Kirarakim

Yeah definitely and I know not everything was Otakon’s fault but I feel things were worse because of lack of communication. I admit my con experience wasn’t the best this year and that probably colored the way I see things. It wasn’t just one thing but several things that I feel I lost precious time because I wasn’t told valuable information or the ones I did go to were cancelled so I barely got to go to any panels this year.

Little Hobbit I’m sorry if you think I was attacking you for making a mistake. That wasn’t my intention. I make plenty of mistakes myself. But if you thought it was Funimation’s booth then I am sure others reading this thread would think the same. My intention was to correct misinformation as I said in my previous post. It was a fantastic booth and I think all the parties involved should get credit not just Funimation who is really only a small part of the pie. Dragon Ball is a huge property with many companies involved in its success. In fact it’s now the largest money maker for Bandai Namco even beating Gundam. I am definitely happy Otakon got such a great booth but I am also happy Dragon Ball is making such a successful come back & such a big traveling event exists for the series. Because in the end the booth wasn’t a reflection on any one company but Dragon Ball’s Renaissance.

I missed Rightstuf’s Panel but I agree Discotek has one of the best panels at the convention. It ended my convention on a high note despite having a disappointing time overall. From following Mike Toole on Twitter I think he’s always been an Otakon supporter so I think that helps a lot. I know Mike Toole isn’t the only Discotek employee but obviously he is a big part of their team. I also agree that the lack of industry presence and lackluster booths from industry that were there is not a good sign. Not just Viz but Crunchyroll was also noticeably absent. Otakon used to be the second largest anime con in the US after AX. Now we aren’t worth their time.

You are giving credit to the wrong group. The Dragon Ball tour booth was not Funimation's booth (although they were one of the sponsors) It was part of this https://www.db-tour.com/

I disagree with you. It was absolutely Otakon's fault because they should have removed it from the schedule BEFORE the panel started not after people sat in there 30 mins and wasted their time. And that doesn't even count the time you took waiting before the panel officially started. Stuff happens but lack of communication is what is fault here not that the presenter was unable to present. You are saying you don't know if the presenter no-showed but then why would Otakon need to shoulder the blame. That makes no sense and you are giving them the benefit of the doubt and being completely unfair to the Dragon Ball tour staff. Trust me if they don't want to burn bridges there are ways to do that without flat out saying yes it was our fault. If anything I give them credit for admitting that at least. And note there was another panel where the exact same thing happened (the Yuri on Ice panel discussed by a figure skater) but in that case it was clear the panelist no-showed. Here it is clear to me that Otakon knew this panel wasn't going to happen but never removed it from the schedule or let anyone know including the staff in the room. . And also I already said that I don't blame the staff that was in the room and I know they tried their best. Unfortunately no one came to that panel for a fan trivia contest. And note I was also in front.

Also agree with the complaint about having all the Japanese guests scheduled at the same time. I know Trigger & Kawamori were at the same time. And what is worst their panels often conflict with their autograph signings. They might not be at the exact same time but as you have to get to the autograph area at least an hr before having the panel right before that and not close by to the dealer room makes you ultimately have to decide between the panel & autograph. Unless you are super quick at navigating the halls which I’m not. This isnt usually an issue for me because I just do autographs one day/panels another but this year missed the autograph on Friday and thus had to miss the panels on Saturday too. I know that was my choice but it was still very disappointing. I could have went to more panels on Friday if I hadn’t wasted my time in the autograph line.

Well I've already posted my issues in other threads. But I am going to be blunt. I've been going to Otakon since 2005 (missed maybe 3 years in that time) and this has been for me the worst year ever. The Ugly Extreme lack of communication. Panels being cancelled and not letting attendees know until after they sat in the panel room for 30 mins (not to mention the waiting time to get into the panel). This happened to me not once but twice this weekend. The second time was probably less Otakon's fault but the panelist who just didn't show up. But the DB tour panel fiasco definitely could have been avoided. Letting attendees stand in line for hours in autograph lines without letting them know they weren't getting one until the last minute so maybe they could have done something else with that time Even simple things as other people mentioned. If you think a loud voice is enough to carry a message; It's not! People who are in the back of lines cannot hear what you are saying Also autograph lines are still a mess despite having so much more space than we did at the Baltimore Convention Center. Still don't understand why Otakon thinks the best way to handle autographs is to have everyone basically run into a line once its formed in complete chaos. Have been to many other conventions and I've personally not experienced anything else like this. The Bad Lack of Industry presence. This isn't really Otakon's fault but it still disappoints me how little the industry seems to care about Otakon these days. The industry booths were lackluster. It just doesn't feel like the Industry sees Otakon as a must go to convention. But then as an attendee I am beginning to feel the same. It just feels like the glory days of the convention when I first started going are gone. There were some very good guests (and I didn't even get to see them all) but I also agree there is distinct lack of big current names that I feel Otakon used to get, I do hope we get those glory days back. The Good Kawamori was lovely. Really wish I could have went to his panel or any of the guests panels really I enjoyed the Free Movie (although as a negative it said subbed in the guide book but the dub was shown. I still really enjoyed he dub but I could see how this would disappoint others) My convention did end on a positive note with the Discotek panel. They didn't even announce anything I really wanted I just loved their enthusiasm. The Dragon Ball tour booth was wonderful. This was one industry booth that actually was impressive. Did this in the opposite order but I prefer ending on a positive note.

They said it was their fault on their Facebook page and it should have been removed from the schedule earlier but wasn’t so I can only take their word for it. No other details or explanation were provided though

I think most of the autograph staff were fine except the one staff member who randomly decided to form the line on the opposite side of where the group for Kawamori were standing. I expect she did that because we were all mobbed together and she wanted to show this was a bad thing to do but I thought it wasn’t very nice considering how Kawamori’s line was handled on Friday. Of course people were mobbing on Saturday. Maybe other lines were handled better but Kawamori’s was the line I prtsomally experienced. In the end the poor handling of Kawamori’s line had a ripple effect on my whole convention experience. I wasted so much time on Friday because no one let me know there was no hope so I missed other stuff I could have gone to on Friday. Then I tried again on Saturday and while I was successful so the time I used up here wasn’t in vain I still couldn’t go to panels I wanted to on Saturday . I also had not 1 but 2 panels cancelled on me this weekend while I was waiting in the panel with no warning beforehand. This obviously has nothing to do with the autograph line. And I know there are always going to be conflicts and things you will miss. There always has to be hard choices. But this year I barely was able to go to anything and that has a lot to do with major miscommunication on Otakon’s part.

There was a nice staff person I was standing next to in Kawamori’s line. He actually wasn’t working at the moment but getting an autograph too but he was a really friendly person to talk with during the wait.

I am pretty sure it was cancelled because they didn’t have enough voice actors that wanted to do it. I doubt anyone complained. They can’t exactly complain about something that hasn’t happened and it’s not like Voice Actors After Dark is specific on what topics are going to be discussed beforehand But a lot of panels seemed to be cancelled last minute. Another panel I went to today (Yuri on Ice discussed by a figure skater) was also cancelled last minute. Maybe I just had bad luck but out of 4 panels I went to 2 were cancelled. That’s 50%.

I did thankfully get the autograph this time & Kawamori was absolutely lovely but again it was handled very poorly. There were a whole bunch of people crowded in one area for Kawamori’s autograph. I understand Otakon does not like mobs of people waiting before a line starts but they created this situation with how Kawamori’s autograph was handled yesterday. Instead of forming a line near this area the staff member running the autograph line decided it was better to form it on the complete opposite side of everyone. Of course they yelled not to run but what do you think is going to happen? It’s like Otakon prefers chaos.

This is the epitome of disorganization. On the schedule there was a Dragon Ball Tour panel from 4:30-5:30. No details were provided but it’s Dragon Ball so of course it’s popular. The room is literally full to capacity and it’s not a small room. We are waiting and waiting and nothing is happening. Staff tries their best to entertain with Fan Trivia. I just want to say this complaint is not directed at them. I know they tried their best. Finally 30 mins in with no one showing up and 30 mins left of the panel we are told oh this panel is cancelled. Dragon Ball is one of the biggest and most popular franchises and this is how Otakon handles it. This lack of communication and disorganization is a joke.

My friends and I commented on this too. We still stayed and enjoyed the movie though.

Yeah my friends got their autographs with Yoshinari with no problem. I kind of wanted his autograph too but I was so upset by what happened I didn’t even want to try again today. I stood in line for 2 and half hours and got nothing. An yes it was the Kawamori line. Note its not even about not getting the autograph it’s the fact I wasted my time and staff didn’t even have the courtesy to tell us until the last minute we were not getting in and we asked for them to let us know if there was any hope at least an hour before that. And then the staff member just told us to come an hour before for the next session which is exactly what we did this time so no help at all basically. Now there is another signing but it overlaps closely with the DB tour event (I have no idea even what that is but I am interested) so now I have to decide to try for Kawamori’s autograph again or go to the DB thing. Either way I miss something.