The rumors are true. This is my last Anime Los Angeles and for a very good reason. The obvious one is that even if I wanted to return, the 2014 dates fall in January after the holiday break. However, though the general report and breakdown of events have been positive and light hearted, those were events I choose to attend. How I felt about the con about itself and how the higher ups in the staff, in the words of Cee Lo Green, "I got some news for you."

First of all, I'm glad that the guest roster has grown and ALA managed to get Japanese guests, but I also felt that none of the guests were a huge draw for the target audience ALA manages to bring in. Time after time I see people posting, "I'm not into anime or games , I only went to ALA to cosplay and get drunk. No panels or events for me!" This is a sad reality, and I wish I did have time to even say "hi" to Richard Epcar. Not to mention, ALA has ignored the presence of press and it makes it hard to schedule and set up interviews. However, going back to guests, though ALA's efforts to get a bigger guest roster, it seems to lack quality. Take look at this post from ACML where Chaz writes, "Sometimes I like to apply the Subtraction Test: If they hadn't been around, how would things be different?" I felt there was too much and I would not mind a small, concise guest list if it meant for quality over quantity.

Speaking of guests, the whole squander involving Cosplay Deviants surprised me. The way the LA community reacted only solidifies that the LA fan community is not ready for this type of guest and late night programming. Slut shaming ran rampant on the ALA Facebook pages and even people thought it was hypocritical that Cosplay Deviants was running a Cosplay is Not Consent panel. I think kinky people know a thing or two about consent and I do feel they are the right people to run that type of panel. It's just a shame that the local fan community is is not as sex positive as it likes to believe.

Another issue I have with Anime Los Angeles is that it has an identity crisis. I really don't think ALA knows what it is. Here's a look at the mission statement:

"Mission: We host member-volunteer run events for the education and appreciation of anime, manga and related subjects."

ALA needs to define related subjects better. I do see anime and manga at this con, but certain events and panels made it questionable. Why did pony panels, homestuck panels, etc were there and what does it have to do with the mission? How does a rum party fit in and how is it related? People outside of ALA are confused as to why a Taco Party is at ALA. It would make more sense for Anime Sushi to have a kickstarter promotional party and get catering from Sushi Boy. What ALA needs to do is to clearly define their mission and stick with it.

I was also confused about certain panels that were let in. For example, our Convention War Stories was very popular last year. So much so that even AX staff members got a good laugh at them when we were roasting their event. It was really big last year, but we did not understand why it did not go through. However, we found a likemidned panel to it on the program. Would it be such a bother to be asked, "Hey...so and so is doing a simillar panel, would you be interested in teaming up?" It saddened me to tell a few people that Moon Prism Poptarts was not happening this year to people who approached and asked us about it during the con. While we were offered to do panels, 1) the timeslot did not work for us because of masquerade and 2) my original partner for Beyond Rule 63: Heroines Missing in Action backed out of ALA. When I asked ALA to switch the latter because of the situation, they still wanted me to do the panel. I cancelled it because I did not feel confident doing the panel by myself. However, this is not ALA's first time offing succesfful events and programming. My colleague used to run a very well run game room prior to ALA 2009, but he then found out he was fired from the position.

Speaking of sticking to things, I know ALA is supposed to have a theme every year. This year's theme was supposedly Victorian Gothic and Lolita. Most cons, even small cons like Another Anime Convention, let the theme blossom throughout the whole weekend. It does not overtake the con, but it keeps programming fresh. Anime Boston even has a theming department that works with programming and takes care of decorations. In my opinion, a theming department would be much more effective that a decorations committee. There's already a lot of creative people on the ALA staff team. Instead of photos of the same cosplayers, why not collect cosplay photos that tie in with the theme? Why not highlight guests and panels that have something to do with the theme. I did not buy Chaz's excuse on the cosplay.com forums when this was brought up. Many other successful anime conventions spill the theme through the weekend. ALA has been wanting to keep programming fresh and I'm offering a simple solution. ALA likes to say they listen, but I'm getting excuses.

Perhaps the biggest issue I had with this year's Anime Los Angeles was the drunken debauchery. Mind you, I think we all need a little bit of night life in our nerdy lives, but seriously, this has to have been one of the most out of hand crowd I've ever seen. Even staff members admit to the hotel reeking of pot smoke and drunkeness getting out of hand. One of my colleagues talked about people carrying toy buckets that had booze in them in the lobby. There is such thing as partying responsibly. I really think the LASFS should hold panels and workshops at anime cons on how to have a room party and how to party responsibly because this can be a huge liability for ALA. I just cannot believe people my age would assume that ALA exists for their debauchery that they probably never had in college. It saddens me that acting like an idiot - whether intoxicated or jumping in a hot tub with grey body paint - takes precedence over fan pride. This excuse to go to cons is unacceptable. What is even more upsetting is that when I suggested that ALA needs guidelines like Arisia's, he shot it down. Extra hotel security is not necessarily the answer. The older generation has an opportunity to teach the new generation how to throw a good party, yet also drink responsibly. When several staff members have been outspoken that this is a problem and Chaz pubically shoots down a possible solution that has worked, you know there's a problem.

This also taints Anime Los Angeles' image and press. While the LA Weekly blurb about the Cosplay does Not Equal Conset blurb went viral post-con, this byline, Errybody in the Con Getting Tipsy, is already enough to turn off parents from taking their kids to the con. ALA has a reputation for being safe and family friendly. "If I were a mum, I would've said "absolutely not" if they asked me to attend ALA. Showing up on Day One seeing a bunch of cosplayers hungover is not what I would consider a good thing," said a convention veteran when I asked her thoughts on it. While I support Cosplay Deviants running panels, at least those are 18+ and held during the after hours in restricted areas.

With that said, I really felt that I was not a part of the con vibe. I did enjoy doing my own thing, but I just got the sinking feeling that I'm too old to tell people that the pride flag is not a yaoi flag. I really want to enjoy going to anime conventions, but I'm starting to feel that save for a few friends, ALA is not for me anymore. The masquerade is always a pleasant experience, but overall, if I wanted to hang out with friends, we really don't need a con to do it. Anime Los Angeles seems like an overgrown cosplay gathering. The location is nice, but it's also unfair to the program participants when people don't engage in the con. Even when ALA was public about being strict on badges prior to con, people still did not buy a badge and it was still easy to enter in the pool area. ALA needs to ask themselves how they can engage cosplayers into doing more programming participation. Bring on Cosplay Death Match, I say!

Anime Los Angeles has other problems that puzzled people. Example, this con finally announced prices for one day badges just barely a month before the event. Additionally, day badges are only sold on site, therefore you cannot pre-register for day badges. Chaz's excuse was ALA was not very successful in the past selling day badges. However, most anime cons have pre-sale single day badges. At the very least, prices for the single day badges should have been listed on the site long before the 2013 event. I was confused as to why there were bathroom signs for sale instead of single day badges on the website.

Overall, if you are local to the LA area and you have an affinity to network with voice actors, this is a pretty decent con to pick industry brains. I only wish I had more face time with Richard Epcar and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn for an interview, but I know there will be other cons. If you enjoy cosplay, it's a decent place to get photos if you have a regular photographer. Yet, I feel that ALA could use more workshops and cosplay discussion panels since this is a majority of the demographic attending. (Perhaps maybe a costuming track?) If you want to party and hang out with your friends for the purpose of getting wasted, well, I see no reason why you cannot do it in your own private residence.

I want to believe that ALA can grow and mature. However, the past few years felt like it's stagnating. While there have been some good changes, ALA is entering their 10th event. This is not a plea for ALA to have the same numbers as a Fanime or an Anime Boston, we're talking about bringing quality programming and entertainment that will engage the attendees. I just feel that ALA is stagnating and it's no longer worth the $60 at the door price. If you do decide to go, try to register as early as possible or find a group rate.

Perhaps the above is also a symptom to a larger problem. Post-ALA, I've been involved in several discourses involving the pulse of anime conventions nationwide. To conclude, I leave these cautionary words from anime convention veteran Rob Miles, "Unfortunately, I don't see the cutting edge, lead from the front type of frontierism that used to exist early on with any anime convention -- it's all become a hodge-podge of mindless, thoughtless activity. Most people only attend because there isn't anything out there which pushes the boundaries and the people on the inside who push for those changes are drummed out (or seek other opportunities). Maybe someday that will all change but it will have to come from completely outside the community, I fear because it has mostly all become complacent." I really feel that this quote applies to anime conventions as a whole whether large or small, profit or non-profit, etc.

Shoutouts to Fremen, Drew, John, Gregg, and Lionel for being awesome photographers over the weekend. If haven't seen your ALA sets yet, I look forward to them. Here's hoping we can do more shoots when I return to the west coast for Anime Expo (it's for sure) and possibly PMX. Thanks to Stan and Deb (Scarlet Rhapsody SEC) for letting me use their room for change space).

Pictures are copyright by Scarlet Rhapsody . If I took your picture, feel free to use it on your site or cosplay gallery. While you're here, do sign the guestbook. This site was brought to you by the font Hawaii Killer . Many thanks to Dream Host, Adobe Bridge, MS Photodraw, Picasa, and Dreamweaver for making this site design possible.