ithilienne 2 Posted July 22, 2007 Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 Greetings from the BCC! As the con winds down, I wanted to make a topic here - an official one - where the membership could let me know its feelings about the panels this year. I've had a lot of very informative feedback from my staff, and from this side of the Panel Ops desk, but I wanted to know how everyone else felt. A few guidelines: 1. Please keep your comments civil. We're looking for constructive criticism to help us improve for next year. 2. We'd love to hear the good and the bad! If you love love loved something, please let me know! If something got you down, we'd also like to know that. I am already aware of the following problems and am working on them as we speak, so consider them resolved when you're giving your feedback: * The 18+ wristbands issue on Saturday night for the Dub Actors panel * The erroneous schedule in the pocket guide and the errata sheet * Last minute schedule changes Thank you again to everybody; I hope everyone was happy with the panels this year, and the panels staff. If you'd like, you can also email the Panels address (see the 'Contact Us' page on the website) with feedback; I'll try to reply to you. Link to post Share on other sites
malazar 0 Posted July 22, 2007 Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 The main gripe I had with the panels this year was that Anime Parliament was buried early on Friday before many people were there. In prior years, this was always one of the highest energy, fun panels when it was in the evening and in a longer block of time. Other than that, it would have been nice if all of the Industry Q&A panels had been in larger panel rooms. Panel room 2 doesn't cut it for those since it ends up overcrowded. Link to post Share on other sites
UltraWarrior 0 Posted July 22, 2007 Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 I really enjoyed the Japanese Pro Wrestling panel. Last year it was set at like 1am or some crap so I couldn't go. This year it was set on Friday at 8:30pm. Then it gets canceled/Moved to Saturday at 9:30pm. I was a bit miffed because the masquerade usually runs beyond that. Thankfully, it ( for the most part ) ended around 9pm so I was able to make it. Hope this becomes a panel that's held EVERY Otakon & maybe give it a lil longer to run. Thanks. Link to post Share on other sites
tstidm1 0 Posted July 22, 2007 Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 The con had said that panel rooms were not going to be cleared out. Last night, there were panel rooms cleared out especially Panel 2. I was hoping to see Evangelion, but did not want to go back into the room again. That was one of my disappointments from the weekend. Link to post Share on other sites
Pincer 0 Posted July 22, 2007 Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 For anyone who attended the How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse panel we thank you all! If we appeared to be rushed it was because we only had an hour for all we wanted to do compared to last year where it ran for an hour and a half and it was the last panel that evening. No guarantees if we're accepted for a panel next year that we'll get a better time slot, but we'll try. And yes, there is revenge in the works for "Leon" getting spanked with the yaoi paddle. **lol** Link to post Share on other sites
justsonya 0 Posted July 22, 2007 Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 I really enjoyed the panel with Jennifer Sekiguchi. She was so amazingly friendly and outgoing. I went in with four kids under 16, and all of them had a great time listening to her stories as she answered questions. She was a wonderful family-friendly guest to have. It disturbed me, given the types of adult questions being asked during it, that there was no age restriction on the Maki Murakami Q&A panel. Some of the questions were pretty graphic, and yet there were children in the audience (not mine, of course). It creeped me out quite a bit. On the other hand, Murakami-sensei did an amazing job answering questions through translators and handling a huge crowd of fans. It probably would have been good to handle the autograph token issue AFTER she had left the room, however, given the rude behavior of some of the attendees and what they yelled out, when the limited number of autograph tokens were announced. It was very offensive behavior towards a guest who had come so far for her first US convention. Otachan was amazing as always. My kids always love that room. The weapon and prop-making panel was fun, although it started rather late. Also, we went in to wait for the Anime Parliament panel, and ended up leaving when it hadn't started 20 minutes after it was schedule to, and no announcement had been made. It would be helpful if staff could update the attendees waiting on the status, and whether they should bother waiting or not, when that situation arises. Link to post Share on other sites
kurama83 0 Posted July 22, 2007 Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 We enjoyed the One Piece Panel and was able to get information about the new dub, I was a little down cause there were no Premiers, so we left for another panel. But one thing that did stand out was my sister was called to the front and posed with the voice actor of Chopper. Link to post Share on other sites
JudgeRAW00 0 Posted July 22, 2007 Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 The only panel I went to was the Japanese Prowrestling panel, and I was very impressed. I was expecting to see the goofy side of wrestling, and was pleasantly surprised to see wrestlers like Marufuji and KENTA being shown. Thanks to the guys who gave us that wonderful panel. Link to post Share on other sites
cche73 0 Posted July 22, 2007 Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 Great con, best one I've been too. My only gripe was trying to find the dealer room. Took me almost half an hour trying to locate it. Other than that, I loved it. Jennifer Sekiguchi was awesome. Link to post Share on other sites
stephb 0 Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 Fan panels need to have some kind of structure. For instance, the Last Exile panel was great - so was the Wolves of Mibu and the Indie J-Rock panel. But the Bebop panel, the FMA panel, and the Yuri panel had absolutely zero content in the twenty minutes or so we spent in each one. Just... "Ask us questions!" No actual discussion or theories with leading questions or information or anything like that. I could have run those panels, y'know? Link to post Share on other sites
toujourspret 0 Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 I actually didn't make it to many panels this year (trying to shoehorn 24 hours gofering+organizing tea party+lolita events/meetups into two and a half days is hard!), but I had loads of fun at the ones I made it to. I just had a few qualms--1) I was late getting to the Lolita: Beyond the Basics panel and a staffer told me I couldn't go in, so I sat in the hallway and tried to think up an apology for missing it (since I'd promised I'd be there but got lost trying to navigate the confusing Dealers' Room situation). I saw several people entering and exiting freely from a door further in, and lo and behold, there were even empty seats when I followed someone in! I understand the whole thing about not being rude and distracting the panelists, but I think that if there is a way that people can be discreet and respectful, the panelists would rather a full audience than half of the audience sitting outside and half the room filled with empty chairs (which I'm not saying was the case with that panel--it was pretty full, but there were a few chairs here and there). 2) I was helping with the DIY Lolita panel (I spoke about a casual-style skirt I'd made) and was outside the panel room chatting with the other ladies involved before the panel started. When the room cleared from the other panel, all of the other girls involved were ushered in, but I was told that "only the lolitas can go in right now". I assured the staffer that I was involved and some of my friends and fellow panelists were clearly waiting for me just inside the room, but he still gave me a dubious look and gave me an info sheet as if I were an audience member that was sneaking in with my friends. I felt very insulted by this because I'd worked hard to coordinate my gofer shirt in somehow and felt that despite my petticoat, knee socks, and parasol, he was telling me I wasn't "lolita enough". I only ask that in the future staff members guarding the doors maybe ask the head panelist how many people are in her party, rather than playing "which one of these is not like the other" just because I was wearing casual style and they were all in full sweets. Other than that, I've got no problems with panels aside from personal preference--I missed the Japanese Fashion panel because I had to leave early, and have heard similar stories of disappointment. Still, I understand that not every panel can have a prime Saturday evening spot, and was really thankful that the Lolita panels, at least, were scheduled in a relatively similar time in the same place. It made scheduling around them so much easier than if they'd been on separate days! Link to post Share on other sites
Toshee 0 Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 I am glad that tickets were given out at panels for autographs (even though I don't care for them), but something other than giving them to people in the first row should be done. Something random....sorry, I don't have any ideas on how to do this. Maybe a massive and quick rock paper scissors contest at the end for people who want to stay, haha. Link to post Share on other sites
Aresef 113 Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 I could whine about the time and place we ended up with (10 AM Sunday Panel 2, instead of piling lots of people into Panel 3 11 AM Saturday like we did last year). It really affected our attendance, I think--that and the fact we were an errata panel, and fewer people noticed we were there. Though all of this really springs from the same issue, way back when the switchover was made, and we've been over that already. :-p Also, it would be nice if water was provided for us fan panelists. Even just one bottle would be a big help, instead of having to remember to yank and fill several cups before hand, or worse, paying $2.50 for the bottled stuff. Otherwise, at con, as a panelist, things could not have gone smoother. Thanks for the opportunity. Also, as an observer, yes, the wristband switcheroos seemed to annoy a lot of people in the 4chan line who had to hop out as well as the DAAD crowd. I think in those sorts of situations, where the switch is poorly communicated (see 4chan) or not communicated at all (DAAD), there ought to be leniency. Link to post Share on other sites
jimay 0 Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 first and foremost, a big thanks for those of you who attended the jpop101 and jpop255 panels! we were extremely happy with the turnout of both panels, but were sadly disappointed with the short time frame with had for the presentations. trust me, if we had more time, we would have definitely covered much more music in general. also, we were generally satisfied with the amount of great feedback we got from a lot of the audience members and staff included! my goal of both panels we to keep as many things as "fresh" as possible in the j-music industry, and promote audience interaction. we felt like we did both and definitely were satisfied with the results. again, were open to any feedback of any nature. how we can improve, what can we include, etc, etc, etc. thanks to everyone again, and staff included, for making everything work out as well as they did! edit: was late getting to the Lolita: Beyond the Basics panel and a staffer told me I couldn't go in Link to post Share on other sites
iserlohn 0 Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 I am glad that tickets were given out at panels for autographs (even though I don't care for them), but something other than giving them to people in the first row should be done. Something random....sorry, I don't have any ideas on how to do this. Maybe a massive and quick rock paper scissors contest at the end for people who want to stay, haha. Link to post Share on other sites
Eddie 2 18 Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 For anyone who attended the How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse panel we thank you all! If we appeared to be rushed it was because we only had an hour for all we wanted to do compared to last year where it ran for an hour and a half and it was the last panel that evening. No guarantees if we're accepted for a panel next year that we'll get a better time slot, but we'll try. And yes, there is revenge in the works for "Leon" getting spanked with the yaoi paddle. **lol** Link to post Share on other sites
petro 0 Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 My problem with the panels was panels NOT being when or where they are posted to be in either the pocket guide or the changes sheet. It's annoying when you plan your whole day around a certain panel, only to show up and find something else there with no information as to what happened. An update board with changes written in big red letters near the entrances would be nice. That way, if a panel was moved to a different day/time/location or was canceled, con goers would know as soon as they walked in the door. Link to post Share on other sites
Aresef 113 Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 What I did was I printed out the updated online schedule before I went out the door. It had many of the errata and later schedule changes accounted for. Link to post Share on other sites
BrakusJPS 9 Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 I went to "The DBZ You've Never Seen" on Saturday afternoon. It was a packed room, and [with the exception of the fat black chick working security who was powertripping] the panel was a TREMENDOUS success. Dragonball fans now know about Mike LaBrie and Meri Cantoni, being two of the most knowledgeable people about Dragonball. The rarities they showed at the panel gave some new dimension about the show and introduced people to lots of fun things about the show that were only seen in Japan. Thank you Mike and Meri for the panel! Link to post Share on other sites
Sunflower 0 Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 I am glad that tickets were given out at panels for autographs (even though I don't care for them), but something other than giving them to people in the first row should be done. Something random....sorry, I don't have any ideas on how to do this. Maybe a massive and quick rock paper scissors contest at the end for people who want to stay, haha. Link to post Share on other sites
Pincer 0 Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 For anyone who attended the How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse panel we thank you all! If we appeared to be rushed it was because we only had an hour for all we wanted to do compared to last year where it ran for an hour and a half and it was the last panel that evening. No guarantees if we're accepted for a panel next year that we'll get a better time slot, but we'll try. And yes, there is revenge in the works for "Leon" getting spanked with the yaoi paddle. **lol** Without question, the best panel this year was the "How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse". It really made my night, and it was very funny. You dudes should be proud, excellent job. Plus you filled the room to max! I'll talk about more panels later, I'm really tired.... Link to post Share on other sites
toujourspret 0 Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 [snip] edit: was late getting to the Lolita: Beyond the Basics panel and a staffer told me I couldn't go in i was probably there when you tried to get in, i was the ed elric standing around there, waiting for the panel to end so we could do our jpop255 panel (which started 10 minutes late because the room wasnt cleared in time after lolita basics) started. if im not mistaken, i was talking to this guy who was guarding the door. this guy was a normal gofer and it was apparently his first time out at this con, so i can understand if he wants to do a good job or not.[/snip] That's understandable. I was perfectly fine waiting outside because I was late. It was complicated--I had promised the panelists and several of the lolitas in the front row that I'd be there, and the stress of the weekend had started to get to me by this point (I'd skipped all of my meals that day and was starting to feel a bit woozy and shaky), and I was disappointed to be told I couldn't go in--this has never been a problem before, or at least I'd never noticed it; as long as there was room in the panel, I've always just gone in when I got there. I understand if there was a new policy this year, though, and I didn't mean to sound bitchy about the guy at the door--I know what it's like to have a couple hundred people try to nag you into breaking policy. Link to post Share on other sites
Katrina 0 Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 Fan panels need to have some kind of structure. For instance, the Last Exile panel was great - so was the Wolves of Mibu and the Indie J-Rock panel. But the Bebop panel, the FMA panel, and the Yuri panel had absolutely zero content in the twenty minutes or so we spent in each one. Just... "Ask us questions!" No actual discussion or theories with leading questions or information or anything like that. I could have run those panels, y'know? Link to post Share on other sites
Chap 0 Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 I think maybe some of the larger panels should be shifted to main events. Also it would be nice if some of the more interactive panels were not held next to video rooms. It makes it really hard for dubs. Link to post Share on other sites
The Eva Monkey 14 Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 The con had said that panel rooms were not going to be cleared out. Last night, there were panel rooms cleared out especially Panel 2. I was hoping to see Evangelion, but did not want to go back into the room again. That was one of my disappointments from the weekend. Sorry Thomas, but I had the room cleared. There was a line of people outside, and I wanted to be fair to those people who were patient and polite enough to wait. And it also made it a lot easier for SpecOps to check wristbands. Those people who were in the previous panel would not have found it too difficult to get back in. The room was nicely filled, but not full. Fan panels need to have some kind of structure. The thing many people fail to understand is how deceptive panels are to host. I've been doing it for four years now, and it's definitely been an uphill process. There are always issues of preparedness, knowledge, and charisma. I salute anyone who makes an honest attempt at hosting an enjoyable panel, and I challenge anyone to try it for themselves. It can be a great experience, and can be a lot of fun. Link to post Share on other sites
Brand 1 Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 I know I went to two panels that were no shows. I don't know if it was because of schedule changes, or the panelist not showing up but that was a bit annoying. There were also a few that we found were re-scheduled but we didn't write it down and forgot. The scheduled it's self this year was a mess, and we stayed at a hotel where the internet was expensive and I didn't want to drag my laptop to the con just to find out the changes. The panels we did go to where very good. The Top Ten Video Games You Should Have Played was very interesting, and so was the Lunar Panel. But I ended up not going to a lot of panels because of the schedule problems. Link to post Share on other sites
Tatsuha_chan 0 Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 I've been going to Otakon since 2002, but for some reason I just never really went to panels until this year. WTF was wrong with me? For the most part they were all pretty awesome, with the exception of the Bandai Visual and Maki Murakami... she was unexpectedly dull for me). Thank you SO much for bring Seki Tomokazu, he was beyond awesome. And the chicks that ran the Yaoi panel were pretty hilarious. I have only two gripes with how the panels were ran. There was no consistency with how the question and answer sessions were executed. Sometimes people would get in line, other times you would have to raise your hand and have a microphone brought to you. I prefer the line method. At Maki Murakami's panel, my friend's hand was up the entire panel, but he was never called on. There were a few hands that I saw that never went down. But then, the people with wigs and such got picked rather quickly because they are much more noticeable. At least if there's a line, you wait in the order you arrived, you know? Also, the autograph tickets. Again, there was no consistency with how they were given out. I believe that for the first Seki panel (?), they were given out the the first 25 or so people in line, but for the second Seki panel they were given out to anyone who asked him a question. Then at the Murakami panel they were given out to the first 2 rows of people seated. A uniform method of distributing tickets would have been be nice, then people would have known what to expect. There were people who got in line like crazy early for the second Seki panel with the expectation that tickets would be distributed the same way they were the day before. If you get in line early, but don't get a ticket because they only have so many to pass out to people who made it there before you, that's one thing. It's like "Damn, shoulda got there earlier. Oh well, I tried." Whereas if you get in line, but that's not how they distributed tickets, then it's like "Well that f-ing sucks, I wasted my time!!" Link to post Share on other sites
Naitumea 0 Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 The main gripe I had with the panels this year was that Anime Parliament was buried early on Friday before many people were there. In prior years, this was always one of the highest energy, fun panels when it was in the evening and in a longer block of time. Link to post Share on other sites
KingdomNerd 0 Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 Fan panels need to have some kind of structure. For instance, the Last Exile panel was great - so was the Wolves of Mibu and the Indie J-Rock panel. But the Bebop panel, the FMA panel, and the Yuri panel had absolutely zero content in the twenty minutes or so we spent in each one. Just... "Ask us questions!" No actual discussion or theories with leading questions or information or anything like that. I could have run those panels, y'know? Link to post Share on other sites
KSweeley 63 Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 I would like to know what happened to the Gonzo Romeo and Juliet panel. I got into the panel room a little bit early and found a good seat. 4:00 PM rolls around, no panelists, 4:05 PM rolls around, still no panelists, 4:10 PM, still no panelists. And then at 4:14 PM, a Otakon staff comes up and announces "Due to unforeseen scheduling conflicts, the Romeo and Juliet panel by Gonzo is cancelled." and that had a lot of people, incuding me, very angry and disappointed. Link to post Share on other sites
zircon 0 Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 I dunno, for the second year in a row we (OC ReMix) got the earliest Friday timeslot - 10 AM - and yet again we drew a crowd of at least 400... Unfortunately we didn't make it to any other panels besides the Sakimoto Q&A tail end (which was cool). Link to post Share on other sites
Kirarakim 21 Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 I went to the Seki Tomokazu Q&A panel on Friday. Seki was excellent and his translator did a great job but I thought there should have been more control with the questions that were allowed. I personally didn't go up to ask a question but I felt bad for the people in line who didn't get to ask a question. Of course not everyone could have a chance but I think more people would of had a chance if people were told in the beginning to only ask actual questions and not to go up there and give a speech about how they loved Seki Tomokazu. I would rather have heard more actual questions. Of course the staff couldn't control what people asked but I didn't even hear a warning that these things were not allowed. There also didn't seem to be any time limit. Also I felt really bad for Seki because after doing all these voice impressions in the beginning (which were fantastic), certain people who stood in line didn't even have a question they just wanted him to do more voice impressions. He was a great sport about this though. Tatsuha_chan I agree with you about the autograph problem. I did manage to get Seki's autograph on Saturday but this was only because I missed his second panel and waited for 2 1/2 hours for the autograph line to start (and then stood in the actual line another hour after this) I would really have liked to go to his second panel but I knew from my experience with the first panel that I would not be able to get the autograph if I went to the panel. Link to post Share on other sites
kaitoudark 0 Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 I really enjoyed the digital love panel it really should have been a 18+ panel unlike last year. Link to post Share on other sites
l3reakmanx 0 Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Otakon staff: You handled 4chan amazingly. I am very, very impressed. After being turned away from the 2005 4chan panel because the line was full hours before it started, and after being in line for the 2006 4chan panel last year, I was blown away with how well the 4chan panel line was handled this year. The people from 4chan tend to be very loud, and just barely keep themselves under control. Having people shouting rudely at them just makes them go completely out of control (which, of course, is not justified by the staff not being nice enough, but it's still bad crowd control). This year, by stark comparison, the staff member wearing the big jester's hat who was wrangling the line did an amazing job of keeping the line as calm as it was possible for it to be. Sure, people were shouting and being really loud, but there weren't any real problems - there was little to no mess made by the line, no fights, and amazingly, he even got us to listen to the staff's requests. We stayed in the lined up in the ground-tape aisles where we were supposed to be, there wasn't any confusion about where the line was (I think there was an extra "fake" line last year accidentally?), no one was causing fire hazards, no one was at any risk at any point, things like that. The key things I think contributed to this were, for one, allowing 4chan people to help with the line wrangling, Maddeth in particular. These are the people that know how we think and know what to say to get us to listen. Tell us you're going to close the panel if we don't listen, etc. Being more forceful, whether it's justified or not, is just going to make the line feel defensive. When people were standing up after Jester Hat asked everyone to sit down, he just turned on the bullhorn again and asked everyone to sit down. When a few people remained standing, he just calmly asked them to sit down until they did. He rarely had to ask them past a second time. When people starting shouting things that truly were disruptive or inappropriate, he blasted on the bullhorn and distracted everyone, which completely cut off whatever they were doing. When someone had a big model Seaking, and people were getting a little too worked up about it, he was calmly asked to stop, a scene wasn't made, and there wasn't a problem. I'm not sure how much of the good handling of this line was due to the staff handling it well and how much was due to the 4chan line handling itself well, but either way, an excellent job was done this year. They were no louder than the rave (in fact, much quieter), and I would challenge anyone to say what problems, other than being a loud group of people, were actually caused by them. I think however many people may have been annoyed by 4chan were outnumbered by the hundreds by people who had a great time in the line and panel, or even just walked by and saw the line and were amused. I imagine there were no more people annoyed by the Gaia attendees than there were annoyed by the 4chan attendees. If an 800+ room at midnight was packed full, even only letting in 18+ attendees, then I imagine if people had more than a week's notice that 4chan would be there, it could easily surpass the 1000 mark. I personally thank Otakon and the Otakon staff for working hard to let 4chan attend this year, and I would be extremely grateful if they would be allowed to come back again next year. Link to post Share on other sites
alainmendez 0 Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Fan panels need to have some kind of structure. For instance, the Last Exile panel was great - so was the Wolves of Mibu and the Indie J-Rock panel. But the Bebop panel, the FMA panel, and the Yuri panel had absolutely zero content in the twenty minutes or so we spent in each one. Just... "Ask us questions!" No actual discussion or theories with leading questions or information or anything like that. I could have run those panels, y'know? Agreed. Also, I was majorly disappointed when the Angsty Teens and Giant Robots panel was cancelled. What the heck? I hope there was a good reason for that one - and also for the State of Otakudom (it might've been a different one, I can't remember properly) that was randomly cancelled. We sat there for twenty minutes until some staffer came on stage and told us that they didn't show up. Lame. :? Link to post Share on other sites
alainmendez 0 Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 BTW - I was one of people running the Anime Recruitment panel. I was wondering if anyone reading this thread had any feedback on our panel? Any reviews for better or worse and any comment and criticisms would be appreciated. I felt that any panel that was not an industry panel stated and ended on time. I really liked the Podcaster round table and the putting the man back in Manga panel. They were very well run and darn entertaining. Link to post Share on other sites
UniqueUnit 0 Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Well, I had a pretty good time at the panels I did attend, at least. The major complaints were handled already (most notably the scheduling errors) but I'll still make a few comments. I actually have to respectfully disagree with Tatsuha_chan on the tickets at the Murakami panel proper: the ticket distribution to the first two rows only at said panel might not been the greatest thing in the world (trust me, I was in the back), it was at least orderly in a sense. Now, what really got to me was the ticket distribution later at the autograph line (the lady handed them out very randomly and basically told the rest tough luck, you won't get in), but I got lucky and managed to see her anyway. Alas, however undesirable ticket distribution was, it might simply be a fact of life at the bigger panels/events at the con. The 4chan panel was handled pretty well. Sure, the line was loud, but it didn't descend into any sort of 'chaos', and all of the people were basically having a good time, which is what one could ask for in these things. The funnest panel for me was the Yaoi panel, probably because the panel hosts were so charismatic, by far the most I saw that night. Yet there was a large sense of fairness and order to how it was handled: lining up for the questions, plenty of interaction with the audience, and so on. Hopefully it'll be back next year in a similar fashion. Link to post Share on other sites
jimay 0 Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 well, now that i think about it, theres really one thing that bothered me during my time there. there has got to be a way to clear the room out faster, especially if a panel ends at like 2 mins before our start time, which turn resulted in us starting 10 minutes late. its not fun pounding thru a presentation to make everything fit. aside from that, everything went great. again thank you for making things run smoothly. Link to post Share on other sites
Julie Prototype 0 Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 I agree, the 4chan line was handled very well! Good job! I cant wait for next years..give us panel 4 again! Link to post Share on other sites
kyos_kilt 0 Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 I've started to get annoyed with last minute cancelations and time changes. I was happy with how the 4chan panel was dealt with. I wish it went on longer and if more people could get it... ._. Link to post Share on other sites
Xenogil 0 Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Also, I was majorly disappointed when the Angsty Teens and Giant Robots panel was cancelled. What the heck? I hope there was a good reason for that one - and also for the State of Otakudom (it might've been a different one, I can't remember properly) that was randomly cancelled. We sat there for twenty minutes until some staffer came on stage and told us that they didn't show up. Lame. :? Link to post Share on other sites
Jessi_B 0 Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 I definitely enjoyed being in the Anime RPG Campaign panel - whoever mentioned that there was no water must have gone way after we did. There was plenty of water bottles, and even cookies up there! We also enjoyed attending Ten Games You Should Have Played, and my fiance was very happy with the Lunar panel. Well done, everyone! Link to post Share on other sites
tempest675 0 Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 BTW - I was one of people running the Anime Recruitment panel. I was wondering if anyone reading this thread had any feedback on our panel? Any reviews for better or worse and any comment and criticisms would be appreciated. Link to post Share on other sites
Ryouko 0 Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 I was really sad to miss the Lunar panel, but it was at the same time as our Rockman photoshoot. T_T I hope there is another one next year! I was one of the four hosts for the "Tales of" panel (Fomicry: The NEXT Magitech), and it was an absolute blast. Thanks so much to everyone who came! I was also really thankful to the awesome Otakon staff guy who helped us out in handing the microphone to our attendees with questions. I'm sorry you didn't win anything in our raffle! lol. ; Link to post Share on other sites
CosmosAutumn 0 Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 This was my first big con and I definately had a blast and thought the staff handled a lot of things very well. I know you guys are working on the erroneous schedules and all, but I noticed a LOT of panels described in the Pocket Guide that neither appeared on the online schedule or the Pocket Guide one, even though their descriptions were there. I know you said the pocket guide goes to print much earlier, but the fact that they were in the descriptions section and not in the schedule in the same book that was probably printed at the same time was...odd. Why did that happen - was it because they were approved panels that were at the "maybe" stage or something? I'm just curious because no Visual Novels panel was ever mentioned online or in any schedule, but it appeared there and got my hopes up. T.T Other than that, I'd really like to see descriptions for the workshops, not just panels. If Contour Drawing and Writing to Get Published are at the same time, I'd like to know more about each so I can choose one (ie is Writing a critique workshop or more on marketing? Do we need to bring a story?) Even better would be if you guys could post those descriptions on the web like you do the schedule, instead of just listing panels and workshops. Then maybe you can just save money, print a smaller PG, and hand out descriptions only upon request! Finally, in regards to seating at panels, it would be really good if you guys could have an Otakon staff member at the front ushering people away from the front row if Press has reserved seating for that panel, instead of waiting til the panel starts to relocate folks. Gah, so long! Anyway, thanks for listening to our feedback and thanks for the con! Link to post Share on other sites
ithilienne 2 Posted July 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 I know you said the pocket guide goes to print much earlier, but the fact that they were in the descriptions section and not in the schedule in the same book that was probably printed at the same time was...odd. Why did that happen - was it because they were approved panels that were at the "maybe" stage or something? I'm just curious because no Visual Novels panel was ever mentioned online or in any schedule, but it appeared there and got my hopes up. T.T The simple answer to this question is, yes - those panels were part of the lost data. I apologize for getting your hopes up. Link to post Share on other sites
KSweeley 63 Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 I would like to know what happened to the Gonzo Romeo and Juliet panel. I got into the panel room a little bit early and found a good seat. 4:00 PM rolls around, no panelists, 4:05 PM rolls around, still no panelists, 4:10 PM, still no panelists. And then at 4:14 PM, a Otakon staff comes up and announces "Due to unforeseen scheduling conflicts, the Romeo and Juliet panel by Gonzo is cancelled." and that had a lot of people, incuding me, very angry and disappointed. Anyone... Link to post Share on other sites
bishop083 0 Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Ya know, I never actually went into a panel that gave out those autograph tokens. Good to know that they actually existed. I also agree with the earlier post that putting all of those industry panels into this year's panel room 2 was the worst thing they could have done. I missed both the Funimation and Geneon panels because there wasn't enough space. On the plus side, I did end up in not one, but 2 panels involving Mike Sinterniklaas. That man is awesome! I hope we get him back at Otakon again next year. That would rock so much! That man is hilarious, awesome, and honest. The best part is that he really is just another Otaku. Heck, he even let me walk up to the panel bench and check out the picture of a really good Belldandy cosplayer when I asked during the Mike S & Jen S panel. On an unrelated note, the Geneon after-dark panel was amazing. I do wish I could have made it to Geneon's normal industry panel, but at least I made it to the after-dark panel. OH, that reminds me of something I need to add to the constructive criticism I'm gonna post. But overall, most of the panels I went to were really good, once I found them. Especially the... wait. I don't want to say that. If I say that panel, then I might not get in next year because it would fill up. :twisted: Link to post Share on other sites
Tatsuha_chan 0 Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 I actually have to respectfully disagree with Tatsuha_chan on the tickets at the Murakami panel proper: the ticket distribution to the first two rows only at said panel might not been the greatest thing in the world (trust me, I was in the back), it was at least orderly in a sense. Now, what really got to me was the ticket distribution later at the autograph line (the lady handed them out very randomly and basically told the rest tough luck, you won't get in), but I got lucky and managed to see her anyway. Alas, however undesirable ticket distribution was, it might simply be a fact of life at the bigger panels/events at the con. Link to post Share on other sites
Aresef 113 Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 It would also be nice to have some more wireless mics on hand just in case for accidentally huge panels like Podcaster's Roundtable, where we had five mics for about eight of us panelists. Link to post Share on other sites
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