Ok, so from a logistics point of view, ACen was BAAADDDD. It wasn’t the fault of any one person, thing, or act of god/ Nature that ACen went down the way it did. But, it still, nonetheless, went down in a bad way.
For a minute, I’ll put on my Blogger/ Press hat and analyze: ACen was disorganized and lacked the key communications that would have allowed all the programming and panels to run on time and in an effective manner. Info was either late in coming, didn’t arrive at all, or was misinterpreted.
From a fan’s POV, ACen had some cool panels, killer guests, and great bands. The con drew *RUMOR ALERT* 17,000+ people and cosplayers were everywhere. However, also from a fan’s POV, I saw that the hotel was getting trashed (I didn’t actually witness any wanton acts of vandalism, just the filth and destruction) the pre-reg and Masquerade were horribly mismanaged and the fact that ACen wasn’t really celebrating it’s 10th anniversary the way it should have was disturbing.
There were only two pieces of 10th anniversary swag at the merchandise booth and I felt there should have been much, much more. There also weren’t any panels or events that pushed the 10th year angle. 10 years as the Midwest’s Largest Anime con/ *RUMOR ALERT* /second largest con in the nation is something to celebrate. This con felt like it forgot it’s own birthday. 10 Years= Big Deal. No Big Deal= Disappointment
Also, for some strange reason, the variety of cosplayers wasn’t as vast as it was last year. There were many obscure cosplays and a ton of very well constructed cosplays, a gaggle of gothic lolitas, but nothing like the veritable cornucopia of cosplay that we had last year. Was there a some malaise that hit cosplayers this year? Did I miss that many cosplays? Whatever the reason, I wished I had seen a bigger variety of cosplays.
Overall, I’m right dead in the middle of loathing and loving this year’s Anime Central. This is only my second con (ever) so while I can’t say too much how this compares to other cons, I can say that I wish ACen 2007 had been handled better.
What about you guys? How was your con experience? Anything happen to sour you on ACen or did you have such a blast that you say, “Something went wrong?” What was your experience like?
