Bad Anime Conventions.

Bad Anime Conventions. How do we stop them? Today I want to talk about why anime conventions fail and how to make your hypothetical anime con more successful. I hope you enjoy my thoughts!

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[HidinginPublic]

I'm not sure how it comes across, but this video took forever to edit, it was even more time consuming than my last video haha. Please support Kall for drawing the art, and ofc support me If you want to see more and more ambitious projects. Thanks and enjoy yourselves!

[kintustis]

That feeling of "being too old" for a con has definitely hit really hard with the most recent cons. Everything seems designed for teenagers, and the attendees mostly seem to be high schoolers, or parents of high schoolers (because they're the ones with cars.)

It seems like there's nobody to talk to except the friends I showed up with, because my immediate surroundings are always 15 year old genshin cosplayers.

There never feels like anything to do except the artist alley, as I'm old enough to afford and enjoy art now, and the artists themselves tend to be actual adults who are receptive to a conversation.

[luigio]

you talking about the 18/21+ area just hit me how much “18+” is associated with porn. like holy shit

[lunafulz]

I'd love to see more 21+ areas at cons. As I'm getting older I'm noticing an influx of teens (naturally) but that's making it harder to find others within my age range to talk to and make con friends like I once did

[Ravensgale]

As someone who's been and still is a staff member at a few conventions a year and someone slowly going back to having a con schedule, all this is pretty legit and I've seen more than a few cons take similar steps.

[venturelord]

I think cons are an underestimated part of what keeps the social scene alive for people that enjoy anime or things related to anime, not many people discuss standards, and I think this was a valuable talk because you're willing to actually discuss a baseline of what could help make a place constructive and inviting.

[stormwatcheagle]

As someone who lived the conrunner life, I do want to note that Anime Expo is a beast unto itself. It is the de facto anime industry conference for North America, with an actual conference run by the non-profit that runs the con a few days before the show.

Additionally, everyone at the department head level and up at that show is a full-time employee with a salary, unlike most shows that are completely volunteer run. You almost need to think of AX more in line with an every run by a for-profit company like ReedPOP or Informa in how they are able to operate.

Not that you can't learn from them, but there is a large gap to traverse to operate at their level.

[sibbun]

I'm not from America so I don't know what cons are like there, but the con I recently went to in the Netherlands had a whopping two 18+ events which were both stuffed beyond capacity because the adults just wanted to not feel weird having to engage with teens all the time. The cocktailbar was so popular that on the second day it was completely out of alcohol. I think there is very much a market for 18+ spaces at cons, it would just be nice if they weren't all about sex and alcohol.

[ButtermintCream]

I haven't heard anyone articulate so well the need for different age appropriate zones. Most people focus on just 18+ or After Dark panels for the raunchy stuff. But it's really just a different type of safe space. Thank you for such a delightful thought piece!

[cardinal]

I loved this video, If there was a promise of a 21+ bar at a con I feel like I’d be much more willing to go so it’s not just standing and lines and buying merch

[Driendel]

There was a convention near my city that was held in a convention center that usually just accepted an annual farm convention, where they sold animals, farm machinery, etc.
It was a big con, it was awesome.
So, they removed the animals, but kept some of the farm equipment, including tractors...
Imagine hundreds, maybe thousands of pictures of cosplayers inside tractors and bobcats 😂

[monkeeee]

That one sign reminding people to take showers is the reason I don’t talk about anime irl

[saintyoo]

I wonder what smaller cons can do to attract people like me who don't really go for the merch or fan panels. I used to go to Otakon every year because I loved attending industry panels (Directors, Writers, Animators, Producers). Unfortunately ever since the pandemic there have been a big lack of Japanese guests so I stopped going. Hopefully things get better because going to Otakon use to be one of the big highlights of the year for me.

[TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

A part of me is glad that I’ve never been to an anime convention because of all the horror stories I’ve heard about conventions

[netflex]

Never been at any con, but the idea of 18-21+ areas at these places seems like a nice touch to the overall fun atmosphere of the con itself
Thx for the great quality video, paying to these artists was worth it :)

[bigboilol]

I love these kind of videos! I personally got into your channel with your video essay-type videos but this is a change in a good direction. You can do something like 1 animated storytime video for every 4 or 5 video essay videos or whatever is best for you. Tl;dr, your videos are great!

[CrawfishDeluxe]

I think another thing that sometimes gets left on the table, especially for smaller conventions, is programming content. Even some of the larger conventions I have gone to feel like the panels and events are completely lacking, and for attendees of various ages and interests, it makes that aging out problem more pronounced. I for example have almost no interest in attending an adults-only lounge, but if you had people from universities or industry putting on actually interesting panels about various topics, I would be far more inclined to attend them. Nothing hurts more than seeing an upcoming con's schedule and seeing that there is almost nothing of actual interest on the event schedule; it's basically a confirmation that I'm going to go and wander around the halls looking for something to do for 2 1/2 days.

[Animeologists]

This was a very well thought out and insightful video. It would be interesting to see if any of the things you mentioned get implemented into future conventions.

[matthewgage]

They had 21+ pool party with drinks in hot tubs till 1am, a rave and a rock concert at ColossalCon East in Pennsylvania. Come there for a better adult anime fan experience. Still, like you said, more cons need to appeal to the adults with the money and not think only of high schoolers.

[jjjjonathan]

Tectone did some unsponsored Anime convention streams in Texas recently, but they just seemed unappealing to me.
Industry really does make a convention worth going to by making it more interactive and professional.