Aresef

I'm inclined to agree with not charging for concerts when you don't need to. A badge is a badge is a badge and one of the great things about Otakon has always been the populism of it. There are no velvet ropes. I ponied up for VIP for JAM Project and TMR because I love JAM Project. I was at the same panel--think about a family going to Otakon and how much it costs for parking, hotel, food. Everything adds up and you don't want them to introduce this (apparently successful) $50 badge for kids 9-12 and offset it with $20 concert tickets. I think of the Baltimore Orioles--what they did last year to goose attendance, they let parents bring in kids free to the upper deck and slashed concession prices. They weren't about to then jack up parking to compensate. From what I understand, Anisong World Matsuri was run like a matryoshka doll within the rest of the con. There may have been extraordinary costs associated with bringing the 21 musicians and all the support staff from Japan. It's possible that there were demands placed on Otakon by AWM (a JV of Bandai Namco Arts, Amuse and Sony Music Entertainment) that weren't placed on Otakon when working with Lantis in the past. This is all conjecture. I don't think keeping concerts included with your badge has kept Otakon from getting bigger name musical guests. Think of all the guests Otakon has brought without asking members to cough up extra. I think there's room for VIP and preferred passes, but unless it's a hard-bargain sort of thing ("we want $X per butt in the seats"), I think they should avoid charging everyone who wants to go to this or that concert/

I think there should have been consistent messaging and enforcement of the food and drink policy, whatever it actually was. I wasn't about to pay $40 for the mug, even if my debit card hadn't been compromised on Friday (whoops!). I would have liked having the old mug deal back, given that stations to refill those were more plentiful than Wild Bill's. The lighting in the photoshoot spaces was a bit drab. It was like holding photoshoots in a shopping mall. I know there are a lot of moving pieces to consider, but I wonder if there's a chance the shoots could be moved back inside WEWCC, like by the staircase near reg, that area where the tables were on the walkway to the dance hall or downstairs near Rainbow Road. I'll grant that that last one may be complicated because of the lactation station, and I completely understand if that's not doable.

The autograph sessions are in the schedule on their own. They may not necessarily be after the panels. Look at the schedule again.

No, a panel is a Q&A session. There are not autographs there. Only the things at the autograph tables are autograph sessions. As noted in the rules, you should generally expect one autograph per person unless there's a specific limit posted for the guest in question. They have to keep the line moving. Again, check with a staffer in autographs to figure out if that limit or other restrictions are in force for the signing session you want to attend. Chances are you might have to do another swing through the line or go to a later autograph session. Epcar is doing two signings and Wahlgren is doing three, according to the schedule as it stands.

Autographs organized by Otakon are free, governed by the rules under "Guests and Autographs" on Otakon's website. You can have guests sign your program book or any officially licensed and properly credited products. They may choose to sign handmade or other weird stuff. In terms of selfies, they forbid flash photography or photo ops during official signings unless otherwise noted. Your best bet might be to visit the autographs section when you can and ask a staffer about policies for those two sessions. Some passes may be handed out during a guest's panel, but that's no guarantee. Richard Epcar does a few cons every year and Kari Wahlgren does a bunch, so I don't foresee much of a problem. However, autograph sessions at industry booths or whatever are governed by whatever rules their management wants.

So it's looking like the rain is going to be out of the way. Still pack your umbrella, though.

--not staff-- They are literally only in town for a day.

--not staff-- Guests have their own schedules, and when signings are set--especially for Japanese guests--can be subject to everything from contracts to flight itineraries. And if somebody's morning is panel, panel, panel, they're gonna want lunch, they're gonna want to go check out the National Portrait Gallery or something. The bulk of the schedule was put online waaaay earlier than usual. I think it's fair to give them a few more days to figure out who's signing when. and where. I mean, even today, they're still announcing guests.

Thank you.

Kind of a two-part question--and, of course, assuming supplies of preferred tickets remain available. When, if at all, will sales via Showclix cease? And regardless, will there be a way to purchase these tickets on premises?

That's a good question. Comiket serves the doujinshi creators, while AnimeJapan (nee TAF) is a trade show. JumpFesta is run by Shueisha. Anime conventions as we know them are more of a western concept--not just in the US, but events like Anime Friends and Japan Expo. That's perhaps a byproduct of how anime cons here were outgrowths of comic and sci-fi cons. For Japanese guests, it's something novel and, for musical acts, a feather in their cap.

--not staff-- https://www.otakon.com/info/general-policies/ It's pretty clear to me you can't bring your gun, even if you have a permit to do so in DC.

Also, Otaquest. I juuuuust missed seeing m-flo during their thing at Anime Central (it turns out they were the third act up... at midnight, after I started making my way back to the Airbnb). Gets me thinking I want to try to be at the dance at Ota, especially since Ota is going to be waaay clearer about who's playing when. (For those who don't know, m-flo's DJ Taku co-founded Otaquest to bring Japanese acts to big international audiences.)

Probably the concerts. I really like what Otakon is doing with those this year, though it’s a bad time for me to go in on VIP for them. If there’s anniversary merch, I’d like to get my paws on it. Really, I’m just looking forward to seeing the usual suspects, friends I see at every Otakon.

She’s great. I saw her at Anime NYC.