Soo about that panel...

[CosmosAutumn 0]

I realize an official feedback thread has already gone up for the con and may or may not go up for panels, but I know there were a lot of panels I missed that I'm curious about (how were they? Did you learn anything new or interesting? Would you reccommend to someone else to attend that panel if it shows up again?) and even for panels I attended there were things I missed, so I figured I'd start a thread for people to share thoughts and info...(mods, I hope this thread is OK)

I reckon I'll get the ball rolling with panels I missed and am wondering about:

-The Kendo Demo

-The Adult Cosplayer Panel

-Bandai's "big surprise"

-Bad Anime Bad!

I also attended the fan fiction panel on Sunday but couldn't hear a lot of it because I was in the back, where the door kept opening and closing. I wanted to see if I could ask the two girls for the Powerpoint and I know they posted their email up there - did anyone get it?

[The Eva Monkey 14]

I want to state for the record that the Otaku Studies panel was phenomenal. Lawrence really did a terrific job with it.

[Aresef 113]

The Bandai surprise panel....it was one minor announcement (another .hack movie) followed by epic win.

-First, Toshi told us press no pictures, that we'd figure out why soon as they rolled a cart of boxes in.

-Showed some blooper reels

-Gave away tons of t-shirts because they could.

-Brought out Yuri Lowenthal to pimp some stuff like the new Gurren Lagann box

-Told everybody to look under their chairs for a magic Haruhi armband. One person won an autographed Geass figure and another won one of Bandai's Geass banners, both signed and presented by Yuri.

-Showed Lucky Star bloopers then moved into some LS trivia. Gave away some Scrapped Princess boxsets.

-They asked who in LS took away the serafuku. The answer was JAM Project. They made us put on the serafuku shirts, then made us scream "JAAAAAAAAAM!" Out came, well, JAM Project. Surprise. They put on the t-shirts, and then Iyadomi-san (BEI's head) told us his rules. One, wear the shirts the rest of the con (hah), and two, you must now dance to JAM's cover of the LS theme. And go.

-They then did a reverse Q+A. JAM asked us questions, like what anime we like, and how we get it. Somebody answered Nico Nico Douga, to which Fuku-chan answered "Nico Nico? Me too." He then apologized to Iyadomi-san for supporting piracy.

All in all, probably the weirdest thing that happened in the whole con.

[CosmosAutumn 0]

Thanks for the responses so far!

I want to state for the record that the Otaku Studies panel was phenomenal. Lawrence really did a terrific job with it.

[ithilienne 2]

I realize an official feedback thread has already gone up for the con and may or may not go up for panels, but I know there were a lot of panels I missed that I'm curious about (how were they? Did you learn anything new or interesting? Would you reccommend to someone else to attend that panel if it shows up again?) and even for panels I attended there were things I missed, so I figured I'd start a thread for people to share thoughts and info...(mods, I hope this thread is OK)

It's totally fine, saves me some trouble! \o/

I will add, though, that I'm completely open to all feedback - positive, negative, whatever. The outpouring of opinions that I got after last year really gave me a good idea of what you all like to see in your panels, and having that again this year will help to shape next year's experiences (I hope). If I don't hear back from you all, I don't know whether a panel was awesome or awful - and I don't know about you, but I'd really rather not have the same awful panel on the schedule for two or three years, if I can help it.

Was there enough variety in the panels this year? Were the "tracks" a little more coherent (example: the mini-AMV track on Saturday afternoon/evening in Panel 3)?

Some things that I'm aware of:

- Lines were sometimes pretty hairy, especially on the Sharp Street bridge, and especially Friday night. They were hellish, I know, and I'm sorry to anyone who wasn't able to get in - we did run a re-broadcast of Bad Anime, Bad!! on Sunday morning, so hopefully those of you who missed it the first time around could catch it at the later time.

- The Touhou panel's replacement, Cosplay Psychology, crashed and burned. We've taken care of it; rest assured that he won't be back on the schedule.

- Some people are unhappy about the 18+ wristbands. Sorry, but those probably aren't going to change too much.

- Some panels are too big for their room. I understand that there are more than 200 people who want to know How to Become a Samurai in 1 Hour - but my gigantic rooms (600, and 750 seats) get eaten by the panels that more than 600 or 750 people want to see - in Samurai's case, could you imagine swapping Samurai with Dub Actors After Dark? There'd be a riot! I would loooove to have a nice middle-size room (400 or so would be great), but I don't know if it'll ever be possible.

Thanks in advance for your feedback. And now, with all that out of the way, have at it!

[tstidm1 0]

In response to Meredith's want for a 400 person Panel room, the Hilton ballrooms with it's airwalls can give you the 400 seat room. There are two ballrooms that have a lot of flexibility from looking at the schematics on their website. You could create several panel spaces of various sizes including a 1,000 seat room with half of the ballroom. That maybe something Otakon could look at for 2009, if they have Hilton Meeting space.

Edited August 12, 2008 by tstidm1

[ithilienne 2]

In response to Meredith's want for a 400 person Panel room, the Hilton ballrooms with it's airwalls can give you the 400 seat room. There are two ballrooms that have a lot of flexibility from looking at the schematics on their website. You could create several panel spaces of various sizes including a 1,000 seat room with half of the ballroom. That maybe something Otakon could look at for 2009, if they have Hilton Meeting space.

We're looking into the space over there, yes - whether or not panels will get a new space will be determined.

[xtsquintx 1]

I usually don't have a problem, and didn't really have a problem with the A/V help staff in each panel room, but maybe that's because I have a career in A/V and know how to use/fix everything myself. Anyway, there was a technical issue with my friends' laptop video signal for his panel in Panel 2 (the room with one projector and 2 plasmas on each side). The plasma displays were fine, but the aspect and keystoning were all messed up with the main projector making the video distorted. When I got there, the panelists themselves were complaining about it and the only A/V staffer was just standing on the side either with his hands up in the air or just looking not concerned. No offense to the guy, he wasn't being a jerk or anything, but he just didn't seem to know how to fix the problem. So I stepped up to adjust the settings on the projector... and wasn't interupted or questioned by anyone. Now, you can say "oh well if you knew how to fix it, than that's great! the staffer was probably relieved," but shouldn't be their primary reaction to not let "anyone" mess around with their rented, EXPENSIVE equipment like that?

So my main concern is just that the staff be trained with equipment if they are assigned to be the A/V help in each room, and that they don't allow people to just walk up and screw around with the equipment. Once again, everything worked out fine and I'm glad no one stopped me from trying to fix it, but it just seems odd when you think about all of the other issues Otakon seems to worried about concerning their operations policies.

Ooops... in my feverish complaining I forgot why I even clicked on this thread in the first place:

Did anyone go to the Maryland Language Club panel Sunday morning at 10am? I really wanted to go and see what it was about but I missed it. I've been trying to find information about where there might be language classes/centers in MD, without having to look into colleges and university courses.

Edited August 12, 2008 by xtsquintx

[ithilienne 2]

Ooops... in my feverish complaining I forgot why I even clicked on this thread in the first place:

Did anyone go to the Maryland Language Club panel Sunday morning at 10am? I really wanted to go and see what it was about but I missed it. I've been trying to find information about where there might be language classes/centers in MD, without having to look into colleges and university courses.

I was not able to attend the Maryland English + Japanese Language Club's panel on Sunday, but from communicating with the head panelist, Jason, I've learned that the club is based in Ellicott City. Hopefully that at least gives you a start?

[rotinoma 2]

I seriously hope you guys get another panel room that's mid-size or larger. Sucks for missing out on Bandai Surprise

The Touhou panel's replacement, Cosplay Psychology, crashed and burned. We've taken care of it; rest assured that he won't be back on the schedule.

[tomoe27 0]

- The fansub/industry panel was great and I think it's stuff like this that separates Otakon panel programming from every other con in the US.

[lauralyn 0]

- The Touhou panel's replacement, Cosplay Psychology, crashed and burned. We've taken care of it; rest assured that he won't be back on the schedule.

Edited August 12, 2008 by lauralyn

[Momiji 0]

The only reason the panel was not received well was because there were a lot of rude people in the room expecting to hear about Touhou.

[ithilienne 2]

- The Touhou panel's replacement, Cosplay Psychology, crashed and burned. We've taken care of it; rest assured that he won't be back on the schedule.

I thought the fact that this panel was shut down was ridiculous. The panel was really interesting and the guy running it was awesome to get up there and bring to attention some issues that people want to ignore. There were many people in the room who were eager to hear the rest of the panel and very disappointed when the staff came in and shut off his mic and kicked everyone out.

The only reason the panel was not received well was because there were a lot of rude people in the room expecting to hear about Touhou. The panel crashed and burned because of the Otakon staff's lack of organization and communication to the attendees.

The panel was not shut down because of the audience, but because of the panelist. He was given the opportunity twice to bring his discussion back onto topic, and squandered it both times. I agree that a discussion about the psychology of cosplay would be cool (heck, that's why it was on the schedule), but when the panelist becomes belligerent and begins attacking his audience, we have to step in. As I've mentioned elsewhere, moving the Touhou panel was last-minute and at the request of the panelist, who had a medical emergency. I apologize that word didn't get to you in time, and I also apologize for your negative experience.

Hopefully there was something else on the panels schedule that made up for it!

[lauralyn 0]

- The Touhou panel's replacement, Cosplay Psychology, crashed and burned. We've taken care of it; rest assured that he won't be back on the schedule.

I thought the fact that this panel was shut down was ridiculous. The panel was really interesting and the guy running it was awesome to get up there and bring to attention some issues that people want to ignore. There were many people in the room who were eager to hear the rest of the panel and very disappointed when the staff came in and shut off his mic and kicked everyone out.

The only reason the panel was not received well was because there were a lot of rude people in the room expecting to hear about Touhou. The panel crashed and burned because of the Otakon staff's lack of organization and communication to the attendees.

[ithilienne 2]

From where I was sitting it seemed like the audience was hassling the panelist. Multiple times people walked back into the room after they realized the panel was not Touhou just to taunt the guest.

I understand that; however, when he agreed to be a panelist, he also agreed to be responsible and to keep his presentation on topic. We gave him every opportunity to continue, but it didn't work out, and rather than allowing the situation to continue to escalate, we made the decision to close the room until the next panel's scheduled start time.

[CosmosAutumn 0]

As far as feedback for other panels I attended, I was really impressed with a lot of fan panels! I really wasn't expecting much from most of the fan panels I attended, but many of them were well run, organized, and informative. The first two to come to mind were the Fan Fiction and Amateur Voice Acting, both of which I had low expectations for. I was pleasantly surprised. Making Visual Novels was fun as well. Other than the Touhou panel, which just seems an unfortunate miscommunication, I enjoyed all the panels, industry and fan, that I attended.

Now if only I can fit in everything I wanna attend next year...

[Akiamy 0]

The only panel I missed was the J-drama panel and I'm kinda bummed about that.

So was there anyone who went to it and how was it?

[TheSilentSenshi 0]

I was at the fanfiction panel (it was awesome, by the way). I did get Ashcats information (I stayed and chatted with her after the panel was over). I don't have her e-mail, but I do have her livejournal, if that would be helpful.

I'd like to know how the Phoenix Wright trial was. I really wanted to go, but I was with someone who wanted to see the end of the AMV Iron Chef and couldn't make it.

OMG, there was a jdrama panel? How did I miss that.

[Akiamy 0]

I was at the fanfiction panel (it was awesome, by the way). I did get Ashcats information (I stayed and chatted with her after the panel was over). I don't have her e-mail, but I do have her livejournal, if that would be helpful.

I'd like to know how the Phoenix Wright trial was. I really wanted to go, but I was with someone who wanted to see the end of the AMV Iron Chef and couldn't make it.

OMG, there was a jdrama panel? How did I miss that.

[ota_retired 6]

I can only hope the Sonic panel was done great justice. I wanna get in on it next year.

Edited August 14, 2008 by Otaku Ru

[xtsquintx 1]

The only panel I missed was the J-drama panel and I'm kinda bummed about that.

So was there anyone who went to it and how was it?

[lambogirl 0]

The only panel I missed was the J-drama panel and I'm kinda bummed about that.

So was there anyone who went to it and how was it?

Edited August 16, 2008 by lambogirl

[NOTanOTAKU 0]

The only panel I missed was the J-drama panel and I'm kinda bummed about that.

So was there anyone who went to it and how was it?

what the hec there was a J-drama panel?! O_O

that schedule does not help at all D:

Did anyone go to the Awesomely Bad Japanese Music Videos panel??

I'm wondering which PVs they showed lol.

[lambogirl 0]

Hinoi Team & Korikki - Night of Fire

^

I DISAGREE D: <

thanks btw

[DarkAlbedoX2 0]

I'd like to know how the Phoenix Wright trial was. I really wanted to go, but I was with someone who wanted to see the end of the AMV Iron Chef and couldn't make it.

[KyoKyo 41]

I think the Laura Bailey panel was the best. I would never have thought that Ms. Bailey would say p*nis 3 times in a few seconds

[NOTanOTAKU 0]

I'm really sad I missed the Sunday musical guests Q&A panel. Does anybody know what questions were asked? And what their replies were?

[~Ametatsu~ 0]

I'd like to know how the Phoenix Wright trial was. I really wanted to go, but I was with someone who wanted to see the end of the AMV Iron Chef and couldn't make it.

Honestly, not worth the 2 hours I waited in line (only to be about 150 places back in line to boot). However, I'll give the panelists the benefit of the doubt and actually believe that one of the key members had to be rushed to the hospital (by another key member) due to food poisoning. Panel attendees were not informed of this by the panelists while in line, and i'd assume many, including myself, were very disappointed when it wasn't an actual scripted mock trial with audience influence, and became a game of 20 questions with a couple phoenix wright (and non phoenix wright) characters on stage.

Edited August 16, 2008 by ~Ametatsu~

[GlitteringLoke 0]

Just curious to know what people thought of the Tales of... Panel. I heard we hit max capacity, but I didn't even notice >< (always looking for ways to improve on things)

[CosmosAutumn 0]

I'm really sad I missed the Sunday musical guests Q&A panel. Does anybody know what questions were asked? And what their replies were?

[NOTanOTAKU 0]

I'm really sad I missed the Sunday musical guests Q&A panel. Does anybody know what questions were asked? And what their replies were?

The translator asked a lot of basic questions and showed some PVs for each group, then fans asked questions like "Boxers or briefs?", "What'd you do on the plane ride over?" etc...

I have to say, I had never heard of any of the bands before, but their answers were somewhat bizarre, yet amusing. And I think someone recorded the panel too so google around for it.