Mike Tatsugawa, Toren Smith, AnimeCon '91 and the Con Wars?

[mbanu]

So what's the story behind all this?

I know that the Japanese guests and connections were due to Toren Smith, while the organization and running of the con was largely due to the Mike Tatsugawa and the Cal-Animage folks. How did the two meet one another? Why didn't they get along? What caused the split into Anime Expo and Anime America?

[SteveH]

I have no idea about specifics, but it's likely the obvious typical issues caused the problem.

SMOFs (Secret Masters of Fandom, an old term for the 'old guard') were likely not given the 'proper respect' they thought due, promises were likely made and broken, Japanese guests were probably isolated from the attendees at large and treated as private property by a small circle of 'insiders' who sought such to enhance their 'position' and 'status' within fandom and I have no doubt whatsoever that a small group of local or nearby fans. who had nothing to do with the con, did not work on the con, did not contribute in any way with the operation of the con pitched a bitch about EVERYTHING and how it wasn't the way THEY would run a con and it wasn't properly serving their needs and desires. Peeing in the cornflakes if you will.

There is likely a tie to the whole disaster that was General Products thinking they could open a shop in the U.S., an attempt so massively ineptly done it should serve as a model of what NOT to do to every company in Japan. Rule one: Hire Americans who understand the market (this was done) Rule two: LISTEN TO THEM and DO WHAT THEY SAY (this was NOT done, no no no, so very very not done).

Fandom does have a tendency to 'eat their own' like crabs in a bucket. I'm sure that was a factor.

[DKop]

Since you mentioned AnimeCon, there is a tid bit of history I know that maybe most dont.

I was told this story years ago from some friend of Robert Woodhead that we had on a skype call for an old podcast I once did, that liked to talk a lot. Long after the interview with Robert was over, it was him and me on the skype call till about midnight, just feeding me information about past anime fandom. One story in particular was that when AnimeCon brought over Gianax to set up shop and sell items at the con, they had their own people sell their items in the dealers room. The thing is, what Gainax was doing was against the law. According to federal law (the best I can understand it), it is illegal for a non citizen of the US to sell items unless they are legal citizen. So if the US Government cared anything about anime cons in the 1980's and 1990's, they could have called immigration to the con and deported the people working at that booth back to Japan. I'm sure this might have been figured out years later, but knowing how to avoid legal reprocutions is a good trait for anime nerds to know.

I wasn't sure if this was AnimeCon or Anime America, but it's one of these stories I have had in my head for years that ive only told a few people.

[SteveH]

It may have been more that Gainax didn't have a state and city sales tax license and they weren't collecting the tax.

THAT can get you in a hella lotta trouble. Some places, some circumstances you can get away with it but something as high profile as AnimeCon? No way.

Really, the city and state don't give a rat's a** about who sells something, they want their money.

[DKop]

It may have been more that Gainax didn't have a state and city sales tax license and they weren't collecting the tax.

THAT can get you in a hella lotta trouble. Some places, some circumstances you can get away with it but something as high profile as AnimeCon? No way.

Really, the city and state don't give a rat's a** about who sells something, they want their money.

That to me makes more sense through that perspective than how I interpreted the story. I know some dealers at cons do charge for tax and others its on their value of the item, so it's set up like a flea market. I guess it all depends on the size of the con.