Just when I thought an amazing PMX would tide me over in terms of getting a fix of the atmosphere and sense of community that comes from an anime con, I once again felt myself shortly after longing for another con to attend. Perhaps the post holiday doldrums intensified this feeling as I was in a bit of a funk owing to various reasons which I won’t list here. Or perhaps I’ve just grown too attached to attending cons now that my con going resume has grown nicely over the past few years. Whatever the reason for the feeling, Anime Los Angeles (ALA) couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.
Usually as is the case with smaller cons, I feel that one day is enough to get my fill of the con itself. However this year I felt as though one day wouldn’t be enough and was I ever right! Both days I attended were packed full of fun and really good friends, not to mention strengthening a couple of friendships along the way. Panels? Sure there were a few of those along the way at ALA, but my main focus for this convention was spending time with friends and getting a chance to cross-play again. After all, I feel like ALA’s smaller size lends itself to that of a more social con than anything else as the convention takes the venue over with four thousand plus otaku over the course of the weekend having a good time with friends and doing random things like dancing in the hallways and blaring music on the pool deck and throughout the convention floor. The hotel itself is a gracious host and more often than not, I came across curious hotel guests that weren’t there for the con but were very interested in what was going on as they admired the countless costumes from simple to elaborate. Sure there were a couple of double takes and snide comments from passers by, but they were as drowned out by the mainly positive reception.
What I noticed different this year was that the dealer’s room was much bigger than in past years and by default had more vendors selling their wares due in large part due to the main events room and said dealer’s room swapping locations this year. Whether or not this is a permanent change remains to be seen, but I definitely enjoyed seeing more variety. My wallet on the other hand was not too happy about it, but I certainly couldn’t pass up a Haruhi Suzumiya wig for $30. That however, is another topic for another post.
Overall, the con itself seemed more crowded on both days than in previous years and I saw many more ‘First Timer’ ribbons on badges throughout (ah the ribbons…one of my favorite parts of ALA). This growth can be easily attributed to the effort that Chaz and his staff put forth to make this con one of the most fan friendly conventions around which gets attendees to spread the word to other friends about ALA and by far, there is no better advertisement than word of mouth. The same fan friendly touches that make this con a must attend were present same as ever; though I didn’t get a chance to check out what I hear was an improved con suite. I also didn’t get a chance to use the costume repair station, but I’m told that both areas of the con were vastly improved over previous years. Among the key improvements from feedback online and from other friends was better organization and more resources than were previously available to both fan first amenities.
In the panels I managed to attend, most started on time and were for the most part entertaining and informative. Though a couple of the panels that were presented pretty much completely rehashed content from panels at other conventions in the past couple of years (see also Vocaloid panel circa PMX 2010 and Self Defense for the Otaku panel circa AX 2010). Outside of the panels the laid back and relaxed atmosphere dominated amongst attendees as evidenced by bean bags scattered about as well as couches and colorfully designed and anime themed benches spread out across the ballroom level. The continued focus on putting the attendee first was also prevalent in the various pictures of cosplayers posted on the walls throughout the ballroom level where much of the con was held.
Of course the big part of any anime convention is that of the many cosplayers that attend and there were definitely some amazing ones at ALA. I only wish I had brought my camera with me or had bothered to take better pictures with my phone, but no use in crying over spilled milk as the saying goes. Alas I never even ventured out to the pool deck once to partake in the mass of cosplayers assembled and there is no better area to get a wide variety of cosplayers from various anime, manga and video games in a condensed space than that of the LAX Marriott pool deck. Though, this brings me to the one glaring negative about ALA this year in particular.
One of the big negatives I’ve seen in post con feedback was the fact that on Saturday of con, the pool deck on more than one occasion got to be overcrowded and as such made it hard to get around on for both cosplayers getting to gatherings as well as for those taking pictures. This is something that ALA will have to continue addressing for the future, most likely through a continued attendance cap. Sure they could move to a bigger venue, but as a new three year agreement between the LAX Marriott and ALA has been signed a cap is the only way to go for the immediate future. After the next three years are up, it should be interesting to see what happens as far in terms of potential venues considering ALA seems to continue its growth and is currently maxed out in the current venue. One could assume that by the time the current agreement is up that ALA might be big enough to move into an actual convention center? Only time will tell on what lies ahead for the future of this con but for now, 2012 was a job very well done by all of the staff and volunteers. I certainly can’t think of a better way to have kicked off the 2012 con season.
Now then time to start planning for Fanime as my con fix, while suitably satisfied for the time being is sure to be kicking back up by the time May rolls around!
