Like most Southern Californian veteran cosplayers, the Anaheim Convention Center brings back memories of past Anime Expo's. Like many, I was excited to return to the the Anaheim Convention Center. The palm trees have gotten taller and there were more food chocies in the area. However, I think I have come to conslusion that Anime Expo 2003-2006 is the past and cannot be duplicated in the present. I did enjoy Wonder Con earlier this year at the Anaheim Convention Center, but AM2 at the Anaheim Convention Center felt awkward for a small convention.

I would have preferred if AM2 kept it at the Hilton Hotel. The crowd was not as packed as Anime Expo's of yesteryear. If anything, it reminded me of Anime Expo 1999 when I first went. It was small, there were a handful of cosplayers. It was not too crowded at all. However, there were only two functioning panel rooms and a scattered amount of dealers and artists that could have also fared well in a huge ballroom. I do not feel that AM2's size warrants a convention center at this point in time.

AM2's free entry also begs the question if AM2 can sustain itself. I recall AM2's roots when it was Club Max, it played alongside Anime Expo right across the street at Club Nokia. Club Max was fun. We got to see X Japan perform at a high end LA dive. However, convention rental, inviting international guests, and breaking even cost a lot. I feel that AM2 is better doing a one or two day event at a smaller venue. I would be happy if they did something at the Hilton in Anaheim or the new space at the Marriott across the street.

AM2 also has interesting timing. AM2's main issue is that it has been labled as a spite con against Anime Expo. Considering that Club Max and the first AM2 ran during the same time as AX does raise an eyebrow. Whether or not AM2 is a spite con, the timing of the event is a huge incovienience. While the event is free, traveling, lodging, and budgeting for a con can be extremely big. AM2 is sandwiched in between two major California conventions - Fanime Con and Anime Expo. People are still recovering from Fanime and preparing for Anime Expo. I would be fine if AM2 moved their date to sometime in August or even run on Comic Con International's weekend - not as a spite, but rather a one day festival for otaku on a budget who cannot afford Comic Con . I would also be fine if AM2 was a spring convention too. The point is, AM2's current calendar date is bad timing and hurts dealers and vendors.

However, AM2 did have some good points. I will continue to rave how awesome the Blue Rose Academy is and I would like to see more of this at conventions. I did enjoy perusing through the Artist Alley and checking out some local talent. I liked the idea of lounges where people can sit and meet other people. I also liked the location because it serves as a nice place for cosplay photoshoots and gatherings. Sadly, I did not see many cosplay gatherings at this con. The staff was very friendly and I never had a problem with anyone - even Anaheim Convention security was very helpful and friendly.

However, AM2 faces the problem a lot of anime conventions face today. The face of fandom is changing. Anime is not as strong in Japan as it used to be. Many otaku are turning to American animation and nerdom. AM2 has been critiqued for having plenty of My Little Pony related events to cater to the Brony crowd. While MLP has no real marriage to Asian pop culture, it does share the same target audience, but too much of it can make a con loose it's focus. AM2 would also work fine as a pop culture convention if they change up their mission and vision. Yet, I fail to see where ponies fit in with Anime, Music, or Manga. Again, this is an issue that goes across the board, not just AM2. Conventions need to reflect on their identity and who they want to serve in their mission and vision.

The other major peeve I had at the convention was a booth that sold Nazi themed clothing. I really did not know what to do in this case. I found someone wearing an iron eagle hat and sporting the swastika on day 1. Even so, the booth also sold replicas of SS uniforms and red armbands that had the text "yuri" "yaoi" "uke" "seme", etc in lieu of the swastika. While the booth stood there for the weekend, it only shows the amount of ignorance young people have on history and equality. This was really sad to see at AM2.

I would reccomend this convention to locals only. I would not reccomend it to anyone flying out for it. Best you save up your money and plan a trip out to Disneyland instead. If the convention was not a 10 minute drive from our house, I probably would not have gone. I wanted to check out this event for myself and out of curiosity. In the end, it was all right. It was not the best con, but it also was not the worst.

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