Well, Anime North is over, thank goodness. I think I've discovered that I'm not really a convention person. If I wasn't a staff member, I probably wouldn't go. Not that Anime North was horrible or anything, it's just that I don't really know how to make the most of cons. The first year I went to AN, I only saw the dealer's room and the video room. The second time I went--last year--I added the artist alley and masquerade to that list. This year, I added one event/panel: "The Weakest Otaku" (based on, you guessed it, "The Weakest Link"). Maybe it's because I was a staffer and felt obligated to do staff work, but still, overall the experience was just too tiring for me. Friday and Saturday I arrived as soon as I could, and left after ten. It's really quite draining.
Last year, one of the highlights of the con, for me, was the masquerade. This year, well, it wasn't. We had 99, almost 100 entries, and not to be mean or rude, but it was really too much. Some of the acts just went on and on. Combine that with the sheer number of entries, and you get cruel and unusual punishment. =P Just kidding. Seriously though, the event dragged, and I wish there was a way we could keep it short without limiting fan participation. The only reason I sat through eighty some odd acts was because I was waiting for my friends to come on. Immediately after their performance, I left. Of course, my abrupt departure also had something to do with the fact that I was supposed to be picked up at eleven, and it was already quarter to. ^_^
The big problem this year, in my view, was the fact that everything seemed to be perpetually late. I went in to watch "Evangelion: Death and Rebirth" at quarter to twelve (it was supposed to start at twelve) but it didn't begin until around twelve thirty. There were other comments/complaints about scheduling problems that I heard as well. It's true that we're an entirely fan-run con, and we don't have a great deal of communication tools, like handsets, available, but even though the rather slapdash feel is understandable, it's far from desirable. I don't know how we'd do it, but I hope that next year we'll be able to run a tighter con.
Oh yeah, and another thing that majorly bugged me about the masquerade, was that in the middle of it, they came out and announced that the Leafs had won. It wasn't a bad thing, but it peeved me off since I had been taping the games, and that just spoiled it for me. Honestly, if they hadn't announced it there, I wouldn't have heard anything about the outcome until I watched the game. Ultimately my taping got messed up, so I didn't get to see either game, but I didn't know that at the time, and it was the principle of the thing anyway. Ah, and another annoying thing was that I was sitting in front of some rabid yaoi fangirls or something, who just ALWAYS felt the need to scream at the top of their very high-pitched voices about EVERYTHING! I'm surprised they didn't shatter my eardrums or something.
Still, it wasn't a totally bad experience. I got to meet some cool people, like Kaleem Maxwell, from K-Max Media Entertainment, and his assistant Jeff (Geoff?). They really made my job as media liasion enjoyable. Even though I didn't really get to show around the City Pulse and YTV people, I'm kind of glad I didn't, because I think they would've made me feel kind of uncomfortable, whereas "Mr. Maxwell" and company were very easy to get along with. I even got a free copy of his "2001 Entertainment Feast" vcd, which I'm looking forward to watching when I've got a bit more spare time on my hands. ^_^ Honestly, one of my few incentives to go back to AN next year would be to get to hang out with the people from K-Max again.
Again, it's not that AN was horribly bad or anything, it's just that cons aren't really my cup of tea. I like to buy stuff, but I don't need to go to a con for that. Bascially all that I bought was dvds, dvds that I could've bought at any other time, at a price only slighter higher--like a dollar or two. The artist's alley was pretty good. I enjoy supporting artists, but a lot of the stuff was just fan art, and not original. I'd really prefer to buy original work than fanart, simply because buying fanart is still a grey area for me, even though the main piece that I purchased was a fan art print of Kenshin. ^^;; What can I say, I'm weak when it comes to Kenshin.
The only other art I bought was a bookmark, actually I bought two, one for a friend, and one for myself. They were made by Dragon Mango and they're totally kawaii! Come to think of it, I wish I had bought more...Ah well, yet another reason to go back next year! I was looking at this really awesome comic, and I was thinking of buying it, but I was undecided so I thought I'd wait until the next day (this was on the Friday). Naturally, when I went back on Saturday, the guy wasn't there anymore. ^^;; You'd think I'd have learned by now to just jump on opportunities, ne?
At any rate, I'll probably go back next year, if the media department still wants me, that is. ^^;; After that, who knows? If it conflicts with NHL playoffs again, I'd be sorely tempted to choose hockey over anime. My friends think it's kind of scary, how into hockey I've gotten, and I think they're right. I mean, in a choice between (playoff) hockey and anime, I think I'd choose hockey, without any obligations or whatever to fulfil. Yikes. Then again, this might be a "phase" and next year I'll be like, "hockey? The Leafs play hockey, right?" ^_~
