2008 Reviews!

[xxxchihiroxxx]

Alright while a good chunk of you are still at the convention, listning to the words of the closin cerimoney, making one last grab for the bucket, or enjoying that final pinal before the day ends, I have already started my review of the year.

Now Yes i do miss most of the last day due to sleep depravation, food depravation, and the fact that the only panel I take much intrest into on the last day would be cosplay chess ._. and no i don not atend the closing cerimoneys, never have.

So post your own reviews and lets see what we all have to say about 2008!

------------------------------
REVIEW:

Hotel:

Pro:
Pulling up I was VERY excited and bouncing off the walls of my car door waiting to get there. We got in of course and checked in right away, it was speedy and fast for us, and parking wasnt much of a hastle eather. The attends were nice and polite to us and helped make the stay as pleasent as possible. The small cafe/food stand in the hotel near the lobby was incredibley handy for me once food became an issue and the people attending it were nice to me and one even ran all the way across the hotel to get me some sauce for my sandwitch!
The rooms were great, nice and clean. I was expecting small and cramped as was the Hilton but instead was surprised to find a spacecios room! The beds were actualy quiet comfy and pretty large (we had two queens) and we took advantage of the mini fridge and microwave!
And of course I loved the glass elivators, i know many people didnt but personaly i thought they were incredibley cool
The location of the hotel was also a wonderful asset to this con! The max made easy acesability, and the park was generaly really nice and a fun place to hang around during down time! The mall close by was incredibley fun as i enjoyed scarring the normies, the incredible amounts of food, and cosplay on ice xD
And i apriciated the stratigicly placed watar stands, really came in handy!

Con:
It was to small... while the rooms where large the hotel it self was to small for our con. I dont know if this is because of more people showing up than expected or some other odd reason.
I recall on saturday we were waiting for my friend to get through the line and she had been in line for four hours already, finnaly they were next when a boaming voice (Chris i believe) anounced that the line was capped and unless you were pre reg you were not aloud entry to the con. Thankfully that was a miss conmunication and it turned out no one else could get in line for non pre reg, and everyone in line got to go in. But I recall that the lines ussaly get capped for pre reg simpley because of the time and not the fact that more people would cause a fire hazard! Also it was incredibley crowded through out most of the con! I had a very difficult time moving around the area where we checked in for our badge.
The elivators where also a problem, the limit (which i know was necisary) of people kept getting broken and I heard the sound of the stuck elivator a LOT, given some one might have been leaning on it every now and again. It was difficult to get from one floor to the next with out being squished to the glass wall!
Also the vendors hall was very tiny this year, while some of my favorite people returned i was sad to see such a small venue for it and was also depressed to see i could only find a few J-pop CD's! There is ussualy a whole booth or two to J Pop....

RAVE:

Pro: The second one i found to be really fun, although it was shorter than the first one the music was great and energized and I really got dancing, enjoying the conga lines, fighting for the bucket, and just genearly dancing with the glow sticks with my friends. The ear plugs were a nice touch as I couldnt find any last year and pretty much went deaf for a while. Also the watar and tables were nice when you needed a brake!

Cons: I personaly thought it was a bit crowded and the music wasnt as good the first night but that was it.

COSPLAY SKITS:

Pro: I really enjoyed the skits of the others that I could see and the people at practice were patiant with us when about four or three of our girls didnt show up to go through the skit while we had the stage. The atmosphere was great and I was glad to see that Vash returned. And even more glad that they added the monologe catigory this year because vash deserved that prize!

Con: It was a bit disorganized and I was sad to see we had no feed this year to watch what was going on while we were in the green room D: While we did find other ways to entertain ourselfs I REALLY wanted to see the other skits and the hosts the anime hunters....

Overall:

I thought it was pretty good, I didnt like that it seemed EVERYTHING was going on during Saturday when we were all checking in and trying to get through the line.... it was nice though, Im sad to see we are to big for the double tree now (I like it MUCH more than the Hilton.) but it cant be helped see'ing that this year we were much to many for it.

Im glad there seemed to be few problems and the staff were pretty great this year, it was a great con for me with only a few bad points that mostly cant be helped : )

[nikkiolie]

I really enjoyed the con this year. Yeah the hotel was a little small but everything was great. Some people were complaining that there wasn't a lot to do but I found it hard to DO the things I wanted to do because I was so busy. And during the major events the rooms were really crowded and i always ended up in the back (because people were lining up for those events like 4 hours in advance) so when I left there was nothing to do but I like that time, it was good for us to get a break.

Overall I enjoyed myself and I can't wait for the next con....a little bigger hotel would be great.

[oslapedo]

It may just be since it was my first con, but I loved EVERYTHING about KCon. Even the lines were fun! And cosplay chess was truly amazing, it was nice only having to go to one thing on the last day since I was exhausted by then.

I hope to see you all again next year! <3

Btw, Nikki, while I was in the reg line with my friends on Saturday one of the staff told us that we'd be in a Hilton hotel and we'd have like 28 floors or something like that. Don't quote me on it but I have faith that we'll have plenty of room

[nikkiolie]

I know that it is going to be in the Hilton next year. I remember someone saying something about that ^_^

[xxxchihiroxxx]

It may just be since it was my first con, but I loved EVERYTHING about KCon. Even the lines were fun! And cosplay chess was truly amazing, it was nice only having to go to one thing on the last day since I was exhausted by then.

I hope to see you all again next year! <3

Btw, Nikki, while I was in the reg line with my friends on Saturday one of the staff told us that we'd be in a Hilton hotel and we'd have like 28 floors or something like that. Don't quote me on it but I have faith that we'll have plenty of room

thats what i heard too : o im already getting ready to reserve a suite for me and my three friends (pluss parents) and our inventory for our art stand next year. we want big room. -o- i dont like the hilton, the rooms are tiny.

[laurifer]

Con-wise, I didn't do much. But on the socializing aspect, I met a lot of great people. So it was a lot of fun!

[risotto]

Being at the Doubletree, kcon being at the Hilton next year will be sooo much better. Anyway, I had fun

[makichan]

I loved it, really. I wasn't too fond of the dance on the first night but the masquerade definitely made up for that. Overall, it was a lovely experience. Not only that, but being there again brought back a lot of good memories. The hotel was also very accommodating, even though we didn't stay there (checked our bags in for free and let us borrow scissors and a cutting knife). Also, the staff was just awesome and I felt that it wasn't too crowded at all.
Thanks for a good year <3

[~boogiepop~]

First I must say, grats to staff. I think you all did great this year. I got to work with the people in Gaming and I was watching staff handling what they needed to get settled and I think you all did great. Thanks for keeping things in line guys!

Most of my other pro's for con were more personal then anything so I will keep those to myself and just say the two big problems I had with con.

Space: As said by people already my biggest problem was space and the amount of people that were there. The elevators also got ridiculous with people hitting the buttons for every floor in there. But perhaps it is time to move to someplace bigger like the convention center?

Masquerade Ball: I heard someone say that it's the second year they've tried this but I was a little disappointed that I waited in line for an hour after seeing that there were ballroom dance lessons and such, expecting there to be nice dancing and I walk in and it's a rave with masks. It might of changed because I walked out after about two songs. I was a little disappointed with what happened there though.

That's all I've got for now though. I had a fun '08 overall.

[oslapedo]

I agree that the Masquerade was essentially a rave with masks. I was actually looking forward to the end of the Masquerade so I could take the mask off since it was getting really hot. A more traditional, slower placed, Masquerade would be a very nice contrast to the two raves and concert we already have

[~X~Hyuuga Neji~X~]

Overall, the CON itself wasnt so bad. I agree that the dealers room was very much a disappointment, although I was somewhat excited because I could look at all the naughty doujinshi this year because I turned 18..*Cough* The location was alright, although I was very much disappointed in people when I saw in the morning how much trash (A lot of convention bags..) had accumulated in the park. Oh and there was a problem with hobos...A friend of mines stuff got stolen >>; *Cough*

Another problem that everyone I know had(as well as myself.) was with the staff...I mean, I know that staffing can be stressful because of the large amount of people you have to keep under control, but a lot of what we were met with was rudeness and to be honest, snobbyness...I'm not saying that all staff was like that, just a good portion. I mean really, like I said I can understand the stress but...No one likes to be treated like they're below someone. And feelings were hurt, man.

Mostly the highlight of this con for me was Cosplay Chess and hanging out with friends though to be honest. Although props because it seemed like it  was more organized this year..XD;

[~boogiepop~]

I agree that the Masquerade was essentially a rave with masks. I was actually looking forward to the end of the Masquerade so I could take the mask off since it was getting really hot. A more traditional, slower placed, Masquerade would be a very nice contrast to the two raves and concert we already have

Agree'd. I was talking to someone about it and they said it was hard to not make it rave-like since the minors can only participate in the dances for so long. It'd be a lot easier if there was one rave that started a bit earlier (maybe eight or nine) so the minors can have more to to dance crazy and such so things like that won't leak into the masquerade ball.

Just my two cents though, I'll shut my mouth now.

[oslapedo]

I think that that's a good idea. I didn't think the rave on sunday was as good as the on on saturday honestly. I'd be okay with just having one rave. I'm still healing my wounds from the two raves, the masquerade and the concert so one less would be fine with me.

Also, I found it slightly odd how there was such an emphasis on formal attire and masks when we weren't exactly dancing as if it were a true masquerade ball. I really liked the swing dancing lesson that was offered earlier in the day but I couldn't actually implement it at the ball because it was pretty moshy.

[Shuurajou]

The rooms were great, nice and clean. I was expecting small and cramped as was the Hilton but instead was surprised to find a spacecios room! The beds were actualy quiet comfy and pretty large (we had two queens) and we took advantage of the mini fridge and microwave!

you had a mini fridge and microwave? we didn't have either in our room. o_O; thats really odd.

[xxxchihiroxxx]

The rooms were great, nice and clean. I was expecting small and cramped as was the Hilton but instead was surprised to find a spacecios room! The beds were actualy quiet comfy and pretty large (we had two queens) and we took advantage of the mini fridge and microwave!

you had a mini fridge and microwave? we didn't have either in our room. o_O; thats really odd.

._. yeah we did, that is weird.... It was kinda small and stuffed in the cornor but we used the fridge for soda and the microwave for popcorn...

[misamisa]

Wow, after reading the comments about the masquerade, I am definitely not sad that I missed it.  I even went back to my room and considered making a mask so I could check it out, but it sounds like I would have been disappointed if I did, as it was essentially "rave with masks!!!"  ^^;
I don't attend the raves for varying reasons-- don't want to cause damage to or get sweaty in my cosplay, among other things...
I was interested in the Masquerade because it sounded like it would be kinda classy.

The dealer's room was pretty disappointing.  I think it may have even been better last year.  :X

Friends & I went to the shounen-ai/shoujo-ai party, and nobody was running it.  Things got very annoying when people decided to try to come up with things to do, and one young girl essentially took this as an opportunity to bark orders and yell at people.  My friends located staff to see if anyone knew anything and were met with little/no response.  Shoulder shrugs and such.
We left that panel pretty quickly.

On the plus side, the yaoi/yuri party was ridiculous fun, so mad kudos to the people organizing that one.


Some of the staffers were genuinely helpful and friendly.  A few were not.  I didn't have much interaction with the staff, but I simply asked a staffer sitting outside one of the panel rooms if this was the right panel, and she kinda made an ambiguous gesture that could have been a shrug or nod, so I peeked in the room and found...nothing going on.  Weirdness.

The biggest panel disappointment was the Maria Watches Over Us screening.  As far as I know, it didn't happen, but my friends & I lost patience, so if it eventually started up, I don't know.  The people in the room didn't seem to care or know that there was an event that was supposed to be going on in there.  At the time, the majority of attendees were lined up for the Cosplay Chess panel.  I got the feeling several times at the con that they were focusing so hard on the huge events that they kind of ignored smaller events that were also going on and nobody knew or could really be bothered to find out if they were going to happen.

I don't know if anything can be done about this, but kids would ride the elevators as many times as they could get away with, pressing every button and stopping on every floor.  A lady got into our elevator and was told by some kid, "going down?  You'll want to take a different elevator, because we're pressing every button on the way down."
The lady firmly said, "no, you are not."  and the kids went "awww maaan, I knew someone would say that!"  and pouted, then got off on the next floor.  Thank god.
Staff manning the elevators, when they were present, were very pleasant and helpful. 

Closing ceremonies were a big disappointment for me.  The last two years I've gone, they have been a highlight of the convention, and always left me revved up and smiling and thinking, "man, this was a good con."  This year it was just like, "blah blah bliddy blah, IT'S OVEEEEER!!"
and I'm looking around like, "seriously?  We're leaving now?? I did NOT need to attend this!"

The hotel staff was amazing. 
I skipped out on a lot of panels this year, so I'm sure there were a lot of great things going on that ran smoothly, but it was a big sad that a few that I did choose to attend were so messed up.

I don't know for sure that I'll be here for the con next year, but if I'm able to attend, I'm really really looking forward to the new convention space, I think it's going to be a lot more suitable.

[murder_of_raven]

Hotel:
Pro: The location was really nice, being next to a MAX station and the mall. It was also the first con I've gone to where I /didn't/ have trouble finding food for lunch and dinner. Also the glass elevators were just gorgeous and it was nice being back in Oregon this year (w00t no sales tax!).
Con: Having to turn away so many people certainly is a con, although it didn't effect me (and other pre-reg people) to the slightest. I also felt that the space wasn't exactly used properly, with most panels either being in rooms way too large (Cat-Boy/Girl, Manga/Comics) or WAY too small (Religion in Anime where we literally had people sitting under people's chairs). But hey, hard to expect how many people are going to show up to something right?

Panels:
Pro: The return of most of my favorite panels, such as Religion in Anime and Anime That Scarred Me for Life. Also I really enjoyed some of the new ones.
Con: Honestly I think this was where 90% of the mistakes at this year's Kumoricon were made. Panels that weren't listed in the scheduling, panels that the person who were supposed to run it didn't ever show up (most notibly the Shoujo/Shonen-Ai Party, with its epic 2 hour ramble in place of an actual event), panels that weren't given nearly enough time before or after panels that were given way too much, and panels which were given thouroughly misleading or useless (here's looking at you Epic Panel) descriptions in the Scheduling Guide. Also there was just a general sense of confusion and stress that wasn't present (imo) last year.

Gaming Room:
Pro: I'd heard from somebody who works on the GR who said it was going to be way too small, but I'm pleased to say it felt much less cramped than last year. Bag check-in/out was also much less painful. Wonderful game selection as well, I honestly wish I'd spent more time there.
Con: I heard a suggestion which I felt it would be good to reiterate here- Keep the PS3 controllers with the systems their synked with! I know it's frustrating, but they really really do not like hooking up with a new PS3 with the one they are currently synked with is still in use somewhere else in the room.

AMV Contest:
Pro: Some really wonderful AMVs that made me remember why I even bother wading through all the crappy ones.
Con: I think it went on too long. I was lurking on the AMV Contest thread so I know his issues but I still think (and I think much of the audience would agree with me) that if the less good 50% of the first half of the contest had been cut out (mainly some of the Drama and Effects) the whole presentation would've been better. That time could've been used for the Show which I thought was really very good and could've used more time (I missed the audience participation from last year though).

Cosplay Chess:
Pro: (Sometimes) Great acting, fun to see the strange crossover battles. Also a nice mix of characters selected (props to the girl who played Yuki from Melancholy, you did an amazing job).
Con: UGH! The actual chess was terrible! Strategy clearly took a backseat to fanservice but still! In the last game both team's Queens could've taken the other for 3 TURNS with no reprocussions yet instead the Chessmasters moved around pawns. @__@ Saying they were the two most aggrivating games of anything I've ever watched is a complete understatement.

Cosplay Meet-ups:
Pro: I wouldn't know, I didn't make it to any of them.
Con: How's about putting them on the schedule somewhere? I missed the Gurren Lagann one (certainly my fault) and then was completely unable to find the Utena one on Monday. :\ sorta urked about the whole thing.

General:
Pro: It's Kumoricon! Seriously, it's amazing to go interact with so many people who like anime in one place and you meet such fun and interesting people. Wonderful overall.
Con: Felt more rough around the edges than last year. Also felt like the general atmosphere was a little more stressed and quite a bit more homophobic. It's fun to see Kumoricon get bigger but at the same time I worry we're losing our small-group feel.

[RemSaverem]

Replying to above post:

Homophobia at a con is completely bizarre to me. There's so much public fandom of shonen-ai, shoujo-ai, yaoi, yuri, are people saying this is okay for drawn characters but not living people? Bizarre....

I agree with you about Religion in Anime in Manga. This was my 3rd time as a panelist therein. We need to have a longer time slot, as well as a larger room. Standing room only during Cosplay! YAY!
Matter of fact, I've decided to dedicate some time to re-learning Hebrew (i.e., modern vs. just liturgical knowledge), after translating some of the Zombie Lum Hebrew and Gematria (Qabbalistic numberology) for this workshop!

[murder_of_raven]

Reply to reply above:
Yes, my girlfriend and I were surprised as well. The only explaination I can provide is that it didn't seem the people who were homophobic liked yaoi/yuri either :\. The most homophobia we encountered was the Randomness of the Internet panel (which sorta makes sense) and from people who walked by while we were in line (again, makes sense- fairly anonymous with little we could do). Also, I think trans is still less socially acceptable so with the negative responses I was getting I suppose I paid more attention to homophobia.

Oh! Wow I thought your tiny picture looked familiar, you did a great job. =) That really is my favorite panel. And yes, more space/time would be great. XD

[oslapedo]

Friends & I went to the shounen-ai/shoujo-ai party, and nobody was running it.  Things got very annoying when people decided to try to come up with things to do, and one young girl essentially took this as an opportunity to bark orders and yell at people.  My friends located staff to see if anyone knew anything and were met with little/no response.  Shoulder shrugs and such.
We left that panel pretty quickly.

Panels that weren't listed in the scheduling, panels that the person who were supposed to run it didn't ever show up (most notibly the Shoujo/Shonen-Ai Party, with its epic 2 hour ramble in place of an actual event)

*snip*

Cosplay Chess:
Pro: (Sometimes) Great acting, fun to see the strange crossover battles. Also a nice mix of characters selected (props to the girl who played Yuki from Melancholy, you did an amazing job).
Con: UGH! The actual chess was terrible! Strategy clearly took a backseat to fanservice but still! In the last game both team's Queens could've taken the other for 3 TURNS with no reprocussions yet instead the Chessmasters moved around pawns. @__@ Saying they were the two most aggrivating games of anything I've ever watched is a complete understatement.

I left the Shoujo-ai, Shounen-ai party early too. It was ridiculously phail.

As for the strategy (or lack of) in cosplay chess from the start they were never going for a serious match, they just wanted lulz and good times. I kind of wish that cosplay chess hadn't been on the last day though, because by then I was exhausted and my voice was nearly all the way gone so I was afraid that no one would be able to hear me in the audience (I twas Haruhi btw ). I know they put cosplay chess on Monday so it could be the highlight of the day, so next year I'll maybe just have to chill out on the dances x3

[RemSaverem]

Reply to reply above:
Yes, my girlfriend and I were surprised as well. The only explaination I can provide is that it didn't seem the people who were homophobic liked yaoi/yuri either :\. The most homophobia we encountered was the Randomness of the Internet panel (which sorta makes sense) and from people who walked by while we were in line (again, makes sense- fairly anonymous with little we could do). Also, I think trans is still less socially acceptable so with the negative responses I was getting I suppose I paid more attention to homophobia.

Oh! Wow I thought your tiny picture looked familiar, you did a great job. =) That really is my favorite panel. And yes, more space/time would be great. XD

Hm, I don't have a visual on you so I'm not sure if we directly met *shakes hand* hi I'm Rem
Have you considered running any panels yourself? I would totally support there being a panel on homo/transphobia in the otaku community/at cons...and love to get your input for next year's Religion panel!

Given all the characters who change
(or hide)
their genders in anime and manga, trans phobia is totally out of place at cons (as well as unethical anywhere).

Loves to you and your GF.

[Valkie]

Hotel
Well, I really loved the snazzy glass elevators, but...
It really felt too small to me. A lot of the rooms for panels were quite cramped, and in general the hotel had a bit of a claustrophobic feel as opposed to 06 and 07. The main room also seemed awkward - in seats near the back, it was impossible to see any of the stage during the Cosplay event. Just listening to the skits wasn't the same. XD Unlike others, I found it much more difficult to find food this year: the breakfast buffet at the hotel was too expensive for a cheap cosplayer like me to afford, so I was stuck buying donuts at the coffee shop since Lloyd Center wasn't open at that point. On Sunday their food court closed down super early also, which I wasn't expecting and left me with only snacks for dinner. Having more non-mall food options nearby would be great, and I bet there will be a lot of those near the Hilton next year.

Staff
A big cheer to Maid Squad for being all-around awesome.
Most staff were very friendly/helpful and seemed to do a great job keeping things orderly without getting snippy. However, I was a little annoyed at the badge situation - in the booklet, the rules said that our badges/lanyards just needed to be visible on us, so I put it around my belt. But then I got told repeatedly it needed to be around my neck at all times. Some confusion there I guess.

AMV Contest
I didn't stay for the whole thing, but the selection seemed better than prior years, which made me happy.  My only complaint was the length - I think a smaller selection of really great ones would be nicer to watch. I'm sure there's a lot of differentiating opinion on that matter though.

Masquerade Ball
Well, it still didn't quite have an authentic ball feel, but it was a huge step up from 2007. There was much more decent slow music, and there was enough space. Hopefully it'll turn more and more ball-like each year.

The biggest panel disappointment was the Maria Watches Over Us screening.  As far as I know, it didn't happen, but my friends & I lost patience, so if it eventually started up, I don't know.  The people in the room didn't seem to care or know that there was an event that was supposed to be going on in there.

The screening eventually did happen, but I'm guessing it started pretty late, because I went in near what was supposed to be the tail-end, and the first episode was still playing. I was a little surprised. XD

Con: Felt more rough around the edges than last year. Also felt like the general atmosphere was a little more stressed and quite a bit more homophobic. It's fun to see Kumoricon get bigger but at the same time I worry we're losing our small-group feel.

Wow, makes me sad that you ran into homophobia, Kcon's supposed to be a friendly place!

[Kimiski]

I wanted to mention this at the "Rant and Rave" but ran out of time.

When the issue of lining up people for events came up, the idea also came up to set a line up time, like list above Cosplay Contest in the guide book... "Cosplay Line-up time:" and list the time, but I don't see this really solving anything. In fact I know (because my friends and myself both agreed that we would) that then people would just make another line to get in the actual line for the event, or they would end up stalking the line and cluttering the hallways. Then when the time came to get into the line, all would go to hell and there would be chaos.

I think that before the convention, staff should get to see the hotel, where the lobby is, how big the halls are ect. Then they can make signs saying 'Cosplay Contest Line starts here" they can put it against one of the walls and have an arrow saying which direction the line should go, and then if they need to make another line saying where to wrap the line against what wall. The sign(s) can be put up the day of that event, so people can start to line up whenever they want, without blocking halls, without making people angry they can't line up when they want, and without all this confusion on when to line up.

[melchizedek]

Cosplay Meet-ups:
Pro: I wouldn't know, I didn't make it to any of them.
Con: How's about putting them on the schedule somewhere? I missed the Gurren Lagann one (certainly my fault) and then was completely unable to find the Utena one on Monday. :\ sorta urked about the whole thing.

There was a photoshoot schedule printed out at the info booth table.... don't think many people saw it though.

[xxxchihiroxxx]

Reply to reply above:
Yes, my girlfriend and I were surprised as well. The only explaination I can provide is that it didn't seem the people who were homophobic liked yaoi/yuri either :\. The most homophobia we encountered was the Randomness of the Internet panel (which sorta makes sense) and from people who walked by while we were in line (again, makes sense- fairly anonymous with little we could do). Also, I think trans is still less socially acceptable so with the negative responses I was getting I suppose I paid more attention to homophobia.

Oh! Wow I thought your tiny picture looked familiar, you did a great job. =) That really is my favorite panel. And yes, more space/time would be great. XD

Hm, I don't have a visual on you so I'm not sure if we directly met *shakes hand* hi I'm Rem
Have you considered running any panels yourself? I would totally support there being a panel on homo/transphobia in the otaku community/at cons...and love to get your input for next year's Religion panel!

i would love to attend the homo/transphobia in otaku panel if you made one :3 when i was dating my girlfriend I got a lot of crap from some anime fans ofmine who were fine with reading yaoi but couldnt acept us....

[murder_of_raven]

i would love to attend the homo/transphobia in otaku panel if you made one :3 when i was dating my girlfriend I got a lot of crap from some anime fans ofmine who were fine with reading yaoi but couldnt acept us....

Wow, I'd never thought about it but I'd be very interested in running such a panel... I'll go look into the Panel Submission process right now =).

And yes, as always I'll be spending the whole year watching for interesting Religion in the anime I watch; and I'm going to purchase copies of Mechademia ASAP, it looks fascinating.

There was a photoshoot schedule printed out at the info booth table.... don't think many people saw it though.

Wish I'd known that @___@

[oslapedo]

I third your panel idea, it sounds quite awesome!

And our TMoHS photoshoot was a mess. I'm never planning a photoshoot in the morning on the last day of a con, ever, ever again

[RemSaverem]

http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/L/lunning_mechademia1.html

Here's the link for the first issue of Mechademia, featuring with the article I mentioned in regard to the origin myth of the  Ainu (indigenous people of Japan), during Religion in Anime, the article I beta'd for Toni Levi, "The Werewolf in the Crested Kimono." We had workshops about this (with associated art contests!) at Sakuracon and Anime Evolution a couple years ago!

The second issue appears to have been about "Desire", so I might check it out and see if it has anything that would pertain to your panel.

If the panels coordinator is Julie again as it was this year, she is AWESOME very sweet and dedicated. PM me as this progresses!

[TanisNikana]

Everyone kind of knows about my preferences, and suffice to say, I had no problems at all this year with homophobia. Except for a single "are you gonna keep sucking on bawls" joke. But I deserved that one.

[murder_of_raven]

http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/L/lunning_mechademia1.html

Here's the link for the first issue of Mechademia, featuring with the article I mentioned in regard to the origin myth of the  Ainu (indigenous people of Japan), during Religion in Anime, the article I beta'd for Toni Levi, "The Werewolf in the Crested Kimono." We had workshops about this (with associated art contests!) at Sakuracon and Anime Evolution a couple years ago!

The second issue appears to have been about "Desire", so I might check it out and see if it has anything that would pertain to your panel.

If the panels coordinator is Julie again as it was this year, she is AWESOME very sweet and dedicated. PM me as this progresses!

Well thank you, I actually found exactly that page this morning. They both look very interesting, I'm going to buy them from Amazon (cheaper) as soon as I have some extra cash.

And yes, I'll absolutely keep you posted. Oh and for everybody who is interested, please post on the thread I started here: http://www.kumoricon.org/forums/index.php?topic=7856.0.

[babysugarbear28]

Cosplay Meet-ups:
Pro: I wouldn't know, I didn't make it to any of them.
Con: How's about putting them on the schedule somewhere? I missed the Gurren Lagann one (certainly my fault) and then was completely unable to find the Utena one on Monday. :\ sorta urked about the whole thing.

There was a photoshoot schedule printed out at the info booth table.... don't think many people saw it though.

Just thought I would note that we can't really post schedules of when cosplay meetups are because they are not generally con run meet-ups/photoshoots. These events are generally run by groups of cosplayers from the same types of groups (e.g. naruto/bleach/hellsing ect).



Anyways... ^_^ I was one of the many tired staff this year at the con. So I figure I will put my little piece in.

Pros: Alot of congoers were really nice this year, the hotel rooms were of a very comfortable size, the water stations were an incredible help to keep staff and attendees alike from becoming dehydrated, housekeeping was wonderfully nice to us.

Cons: the space overall is on the small side for the sheer number of people we had (which to be honest was unexpected but still great), the elevators (will always be a problem with any hotel to some minor extent) were limited in number & with the very very few stair cases mobility was a toughie even just going from floor one to floor two sometimes, need more bathrooms (*whimper* the girls bathrooms are frequently very full), Park and surrounding area was not nice at night due to unfriendlies

I have to say though on a couple of notes that have been brought up, next years hotel is of a much larger capacity to handle our growing convention, but as of yet our numbers are not big enough to get the convention center. 4470 is a huge number, and just a neat tidbit of info, we are the biggest convention in portland *spins around in a happy manner*  So next year we won't have to worry as much about our hotel's ability to handle our growing number of attendees which should make everybody happy. Also a neat thing is we will be able to have a great space for people to just go and hang out during their "down times" where they wont be asked to move out of the way to keep traffic going. Also I think its about 23 floors not 28 but don't quote me I'm not sure yet.

<3 I really do hope that everybody had a great time and made good friends and memories this weekend. I certainly did. Also I suggest volunteering, staffing or running panels as a way of helping your con and making it continue to be diverse, friendly and growing. We can always use more people in our Kumoricon family <3

BSB28

[Rathany]

In responses to the posts about homphobia and transphobia, I am very sad that any encountered that at all.

Though, I will point out that we made our dress policies at our mini-event dances gender nuetral.  Also, under me and my fabulous Maid Squad Manager policy was made to allow for male maids, as well as both male and female butlers.  We hear some men plan to get outfits so we can have more male maids next year.  I am SO excited.  

Also, we've been hearing that some people would like gay and/or trans meetup panels.  It would be great if someone took the initiative to have these next year.

And finally, I would like to make clear that while we cannot control attendees, the higher-ups of this con really do want all gay/trans/bi/whatever people to feel welcome and wanted at our con

[murder_of_raven]

In responses to the posts about homphobia and transphobia, I am very sad that any encountered that at all.

Though, I will point out that we made our dress policies at our mini-event dances gender nuetral.  Also, under me and my fabulous Maid Squad Manager policy was made to allow for male maids, as well as both male and female butlers.  We hear some men plan to get outfits so we can have more male maids next year.  I am SO excited.  

Also, we've been hearing that some people would like gay and/or trans meetup panels.  It would be great if someone took the initiative to have these next year.

And finally, I would like to make clear that while we cannot control attendees, the higher-ups of this con really do want all gay/trans/bi/whatever people to feel welcome and wanted at our con

Darling, I never assumed anything else. <3 Some people are bigots anywhere you go but Kumoricon is definately on my list of "safe places".... and ooh maid. I might have to look into this ^__~

Also I was thinking of something to the effect of a meet-up. Perhaps we could do a meet-up and talk about good/bad experiences at the convention! ^__^ I think that's actually where I'm gunna go with this.

[KIMMYT]

Our family would like to extend a HUGE THANK YOU  to the staff.  What a wonderful job.  Everyone was so pleasant and helpful.  I have four children who have attended Kumoricon for the past 3 years and every year have had a great time.  And to the other con-go'ers, everyone is so nice, thank you.  I'm a parent who does not cosplay and can usually be found following behind my younger kids as they make their way to and from events.  We truly had a great time.   We look forward to next year.  THANK YOU!  

[RemSaverem]

Count me in on the meetup.
You would definitely be welcome at the Creation Station....definitely a "family" oriented scene in terms of inclusivity *winks*.

BTW please include biphobia in the panel.

Agreed that water stations are always a good call--and dispensers are always better than pitchers.

Agreed on the positive effect of gender-neutral policies and dress codes.

Helpful if folks always remember there are more than 2 genders (and more than 2 sexual orientations for that matter).

PS Thanks for the money-saving tip; but having been part of the publication itself I want to support Frenchy (the author) so will probably buy it directly from them.

[murder_of_raven]

Count me in on the meetup.
You would definitely be welcome at the Creation Station....definitely a "family" oriented scene in terms of inclusivity *winks*.

BTW please include biphobia in the panel.

Agreed that water stations are always a good call--and dispensers are always better than pitchers.

Agreed on the positive effect of gender-neutral policies and dress codes.

Helpful if folks always remember there are more than 2 genders (and more than 2 sexual orientations for that matter).

PS Thanks for the money-saving tip; but having been part of the publication itself I want to support Frenchy (the author) so will probably buy it directly from them.

Yay! Well I really do think I'll be setting up a meet-up so I look forward to seeing you there! =) And I myself am bi (tho I prefer girls by quite a lot) so I could honestly never forget biphobia. -__- biphobic people make me angry.

Yeah I always /want/ to be in the Creation Station more I just don't write fanfiction so I always feel out-of-place. But I plan on entering at least one contest next year!

....XD oh yeah way to put it that way. Now I feel like I should be buying it from them even though I'm short on money. @___@ Maybe I'll buy the first 2 on amazon and then the third from them when it comes out.

[RemSaverem]

Count me in on the meetup.
You would definitely be welcome at the Creation Station....definitely a "family" oriented scene in terms of inclusivity *winks*.

BTW please include biphobia in the panel.

Agreed that water stations are always a good call--and dispensers are always better than pitchers.

Agreed on the positive effect of gender-neutral policies and dress codes.

Helpful if folks always remember there are more than 2 genders (and more than 2 sexual orientations for that matter).

PS Thanks for the money-saving tip; but having been part of the publication itself I want to support Frenchy (the author) so will probably buy it directly from them.

Yay! Well I really do think I'll be setting up a meet-up so I look forward to seeing you there! =) And I myself am bi (tho I prefer girls by quite a lot) so I could honestly never forget biphobia. -__- biphobic people make me angry.

Yeah I always /want/ to be in the Creation Station more I just don't write fanfiction so I always feel out-of-place. But I plan on entering at least one contest next year!

....XD oh yeah way to put it that way. Now I feel like I should be buying it from them even though I'm short on money. @___@ Maybe I'll buy the first 2 on amazon and then the third from them when it comes out.

Oops! Definitely didn't mean to make you feel that way! I just happen to professionally edit for small publishers, and for example sometimes Amazon takes 30 per cent....

I actually find it harder to comprehend biphobia amongst family than from straight folk....

And no need to feel that way about the CS! When we started as the Beta Station at KC 2004, we were specifically all about fanfiction, and fan improv theatre. But by 2005 we'd added fan art, original art, and original fiction......and really we're just a fun place to hang out. You do NOT have to be an author, artist, cosplayer, or editor to come hang out with us! Any enthusiast of any of those things, anyone curious about them, anyone who's ever wanted to try their hand at such or who can appreciate those who do, and basically anyone openminded who loves fandom as fandom is always more than welcome!~

[murder_of_raven]

Oops! Definitely didn't mean to make you feel that way! I just happen to professionally edit for small publishers, and for example sometimes Amazon takes 30 per cent....

I actually find it harder to comprehend biphobia amongst family than from straight folk....

And no need to feel that way about the CS! When we started as the Beta Station at KC 2004, we were specifically all about fanfiction, and fan improv theatre. But by 2005 we'd added fan art, original art, and original fiction......and really we're just a fun place to hang out. You do NOT have to be an author, artist, cosplayer, or editor to come hang out with us! Any enthusiast of any of those things, anyone curious about them, anyone who's ever wanted to try their hand at such or who can appreciate those who do, and basically anyone openminded who loves fandom as fandom is always more than welcome!~

30%? Geez. yeah that's not so good. But I'm not sure I'll have the money for it otherwise. ::shrug:: Oh wells, at least I'm buying it instead of torrenting it or something.

Absolutely, and honestly I've gotten at least as much from them. @__@ Bisexuals are certainly caught somewhere in the middle when it comes to discrimination.

Wow you do a great job plugging for it. Still, I'm sold. I'll certainly try to be there more next year (I just keep myself so busy during con).

[xxxchihiroxxx]

Absolutely, and honestly I've gotten at least as much from them. @__@ Bisexuals are certainly caught somewhere in the middle when it comes to discrimination.

yes thank you! D: I'm a bi sexual teen (I lean on the girls end and no I did not get into it cause it was a "trend" for a bit) and I actualy suffered some discrimination from people who are full on lesbian or gay because I was in the middle, and then some from a few strait people because I like girls TT~TT It seriosly sucks to get it from both sides!!! Me and my girlfriend are now no loner together but it hasnt stopped how some people react, I lost a few friends that I really trusted when I told them....

I didnt encounter much at the con though, it was a genrally friendly place (course I wasnt crossplaying or anything)

[TomtheFanboy]

The meetup/photoshoot schedules had gotten stolen/trashed by the second day. Apologies to the people who wanted to attend cosplay meetups on Monday.

[RemSaverem]

@ m_o_r: YAY! *dances* see you in the Station....PM me if there are any fan creation-related panels, events, workshops, or contests you'd want to run.

Re: next post thereafter: Yah I actually ran a workshop in Tillamook years back for domestic violence shelter workers throughout the state, on, of all things, biphobia in the movement against same-sex domestic violence!

It's almost as though living in this culture where hierarchy and competition are engrained in the economic and political (and even religious) systems biases us to think we have to somehow segregate ourselves from others and think we're better than others....even if we're a group who doesn't want others to do it to us....whereas maybe it's less so in the East where Buddhism is a cultural factor, wherein humans are just one of a spectrum of coequal species all of which are to be valued, all of which we've been in our previous incarnations, and all of which can become enlightened? Just a random thought (well and also something discussed in Religion in Anime and Manga panel).....

[shademalek]

Absolutely, and honestly I've gotten at least as much from them. @__@ Bisexuals are certainly caught somewhere in the middle when it comes to discrimination.

yes thank you! D: I'm a bi sexual teen (I lean on the girls end and no I did not get into it cause it was a "trend" for a bit) and I actualy suffered some discrimination from people who are full on lesbian or gay because I was in the middle, and then some from a few strait people because I like girls TT~TT It seriosly sucks to get it from both sides!!! Me and my girlfriend are now no loner together but it hasnt stopped how some people react, I lost a few friends that I really trusted when I told them....

I didnt encounter much at the con though, it was a genrally friendly place (course I wasnt crossplaying or anything)

Yeah, this biphobia bugs me as well. Just because I hapen to be with a female partner doesn't make me any less queer. I would LOVE to see a pannel next year on GLBTQI issues in fandom. That would be rad!

[The Night Bringer]

I really really enjoyed the Con. My one complaint was the dances. I really liked the first one, its music was diverse to suit many people interests and it had a nice steady beat you could really dance to, BUT it was WAY too full. It was very difficult to actually dance because of how full it was, and it didn't make matters much better when a HUGE circle broke out to accommodate people spinning around glow sticks on strings and the like. While it is very entertaining to watch, it was not very nice for those who wanted more than three micrometers to dance.

The second night I thought was greatly lacking in music that one could actually dance to. There was a lack of diversity and it ONLY played Happy hardcore style music. The beat is extremely fast and the continuous pauses make dancing awkward. Sure its great if you just want to flail around and rub up against people on the main dance floor I guess, but I actually enjoy moving to a beat I can keep up with. In short I would have liked to have seen more generalized dance music instead of all Happy Hardcore all the time.

That's just the way I feel any how.

[ThiefKingsHier]

Another problem that everyone I know had(as well as myself.) was with the staff...I mean, I know that staffing can be stressful because of the large amount of people you have to keep under control, but a lot of what we were met with was rudeness and to be honest, snobbyness...I'm not saying that all staff was like that, just a good portion. I mean really, like I said I can understand the stress but...No one likes to be treated like they're below someone. And feelings were hurt, man.

 Freakin WORD.

 Within an hour on friday I could alreayd tell that we got some of the most..shall we say..'compensating'? Staff thus far!

 I was in an elevator, saying I didn't like HUGE props that were JUST huge.  Some staffer piped in " Yea! I'll take hem away if I see them"

 The second we got off the elevator, we ran into another staffer:

 Friend: crazy people running in the halls..

 Staffer: Yea! Come tomorrow I can tell them to stop!

 Friend: Oh yea, you will wont you?
 
Staffer:  * Arrogantly raises his badge* Uh.. I'm a Yojimbo.

 Dude, we KNOW that was our POINT. Keep it in your pants, wow.

 Sunday I saw a staff member literally screaming at someone to put away his live steal.

 Believe me,I am NOT one to break the law. If I see something illegal, I call it, but I can do so without making an ass of myself.

I WAS There I did here and see it.

 Someone unsheathed there weapon and I ear " PUT THAT AWAY NOW!"

 The kid din't seem to get ti.

 Rather than EXPLAINING:  'hey that's illegal to have here and we don't want to get in trouble the staffer just continued to scream
 " I SAID PUT IT AWAY NOW!!" 

Not only was that uncalled for, but honestly, it wasn't very bright. Ever hear " it isn't illegal until someone sees it?"

At that time, there weren't any cops around to have seen it, but I can guarantee you that if they had been anywhere in the park,  they would have HEARD him screaming about it.

On that note, I did run into some great people, mainly the ones late night/early morning.

[BlackjackGabbiani]

Those of you who have issues with specific people, can you say who? Like describe them? Obviously you're not going to know everyone's names, but I don't think the staff can be of much help if you all don't try to pinpoint, say, *which* Yojimbo insulted you or whatever.

[oslapedo]

For the photoshoot fliers maybe make multiple copies of them? And I think it'd be ridiculously amazing if we could advertise the photoshoots in the Programming Guide, we could just have a cut off for photoshoot dates and stuff. The TMoHS shoot was ridiculous, the people that did show up weren't sure where to go. I blame myself for wanting to have it on Monday morning XD

[ThiefKingsHier]

Those of you who have issues with specific people, can you say who? Like describe them? Obviously you're not going to know everyone's names, but I don't think the staff can be of much help if you all don't try to pinpoint, say, *which* Yojimbo insulted you or whatever.

You know, this probably sounds like a cop-out but after so many years, I don't think names should be necessary.  They know who they are.
They are adults, and should not need to be babysat, and have us call their mommies when they misbehave.

I write these as a general complaint/reminder of their position.
It's their responsibility to asses the attendees feelings and take it upon themselves to adjust their attitudes.

If they can't call upon enough maturity to do this, they really don't have any place in staff.


On another note, the registration staff was amazing Very friendly and helpful.

I would also like to personally give a thumbs up to Jamiche. I know she's been the programming director for at least two years.

It must be a difficult job coordinating everything too and making sure it runs smoothly.

On the forum she is always nothing but helpful. At con she is always polite and friendly. I have never seen her frazzled or lose her temper. 

[kylite]

actually As head of the Yojimbo squad, it falls to me to take responsibility for their actions.

I am very sorry that you had to experience that as that is not how I train my squad to act. If you feel uncomfortable posting the information on the forums, please PM me and let me know their descriptions so I can deal with it personally.

Again I am very sorry.

[ThiefKingsHier]

actually As head of the Yojimbo squad, it falls to me to take responsibility for their actions.

I am very sorry that you had to experience that as that is not how I train my squad to act. If you feel uncomfortable posting the information on the forums, please PM me and let me know their descriptions so I can deal with it personally.

Again I am very sorry.

 I think this happened last year too. Seem's I'm always the one to cause trouble.

That's a shame you have to take responsibility but it's very promising to see that you actually will.

 The first two, were Yojimbo, I know that. They just seemed..very immature but admittedly did not cause any real problems, not to me anyway.

The third, I actually don't think you can do anything about.
I know he is very high up on the SC ladder. 
Whether  he is really staff at KC, or just an attendee pushing left over SC weight around, I don't know.

I do know that he was not wearing a red shirt.  Just street clothes.

Inn the end it's just useless complaining I guess.
 I'm always the one telling people to pay attention to names/times ect but I can never remember to do so myself.

[ThiefKingsHier]

 I know, I'm double posting. Forgive me, but these are not 'bitching' and need a separate post.


Yaoi/Yuri party:    Are you guys talking about the Sunday night one? That was right after the Shounen/jo ai party?

 I was the Renji running that one. I apologize for my lateness.  I don't really have any excuse. I just was.
Unfortunately, Byakuya was supposed to be my lovely assistant, but he just hid in the corner like a pansy.


 As cheesy as it sounds, if there is any thanks to be had, it's to the volunteer who got things going until I arrived, and to the people who attended.
 Really, I was very surprised to see so many people there.
 It was created on a rather short notice by only myself, and one very supportive..supporter. I have never run anything before and was very nervous, but you all made it very easy and fun. I hope to return next year.


 Cossplay Chess  It wasn't about strategy is about making sure everyone got to play. This was by far the most fun I have ever had in a Chess Game.  Getting to tell Haruhi to STHU was definitly the highlight of the convention. XD