Anime Expo feels unsafe
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
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After seeing the crowds at last years Anime Expo online, I knew I had to go to 2023 AX. Let's talk crowds, oxygen, theft, and obviously, anime.
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i went last year and somebody had a seizure right in front of me (like 2 meters in front of me) but it was 8am and the health tents hadn’t opened despite the line wrapping around the entire convention. that man hit his head on the concrete, started turning blue, and foaming at the mouth. he was only saved because a genshin cosplayer knew first aid and we called an ambulance.
this convention is a complete and utter disaster waiting to happen.
Genshin cosplayers, of course
The first time a genshin cosplayer is based.
Jokes aside that's horrendous, this shouldn't be happening. I'm glad that cosplayer knew what they were doing.
Not to be insensitive, that’s horrifying and I’m happy they were okay, but imagine you’re having a medical issue and someone cosplaying raiden shogun or whatever is the one to give you first aid… I find that funnier than I probably should
I am not a genshin player but i need to know what they were cosplaying as
@@vaehtay Raiden Shogun saved my life. If nobody got me, I know Raiden Shogun got me. Can I get an Amen!
The way you called out the "artists like to put me on in the background while they do their thing" and i looked up from my tablet 💀💀💀
Also im very sad to say if the butler cafe dancer was in a dark hoodie then we saw the same dude and hes 100% a plant but he absolutely killed it
WAIT OMG EMIRICHU??????
SAME
Something about seeing your favorite youtubers in comments is so fun imagine the colab you provide the saale side missing from amandas anime expo videos!
collabbbbbb
@ville__ no we can't all agree
I'm former event security and I developed a huge passion for event safety. I was in the music industry 10 years in various jobs so let me blow the lid off for your audience.
Crowd management is a very specific training and the certification only exists in Europe. I quit an event security company after 3 weeks because they had ZERO staff communication on site and yes there was a mass shooting in one of their contracted venues in my city and I cannot even fathom.
Training on this stuff is minimal at best.
I'm sad that they haven't learned from all the previous tragedies at concerts & sporting events.
@nharber9837 in my state, security and event managment staff are run by separate subcontractors. I worked in the event management on the venue side (not security) for 5 years and we had some training regarding evacuation, emergency situations, active attacks, alcohol, medical situations etc. This was on top of training for the actual duties of ticketing, ushering, etc. There are stateside companies for these trainings but usually for sport venues event management not music venues. Different venues, cities, and states have different requirements, policies, and liabilities which means a standard certification doesn't really exist. Unfortunately that lets a lot of companies disinvest in those types of trainings.
Years ago, I was the marketing person for a nonprofit. A wealthy & connected volunteer of ours decided we shud have a Jimmy Buffet concert to raise funds, and I had to get involved. Luckily the plan got shut down, as the original budget called for entirely volunteer staffing, other than 4 off duty cops that the county required. I threw several absolute tantrums over the security and the alcohol control issues, and I was livid to realize how many people involved in events are very comfortable to do things loosey goosey or to say that absolutely essential risk management conversations are "negativity." Considering how often things go very wrong, it's disgusting how many people refuse to see reality. And there's a lot of people involved in events who are just trying to make their own daydream happen. I really avoid large events, tbh, they are usually mostly just lines and uncomfortable seating, and spending 5x the normal cost of food, drink, etc is not fun.
@@nharber9837Until legal requirements are increased, the motivation to do better is hard to find. No one ever asks what's the biggest/best event they can host if they do everything by best practices, it's almost always hinky and shady and they figure put how to spend the least but make optics look appealing. And nonprofit events are not necessarily better, many use 3rd party companies or substitute knowledge with uninformed enthusiasm
You’re one of the few security guys I’ve seen who takes their job as seriously as they should.
I’ve had to be a bouncer for a bar I tended years ago… had a few close calls that made me take security and awareness in those situations VERY seriously.
I always see security out and about in my city with their eyes deep in their phones, or with their back to the entrance of the business, little stuff like that…
I am disabled, and in a wheelchair. I do appreciate that you always talk about and are concerned about how the different events you cover are for people who are disabled. I’d love to go to one of these, but is just way too crowded. You mentioned how hard it is being short, imagine being even lower. Not only does quality of air go down, but risk of getting hit (like you mentioned), and the major one for me is that when a crowd is tight I literally lose light, I get claustrophobic. I’ve also been injured by a person tripping over my leg. My leg broke. I now try to stay away from events that are too packed. It’s just too risky. Which again is why I enjoy watching you go to these places I’ll never be able to go.
Thank you Amanda. Be careful please.
oh god when you said your leg broke from someone tripping on it I winced
I don't know if this would be a good area for you, or if what I'm thinking is a small enough crowd (definitely smaller than AX), but in the DC area where I am, we have Otakon and I've managed to see one or two people in chairs there every time I go. They seem to have a much easier time and the center that it's held at has pretty accessible pathways for everyone (ramps, elevators next to escalators ect). So if that's something you'd like to try it might be fun for you (it is for me :) especially since it's leagues smaller than AX buy still big enough to be well known and have fun stuff to do.
And if that's too big Katsucon is in this area too, and even smaller than Otakon to my knowledge (I've only been once there though so my memory may be off since I just went to Otakon).
Hope this helps! :)
I’m a disabled person in a wheelchair who talked to Amanda, she heard me out and I greatly appreciate it.
Honestly AX was a fight for my, they way people treated me was a mix of: absolutely accommodating and so terrible that my blood boiled.
Luckily I’m a voice actor, so I know how to scream properly for long periods of time. But it’s ridiculous having to scream, “wheelchair coming through!” And still have people step in front and still get their ankles nicked.
I would go to AX again for the cosplay community and voice actors, but they have to promise they won’t over the convention and turn it into a safety hazard 😮💨
I am an ambulatory wheelchair user. I had to have a talk with my husband about when he pushes me close to people I'm basically eye to ass level and can't breathe. I've been elbowed in the head too. It sucks.
Shut up and get out of the way there wheelie.
With the terrible Halloween tragedy in South Korea, you would think the expo planners would be more mindful of overcrowding danger.
They care more about money and only when a tragedy happens at their event is when they'll pretend to care
@@jayphoenixcos3136 bingo. It’s all about the money, more tickets, the better. The customers can deal with the overcrowding, even if they oversold, not their problem! They made their money!
From the few staff and organizers I have meet over the years they have knowledge of safety things and have no desire to learn until an issue occurs.
All it takes is one false alarm for all hell to break loose.
The difference is they had narrow streets while this one was more open😅 plus it's not even that bad idk why people complain. Just go to anthrocon since it's almost the same day as AX
I'm glad that a content creator that isn't in the anime community is addressing the crowds at AX. Anime cons have been ignoring safety for years and since we're a fairly niche community, event planners feel emboldened to keep up the unsafe practices. Hopefully something changes in the future because people will eventually die because of this. It's honestly a miracle nothing has happened yet.
Imagine how scary it is for people with different needs.
If they care so little about people without different needs they definitely don't think about people with different needs like wheelchairs, other medical problems etc
@@FukaiKokoroFrom the horror stories I'm heard over the years and yeah it's even worse for those people
Have you ever had organizers make the only elevator in the building be barricaded by a stand? And just shrug at you in a wheelchair unable to attend half of the attractions? Also refuse you a ticket refund on top of that.
It was a local, not very big convention admittedly, but gosh that's my shittiest experience with anime conventions ever.
@@KomoraKriogenicznawe have a con where the EXIT/Emergency exit is barricaded by stands (only has 1 floor)
@@yozha92 ... that's illegal. or should be illegal. i'm pretty sure that is illegal where i live
I had severe heat exhaustion (very borderline heatstroke) and wasn't able to get out when I was stuck in the crowd. I could hardly stand, I was severely disoriented and confused, I puked, I was about to pass out. My friend left to get help and water and couldn't find me again (in hindsight this was a bad idea but I was not in the right state of mind and she was panicking). Thank god for this other couple saw me stumbling around and basically dragged me out of the crowd and found a place where I could sit down on the floor. If I had passed out in the crowd I could have definitely been tampled. They are seriously lucky no one died there.
I've been going to conventions for 12 years. I've probably been to close to 60 cons in total. This was definitely the most dangerous conditions I've ever seen.
@@RoseyVamp I'm so glad you also got out ok. Yeah they definetely should have set the limit way earlier. I've seen some people blaming the attendees for showing up when they "should have known it would be crowded" but at the end of the day the convention shouldn't be putting their attendees in danger when they could have easily not sold the four day tickets. There are plenty of conventions that can't meet their demand (like comic con) but don't sell a dangerous amount of tickets. It means some people won't be able to go but at least there won't be any deaths. The solution to this is more conventions on different weekends. Not selling out over capacity.
Have everyone you know carry a whistle. If someone starts going down blow it hard as you can duck everyones ear drums and tell them to make way to the door medical emergency. This from a security guard for over 13 years and previous convention experience. Yelling and pushing won't make them move but a whistle will make people pay attention
@@RoMayDrako that’s an excellent idea
Trying to find a water station was hard! I’m glad someone helped you. I was definitely dehydrated on day 1 bc I couldn’t find a water station. Music festivals put up tall signage for water and I don’t understand why AX couldn’t do the same.
@@_xiosa a lot of popular conventions have water stations on every major periphery but that wasn’t the case at all here. And people have had heat problems at this con for the entire time at has been run (no wonder it’s LA in summer) so it’s crazy that cons I have been to up north and during winter have more water stations than this
Oh Amanda how badly I wish I would have told you about a festival we just had in my hometown! A company threw “the largest Rockabilly festival in Alabama” it was supposed to be 3 days and it was shut down the morning of day 2! Bands came from all over the world to perform and weren’t paid! They made a fake charity that they claimed the festival was supporting! They lied about paying bands, deleted posts of people talking about what happened, and have now deleted all their websites!
**editing to add that it was all held outside during a record heatwave with no ac or water provided for the bands by the event organizers.. (a vendor kindly provided them water)! Event was called Rockabilly Bamalama!
Sounds about right for a rockabilly festival in Alabama 😭😭
@@sari9645 Right😂! Funny thing is rockabilly isn’t a thing in our area (beach/farm towns) so it was an oddly placed festival to begin with!
somebody came up with that name and a dream and just ran with it 🤣🤣🤣
Amanda, as a wheelchair user, I want to say thank you for your tone policing.
If my first experience with the accessibility at an event is someone talking down to me (figuratively), it's so disheartening. I've had event staff be so rude I've considered just leaving before even getting in.
Hi swell I was there too and the sentiment of “it was fun but oh my fucking god” is so so accurate
While i'm sad that Australian con's are way smaller, i am so happy that there is way less of the overcrowding problems
Tell that to Crunchyroll Expo lmfao
@@clairejacobs205 That was a mess
What are you on about? Crunchyroll expo in the city was absolute dog shit, with a whole bunch of people who lined up couldn't get in or waiting 5 up hours to get in. How is that not "overcrowding"
Big con over small con any day for me xD they offer way more, especially in dealers rooms WOO
They have accessibility issues though. I went to supanova in my wheelchair one year and to get into the entry area a bunch of cosplayers had to lift me and my chair up stairs.
First, that Dad is a HERO. No one recorded, why would someone snitch on that hero?
Also, you were a Cosplay Handler for the weekend. Your enthusiasm is fantastic 😤💕
I stopped going after 2018. It felt so unsafe. We were constantly harassed and touched, a couple of my friends got heat stroke due to the insanely long lines and overcrowded halls, and we'd have to miss a panel or a meet and greet just to wait in line for another one. The last two years I almost exclusively sat in the far right hand corner of the pit every day. 2015 and 2016 were awesome. I miss those times.
"i make good background noise for artists while they do their thing" I FEEL SO CALLED OUT WITH MY SKETCHBOOK IN MY LAP AND PENCIL IN HAND
A lot of artists I follow on Twitter had so many stories of theft. There was even talk about bringing portable O2 cans since the air is so thin. It sucks that some of these issues aren't taken seriously because they're just the artist alley
What's infuriating is that AX has had logistical issues for TWENTY YEARS. Its been a mess since like 2003.
I had thought about going, but I am glad I passed. This kind of crush triggers my claustrophobia.
I attended sometime in the early 00s. I think it was '04 or '05. My main memory of the event is how crowded and uncomfortable it was. I remember struggling to breathe and nearly fainting. It sounds like the event hasn't improved much in all this time.
@chelseas6474 This convention should've been GONE years ago. This is crazy that Anime Expo is still being held.
@@COSun25 I think it just needs new management to run a more enjoyable con and not *just* the most profitable.
Truth. 2003 was the last year my friends and I went. We had experienced back to back years of scaling problems and it seems like they never got institutional memory and proper training of staff down. There's so many good anime and general pop culture cons across the US, we just never found the need to go back.
I had no idea Anime Expo has been around since 2003 lol. It’s as old as me 😂
(I’m not 20 yet as I’m commenting this but I will be in August)
Unfortunately the 'creepy dude taking sneaky pics' is waaaaaay more common than people think at cons
No joke about that & people grabbing you where they're not a post too.
So funny this came across my feed ahaha
I was a cosplay senpai this year and was neighbors with Aicosu, the fight happened in front of my booth and it was indeed real! Everything you described happened with what led up to it, our head of Guest relations was the one who jumped in to stop the fight. It wasn't a full on fist fight, more so heavily verbal. It happened rather suddenly ahaha.
Also as an artist as well on my tablet watching this, your comment made me laugh.
It's quite sad that safety is so minimal at massive events like this. Just seeing some of that crowding gives me intense anxiety. All organizers tend to see are dollar signs. Probably because venues and management don't seem to get called out and fined harshly in the event of a deadly emergency. They still seem to think they can blame the situation itself, or the crowd itself, for any issue that comes up.
Exactly, the government needs to step up or whatever the entity
They main issue is that the number of maximum allowed in the building is too many I would guess. The government needs to lower the maximum number allowed.
Btw, "cosplay assistant" in the way you described is totally a real thing. Usually they're called "handlers" :)
This is what we call ours!
There was one time I saw a person in a costumed as a cosplay helper. They had a big backpack and a vest covered in rolls of duct tape, hot glue, saftey pins, paint bottles, etc.
Furries who have fursuits also use handlers at conventions! TIL it's also a cosplay thing as well :)
my friends usually call me the bag b*tch - I bring a backpack full of snacks, water and carry the phones and wallets haha.
@@sabiyadusk7357 it's especially helpful if you're in a fursuit because they can seriously limit your field of vision and make it harder to hear what's going on around you.
LA local here and I worked at anime expo in 14 & 15 (& LA sucks), but the reason for the scanner is that people sneaking in was a major problem where workers, sellers, and talent would sneak in friends. Apart from that, a lot of the expo security is just apathetic about it since they have 1 security guard for every 200-300 people and they're not paid enough to deal with that. Also in 2015, a security guard was fired for letting people in after hours, from what I heard at the time he was paid 5 figures so the stealing has been going around for a long time since some just want the merch and others are resellers that just make a killing on selling it online.
You’re so right abt how LA sucks. Ppl also need to leave LA 😀
"Nobody is MAKING me go to a kawaii concert, a navy rave, and anime expo"
Shhh you love it.
My daughter and I were in Artist Alley at AX last year and this year. Last year we both ended up with what I can only describe as CO2 “poisoning”. It took roughly 2 weeks for me to not be dizzy and exhausted. This year I’m fine. So I know that coughing feeling you talk about.
I've been to comiket in Tokyo before, which is way more huge than anime expo, and they seem to handle it extremely well. Everyone is quiet, lines are handled in a different area then "brought in" in groups to the booths they want. All cosplay is only allowed in a specific area so that all photo ops and stuff happen away from the crowds of people trying to walk.
Blows my mind how in the west we can't handle large groups of people efficiently and safely.
Nobody wants to pay the shepard.
Low trust society
Thanks for shouting out the attendance issues. They need to significantly cut back on ticket sales next year. The fact they haven't had any serious injuries/stampede issues is a miracle.
I went last year and this year, and definitely appreciated the wider lanes in artists alley. It helped... slightly.
Probably my last AX though, unless they bring back premium badges and cut ticket sales, it's just not worth the crowds anymore.
Seeing from a previous comment that this mess has been happening since 2003, the con needs DRASTIC change.
Same. I’m not going back until they handle the crowd issue. All it takes is one accident for people to panic even if it’s just someone pulling the fire alarm. There’s many cons to attend in the US that can provide a better experience.
Thank you for pointing out the accessibility issues. Mobility device users love cosplay too and should be able to attend safely. I’m also going to say it’s not tone policing to ask people not to be rude when someone is asking about access. It’s demeaning and dehumanizing for someone to talk to a disabled person like they don’t deserve to be around and it’s just…bigoted to act like that. I would argue saying “treat disabled people like humans” is more common sense.
Yeah it's messed up. People with different needs deserve to go and do anything they want without having huge issues.
Also people with invisible disabilites. Alot of people treat them like they are faking their issues to get special treatment.
We need to do better at events. To ensure everyone can access whatever event and actually feel safe and comfortable.
@ditzyblonde53 I would have considered your statement to be a "calling out" of the guttersnipes ("trolls", "neckbeards", "ISIS sympathizers") who whine, "tone police!", "virtue signaling!", or "judgmental!", when such basics become an issue.
@@floydjohnson7888What?
@@thenotsoamazinggracetnsag3463 By "basics", I meant, as @ditzyblonde53 put it, "treating disabled people like humans" . Overall, my reply amounted to, "I see what you mean" regarding the online troublemakers who use such cop-outs when people call out "knowingly bad behavior". It was probably my use of an arcane term for "the ill-mannered", despite the context clues, that caused the confusion.
As a cosplayer who kinda gave up on going to AX after 2016 and refuses to go until they get their shit together, I really like hearing such a thorough breakdown of what the experience was like this year. Seems just as mismanaged as ever,. But I really do hope it'll improve bc it holds a special place in my heart as the first con I ever went to (and Darling and Sylar were always such huge inspirations to me too, I'm glad they were panelists again this year!) .
Btw, speaking of big LA events.... any chance you'll be covering any of the nights of Eras Tour?
Is this a community wide thing with this con? I'm looking at the crowd shots and there is very little cosplay. 32:53 like in this crowd shot there's gotta be 100 people and I can see one girl down there in pink. I don't see any wigs. Nothing. A big part of why go to cons is to see cosplayers but the number of them seem too thin here.
@@freazeezythere were actually a lot of cosplayers i saw on day 2, i cosplayed too! probably just an off chance shot that got no cosplays
I’m an artist and I’ve been in AX’s AA for two years now. Last year my mom and I, and at least one of my friends, actually got CO2 poisoning. We were affected by it for MONTHS after the con. I’m glad no one died because it was honestly really scary wondering why it was so hard to breathe. This year was better but still way too bad, they’re lucky no one suffered anything serious. That being said, the crowd was expected but also so shocking, especially after the Itaewon tragedy … so many people could have been killed. But unfortunately the more tickets that are sold the more money is made, so I can’t see them capping tickets anytime soon unless something bad actually happens.
I am all for creeps being punched in the face too, so I hope that father (a hero!) didn’t get into trouble and that the creep was arrested. Unfortunately cons are full of gross weirdos and kids aren’t safe at them … it’s sad.
Security was definitely bad. This is only a story I herd, so I didn’t experience it first hand nor was there video evidence, but allegedly there was a staff in the AA that went behind a booth, forcibly dug through the artist’s belongings, took a bag of unopened food, opened it, ate some, and threw the rest in the garbage. I guess there were a lot of issues with the staff that I luckily didn’t experience, but I saw SO many artists getting written up for … seemingly nothing? They were more strict towards artists than they were literally anyone else.
I would never want to attend AX as an attendee. Not to be dramatic but I would fear for my life. Though, I had such an amazing time as an artist despite the crazy bs going on, and I didn’t get sick this year lol. I’m glad you still had fun despite everything
As for night time security I’ve been to ONE con that had good security, and I’ve been to a LOT of cons before. Momocon had security patrolling pre opening and post closing. I’m not sure if they were overnight, but I was actually questioned while walking around AA pre opening and watched to make sure I didn’t steal anything.
@@kawaiiaine4986 "scared for my life" not to seem rude, but why are so many artist over dramatic?
@@eegernades because...they could have died? co2 poisoning is a pretty good thing to be scared of.
@@eegernadesfor attention
CO2 goes to the bottom, just like water. You need a long pipe to bring air on top of you. CO2 problem would be easy to solve if they had a door open to the outside so CO2 leaks to the outside.
Re: photo creep
I used to go to conventions with my sister and her friends. One of her friends in particular is a creep magnet. She's petite and looks younger than she is now (in her 30s), when she was a teen creepy dudes were just constantly after her attention. Fully support the dad pounding the guy, I hope the authorities get ahold of that phone.
Can confirm that many of my pin maker/artist friends got their stuff stolen or damaged while AX was happening. I saw quite a bit of IG stories talking about this. Major theft also happened at SuperCon in Florida the same weekend. I'm a small-time pin maker, and I have always wanted to attend AX, but after seeing all these stories the last couple of years I'm good on not going 😆
Has anyone aggregated all the stolen item descriptions/pics into an "do not buy/please report if seen" type of browsable list-site?
@picahudsoniaunflocked5426 that I'm not sure of. I know some makers have identified some thieves within the community and have shared their pictures on social media so others can be on the lookout, but that's the extent of my knowledge.
As a tall person, i absolutely do still worry about getting slapped/hit/run into in crowds. People tend to be more aggressive, or maybe less courteous, to tall people bc there’s a perception that we can take it better than a small person. I stopped going to cons and stuff bc i would come out with bruised arms from people shoving past me. I bruise easily and my skin is very prone to pain so i got kinda sick of it!
It was an absolute pleasure to meet you, and it was so cool to see you out our panel!! We were starstruck by our favorite cosplay craft background noise 🩷🩷🩷!! And we get you on cosplay being a hard thing to also step into. Once you put your feet in, it's hard to do anything else.
For follow-ups: the creep was identified and apprehended by AX and local authorities! They were extremely responsive to the situation and had zero tolerance. Shout out to all the staff who immediately handled it!
OH WAS THIS THE GUY THAT WAS ARRESTED AT THE BUS STOP?!
I can confirm as an artist, your videos are perfect for background noise while I make art!
i second this as another artist
19:27 My cosplay was broken from how tightly packed everyone was. My friend injured their knee in the area between the entertainment hall and the escalator. There wasn’t any big crowd crush but they got close
i went to go see a panel here and we waited like an hour or two in line AFTER the panel me and a whole bunch of people were in line for even started, the people managing the line literally did a “cut off” and told all of us we were for SURE gonna get in to see it. once the panel started we realized the line WASNT moving, after we all realized the panel we were waiting for was OVER and the next one was literally going on while we were waiting, they come over and tell everyone “oh yeah we didnt even clear the panel room so we couldn’t let anyone in”. So basically hundreds of people were standing in line in that hot sun like idiots for nearly 2 hours for nothing
The not clearing the panels made me not see ANY of the ones I tried to get in for. I would rather a ticket system set in place to try to get into a panel because, I had 5 set I was trying to see ( 4 day pass) and got into NONE of them.
@@xtuffcookiex the fact panels weren’t ticketed with the sheer number of people who attended is baffling, if they knew for sure not everyone could even get in to see them, the least they could have done is ticket them so people wouldn’t end up just being disappointed thinking they had any opportunity to see them in the first place
As a multi-year veteran of SDCC, getting into a panel you really want to see can sometimes be tough, especially if you aren't prepared to get to the room well before that panel. I've sometimes sat through multiple other panels just to make sure I was in the room for the one I was waiting for. Mainly because most conventions won't clear the room as it's time consuming and causes complaints from those that really wanted to see the next panel as well as the one that just finished. And sometimes it leads to sitting through some panels you'll find vastly more interesting than you realized. I was at the original, pre-broadcast, Bob's Burgers panel because I was waiting for the panel immediately after it. Needless to say, I was watching the show when it premiered a few months later.
As for ticketed panels, they do happen at smaller conventions, but you almost always have to buy the ticket ($$$) because they need to offset the cost of getting a higher profile guest to show up. It's usually restricted to just one or two panel rooms where it's well advertised that you need a ticket and the room is cleared between panels.
@@JMcMillen i totally get that, i just think it was rather terrible on whoever was managing the line for cutting it off and promising everyone who spent almost two hours lines up outside in that heat that they would be able to get in, especially if they knew the panel wouldn’t clear for anyone to even make an effort to get in. and like i mentioned before, they didnt say anything until after the panel ended and just told us “oh the next panel is gonna start soon so you guys can probably get into that one” it would be one thing if we WERE waiting for the next one but no they told us the panel we were there for was the one we would definitely get into and they cut off a bunch of people after us specifically because “any more would not fit”
It looks like they were genuinely over capacity in some of those rooms/halls. That's a huge safety hazard if anything went wrong like a fire or shooting, etc. They may need to start metering the doors in the future.
My issues with AX:
1) too many people
2) terrible accessibility
3) nowhere to sit: they told us where we couldnt sit, but not where we could, except the 21 lounge
4) terrible signage
5) no one knew how to help unless you somehow found an info booth
6) poor security: on my way to a 7 11 by the center, i saw an expo security officer chase a man running away. Thats not his job at that point and the security person could have hurt someone as he ran. At least the guy he was chasing was considerate in his escape path. Thats all im saying.
7) not enough cash for street churros
i've been to over 100 cons across the usa over the last 15 years, and anime expo iss THE most packed, and feels the most dangerous of any convention in the country from the size alone.
one year there was an earthquake and no one hid or anything because it was so packed, no one had time to react.
a fun experience, but i would not recommend it for children, i wouldn't go alone, and i wouldn't go all weekend.
and if you're curious, dragoncon is the BEST anime convention in the country, hands down
After my own ~13 years of going to conventions (with a total probably closer to 50) I think for the average large convention center 25,000-40,000 is a good sweet spot. 15,000-25,000 for a midsize convention center. Though I've been to hotel cons of 2500 people that felt crowded, so obviously it depends on the con
@@gregorysteffensen3279 i agree with you 100%. some larger east coast cons that are between 50k-80k are pretty solid, but there will always be those long lines and difficulty walking the dealer room. so 25k-40k is usually a great time ✨
not the earthquake in malibu early morning sunday 🙃
This makes me take comfort in the fact that the fire marshal loves to just roam my local convention, and convention staff takes crowding VERY seriously. AX is on my bucket list, but not any time soon. Thanks swell for braving it!
15:33 That was us. They broke our door and stole the last display for our new collab release. It had been sold out on the first day and we had one that we were showing off to customers so they could purchase online. Interestingly enough they didn't touch any of the other displays or locked product. It had to have been another exhibitor, con staff or a convention worker, as the break-in happened overnight. They basically jammed the deadbolt on our door until it broke open.
I'm surprised we didn't lose more. Last year we had over $1000 in product stolen. This year it seemed to only be one jacket once we built our backroom.
I went to AX in 2018 and 2019. 2018 felt large but "normal" for the most part. 2019 was atrocious on Day One. I was in a line down the street that stretched around a corner and underneath a freeway overpass for three hours. The other days were "ok" but I was in line for 45 minutes each day. Then Covid hit and I waited. I kept watching stuff come back and told myself I probably wouldn't go back then AX 22 happened and I was so glad. Stories from people seem so much worse than pre-Covid and they seem insanely packed vs what was "just" overcrowded and full before.
"My studio appartment is mad at me" is a mood I can 100% understand 😂😂
Bigger cons are really just falling apart because they can't handle the sheer amount of people. They need to start hiring more staff who care and managing how many tickets they sell. I mean ticket prices might bar some, but there's always more who are willing to pay for the experience so they might as well just limit it. I went to my first and second "big cons" in NYC about three years ago now (NYCC and ANYC) and they were already incredibly anxiety-inducing. At Comic Con I literally had to physically hold onto my best friend the entire time because there were so many people I was basically surrounded at all times and constantly being hip/shoulder checked by bigger guys (And I'm 5'7" so I'm not tiny! In fact my friend is only 5", I'm just very light and non-confrontational). ANYC was only marginally better because I camped out in Artist Alley. But post-pandemic I think people have so much FOMO that EVERYONE is going and these places are just not set up for it and the staff either is not trained well enough to be confident spotting trouble, stepping in, and taking charge or they just aren't hiring enough people to manage lines and capacity. I'm sticking to smaller, more local cons for a while until things hopefully settle down.
I’m a volunteer for Safety at DragonCon and I think you’d have a great time there! It’s big (spread across five hotels and a giant building called Americas Mart) and there are a lot of people that attend but it gets so spread out that the crowds aren’t awful. I work nights mainly so I experience all of the parties/raves and it’s so much fun.
i went to DragonCon last year and i loved it! I thought with how big it was it would be too overwhelming for me, but I found it to be really easy to navigate, even in the more crowded spaces like the Marriot. The only thing that was too much for me was the Dealer's Hall, but that's like that even at mid size cons I go to.
At this point I'm convinced it needs to be a 9 day every or spread out over two weekends.
They just need more days with a lower cap on the tickets for each day
Sadly spreading it out might not really work because of panels and peoples interests. I for example have went to AX for about 8 years now, and this year was stacked with panels that each day I never made it to exibit hall or artists alley. Day 1 was love live, Day 2 was yakuza, day 3 was atlus /P5T, day 4 was basically the free day. Maybe it would work is certain days are dedicated to shopping and others for panels and exhibits? I can already see people with a lot of money just eating up all the tickets because they can.
A lower cap is a must however. While I was never really in any crowds for my 4 days, I met people who said they were stuck in areas for 15 plus minutes because of the crowds. What I personally think needs to happen is some sort og ticketing system for events and panels, kinda like disney where you get a "come back at this time" deal so people are not waiting in likes for over 2 hours for a panel they might not get into. A lot of the congestion was because of people rushing to get to places to line up. I also think the shopping portions of AX need to run longer. They close at 6pm so everyone is forced into one half of the convention center when most events for general public end at 7 or 8 pm. Overall a rethinking of the system needs to happen to help attendees get to their destinations, or not have to rush if they plan accordingly. A lower cap needs to happen or they need to rent out more space in neighboring hotels to hold panels. If they do add more days, make week 2 as close of a replicla of week 1 as possible, so people wont feel the need to go both weeks.
I just went to my local farmers market yesterday, during the middle of the day on a workday when it was supposed to rain and it was still like a sardine can. This is probably the closest I’ll come to a con like setting with the different booths and events going on in different areas and I was instantly reminded why I don’t go to popular events, I just can’t, it’s no longer enjoyable with that many people there. Partly anxiety, partly germaphobe, partly that I just find too many personalities crammed in a space really brings out the worst in people.
As someone who lives in Japan but used to live in America and go to anime conventions it’s nice to watch videos like this to get a glimpse of how the anime scene is back in the states! Despite living in Tokyo, Japan I almost wanna go to America just to experience that anime convention feel since events like Comiket here in Japan have a bit of a different vibe.
What's the vibe like over there?
@@smome777 Yes please describe for us! You made me so curious!
I went to a smaller con called animethon this weekend. It was sold out and full, the only chaotic place was the artists' alley but everything else was really organized and fun
As an avid con-goer (albeit on the east coast), it makes me really excited to see you talking about AX. I have a lot of cosplay friends in the west coast, and I'm involved in the cosplay community so I've seen a LOT about this con already. I've been horrified by how bad the crowd sizes are, and I hope AX and other cons will do better in the future.
I think I enjoy your event review videos for events I never would have gone to because it gives me the opportunity to get my dose of going in public without actually having to. Be in public
I went to AX in 2019 during the earthquakes and I was paranoid over a crowd crush happening then. Its super scary and I think people underestimate the possibility of it occurring. My gut dropped seeing the pictures of the traffic on Saturday.I think its really valuable to have many voices raising their concerns over the safety and disorganization of this event. They can and should do better. I loved going to AX in 2019 but I doubt I'll go again until I feel like safety is taken more seriously by this convention.
as someone that lives in new england, i've always envied anyone that got to go to anime expo because all my favorite artists always have booths there. however, after watching this video, that envy has gone. i honestly don't think i'd be able to enjoy this convention with how packed it is. i think i'd be stressed out and overwhelmed the entire time. it genuinely seems awful
The pictures of the crowds give me such anxiety that there'll be a time that crowd crushing happens if they don't decide to fix their overcrowding and overselling of tickets
Anime AX was my “local con” when I was 12 back in ‘08. I remember having a great time. The lines weren’t too long either. Even when I went back in 2019, it wasn’t too bad. It’s sad to see it so overcrowded. They really need to limit tickets sales like Dreamcon & Anime NYC.
im in a discord group for a jewelery business i like who had a stand at the con, and someone kindly did pick ups for people who couldn’t go, but the talk around cons is always so weird, lots of “make sure to rest lots afterwards” and “stay safe” and “make sure to stay hydrated” which is all normal but the *danger* of cons is always felt
EDIT: 15:23 NAUR not Mikan she’s struggled through so much with her business, I have a set from her and hope to get more in the future
lmao yeah the infamous "con-flu"
Right I felt so bad for her. Her pieces are not cheap :/
I’m 4’11 and I haven’t been to AX or any big cons, but I do hate crowds. It’s one of the main things that put me off going to any big events or even concerts. I have a hard time letting people touch me without letting me know first, especially strangers. I’m pretty paranoid and have a thing with contamination (not that people are just like gross, but I don’t like touching things such as railings). Also I have sensitivities related to lighting, texture, and noise especially. I have a small social battery, too.
I was excited to see Amanda covering AX as I have been a long term AX goer I have a lot of friends who do the artist alley AX is essentially my start of my convention circle
Finally someone talking about the horrible crowd control at this event
Yes I was there 2022 I was let in on Friday right before the fire marshal stopped entry no I was not in the stampede thankfully I half smartly went to the artist alley first so it was above my head
The artist alley 2022 was awful there was no air and the booths were so close together they also had all the artists throw away their food and drinks before they would be allowed into the building which was so messed up
Being in the 2023 artist alley it was better but not great my only thought would be to limit the amount of people who can enter each row of the artist alley with like bouncers or something but for every entry point in the row
Also thank you for talking about the theft going on at this convention like its fucked up as most of these artists don't have enough to replace that merch lost
bigger companies can handle it but there is a lot of smaller indie companies that go to AX too
idk why AX fails in trying to protect its merchants and general public
LOL you going to the butler cafe and for those who don't know for the butlers and maids to take part in the AX cafes must train for a whole year
as someone who thought about doing it but doesn't live in LA you have to go to their studio in LA and its three days a week for a whole year
also good on the dad for punching that creep I hope he doesn't get charged for anything
Thank you so much for talking about the inaccessibility of it all! Cons terrify me because of this and being cramped with my wheelchair just is like a genuine nightmare. I have a friend with a service dog has also told me they do not provide the proper areas for the service dog! I dont know for other disabilities, but this is unsafe for everyone and not even considering their disabled attendees.
Edit: as a kpop fan since 2008, theres these challenges at fan meetups to play random kpop songs and everyone who knows it jumps in a nd dances, that sounds exactly like that. I fully believe not a plant xD
Yeah I wouldn't go. My safety will always come first
Went to AX in 2009. It was easily triple the size of the biggest UK cons at the time. And even now, nothing we have even comes close in size and scale. It was hard enough to move around it then... Before I became a wheelchair user... It looks like hell now.
One of the things I'll say about overcrowding and cons not caring for stallholders or attendees safety is... Eventually, people do shift away from those events. In the UK, Reedpop bought over the MCM events just pre-panini. Proceeded to oversell every event they ran. And refused to enforce their (weak) accessibility policies.
They were telt from 2018-ish that they needed to make changes asap, or folk would stop attending en-masse within 5-6 years. And take their money elsewhere. They ignored it... Reached peak over capacity and shenanigans last May Expo. And were given 1 final chance by the community to fix it for Oct. They did not. According to the dealers/artist's I've talked to... This May was a total ghost town.
They've panic merged with another event (who also have seen a drop in attendance) for this Oct. We'll see how it goes... But I directly warned them (and other events), several times, what their trajectory would be without updating and enforcing their accessibility. Guess who was right on the timeframe and outcome? This guy.
And we'll see more cons and expos go the same way in the near future. Because the community deserves better. More folk are realising that. And events will have to either evolve or get left behind.
I've also just remembered the entitled creep interaction I had at AX. For context, I'm short, allergic to contact lenses (which I was wearing since I didn't know that yet)... And deaf/hard of hearing (which I also didn't know at the time, but explains a lot). I was dressed as Peter Pan. Had a plastic wig curled around my ears and plastic elf ear tips glued onto them. Pretty much no peripheral vision from wig and contacts. My hearing and vision were impaired by my own poor life choices. For cosplay.
I turned a corner to find a giant, 6ft-ish man dressed in a stinky fur rug swearing, threatening and wildly gesturing at me for no apparent reason... While I was in freeze mode and still trying to understand what was happening... He stormed off in a rage. Thankfully it didn't escalate further. But I honestly thought he was going to hit me...
Turns out my friend, who was just ahead of me, had seen and heard him excitedly run up at me from the side. Ask for a hug without even a hello. And thought I was "being rude" and ignoring him. I mean, my answer would have been no because he reeked. And my joints dislocate super easily if other people handle me without care. So I only let people I don't know hug me if we've actually talked for a bit first...
But he didn't even give me a chance to say no before jumping to violence. He did not actually get my attention. I neither saw, nor heard him. But he went full unsolicited slide into your dm's temper tantrum at me as a first response to (perceived) rejection.
Hey swell, love the video as always. I actually have done security for multiple places, including conventions and high rise building and still do to this day. Ive heard plenty of angry stories surrounding event security, some fair and some absurd. If you wanted to do a phone or zoom interview, I'd be glad to go over some of the stuff you bring up in your videos. Im not a content creator so this isn't some attempt to boost myself. I just like the job and talking to people about it (within reason of course lol)
The first time I went to AX was in Anaheim in 2006. It was free. Hardly any people, so not much security needed. AX has gotten way out of hand in recent years with the amount of people attending and it's extremely apparent of the greed from the organizers that they want to squeeze as many people as they can in 4 days.
Hi there! I am one of the volunteer leads for Anime Expo Butler Café 2023 and I truly appreciate you coming to our show! Our butlers really strive to keep our guests entertained! As for the dancer in the audience, I can not confirm nor deny that he was a plant. However, I will admit, that dude ATE THE STAGE. IF you are interested in coming to a show again next year, we'd love to have you! Thank you again and we look forward to your next visit!
You hit it right on the nail about saying "excuse me" and "pardon me" and how these weebs dont seem to understand how to say those words.
As an artist, currently preparing for an Artist Alley at one of the biggest nerdy conventions in my part of the world, having this video on as entertaining background noise, I absolutely CACKLED at the part about being recognised in AAs.
When I went back in like 2017, it was busy, but there were plenty of places to sit and hangout so it's really sad to see videos of how horribly crowded it has been getting 😭
When I first started going to cons like 15 years ago, I felt like AX was the weeb promised land. The older I get the more I'm like...nah. I've heard a lot of horror stories about people passing out in Kentia Hall and so this time I didn't realize it was underground. Con organizers across the board care way too much about profit and not enough about attendee safety
Yup. I waited in line an hour and a half the first day and as soon as I saw the human gridlock I walked right back out.
Total safety hazard 😱
I didn't think I had much of an issue with crowds but when so many people barged past me while walking in the expo hall I felt like screaming.
stopped painting my picture to let you know you are correct. you talk nicely and i dont have to look at the screen constantly to get jokes etc. also i can easily hear when u show footage so i can look without having to rewind
I am adamant that AX is the most badly organized con in SoCal. It's been a mess since the mid 2000s, and it's only gotten worse as anime has gotten more popular in the mainstream.
This!
I've been told the person who walks around with cosplayers and holds their bags, phones, sometimes helps them get water and food, ect are called Cosplay Handlers. Assistant works well too. I just know that when you do have a Handler/assistant its important that you repay them somehow. Buying/making them lunch or dinner is common while some pay for the person's con ticket. Basically just making sure they know how much you appreciate all of their help.
What about paying with actual money??
@@chiedzawith2ds Also an option just not done as often since usually handlers are friends and they dont want money. They are also hanging out and spending with with their friend who is the cosplayer and just enjoying themselves. Thats with the folks I personally talked with and my own experience.
I was at the first Anime Expo in 92 and it was tiny. I was able to sit with like 10 people at the dinner table for Haruhiko Mikimoto (one of the 3 or 4 guests of honor,) and the premieres, Q&As, and cosplay competition all fit in one small ballroom. Attendance was a few hundred, max. It was an introvert fanboy's dream come true, and was one of the experiences that kicked me into the film industry a few years later. But the current state of it looks like a nightmare.
The thing is I'm an artist drawing right at this moment listening to you as background noise. So yeah you're pretty big in the art community! 😘😘
dude when you said “I’m a good background content creator” I literally froze as I’m sewing and I had a real meta moment like yeah you’re always on while multitasking and that’s why ur my fave ❤❤
So this last time I've been to AX was 2012, which yes, was the same year as the largest Homestuck cosplay gathering outside on the steps. Yes, I was there as one of the cosplayers. I brought my homemade plush with me because I cosplayed as one of the aliens. But yeah, I can definitely recall both 2012 and 2011 having massive crowds. And that's the thing, too- I've also been to Wondercon three times, including this year, and GalaxyCon once and those conventions were able to have crowd control for the attendees and, as far as I am aware, there weren't any incidents regarding lack of management. (For reference, the only time where there was congestion for WonderCon was for food trucks, and that was outside of the entrance for the con itself. Otherwise, the crowd level was manageable inside of the convention center.)
Also, that story about that creep getting his tuchus handed to him by a dad? I'm on the dad's side here as well, coming from someone whose dad would have done the same!
As someone who lurks in a discord full of Anime Nerds, there are definitely tons of creeps/weirdos in the crowd. It's crazy how they openly talk about violating other people at cons and they're fine with it.
Thank you so much for covering Anime Expo, back in 2012-2013 it was NOT as packed. I was so disappointed in recent years on how the tickets arw usually oversold over capacity. I reccomend Anime Los Angeles in January to review. Comparing these two conventions is amazingly different. My friends and I have been attending anime conventions in LA for YEARS and we are shook that you actually went and reviewed this event. Another amazing in detailed video on event reviews! Thank you so much Swell! 💓
Before i even watched the video, i could probably tell what the problem is.
Most cons are volunteer based employees cause they dont really need to pay them or at all.
So imagine in some cons, their security are volunteering.... And most times they are kids.
Lets not even even begin the long running creeps who hold some of the highest positions in some of these cons.
This is a huge problem even for smaller cons. This weekend will be the Montreal Comic-con and I am soooo scared of huge crows like at Anime Expo because they advertise the event everywhereee and people travel from around the world to come but the venue is not meant to hold that many people... Last year the queue to buy tickets was so long and it was so crowded they had to announce mid day that they could not sell tickets anymore due to safety concerns. But it was too late, there were so many people we could barely walk in the halls :\
There is a clearly a huge demand for conventions but not enough events to spread out the crowd
Yes. This is why I stopped going to cons. I'm not seriously claustrophobic, but I just couldn't handle the crowds.
Cons need to SIGNIFICANTLY raise prices - not to gatekeep, but to put the money into running more events. For example I go to supply chain management conferences for work and a 3 day pass is almost $4000, just to get in (no hotel).
and last year was when all of canada had the payment issue with cards oops. it's not as bad in mtl as other major cities like Los angeles I feel. I get tickets early online cause I got anxiety so idk
Overselling tickets is a long standing issue that convention organizers should prepare for well in advance. I was at SDCC years ago, back when you could buy tickets at the convention for that day, when the fire martial shut down ticket sales because the place was too crowded. This caused them to start capping the number of tickets available for a given day and when it sold out, that was it. They eventually had to stop letting people buy tickets to the next years con at the convention when all of next years preview night sold out by noon on Sunday, which caused a rush of people to buy tickets for the next year once word got out. This is why SDCC tickets sell out so fast when they do become available to buy. Because if you don't get them then, you're not going.
@@JMcMillen maybe they should do like Coachella and do 2 weekends so more people can go without endangering everyone. especially big ones like San Diego.
omg the 'I'm short, I was just not getting enough oxygen' is what I feared for myself. its why I'm not sure at all whether I want to go to AX ever again unless they change some things dramatically.
Man, sounds like a good time for the fire marshal to make a surprise visit 👀👀
As an artist I can confirm I love listening to your videos while working.
I went to fan expo in Vancouver early this year, I didn’t have that much fun at all. It was so packed, stuffy, warm and gross because everyone was 2 inches away from you the whole time. Low and behold, I got sick in 1 day. My immune system has been permanently fucked, and my friends are really excited to go and take me along but after this I way need to sit out. I can’t walk around that much anymore and I can’t risk getting that sick again. I was worse than covid, absolutely. All I did was cry from soreness. I hate what conversations have become 😭😭😭 lol
I worked at a table during fanexpo vancouver and yeah certain areas were so crowded. there were pockets of just like nobody in some areas thankfully for breaks due to how they have the building room zoned off and security was running loitering like the navy and making sure things were moved thankfully. its gotten better over the years having got to fanexpo as a local but fr it needs to change. i recently went to another event in vancouver and it was so many people in such a small building that it was horrendous so ig im just glad for small blessings
Fan Expo Calgary was the same. The company that runs these fanexpo cons is TERRIBLE and only cares about money, not people.
Hey swell, I know you probably won’t see this but I just wanted to say thank you 1 million times for helping me get sober and inspire my channel. My name is Ky and I’m a recovering addict, I’m over 650 days sober and while I was in the hospital getting better, your content always lifted me up after a really hard day of therapy and medical procedures.
When I was getting better, I really needed a plan for the future and I had wanted to start a TH-cam channel for years, but never got the confidence to be on camera.
But TH-camrs like yourself really gave me the push that I needed so I just wanna say thank you. I really like to make vlogs and inspire other people that might be dealing with addiction to let them know that there is a wonderful life after you get sober.
I love your content and I really hope you keep it up because seeing your stuff really makes me happy.
Thanks again swell!
❤ congrats ❤️
As a lifelong short person, I somehow never got elbowed in the face until college. The dude opened a door, donked me right in the head, and didn't even notice but I was dazed for the next hour and I now live my life in fear
You're right and you should say it. I went as a dealer one time and let me tell you it was terrible. There was little organization and no one told us that the Teamsters were gonna be the one's packing up our stuff. Which would've been fine if we weren't half way through, leaving them with nothing to do but awkwardly wait there. It's just a bad con. Most people stay out in the front entrance anyway because everything is so piecemeal.
I went to AX way back in 2014. It was a treat for me because I don’t make a lot of money and I live in Maryland. 2014 was crazy because there was a HUGE increase in registration from the following year ( 60k in 2013 to 80k in 2014). AX was pretty crazy that year because during day 0 badge pickups, there was a problem with the computers and the line was so long we were standing in line at the 10 freeway… we couldn’t even see the convention center or the Staples Center. I haven’t been to AX since, but I am hoping to go again maybe one year…I mostly go to my home con of Otakon in Washington D.C. which had an record attendance of about 45k in 2022. AX is usually scheduled around the 4th of July holiday so that one of the days is on the 4th ( I think the only exception is when the 4th falls on a Wednesday). In 2014 the 4th fell on a Friday so the event ran from Thursday the 3rd to Sunday the 6th ( which was really convenient for my work schedule) I am glad you had some fun during the con and didn’t catch the Con Flu while attending!!
Edit: AX is the biggest Anime Convention in America (and according to a quick google, it’s the biggest in the world by attendance) So it’s the Mecca for anime fans. I met people from all over the world at AX 2014… so it’s no surprise that it’s still a hot ticket in 2023. As for the attendance issues… don’t get your hopes up… it’s a for profit event and they stand to make money every year. My convention, Otakon, is non profit and is only able to exist on the back of the previous year’s ticket sales. ( it was nearly killed off by the panini when they had to skip 2020…they were only able to have 2021 after a kickstarter campaign)
Yooo that was the year I started working at the baggage check. I showed up and was taunting the people waiting in the line. Felt bad cause of my friends didn't finish until 2 in the morning.
AX happens around my birthday (July 3) and as much as I'd love to go I can't see myself attending with this many people. I'm 4'7" and disabled so it would be such an unsafe con for me until major changes are made to help cull the overcrowding.
As someone who will likely never go to a con for those exact safety concerns you mentioned I appreciate the coverage!
Your videos seriously are great background content, not only for making art but also when I'm working out! The info you put out there is always fascinating and your personality is so comforting!
Being uncomfortable is sorta part of con culture. It's like a meme in con going culture that every con is like it's own little war where you must strategize, it's like we're bonding through shared trauma of waiting 2 hours in line only for the celebrity you came to see to leave. I love conventions, I don't think I'll ever stop going, but I think it's important we pre-emptively learn from the music industry about crowd control. Every year, these events are getting bigger, the guests list and status is bigger, the number of non-ticket holders just hanging outside are also getting bigger, there's more vendors than ever, and companies are getting involved in official capacity. A lot of the con organizers don't do this full-time, sometimes they're just volunteers. So it's a recipe for an unsafe situation, I think it's only the magic of a bunch of geeks all agreeing to be good to each other (mostly) for the weekend that has been protecting us.
In summary to some degree, there's a difference between uncomfortable and unsafe
Not having Friday as day 1 for an anime con is a wild choice
I went to AX back when it was in Long beach, and the first year it went to LA. It was too overwhelming to me even back then. With Everything being super expensive these days I cant justify spending money for a con, even more so if its like this.
Sadly it feels like nothing will change unless something bad, like REALLY bad happens
Considering that youtuber Zac Alsop snuck both himself and his camera man in for free because there was literally no security (or even staff) on the loading bay and its unlocked door to the main con floor, yeah. Its unsafe.
I've been going to AX since 2006. It's the biggest convention in North America (and may be the biggest besides Comiket in Japan?) and it's always been crowded. However, it never fully sold out until last year. I think this has more to do with anime being more mainstream than them selling more tickets. I also go mainly to cosplay so I'm not fighting to get into the Exhibit Hall first thing day 1 or anything like that. Day 1 they had a major issue with crowd control and direction, the was a total crowding that kept people from moving at one point that I experienced, but they had fixed this area the next day so I do give them props for that since they did try to make things work better.
New viewer here, and also a vendor/exhibitor! AX charges a lot per booth, like $1600 last I checked for a standard booth (and some of the larger exhibitors have like 4-8 booths). We also pay the standard $160 for our own exhibitor badges. A lot of smaller cons market themselves on having cheaper booths or free vendor badges. Getting shit stolen from booths after hours is a big issue. We usually have to wrap our booth in tarps and store expensive product inside.
I felt they made a big mistake not cutting the tickets off and also not hiring enough staff (though they never do.) I ended up catching COVID at the con and it was a whole ass thing. And the security on hand is usually not trained to handle the crowds.
Honestly unless you want some of the special booth goodies (Kinokuniya's book signings for the first 50 guests) I'd show up late on Day 1 for any AX, by 1-2 PM the line is mostly gone. The vendors always bring deep stocks for merch because AX is such a big con, you won't miss anything showing up Day 2 - 3.
29:50 - Sadly weird creepy photos were very common at AX. There is an area outside called the "horseshoe" (leave West hall, turn left.) where people take tons of photos because it's not a ticketed / badged area. By the same coin a lot of weirdos that just show up without badges.
Great video though, agree with everything you said. I think I saw your cosplayer friends walking by. Hope you still had fun despite all the problems. AX is a big con, not a good con. 😂
I get overwhelmed at our Portland cons I don't think I could survive AX without collapsing of a panic attack and letting the crowds take me.
I was there. Title feels accurate. Wish i couldve run into u there but idk how i would find anyone in that crowd
Day 1 was hell. Around 12-1pm is especially when it got awful, as they literally couldn’t let us back in. We had to squeeze everywhere and walk in places I didn’t even know existed just to get to a cosplay meet-up area that got mislabeled, so we were gonna be wrong either way. I get why they blocked off the doors, but it really pissed me off this had to happen and I sat out in LA heat for something dumb lol.
Some lines this year though were managed much better, at least, and I had a fun time regardless. Glad to see this video from you, Swell, amazing content as always 💪