Katsuhiro Otomo to be guest of honor at Anime Expo 2019

Conventions and other events, fandom, stores, manga-ka, animators, and other people, etc
User avatar
usamimi
Posts: 2783
Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2013 2:00 pm
Anime Fan Since: 1987
Location: The Lonestar State
Contact:

Katsuhiro Otomo to be guest of honor at Anime Expo 2019

Post by usamimi »

http://www.anime-expo.org/2019/06/04/ak ... est-honor/

And he'll be announcing a new project!
*:・゚・✧ TwitterThe Anime Nostalgia Tumblr & Podcast ✧・゚・:*
User avatar
labsenpai
Posts: 181
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 5:48 pm
Anime Fan Since: 1985

Re: Katsuhiro Otomo to be guest of honor at Anime Expo 2019

Post by labsenpai »

I also see designer Sadamoto on the guest list; that pair is a major magnet for oldtaku attendees.
Too bad I never get an invite from family friends in Rancho Palos Verdes...
User avatar
Akage
Posts: 211
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2015 12:53 am
Anime Fan Since: 1985
Location: San Francisco
Contact:

Re: Katsuhiro Otomo to be guest of honor at Anime Expo 2019

Post by Akage »

It's Anime Expo. Since everything here is industry controlled, you're not missing out on much.

No autograph session has been announced for Otomo. Since he's being sponsored by a company, if he has one, it'll be on a poster that you'll receive only after you buy $200 of stuff at the con. And if you're one of the first 100 to buy that item at the con.

Same thing with Sadamoto. He's industry sponsored, so you'll have to buy a couple hundred dollars worth of stuff for him to sign the item that the sponsor has determined that he will sign.

Anime Expo announcing guests is sort of a kiss of death of me. I won't go back to AX unless they change how they hand out autograph tickets, but considering that they're still pushing 100K attendees year after year now, I don't think that's going to change any time soon.
User avatar
DKop
Posts: 917
Joined: Sun Oct 26, 2014 11:19 am
Anime Fan Since: 1998
Location: Here is Greenwood SC
Contact:

Re: Katsuhiro Otomo to be guest of honor at Anime Expo 2019

Post by DKop »

Oh, so they're pulling that same bullcrap like they did with Go Nagai last year IIRC. Same set where he was sponsored by some company and could only talk about that one thing, nothing regarding his 50 years in the industry because "how dare you ask those questions weeb!"

When I hear things like this, it makes me wanna stay far away from west coast cons.
User avatar
Akage
Posts: 211
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2015 12:53 am
Anime Fan Since: 1985
Location: San Francisco
Contact:

Re: Katsuhiro Otomo to be guest of honor at Anime Expo 2019

Post by Akage »

Yeah, I had some friends that went to AX last year and stood in standby for Nagai's line. They said that he refused to sign for standby. He just did the minimum amount that he had to do.

That's how AX has been the last few years. Guests are brought over by industry, industry controls whether or not that guest has an autograph session and if they do, it's one where you have to buy x amount of merchandise at the con to get that autographed. Panels are also controlled by the industry that brought the guest over, so everything is scripted. No longer can you ask guests questions about other works, thoughts about series that they worked on, etc. And for the privilege of attending these cons, you're paying some of the highest hotel and convention entry fees around, all of which doesn't include any of the concerts.

Yup...that's pretty much why I haven't attended any West Coast conventions lately.
User avatar
usamimi
Posts: 2783
Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2013 2:00 pm
Anime Fan Since: 1987
Location: The Lonestar State
Contact:

Re: Katsuhiro Otomo to be guest of honor at Anime Expo 2019

Post by usamimi »

DKop wrote: Thu Jun 06, 2019 6:45 am When I hear things like this, it makes me wanna stay far away from west coast cons.
It's really only AX that's like this because it's such a huge industry con now. It's basically SDCC but for anime.
*:・゚・✧ TwitterThe Anime Nostalgia Tumblr & Podcast ✧・゚・:*
User avatar
Akage
Posts: 211
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2015 12:53 am
Anime Fan Since: 1985
Location: San Francisco
Contact:

Re: Katsuhiro Otomo to be guest of honor at Anime Expo 2019

Post by Akage »

Sadly, no...it's the majority of large anime West Coast cons. CrunchyRoll Expo and SakuraCon both rely on industry guests where the requirement to get something from these guests is to buy merchandise at the convention. It's starting to creep in to other larger cons around the US. ACEN is the most notable that I've attended. If you wanted Sonoda's autograph this year, you had to buy a poster or a book first. NYCC Comic Con also made it so that attendees would have to buy pricey merchandise bundles in order to get a ticket for an autograph.

I would not be surprised that, within the next decade, most larger cons will simply contract with industry to bring a guest and those guests and their autograph sessions will be controlled by the company that brought them. I've noticed in my relatively short convention attending career that things that originate at AX eventually make their way to other conventions as well.
User avatar
usamimi
Posts: 2783
Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2013 2:00 pm
Anime Fan Since: 1987
Location: The Lonestar State
Contact:

Re: Katsuhiro Otomo to be guest of honor at Anime Expo 2019

Post by usamimi »

Ah I forgot about CR, yeah that's an obvious one. I haven't been to Sakura-con in about 10 years now since I moved, but that's not terribly surprising.

There's more cons on the west coast than those, tho. I remember Kumori-con being fine, I've heard Fanime is great. ACEN is midwest, I thought?

It feels like a lot of cons are starting to adopt more policies you see in non-anime cons, the big one being that autographs or photos with guests cost money. It's not terribly surprising--they see others do it successfully, they're gonna try to get as much as they can as well. It's a bummer, tho.
*:・゚・✧ TwitterThe Anime Nostalgia Tumblr & Podcast ✧・゚・:*
User avatar
DKop
Posts: 917
Joined: Sun Oct 26, 2014 11:19 am
Anime Fan Since: 1998
Location: Here is Greenwood SC
Contact:

Re: Katsuhiro Otomo to be guest of honor at Anime Expo 2019

Post by DKop »

If any con is going to adapt this policy, southern cons will be the last ones to convert; because in the south, no one converts instantly to new changes. I know Animazement doesn't do this, and as far as i'm aware AWA neither. They got that section behind the dealers room at AWA for people to get autographs, I remember hearing nothing about people having to buy and item to get a golden ticket to wait in line.
User avatar
usamimi
Posts: 2783
Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2013 2:00 pm
Anime Fan Since: 1987
Location: The Lonestar State
Contact:

Re: Katsuhiro Otomo to be guest of honor at Anime Expo 2019

Post by usamimi »

DKop wrote: Thu Jun 06, 2019 11:26 am If any con is going to adapt this policy, southern cons will be the last ones to convert; because in the south, no one converts instantly to new changes. I know Animazement doesn't do this, and as far as i'm aware AWA neither. They got that section behind the dealers room at AWA for people to get autographs, I remember hearing nothing about people having to buy and item to get a golden ticket to wait in line.
Anime Matsuri started charging for autographs this year from what I heard, although that's a pretty awful con, so probably not the best example.

At a few of the A-kons I've been to, some of the industry folks did charge for autographs, but I think they were the ones who are used to comic conventions, where that's the norm. Their lines would be very, very short.

At Conjikan, the voice actors charged for autographs, but in a round-about way (buy a piece of their merch, the autograph was free!). These smaller, newer cons seem to have this kind of arrangement often. Older cons where they've always been included in ticket price seem to be holding onto the free policy as long as possible, at least.
*:・゚・✧ TwitterThe Anime Nostalgia Tumblr & Podcast ✧・゚・:*
Post Reply