Convention report on A-Kon 18

[Schedules for past semesters, official docuements, and old versions of the web site]

Convention Report on A-Kon 18

A-Kon 18, June 1-3, 2007

A-Kon 18 Pictures

Welcome to our coverage of A-Kon 18!

One of our advantages existing for so long (nearly 20 years) is that we have lots of "club elders" whom we either see periodically during our meetings or whom we run into at A-Kon each year. Comparing notes, we marvel at how big anime has become, and with it, A-Kon itself. It has become the norm for the base hotel to sell out fairly early, and for the backup one to get pretty full too. This year people who stayed in adjacent hotels remarked at how the secondary hotels felt just like the Adams Mark in terms of fellow fans roaming the hallways (or in some cases, prowling!) It's always nice to wander around in whatever costume you want to wear and feel like you're not a freak.

In addition to that, A-Kon has grown not only in size but also in coverage. It used to be first and foremost an anime convention, but now it seems be much more diverse, with a very strong video gaming component, a MASSIVE comic market, and substantial tabletop gaming.

Add to all of this the typical standing-room-only events such as the opening ceremony, concert, and cosplay contest, and we've got to admit, we're pretty surprised at how things are still held together after all these years of growth. If you had gone to the A-Kon of 10 years ago and compared it to this, your mind would be boggled. The A-Kon of old would be unrecognizable.

Each year its interesting to see the trends in popularity of the titles. This year we noticed that Bleach had really come on like gangbusters, as there was a ton of merchandise and swells of cosplayers in black kimonos covered with white haoris. Thats not to say that Naruto had lost any fans, just that it seems that Bleach has gained more.

Visual Kei was also more commonplace than it has been in the past. This was probably a result of A-Kons concert bands being often Visual Kei groups. From a fanboy viewpoint, it might seem strange to see such a flamboyant look, but then again to the average Joe on the street, we are all in the same category: scary freaks! Lol

There also seemed to be a lot more kids. This is probably due to Adult Swim and more manga being available in bookstores. The more the merrier, and its good to get them hooked when theyre too young to realize they should get out when they can.

At the Bandai Entertainment panel, it was announced that Galaxy Angel X was licensed, as well as Galaxy Angel S. We've never been awfully energetic about the Galaxy Angel franchise, so this announcement wasn't met with much excitement on our part. Its not that we hate Galaxy Angel, but it didnt seem any more compelling than your average cute-girl show.

There was nothing else of note from the industry at A-Kon. Every other panel simply covered upcoming release dates for shows, with not a SINGLE announcement to be had. The fact that there were only 2 announcements kind of drove home the downturn that weve come to see in the American licensing industry. It has us worried for the future of our favorite hobby, but were trying to stay optimistic.

All in all, this years A-Kon was pretty cool, notwithstanding the trickle of new releases from the major companies. Gone are the days when ADV, Bandai, and Geneon would announce 3-4 titles each. In their place we legions of young fans worshipping a hobby that was considered completely in the closet not very long ago (at least thats what our club elders tell us). Thats not too bad a place to be.

This page validates as XHTML 1.0 with CSS 2. It was last modified on Wednesday, March 5, 2008 at 11:50 PM (CST) and has been requested at least 204 times.
This web site is published by the Anime Club, a registered student organization. This web site is not an official publication of The University of
Texas at Austin and does not represent the views of The University or its officers.


		Convention Report on A-Kon 18 A-Kon 18, June 1-3, 2007 A-Kon 18 Pictures Welcome to our coverage of A-Kon 18! One of our advantages existing for so long (nearly 20 years) is that we have lots of "club elders" whom we either see periodically during our meetings or whom we run into at A-Kon each year. Comparing notes, we marvel at how big anime has become, and with it, A-Kon itself. It has become the norm for the base hotel to sell out fairly early, and for the backup one to get pretty full too. This year people who stayed in adjacent hotels remarked at how the secondary hotels felt just like the Adams Mark in terms of fellow fans roaming the hallways (or in some cases, prowling!) It's always nice to wander around in whatever costume you want to wear and feel like you're not a freak. In addition to that, A-Kon has grown not only in size but also in coverage. It used to be first and foremost an anime convention, but now it seems be much more diverse, with a very strong video gaming component, a MASSIVE comic market, and substantial tabletop gaming. Add to all of this the typical standing-room-only events such as the opening ceremony, concert, and cosplay contest, and we've got to admit, we're pretty surprised at how things are still held together after all these years of growth. If you had gone to the A-Kon of 10 years ago and compared it to this, your mind would be boggled. The A-Kon of old would be unrecognizable. Each year its interesting to see the trends in popularity of the titles. This year we noticed that Bleach had really come on like gangbusters, as there was a ton of merchandise and swells of cosplayers in black kimonos covered with white haoris. Thats not to say that Naruto had lost any fans, just that it seems that Bleach has gained more. Visual Kei was also more commonplace than it has been in the past. This was probably a result of A-Kons concert bands being often Visual Kei groups. From a fanboy viewpoint, it might seem strange to see such a flamboyant look, but then again to the average Joe on the street, we are all in the same category: scary freaks! Lol There also seemed to be a lot more kids. This is probably due to Adult Swim and more manga being available in bookstores. The more the merrier, and its good to get them hooked when theyre too young to realize they should get out when they can. At the Bandai Entertainment panel, it was announced that Galaxy Angel X was licensed, as well as Galaxy Angel S. We've never been awfully energetic about the Galaxy Angel franchise, so this announcement wasn't met with much excitement on our part. Its not that we hate Galaxy Angel, but it didnt seem any more compelling than your average cute-girl show. There was nothing else of note from the industry at A-Kon. Every other panel simply covered upcoming release dates for shows, with not a SINGLE announcement to be had. The fact that there were only 2 announcements kind of drove home the downturn that weve come to see in the American licensing industry. It has us worried for the future of our favorite hobby, but were trying to stay optimistic. All in all, this years A-Kon was pretty cool, notwithstanding the trickle of new releases from the major companies. Gone are the days when ADV, Bandai, and Geneon would announce 3-4 titles each. In their place we legions of young fans worshipping a hobby that was considered completely in the closet not very long ago (at least thats what our club elders tell us). Thats not too bad a place to be.
	This page validates as XHTML 1.0 with CSS 2. It was last modified on Wednesday, March 5, 2008 at 11:50 PM (CST) and has been requested at least 204 times. This web site is published by the Anime Club, a registered student organization. This web site is not an official publication of The University of Texas at Austin and does not represent the views of The University or its officers.