AM^2 Con 2011

AM^2 Con is what I fondly refer to as "the other Anime Expo." Only in their 2nd year, AM^2 (which stands for Animation, Manga, and Movies) is like Anime Expo only on a smaller, more basic scale. Oh, and it's FREE! Yup! Free admission, free concerts, free anime screenings... FREE!

I first heard about AM^2 from my brother, who told me the original coordinators of Anime Expo didn't like how AX was diverting its focus from anime/manga and focusing more towards making a profit. Supposedly, they broke away from AX and started their own convention - AM^2. Nearly everything at AM^2 is free, but if you want to be first in line for concerts or movie screenings, you can purchase a VIP pass. (You also have to buy a ticket to enter the AniMaid Cafe and there's a fee to play the games in the Summer Festival area.) Personally, I love this system so much more than Anime Expo's - no high cost of admission, no overcharging error, no endless badge pick-up line... it all sounded great to me!

After telling my friends about AM^2, we decided to go on Sunday - the day after I attended Anime Expo. (Read about my AX experience here.) Because of costs, several of my friends opted out of attending AX this year, but they couldn't argue with free!

AM^2 Sunday Program

The entire AM^2 Con took up only half a hall plus a few rooms upstairs for movies, anime screenings, contests, and the AniMaid Cafe. Unfortunately, they ran out of printed programs, but we just took a picture of the large display one at the info booth and used that as our guide.

In the main hall, one corner was dedicated to vendors who sold plushies, manga, anime, and other merchandise. Although I was not able to purchase my giant Pokeball plushie at Anime Expo, I did find a smaller version for $5 here.

Pokeball Plushie

Unlike Anime Expo, AM^2 had a Summer Festival where you could play festival games (like ring toss and bean bag throw) to win tickets and get prizes. I didn't play any festival games, but in front of the Summer Festival area was this man:

Shan the Candy Man

Shan the Candy Man, who was demo-ing how to make candy sculptures.

Pikachu Candy Sculpture

Check out the Pikachu candy sculpture he made! Not an exact replica, but pretty neat considering he molded it by hand!

Shan the Candy Man's candy sculptures

And here are the other candy sculptures he made! These were offered as one-of-a-kind prizes. Apparently, they were so popular, there was a waitlist for these prizes!

Behind the Summer Festival area, there was a stage, which showcased various bands, singers, and traditional Japanese dancers.

Traditional Japanese Dancers

Behind the stage and out the back door, there was a small group of food trucks serving tasty treats. My friend and I decided to try the Waffle de Liege truck.

Waffles de Liege truck

We ordered the original Liege waffle with Speculoo spread. For those who don't know, the Liege waffle is from Belgium, but differs greatly from the Belgian waffle we're usually familiar with. Unlike the lighter Belgian waffle, the Liege waffle is dense and doughy. It's leavened with yeast and has a more bread-like texture with chewy bits of caramelized sugar (from the Belgian pearl sugar). Speculoos are a type of crunchy spice cookie that's similar to gingerbread so the Speculoo spread essentially tasted like gingerbread but with a peanut butter-like consistency.

Liege Waffle with Speculoo Spread

I don't know how authentic this Liege waffle is because I have nothing to compare it to, but I thought it was a nice change of texture and flavor from our regular pancake house waffles.

After we ate, my friends went to play some video games in the video game corner across from the shopping area. These games were also free to play and had everything from some original Nintendo game I had never seen (with an actual old-school Nintendo console!) to Super Smash Bros. After the games, we caught the screening for Ouran High School Host Club and a little bit of the masquerade competition before we left.

Overall, I had a pleasant experience. It wasn't as grand as Anime Expo, but I see the potential AM^2 possesses. And for being a free event, I can't really complain.

Anime Expo 2011

Oh, Anime Expo... I've attended every year for the past 9 years, but how you've disappointed me so this year! 2011 was supposed to be Anime Expo's Year of the Fans - its 20th anniversary. But I felt neither honored nor appreciated. This was probably the worst experience I've ever had at Anime Expo (and this is including the one year I decided to volunteer and attend on the same day, which left me too tired to enjoy any of the exhibits or panels.)

Over the years, I have seen Anime Expo rear its greedy little head. Initially, I went to Anime Expo with the Exhibit Hall Only Pass, which only included admission to the shops and booths in the Exhibit Hall and not the panels, special screenings, or concerts. A few years ago, they stopped offering that option - forcing people to buy the One-Day Attendee Pass, which cost about twice as much as the Exhibit Hall Only Pass. I wasn't happy, but I dealt with it and continued going because I enjoyed Anime Expo. This year, as a gift to the fans, they brought back the Exhibit Hall Only Pass! I was ecstatic at first! I was only ever interested in going to the Exhibit Hall for some anime/manga-related shopping so I was completely in favor of saving some money. (One-day admission was $50 this year! And it was only $35 last year!)

As you can see, the website clearly showed that from June 15-30th, the price of an Exhibit Hall Only Pass was $20. (More than it cost a few years back, but that's inflation and the state of our economy for you. :T ) After some indecisiveness and semi-drama from my friends regarding AX, I decided to go with my cousin. We bought our passes online on the 30th and to our surprise, we were charged $25 instead of $20. I thought it must've been some sort of computer glitch so I called and emailed AX only to receive a reply saying that the webmaster has messed up the date and that the proper price for the 30th was $25. This didn't make sense to me! What I didn't understand was that even in the news release, it had stated that from June 15-30th, it was going to be $20! After talking to the registration supervisor at the convention and some more emails, I was able to get things straightened out and my $5 refunded, buy the entire process was very frustrating.

Pre-registration Badge Pick-up Line

Another thing that bothers me every year is the line for pre-registration badge pick-up. Notice that little box of light at the end of the tunnel? Yeah... the line winds back and forth several times from that point to the point where I took this picture. It's rather ridiculous how the line for pre-registration is always almost 20 times longer than the at-con registration line. Thankfully, it moves relatively quickly, but I just wish they had a more efficient method for badge pick-up. Waiting 20-30 minutes in a seemingly endless line is never fun.

Ahn Joo's Buckwheat Noodle Combo

After my cousin and I picked up our badges and resolved the overcharge issue, we headed outside to check out some of the food trucks that had set up station in two nearby parking lots. I was craving a pita, but that truck wasn't open yet so I ordered the Buckwheat Noodle Combo with chicken skewers and rice punch from the Ahn Joo truck.

Ahn Joo's Buckwheat Noodles, Chicken Skewers and Rice Punch

I thought cold noodles would be good for such a hot summer day, but I didn't really like this dish. The sauce for the cold noodles was a bit too bitter for me and the chicken was dry. My favorite thing ended up being the rice punch.

Evacuating the Exhibit Hall

We wanted to bring our food inside the convention center so we could take advantage of the air conditioning, but right as we entered the building, we saw security directing everyone back out. It turns out, they were evacuating the entire Exhibit Hall! No one would tell us what was going on and when I tried to ask one of the workers, he just told me, "Keep moving!" How rude! I know he was just trying to get everyone out, but he could've been a little nicer about it. Since no one knew what was happening, people were just milling around, entering and leaving the lobby area. It wasn't til later that my cousin received a text from one of his friends telling us that we had been evacuated because there was a "suspicious" spill in the food court area. If the people in charge had just told us that at the beginning, we would've been more understanding and evacuated the area in a more orderly fashion.

Hatsune Miku Toyota Corolla

Speaking of the lobby, Toyota had two decorated Corollas on display. Hatsune Miku, a character from Vocaloid, is Toyota's new mascot. There was a photo area to take pictures with their Hatsune Miku models/cosplayers and if you filled out their survey, you got a free Hatsune Miku poster.

Hatsune Miku Toyota Corolla

No Anime Expo would be complete without cosplayers and although I've never cosplayed, it's interesting seeing some of the more intricate costumes. I was never big on photographing cosplayers, but this little girl was just TOO ADORABLE!

Baby Chun-Li

It's Baby Chun-Li!! She's sooooooooooooo cute! She may very well be my favorite thing out of the entire convention this year.

One thing that was different this year was that Pocky had a booth and was having a scavenger hunt. Hidden throughout the Exhibit Hall were 5 boxes of Pocky. Although they told you which booths they were located in, you still had to find it hidden amongst their merchandise. Once you found out which flavor was hidden in which booth, you had to fill out a form that got entered into a drawing with a prize of a giant Pocky display box.