]

I went years telling my friends I'd never go to AX because of the wait times. Then they announced Ono Daisuke as a guest and I had to go. Yeah there was a lot of people but I never felt overwhelmed by the crowds. The longest I waited outside to get in was 5 minutes. I entered through Ai gate 2 of the 3 days I went with no issue. If this level of crowd control continues for the coming years I'll actually plan on going out ahead of time. I spent my first day then half the second day just explpring then panels second half of second day then all of day 3. I've heard complaints from vendor friends about sales being down this year but a balance has to be found between keeping the crowd manageable from an attendee standpoint (as well as keeping the fire marshalls from getting mad) and having a crowd to buy goods.

[@Starvida]

Thanks for keepiny me entertained while I try to not die during Art Fight Amanda. Keepin me alive fr

[@feelingkoii]

Seafoam or stardust

[@Starvida]

@@feelingkoii stardust! The_nexwork if you're looking 👀

[@Epic_Knight]

You should come to Montreal, our Otakuthon is pretty big (maybe slightly bigger than Anime North?). We usually don't have that many problems in the merchants or artists alley. It's next week-end though, so I don't know if it's feasable for you (2-4 august 2024). Also, most people there are very chill & billingual. Our artists have very talented too XD !!! Hope to see you there at some point :)

[@Garlic_bread_7012]

To Skootish: Hot women like to watch other hot women *insert lip biting emoji*

[@JW-cvnt]

i love how in these reviews of expos or products, swell always says “you could’ve done this better…” “you did this well” “you did x y and z” and i just love how it’s not a vague/generic review. like in this video, she is telling anime expo directly what they did well and what they can do better. DIRECTLY. idk what it is about that but i love unabashed, straight to the point and no frills commentary and reviews. 💖✨

[@cringusmoss9937]

Really awesome to see a video where you clearly enjoyed yourself.

[@msanimegames]

It was nice meeting you at Anime Expo 🙌🏻 thanks for a lil chat ❤

[@reishiki5699]

i hope you check out dragoncon in atlanta, georgia. its one of the biggest and most popular convention in georgia. its mostly a comic convention for everyone to party lol momocon is also pretty cool

[@TaylorRayborn]

Love that it was such a short comment but I feel you about the food truck thing. Live in a small town. Several very popular food trucks that rotate around the area. One taco truck my wife loved went from three tacos for 5$ to 10$ a taco. And they’re complaining about a lack of business. Dude. Who’s going to pay 10$ for a single taco. But it’s not just LA.

[@Maximumoverbite]

This year was my fifteenth year attending AX and it was genuinely one of the best years in recent memory. The programming was a little light but I'm also woefully out of touch with anime in general so that could just be me. One of my concerns was how they were opening halls an hour earlier than they did in years prior but that turned out to be a non-issue. On Saturday of all days, I showed up to the convention center around 8:30 or so, found the end of a line in about ten minutes, and got into the convention center in less than ten minutes. With how well 2024 was run, it almost hurts to make it my last one for a while. I hold this convention pretty near and dear to me even through all the ups and downs but when I only know about ten percent of what I'm looking at, I need to move on. I sincerely hope they take what made this year so successful and apply it to future years so when I eventually do come back, it's as great as I remember.

[@saad_5151]

I can't believe amanda has a manager, assistant AND editor omg mother's winning yall

[@joanacosta8561]

Not long ago, I was a healthy headphone user, but everything changed when 6:28 attacked...When I tell you I ALMOST HAD A HEART ATTACK, I'M NOT KIDDING!

[@hasruto8095]

I modeled for the AX fashion show this year and 2022. I literally laughed out loud when i saw you in the audience during the final walk. It's a fun experience but we used to be comped a 4 day badge instead of the 1 day. It's an all day commitment to do the show because of getting ready and after show pics so everything was closed by the time my group was undressed. I love modeling at conventions but I don't think it's worth it if it isn't at least a 2 day badge because I didn't see anything of the actual con. Models are chosen by the designers. Its a great time and something i hope you get to try. (I was the blue dress in the final group) if anyone has any questions I'm happy to answer :)

[@mariaha.7027]

As someone who started the manga of Kaiju No. 8 when it was releasing it's first few chapters, I love it! Definitely worth your time.

[@KTCA0P]

I wanted to offer an apology/condolence for the fashion show. There were some issues in the morning that caused rehearsal to start a lot later and that was the reason for the fashion show to be pushed back later. Hope the experience was still enjoyable however! If there are any questions, I would be happy to answer to the best of my ability.

[@labtec514]

Swells villain arc, showing no mercy to mis managed events

[@Mewtho9]

Video / Stream idea: Tier Rank Racing Miku designs

[@jennifercoolidgeislife6760]

Traffic and parking was a nightmare. They are no parking directions. The event was crowded and artist alley was horrendous. It smelled so horribly I became nauseous and never got to experience it. There is no point of the last day it closed at 3pm. The beer garden forced ppl to drink outside in the heat. Also amazing performers have to suffer in the heat. They capped out the garden so you would get separated from your friends if you left to use the restroom. They stopped selling drinks in the front area super early. We could only buy one beer and had to leave b/c they stopped selling at 7 and there was a huge line for the garden. The food trucks were grossly overpriced. I’m not going back next year I’m super over it….

[@jennifercoolidgeislife6760]

Also saw some kid dip his spoon back into the communal soup after putting his mouth on it

[@dooshmasta]

@@jennifercoolidgeislife6760 LOL Had my comment deleted? Union Station $8, 10 minute ride on A line $1.75. ELA / Monterey Park $2, 30 minute ride E line. Try it.

[@dooshmasta]

@@jennifercoolidgeislife6760 wow got deleted a second time. Let’s try a third: Union Station, Metro, cheap, reliable. Outside of the occasional vagabonds and smelly people.

[@dooshmasta]

Union station

[@jennifercoolidgeislife6760]

@@dooshmasta I considered the metro and I’m not phased by it as I have taken it for a long time. My bf didn’t wanna take it and I can’t blame him bc he likes to get ready in the parking lot. Thank you for trying to help

[@bdazzld]

My husband spoke on one of the panels on Friday. Later night one I think. He said it was super crowded lol half his coworkers caught the vid 😬

[@SirenSymphony]

they moved the artist alley to the basement for years and I always heard horror stories about people fainting and the high co2 concentration and lack of AC in artist circles. I'm local and I havent gone to one since maybe 2018 because the crowding has overwhelmed and stressed me out as a nd person. If they arent gonna cap ticket sales like they should for safety, they should at least make it a week-long event to try to ease up the traffic inside the building by stretching out how long it goes for.

[@sunkissedangel]

Amanda! You’re absolutely going to love kaiju no 8! And blue lock is actually fun to read / watch as well!

[@BatBreaker007]

Would love to see you attend Fan Expo Canada sometime if you ever have the ability to do so. It's a fun time but I've been having my issues with it for a while now and it would be interesting to see an outside but experienced con-goers perspective on Canada's biggest convention.

[@mayowhishes]

27:34 hot women feel comfortable around their own kind :)

[@schwarzerregen9338]

It was kind of weird getting there at 8:50am and thinking "oh crap I'm not gonna get in till 12pm" and then being in artist Alley by 9am

[@fourcatsandagarden]

when you were talking about people having no spatial awareness and just stopping in the middle of spaces, I was like 'that's just my grocery store every time I go.' I think its less anime people and more people in general for some reason are becoming less aware of the space around them.

[@jameslaidler2152]

2005 I went and was lucky enough to meet Tomokazu Seki, Greg Ayres, and Crispin Freeman. Was a fun time, and a far away era. I feel old.

[@fuzzypanda2804]

You give wholesome vibes. Like being in the 18 up section I wouldn't be surprised. Now if you talked about buying the biggest boldest fantasy toy, that I'd be surprised pikachu face about.

[@Andrew-mo7oh]

I liked the part where swell offered some random girl in con logistics a kiss if they wanted one.

[@Sammiwammi69]

Hot women simply attract more hot women; I don't make the rules, the universe does

[@Bebevevevebebe]

They did a lot better, but they still need to fix temperature and air flow in artist alley. Badges also messed up a bit. I was really happy to see all the changes they made for crowd control and accessibility. Priority line had almost no standstill, compared to other years I went, even priority was at least an hour long wait. However, I’m an artist and tabling down there, being there for all day, was still rough. Hot and stuffy. They failed to mail out a lot of badges in advance but they did let us pick them up early so that kinda made up for it. I think they’re doing a whole lot better, and hope they continue that trend next year.

[@gshimon]

25:17 Blue lock is the current shounen anime hit, i think it has like 2 seasons ongoing and a movie, is a sports anime about soccer and looks intetresting

[@runyoucleverboyandremember]

biggest issue by far is dudes who didn’t ask for consent for photos and being on videos

[@mstieler8480]

On the off chance you'd be interested in literally melting, Phoenix has their Fan Fusion event (previous the Phoenix Comicon) in June. I'll admit, I stopped going a couple years ago (I can't remember if it was the first back from COVID or the last one beforehand) but it's a pretty solid experience between panels and the vendor hall, more so if you want to see any of the special guests (getting a picture with Christopher Lloyd in front of a DeLorean was possibly one of the best times I've had :D)

[@derpwithit7481]

Dang, AX actually making improvements? Never thought id see the day

[@Pilapuzzles]

I went this year for my first time fully expecting crowd crush and panic but it actually was easy for me to walk and get around everywhere However, I didn't go into artist alley at all and my friends mentioned there were some oxygen issues in there on saturday