One of the conventions I look forward to every year is Anime Vegas. I have many great memories and tons of stories to tell about this con. I have been going to Anime Vegas since year 2 and I have loved it every time. The event this year brought back many memories of the early years of this con. This was both a good thing and a bad thing. On the good side it was the same fun I’ve had for several years and on the bad side it lacked many of the staples I have grown accustomed to over the years.

The first staple I miss is the Maid Café. The Ichigo Maid Café has always been one of my favorite parts of Anime Vegas. The maids are fun, cute, sweet and always make sure everyone has a fun time at the café. I have many great memories from the years the café was at Anime Vegas. Everything from relaxing with friends and eating sweets to renting a maid and flirting around made that café one of the best parts of any con. The fun stories and happy memories of the café helped define Anime Vegas as one of my favorite cons. The Ichigo Maid Café is easily the best maid café I have ever gone to (con or otherwise). All the maids are very polite and sweet, they don’t mind pictures, and they bring a light hearted nature to something that some people may find sexiest. Having had issue with the maid cafés at two previous cons this year I was really looking forward to seeing the Ichigo maids again. Losing that event was something of a heartbreak for me. Thankfully, the maids did have a little booth at the dealers’ hall and I was able to have some fun "talking" with the maids.

The second staple that was missing was the Anime Music Video contest. I love the Anime Vegas AMV contest. It is a smaller venue and there are often videos at the event that I would usually not see at a California event. I have met some good friends due to the AMV contest at Anime Vegas and it is a shame to not be able to compete with them and talk editing afterward. Perhaps the biggest reason why I love this contest is that it is the contest that got me back into AMVs and is perhaps the biggest factor in my becoming an editor. There was plenty of time and room for the contest, as there has been in previous years. The lack of the contest is something of a shame and I can only guess as to why there was not a contest this year. I can only hope that the contest will return and if the issue is with no one to host or run the event I would gladly do so, the contest means that much to me.

A new event that I hope will become a staple is the Phantomhive Ball. Like many fancy convention dances this was something I was looking forward to when preparing for the con. This is mainly due to the fact that I like to show off my moves at these types of events. That may be a shallow reason, but it works for me and it gives me a reasonable excuse to cover the event. The ball left mixed impression on me. On the one hand I loved the theme and concept, which took cues from Black Butler. I also loved the contest, there were some great entries and it was handled in a very professional manner. Also I am very impressed with the enforcement of the dress code, that is always a plus when you try to set up these type of events. On the other hand there was the lack of appropriate music for a fancy dance and most attendees did not seem to know what they were doing, which is not the fault of the convention. Also the lack of lighting made it difficult to navigate the room which led to many dance collisions and near misses. Despite the mixed impression I got from the Phantomhive Ball, it was well done for a first attempt at doing a fancy dance at Anime Vegas. I feel that with a little work this could be one of the best ballroom-style convention dances.

Another new addition to the convention is the Art Gallery. This was an interesting addition to the convention. The Art Gallery took up two rooms and featured art and posters from several popular series and movies. I did enjoy looking at everything, but it took up room that could have been used for more panels. I do see the validity of a room like this, but it may have been better set up as a section of the exhibit hall rather than taking up two rooms that could have been used for other events. It would be nice to have a gallery set up with an adjacent artist alley at the next con. Either way, I do appreciate the set up that allows art lovers to take a look at anime history.

One of the best things to do at any con is hit the game room while waiting for the next event you would like to watch. There was no real game room this year, there was just an area in the corner of the exhibit hall. This is not the first year that it has been done like that, but this time it was much smaller than in previous years. I do like the addition of some stand up arcade machines (major props for Marvel vs. Capcom). However, there was no Dance Dance Revolution machine and the gaming setup was rather small. In previous years, there have been several screens set up with everything from Mark of the Wolves to Naruto to Guitar Hero set up for players. I watched a portion of the Street Fighter IV contest. It seemed to be running smoothly, which is always a plus for gaming contests. I do like the gaming area being opened up so it is not as stinky as previous years (and I could tell stories about the stench of years past). However, with it being part of the dealer hall it can only be accessed during dealer hall hours, which can be a major downside when you have an hour to kill before a evening event. Overall the gaming area needs some work, it would be nice to have gaming go as late as 11PM or midnight, but before that the original diversity and gaming screens need to come back to this con.

The panels at this con were a mixed bag as well, but not for the reasons one might expect. There were some great panels, my favorite being Live Anime Commentary. It was great hearing some of the guests comment about Naruto and Death Note. One of the major highlights of the panel was Brad Swaile rocking “The World” from Death Note on his guitar. I usually love the panels at Anime Vegas because there are great innovative panel concepts like live commentary or the various anime game shows (Anime Fear Factor, Anime Price is Right, Last Otaku Standing). The only part of the panel set up that really got to me was the lack of organization and the lack of space. Usually there are three panel rooms, but this year only had two. I know that there is more than enough programming to cover three rooms and space could have been made to accommodate that programming. As for lack of organization it came down to the changing of the schedules which moved around several panels I wanted to hit, namely the Yuri For All Ages panel. Also the abundance of panels featuring random people talking about random things got old and often there was inappropriate material being discussed in front of young attendees. I do enjoy wild random panels now and then, but as an older brother to a younger con attendee I would prefer more control over panel content.

Finally, there are the dealer hall and convention location to discuss. Each of these had their good and bad points. Once nice thing about returning to the Cashman Center is that the Dealer’s Hall is much larger than it was at the Renaissance last year. I was a bit annoyed at the early closing hour of three on the last day. There was still two more hours before closing ceremonies and I feel that the hall should have been open for those two remaining hours. After the closing the halls of the Cashman Center overflowed with people, making the last few hours of the convention rather chaotic. The Cashman Center has been the home of Anime Vegas for the majority of the years it has run. It is a small place, but it makes getting around pretty easy. It is a shame that there is no good place for photoshoots and the limited space making fitting everything in somewhat difficult. I do miss being in a hotel for Anime Vegas and I would love to see the convention return to a hotel in coming years. Still, I must admit that there is always a rush of sentimentality whenever I see the Cashman Center.

As I said at the beginning of my section Anime Vegas is one of my favorite cons. The people are great, the location is fun, and the general vibe of the con is great. This year reminded me of year two and three. The con was still trying to find its groove and showed the attendees a good time while doing so. Still I can’t help but look back at years 4 and 5 wistfully. I do miss being in a hotel, having a maid café, and the great AMV contest. Still despite that I had a great time and Anime Vegas proved once again why it is one of my favorite conventions. I had a great time and even though the convention seemed to be going through a weaker year it still was just as fun and memorable as it was in previous years. I am eagerly awaiting Anime Vegas 2010. I know that although this was an off year the Anime Vegas of years past will be back again and better than ever.

As always I leave you with my list and a quick commentary as the Convention Critic. If you have comments, questions, or complaints feel free to not e-mail me at jared @ scarlet-rhapsody.com. Until next time, give my love to the Ichigo Maids.

Jared's List: Only Makes Us Stronger

1. Even an off year is a good year
2. To all my friends at Vegas: Good to see you again
3. What do you mean there is no Maid Café?
4. Reno Lives!
5. There are some very hot women in Vegas
6. It’s all in the suit that you wear
7. Want to buy a pin?
8. What do you mean the Dealer’s Hall closes at 3?
9. I love Vegas
10. Didn’t get a chance to wear Walter, oh well…
11. My notebook took some damage, but it will make it
12. Only mingled with one person… sigh…
13. Legally Blonde vs. Phoenix Wright
14. I really want to play Knights of the Old Republic again…
15. There were some great guests, as always
16. Where was my Maid Café?
17. Being stubborn is a gift, a good one
18. Gun Show you say?
19. Note to self: Writing clears my mind
20. Strip > Freemont
21. Remember next year is only a year away
22. How did I get so popular?
23. There is no perfect plan
24. Brad Swaile can rock that guitar
25. Can we get this con back in a hotel?
26. Can’t believe I missed out on that Iris figure
27. A cat who chases her tail leaves a circular trail
28. My favorite little café changed the menu…
29. I made the right choice
30. So… Maid Café returns next year right?
31. Art gallery, nice touch
32. Random panels: chaos redefined
33. Where’s the yuri panel?
34. Live commentary was great
35. Old school cosplay is the only school of cosplay
36. Did I mention the missing Ichigo Maid Café?
37. When in doubt, bet your lucky number

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 Diablo. Many thanks to Chaz Boston Baden for the image resizing and watermarking program.