Oh yeah, speaking of Anime Expo I want to talk about a rival anime convention in the Greater Los Angeles Area that took place for a few years before it met its untimely demise. Now I don't talk about this because I'm a returning staff member AX but rather as an observer that is doing all he can to get a deeper understand of the lifecycles of such conventions.
Back in 2010, this pretentious rube named Michael Lattanzio tried to take over the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation. He tried to bring a businesslike approach to the convention and brought all these suits and sharp-dressed associates to run the con. Well, as it turns out, that did not sit well with a few dissidents, namely Chase Wang, who was fired from his job at Anime Expo as a PR and marketing coordinator. This fiasco started when Erina Mano was announced as a Guest of Honor at AX in April of that year, but the appearance was cancelled. An alternative attend was created at nearby Club Nokia in LA Live, which AX sometimes uses for its main events.
Now here's the kicker: this company named BAM! Marketing was instrumental in bringing in big names and big talent from overseas to the show. With BAM! Marketing saying adios, a number of former AX staffers joined this new organization set up by Wang. The event in 2010 was originally called Club 2 the MAX, or MAX for short. Now this event was deemed successful, and so it was decided by BAM! Marketing and the other sponsors that it further funded as it's own convention, called AM².
The first AM² took place on the same weekend as Anime Expo 2011, and it took place at a former hosting ground for AX, the Anaheim Convention Center. People came to AM² because of the value. Guests included JB Blanc, Gashicon, heidi., An Kanon, Kanon Wakeshima, kanonxkanon, Neil Kaplan, Sunao Katabuchi, Reuben Langdon, Masao Maruyama, Kazha, Sadie, SCANDAL, Miho Shimogasa, Sixh., Steve Staley, Shinobu Ichiyanagi and Akihito Yamashita. The event drew more than 8,000 people.
The second AM² took place at the same site, but on June 15-17, 2012. Guests included Quinton Flynn, Toshihiro Kawamoto, Andrea Libman, Kazha, Hiroshi Nagahama, Putumayo, Sixh., Shinobu Ichiyanagi and Tara Strong. This edition drew more than 14,000 people to the event.
The 2013 edition of this event was scheduled for Aug. 23-25. However, something strange happened on July 24, days after Anime Expo 2013 finished. I didn't hear about this announcement until now.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AM2 ANNOUNCES 2013 CONVENTION POSTPONED
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (July 24, 2013) – With great regret, AM2 announces that they will postpone their event till an indefinite future date.
“It is with great regret that we are postponing this event”, states Chase Wang, “all exhibitors, Artist Alley participants and attendees have either received FULL refunds or are in process of receiving their FULL refunds-this is due to inaccurate mailing/email addresses, if there are any issues individuals can contact us at info@am2con.org”.
Follow us on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/AM2Con
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About AM2
Located in Anaheim, California – AM2, established in 2010, is a multi-day (3 day) public fan convention aspiring to be a key meeting place for fans that share a common interest in Asian music, Animation/Anime, and Comics/Manga. More information can be found at www.am2con.org
The statements made in this press release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements." These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. The Company cautions readers of this press release that a number of important factors could cause this event’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in any such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, without limitation, product delays, industry competition, rapid changes in technology and industry standards, protection of proprietary rights, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, vendors and third-party developers, international economic and political conditions. The Company may change its intention, belief or expectation, at any time and without notice, based upon any changes in such factors, in the Company's assumptions or otherwise. The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
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Immediately I started to remember my choice in 2010 to keep my allegiance to Anime Expo. I realized it was the right move after all. The SPJA had to do work in 2011 to regain the trust of its guests of honor, but it was able to rebound from what I consider to be an annus horibilis and maintain its status as the No. 1 anime convention is Southern California. Thousands upon thousands of conventioneers continues to descend upon Downtown Los Angeles.
It would be easy for me to point and laugh at the people who wanted to go to AM² but were disappointed. However, I can only feel sympathy for those who couldn't afford to go to AX but wanted to go to an anime convention. Here's some of their reaction from the dead-on-arrival con's Facebook page.
"I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but AM2 was destined to fail. If you ever volunteered for them and have had experience with solid conventions in the past (I'm referring to the more established ones, like A/X), you could sense this decline a mile away."
"Ehh. I prefer AX anyways, the 2 times I attended AM² it was a disappointment for me. The booths were not ready on day one AND there were too little booths so there was pretty much nothing to do the rest of the times. The only redeeming thing for me was the SCANDAL concert in 2011."
"No freakin' kidding... postponed until never, maybe? We'd already figured this wasn't gonna happen. Thank goodness I got to take my daughter to Walter Robotics Expo last week, or she would have been crushed after waiting all year for this event and having it not happen. A small event from people who care about their fans beats a big event from people who don't tell you what's going on until the last minute."
"Well if it wasn't before it certainly is now. If this is an attempt to try to keep the fanbase, it so epicly failed that if Chase announced that he resurrected Seba Jun, booked the head of Square Enix, and brought Miku into the plane of reality, and all of them were only going to appear at AM2 for the rest of convention history, I would still not go."
"i wouldn't have been as upset if i heard it from you first. but seriously, i called around for so long and searched the forums to find this out from someone else. i liked you better than AX, but i dont like the lies. i feel like i was used and abused and cheated on my a convention, wtf? jerks, seriously..."
"THAT is all they have to say after all this time of NO information whatsoever? Postponed? Even if they could re-animate this corpse, who the hell is going to trust any of them again after this crap? This non-answer is arrogant and completely pointless. WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED to kill the convention? Screw 'em! I am going to AX next summer!"
See what I mean? Anime Expo, as far I understand, is the gold standard in terms of anime conventions throughout the Americas, and perhaps outside of Japan, and maybe Comic-Con. Why should I join a fledgeling convention that is doomed for failure, lacks stability and brand name recognition, and does not have the leverage that AX? Why? AX is the only con I have ever staffed, and my loyalty to the SPJA remain stronger than ever.
The lesson to be learned is that if you're going to start up a rival con out of spite, you will fail. End of story. Chase Wang, wherever you are, you got what you deserved. Prepare for all the lawsuits coming your way from some angry would-be Artist Alley participants who want their money back.
Anime Expo forever.
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