Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

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MerchMaven
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by MerchMaven »

Landle wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2017 5:02 pm Pro: What you guys did with the lines was great. We brought our 1 month old this year, so not having to stand outside in the snow was a definite plus.

Con: You ran out of shirts! The only AB 2017 shirt we could purchase was a size S for our 10 year old. No XL, no L, no M. Will there be a second printing so that we may be able to purchase them online or something?
We do apologize that you weren't able to get a shirt. We've never sold out as quickly as we did this year, but we did have S-XL right through Saturday evening.

The art appealed to a wide variety of people this year, which probably accounted for the quick sales, but all of our shirts are limited print run. There won't be a second one. I'm sorry about that!
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Cerebrum »

Since I delivered feedback last year, I figured that I had better come back to give feedback this year as well.

This post is going to be very short, because I couldn't find anything negative to say about AB 2017. All the troubles that I had last year were fixed up this year, and I had a great time running things in the games room. AB's staff were very accommodating, and the other folks in the Games Room were as well.

It's been a pleasure to work with you this year, and I'll be looking forward to doing so again in 2018.
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by RikkuX21 »

Pros-
security lines were fast. Should do what Disney does, random select people and search. And just have a cute drug sniffing dog. Hopefully we wont need security anymore. Us con goers are good people. Just keep officers around and walking about.
Staff and volunteers i came across were friendly
Panels attended were great
Guest voice actors and singers were great!



Cons-
Plain cheeseburger is $7.00?! in the con!? Soggy buns!
Coffee is $3.50?! It was even good :/ waste of money
Dealers room was plushie overload....
Didnt see much for retro items....
Artists alley, believe me the art work is amazing!!! I just wish there was more besides prints, prints, prints.
Not enough decorations. Maybe hang stuff on the walls if allowed? Command hooks!
Things we can interact with in the halls? More to do then just buy things.
The hallway where the coat and bag checks was crowded. Its a great idea just not in that hallway.
Id like to see more 18+ panels during the day and not so much at night. Love hentai! Its been harder and harder to stay up late each year as i get older haha
When waiting in line for a panel maybe have something we can interact with? No sure how to go about that.
Need to work on some entrance things. When entering the con id like to see an infested amount of welcoming decor, mascot greeters, projection stuff, things like that.
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Swordsncarrots »

Thank you so much to staff and security for making this a really smooth con this year. I only had to wait outside for maybe a minute on Friday morning, and I never waited in line to get in for more than ten minutes. Such an improvement on the last few years! Much appreciated considering how awful the weather was this year. Please don't change anything about the way security and bag check were handled next year.

The guest list was also amazing this year, so great job on that.

As for complaints, I thought seating people for main events in the auditorium could've been thought out a bit more. I had a good place in the masquerade line and still ended up in a sucky seat all the way to the right of the stage so I had crane my neck (because the camera can't capture everything going on), while people behind us got better seats in the middle (albeit a little farther back, but at least they didn't have to crane their necks). It kind of removes any incentive to get in line early because you still don't know if you're going to get a good seat. I suggest maybe filling in only the first few seats in those right sections (not filling up whole rows) first so you don't force people who got in line early to have sucky seats.
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by SnowRaven »

Hi! This year was my first AB (I came for all three days), so I do not have any past years or anything to compare it to.

Pros:
-Badge pick-up was painless. We pre-registered and came in on Friday around 11:30 and did not wait in line at all. The woman at the desk was clear in her instructions and we were out in maybe 2 minutes at most.
-Getting into the con was also painless. We always entered through the Prudential entrance and waited no longer than 5 minutes each day to get into the con. Security at the metal detectors were generally nice and some were funny. Having an officer at the front of the line to direct people on which line to go into (line #1, line #2, etc.) helped speed things up, I think.
-Security with orange shirts were good with checking to make sure our badges were official. Just a quick glance and we were good.
-Level of security made us feel safe. Seeing BPD around not only in the con but around the mall as well made everything seem safe.
-Diversity of guests was great. Kept hearing great things about the concerts. I personally am so grateful to have met Naokatsu Tsuda!
-AB staff/volunteers were super nice and friendly. I saw a few here and there that seemed stressed out and one of them even yelled one time for people to get out of a hallway and "take a walk" because people were lining up for an autograph session too early, but it is understandable because they are just keeping people safe.
-The manga library was interesting! Many different titles to browse and even an 18+ section (and the ladies running the 18+ table were super nice about needing to see I.D. when I opened up a book without reading the sign...)
-Panel topics were great! Something there for everyone to enjoy. Lots of different things to see and buy in the Dealer's Room and Artist Alley, too.

Cons:
-Not sure if this is AB's fault, but the elevator situations at the Sheraton were a disaster. Elevators had lines going out the hallway for people to get in. The worst of all was checkout day; we waited probably for a half hour for an elevator. We met someone who told us a story about how they had a friend with a wheelchair who could never find an elevator with people who would make room for them.
-On the last day of the con, there was a specific room for luggage storage for Sheraton guests who checked out but still wanted to explore the con. The line for that was really confusing because it ended at one spot but then continued somewhere else. The problem, though, was that we assumed tips were wanted, but there was actually a mandatory price per bag and you had to pay immediately. It would have been nice to be informed of that before waiting 30+ minutes in line with no cash in hand. AB staff were around trying to help us keep the line under control but if they knew about the price thing, it would have been nice to be told about it before getting in line.
-Navigating through the Dealer's Room and Artist Alley was difficult at times. People did not seem to be walking in an organized fashion (stay to the right of the hall, for example).
-The hall that the Dealer's Room was at was probably the most difficult hall to walk through. Having the coat check be there too made it that much more crowded, I think (I may be mixing up halls here. Wherever coat check was, that hall was super congested all the time). There were multiple times when the people walking in one direction would be surrounded by two lines of people walking in the opposite direction. Or, there would be other times when there seemed to be no order of separating the hallway; people would just be everywhere walking in whatever direction. There were also multiple instances of random objects (like huge trash barrels) being in the middle of this particular hallway, and it can be kind of annoying when you are walking through a crazy crowd unable to see anything and you almost crash into a stationary object.
-The test alarm thing on Friday? I'm not sure what that was all about but it happened during a huge panel and for it being a test, it would have been nice for prior warning maybe? It seemed like not even the AB staff in the room with us had any idea what was going on.
-Access to water. Of all the rooms I went to over the weekend, only two had bubblers that actually had water in it. I also agree with the person that said some of the containers that held water looked dirty.
-When waiting for an autograph session on Saturday, we had to go through multiple rooms and wait in each one for anywhere between minutes to hours. I think only one of the rooms had AC on...that's how it felt, anyway. And none had water. There was also no staff in the room with us to make sure everything was ok; we were kind of left stranded and it can be bad if someone were to pass out from the heat (especially since there were so many people and that just added to the heat).

And that's really all I could think of. Sorry if I sound negative; there was really nothing bad that happened at AB...most of my cons were generally just safety concerns that can use some improvement. However, in terms of how the con actually is, I had the time of my life and will obviously be returning in the future!
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Painted_Outlaw »

luminarywitch wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2017 3:14 pmTrying to plan out what panels you wanted to see the day before on the website was a nightmare, since the only way to look them over was to try to make out their titles on tiny print in eye-searingly brightly colored boxes and then click them to take you to a separate page with a description.
Do you use the Guidebook app? There's no weird colors (only blue and white) and the material's organized by time with the room info right by it.
You then tap what you want and get the description.
MadaZer0 wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2017 4:41 pmDidn't go to the closing this year for the first time ever since my only reasoning was to watch the AMV winners (Thanks Masquerade <3) but since my friends REFUSE to tell me what the theme is, I cant image anything being worse than Retro.
I believe I heard it was "To the Stars", so essentially..

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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by sdfx »

6th year going to the con and noticed a few drastic things:

Pros:
Echoing everyone else, the lines were extremely short and I really appreciated the Dalton St exit being open again, and the direct access to the Artists' Alley was really nice.

Seeing the cafeteria space being fully used was nice (can't remember if it was in the years prior..)

Enjoyed not having to queue at the escalators as that was a major choking point and caused extra confusion around those entry points (I understand there may be a weight limit or other safety reasons)

Seeing the option of purchasing food within the Con itself was nice, but seems like it was pretty overpriced (I didn't bother looking to buy anything)
Staff were more plentiful so you could feel their increased presence (this can be good or bad depending on how you view this)

EDIT:
Limiting some panels/events with no more than 30 minutes prior for queueing was nice and "evened out" the playing field a little more.


Cons:
Game room - This isn't a gamer's convention, but the game room over the years has been pretty solid. I noticed about say 3 years ago or so before there were more arcade games--there was definitely a larger variety of FPS and other types of games as another poster mentioned. The variety and amount this year were definitely lacking even compared to last year.

Game room pt.2 - DDR Tournament during prime time, a la 6pmish? Really? There were a bunch of people queueing who were looking to play and the only response people got after 15+ minutes of waiting was there's a tournament. Not the smartest time imo to do this, maybe earlier in the day or something.

18+ Content:
With Hentai Dubbing gone, for congoers who have gone in years past know that this event was pretty fun and was always packed and had a really high retention rate--sad to see this one gone now. Would love to see more 18+ content on Friday and Saturday as there are generally a decent amount of people wandering around at 11pm +

Audio Volume: As someone stated previously, the audio was a tad too loud at Closing and at some Panels in general.

Staff Miscommunication:
Got in line for the Hentai AMV after asking a few folks already "in line" and they all gave the consensus that this was the line for the panel. Staff also confirmed this. It wasn't until we were almost getting ready to go in where other staff came and told us that all the folks waiting by the wall were in the wrong line.

Come again? You see us here for at least 20 minutes then decide to say something when you were there. Okay that's fine, maybe things changed and they weren't aware that's fine. My real issue is when they told us, but offered resolution to the folks who had been waiting before the newcomers came into the right line. We ended merging which was a bit awkward to say the least.

Sheraton Panels:
Not sure if this was the case for previous years, but using more space at the Sheraton was nice.
However, using the elevators was difficult due to everyone just clustering and trying to get everywhere. The stairs ended on the third floor, and for panels on the 5th floor for instance, we all had to fight for elevators going up.

Other Thoughts:
In regards to the theme, I was actually expecting more retro artists in the alley, and maybe merch, but I'm not sure why I didn't have this expectation for the other years where we had some other really strong themes like Kaijuu vs Mecha for instance. That year if anyone can remind me, was a great theme where staff and con-goers alike were suuuuper passionate about and there was ample promotion with posters and cardboard cut-outs, etc.

This year felt a little lackluster in the theme promotion department. Can't remember if there's an event where cosplays are graded, or if it's limited to performance/cosplay in the Masquerade, but I think having a portion that can be dedicated to something like "Best in Theme" would possibly promote more adherence to the theme if even for a few.

Overall, I think maybe offering con-goers the option to sign up for a newsletter of sorts when they pre-reg would be helpful in keeping folks informed of any changes from prior years. If they are a new con-goer (maybe have an option to ask if they've gone to AB before), have a list of tips and tricks / best practices.

As people are using the Guidebook app more and more, and possibly the print version less and less, the information contained in the book can easily be overlooked.

Hope this helps!
7 years going strong!

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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by LawlietShinigami »

I was a volunteer this year, as well as last year. I don't know if we have our own separate feedback thread, but I would also like to give feedback as both a volunteer and attendee.

EDIT: Although there were volunteers who were lazy and rude, not all of them were. And the not going to their stations could simply have been part of the overall confusion that seemed to be going around. The con had been rearranged a LOT this year and even hynes staff kept getting lost. I don't mean any disrespect to anyone. I give my honest opinion about all, not just the attendees or just staff. Everyone gets a critical eye from me.

VOL PRO:
Security was much better this year, and staff was much more friendly. The organization was improved considerably.

VOL CON:
A portion of the first years of the volunteer program were HORRIBLE this year. Lazy and rude, not wanting to do any shift that required much work, and when they did do their shifts, they wouldn't go to their correct stations.

Certain staff were very rude this year and seemed very put off by me having my service animal with me this year after last year proved to be too much for me. I improved in performance though with her here to help.

It was a pain to not have attendees listen to me when I repeatedly shouted DON'T BLOCK THE CENTER OF THE HALL. I lost my voice for a good hour from shouting and literally WALKING UP TO PEOPLE TO CHEW THEM OUT FOR BLOCKING WHEELCHAIRS. Seriously, is there any way to make it so we can have some sort of system set up to raise our volume(like a megaphone at a reasonable setting) so when we need to communicate to attendees who are ignoring us, we can make it loud and clear? The issue wasn't even bag check. It was just people being inconsiderate. I got glares from people who were made to move tot he side.

ATT PRO:
Again, security was amazing this year. They made it a lot less stressful to get in and out of the con center. They even were consistent with checking for my service animal's paperwork.

The few 18+ panels available were amazing and funny. I enjoy them, even though there aren't enough right now.

ATT CON:
So the staff was great, but they didn't seem to always know what was going on. On top of that no one was enforcing the '30 minute' lineup rule, or if they were, they weren't being consistent with it the whole way to the 30min mark.

It would have been nice to be told in advance that certain panels had a 'no recording' rule. I was so anxious in all panels the whole weekend because I never knew which ones I was going to be yelled at for having my camera out for. Plus staff was rude about telling me. I'm partially deaf, so recording these panels to view after with headphones is really the only way I even know what is going on, even when sat next to a speaker. Unless I am somewhere near the front, I have no idea what is happening.

On an extended note to the last part of my last con, there should be a section for attendees who are deaf or hard of hearing, or similarly visually impaired near the front so we can visibly see what is going on. Is there any way this can be an added accommodation?



End of feedback, but a note to the people of AB:
Thank you so much for still giving us yet another amazing experience, in spite of the hiccups that happened. You were wonderful and I appreciate all your hard work and dedication. it was an honor and privilege to work with you again and I look forward to working with you again next year. Please don't take my criticism too hard. I understand, as an insider, how difficult it can be to work a con. I am sorry for all you had to go through this year and last, and I am glad to see you grow and improve. I want to try and be any help I can to that growth.
Last edited by LawlietShinigami on Tue Apr 04, 2017 12:48 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Lapis_Lupus »

From staying in the Sheraton, going to and from the Hynes my friends and I did not have to go outside for it AT ALL. All weekend we used strictly the Artist's Alley entrance, and with me dressed as Zarya in workout clothes Friday and Saturday...well, the word blessing doesn't cover it! Also only once, early on Friday, was there a maybe 2-minute wait to go through that bag check station-literally every other time we came in we breezed right through! Actually at least once security was sitting on their tables waiting for something to do. PERFECTION.To think we nearly didn't go this year, we were so disgusted by the security circus last year...but that impression was remedied real quick.

If I might offer my two real criticisms though:

1. Was there no way to re-arrange the fact that the formal ball, the photo meetup room, and/or the swap meet were all held in the Hilton? I mean yes they had to be booked well in advance and it was a great space-saver for the Sheraton/Hynes, but with 1-2 weeks' notice that the weather would be awful wasn't there any way to move some things back? I only say this because running back and forth across the street in <40 degrees and sleet, once in formal attire and once in a tank top and track shorts (my gf did it 3 times since she went to the swap meet on Saturday), was NOT fun.

2. While the Artist's Alley entrance WAS miraculously well-handled with virtually no wait and super-friendly staff, it was my understanding that EVERY entrance was to have both security staff wanding people and a prop check station? Not once was I nor any of my friends wanded at this entrance. One friend said she saw other people wanded here I think on Saturday, but I did not see this at any time myself. Also for a prop on Friday and Saturday I brought a fake barbell made out of foam discs, duct tape and pvc pipes. On Friday there was no prop check station here, and no staff asked about my un-zip-tied prop all the way through the Hynes until, by coincidence, I joined the line for the Dealer's Hall right next to the mall entrance prop station, where it only got checked and approved when I stepped forward and mentioned it to the security personnel (didn't want to let it go and get in trouble somehow later). Also the zip ties were the same orange color all weekend (the color used to be changed every day so they were checked fresh daily), so when I did briefly see them appear (at a bag check table, not at their own station) at the Artist's Alley entrance by Saturday I was never asked again about my prop since I left the Friday zip tie on. If memory serves me right by Sunday that pile of ties was nowhere to be seen again.
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Cosplay_Joe »

I'm Cosplay Joe, and first of all thank you for letting me do the three panels that I did this year. And thank you for taking my feedback at the feedback panel.

One thing that I realized when I got on the train back home, and something I'm very mad at myself for, is the fact that I lost the rose I got from the Sailor Moon panel that I put in my tote bag. It was in my Blue and Black Tote bag, and I know I should have been more responsible, but I really had to move around from event to event so I couldn't really pay attention to it. Did any of you find a missing Rose in the convention area, from the Sailor Moon panel onword? And if so, could you please mail to me? I'll gladly pay for the postage. Thank you and looking forward to coming back next year!
AB 2018 Cosplay Lineup:

Thurs: Doumeki from xxxHolic (w/ the bow too! :D )
Fri: Ayato from The Asterisk War
Sat: Jim Hawking from Outlaw Star. (as pictured in my avatar)
Sun: Lelouch from Code Geass
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Kalyoth »

bunbunrabbit18^^ wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2017 11:54 am Looking back at what AB 2017 had to offer for me it was,

Con
I have never gotten a autograph before so I looked up what the protocol is for this up on the forms then made sure with looking out the guidebook rules. For both they state that NO ONE can line before the timing so you can start getting in line 30 minutes before the event started. So I fallowed the rules of the waiting 30 minutes before going and waiting in line to get a autograph. But when I got their they were all ready sold out. Their was miscommunication when it came to this along with not telling fellow AB goers that they can not wait in that area if they were to get a autograph. I feel like this needs to be enforced so that this does not happen again.
FrankFullmetal wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2017 3:46 pm Con:
The way autographs were handled was atrocious, easily the worst I've seen as long as I've come to this con. My friends and I were ready to line up for Johnny Yong Bosch's signing 30 minutes before the signing was supposed to start. When we were brought into the waiting room, there were already 4 stalls of people waiting. Rather than having the people that were already there sent to the back of the line, the staff member in charge handed out tickets to groups at the front of each stall. My friends and I missed out on getting a ticket and I started the convention by seeing my girlfriend in tears because she thought she wasn't going to meet her favorite voice actor. Luckily, Johnny was signing at his booth when we went down to the dealer's room an hour later to see if his agent was there so we could find out what other times he would be doing signings. We were able to meet him and get his autograph, but had to spend money that we did not plan on spending. There was also an instance where my friends and I were waiting on the second floor of the Sheraton before the My Hero Academia signing and saw a crowd of people go up the stairs before 30 minutes till the session's start time and got anxious when we realized that they did not come down a few minutes later. Because we could not trust the convention's system and were worried that we would lose our chance to get into this session, we went up the stairs only to find staff lining up this crowd early. The way autographs are handled needs to be drastically improved for next year. Staff were not assertive enough in removing attendees from the area outside the autograph waiting rooms in the Sheraton. Attendees had to linger near the area in order to show up right when the clock struck 30 minutes before the session's start time in order to ensure they got on the official line early so they could get an autograph.

Overall, the convention was great and I really enjoyed it. Please just fix the autograph system for next year so we can avoid the massacre that we experienced this year. Thank you.
Aph-iceland wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2017 3:37 pm Yo, like I can totally get why you'd do this but next time make an announcement!! Or something!!! At your autograph sessions (the one I'm talking about in particular is the My Hero academia signing). If you're only going to let 100 people in (luckily I was able to get the poster signed) please please please announce that the only thing that can be signed is free posters. Not the guidebook, not anything we bought, nothing from other fandoms. Me and a lot of other people had bought things to be signed so it was a real let down even if the poster was free... so maybe announce that kind of thing?
I have to say - I would hope for a complete review & addressing of the entire Autograph policy, proceedures & staffing for next year. I was also one of the many hoping for autographs - do so every con I attend. For the now 12 AB's I've been to, for the most part, it has always been the same issues that are there & almost always with the same people who are running it or in charge of it.

1) The location is horrible - immediate fire code violations just by having several hundred people crammed against the walls of a narrow corridor in an "official" or "unofficial" line. I actually feel very bad about the Blood Drive being located in the same space crammed with so many people. Add to that (see 2).

2) The Artist Alley entrance becomes congested with lines of people being moved by security staff forming "unofficial" lines for autograph sessions vs. a policy of actually blocking off / ensuring through any means available that no one can wait on the floor until the time frame opens (posted signage with the policy & dates/times people "can" begin to line up in a roped off area managed by staff would address this). Might need to invest even more security / staff / volunteers to manage the area. Don't think facing the closing of an entrance to avoid fire code violations would be in anyone's interests.

3) The staff (both red & orange) that run the department seem to always run the area based upon how they feel about doing it / wake up feeling like. There were multiple examples of this all across Friday (I was there for eight of the sessions) with clusters of them talking together making statements such as "I hate being here, is it over yet?" "I wish these people would go away" "Why do these people keep hanging out here" "More bathing please" or asking each other what they were doing. With few exceptions (Security fox tail was a shining beacon of continued patience in the department), each of the security staff had no consistent message or actions implemented to handle what was easily predicable to occur with the guests invited (15 years is plenty of time to get it right).

4) Actually a new issue to address in Autographs (at least new for AB to my knowledge) - guests charging for autographs & photos. I accept this occurs as this is not outrageous or even frowned upon. However, some advanced notice on this major policy change would have been nice prior to actually being in line.

Each year many of the same complaints are brought up for autographs with promises made it will be looked into & addressed. Cosmetic changes occur with policy. Same issues reoccur. Location doesn't change. Staffing do not change. While not every attendee will ever get all the autographs they line up for, they all deserve as equal a chance to obtain them as possible. More can be reasonably done beyond just changing the policies & referring people to "the policy" w/o having it readily posted & equally enforced. Especially when people feel their critique is never taken seriously.
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Kalyoth »

RikkuX21 wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2017 9:43 pm Pros-
security lines were fast. Should do what Disney does, random select people and search. And just have a cute drug sniffing dog. Hopefully we wont need security anymore. Us con goers are good people. Just keep officers around and walking about.
Staff and volunteers i came across were friendly
Panels attended were great
Guest voice actors and singers were great!
Disney just rolled out mandatory 100% security screening with metal detectors before entering the parks Same weekend as AB so...be careful what you wish for ^^

Security for entering the convention was awesome this year & kudo's to all who worked so hard to get it ironed out for us. The weather was trying as was the flooding in the Prudential by the Sheraton. Well managed. Please keep it up!
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by dainascully »

There should be some hallway direction, especially in the dealer's/artist alley. It was really irritating to me that people would just stop and gather in big circles in the middle of major walkways. In the halls, I understand people want photos/meeting up with friends/etc., but it was just ridiculous in dealer's/alley. On Friday I was so frustrated with the lack of crowd control and rudeness of people that I ended up getting out of my cosplay early. I have never done this! The rudeness of people can't be fixed by AB, but maybe if there were like, arrows on the floor, or staff members around to sort of be like, "keep it moving" that would be great.

Also, my boyfriend and I wanted to go to the formal dancing lessons, and when we found someone to ask we found out the lessons were across the street in the Hilton! It was snowing! Haha. I get that AB gets bigger and bigger every year, but tbh, I think it would be better if the panels were kept in the Sheraton/Hynes. We didn't end up going because the weather was too terrible to walk outside.

Along the lines of panels, there really were a lot that just...sucked. There were big blocks of panels that sounded horrible, then an hour where everything I wanted to do was happening at the same time. I ended up with like, three things scheduled for 9:00 on Saturday. These popular panels should be better spread out through the day with the niche panels. As someone who's run panels 3 times with AB, I feel like there should be some sort of standards to be held to. So many people create these amazing powerpoints and scripts and stuff for their panels, and then there was one panel I went to where they were like, "here's some tutorials on this subject that we found on google." Like, thanks. I could've done that myself. And actually, one of the tutorials they showed was one I had used in the past. I'm not here for you to google for me.

The dealers room, I think, could use a lot more variety. I collect art books, and there were two tables in the whole con that had older art books. There was one table devoted to games. Only a few for lolita style clothes. I don't even think I saw a table for j/k-pop stuff. One table for steampunk style accessories... But if I collected plushies, I was all set. There were probably 20 or 30 tables devoted to plushies, and not even different plushies. All the same ones! It was super irritating. I was glad I did find the unique tables in the bunch, but man. It would be a lot cooler if there was some more variety!
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Mike Toole »

Kalyoth wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2017 8:45 am I have to say - I would hope for a complete review & addressing of the entire Autograph policy, proceedures & staffing for next year.
I, too, notice the same issue with autographs each year. I usually have just one guest I really go for (like, in 2015, it was the Godzilla gents, and in 2012 it was Haruko Momoi, and this year it was Puffy-- missed the cutoff Friday, but I got in Saturday!!) so I plan ahead and am very attentive, but it's the same deal every time-- I show up about an hour before the line officially opens to see a swarm of other people like me, clutching the same kind of goodies for the same guest, hanging around. The staff tell us that we're not allowed to line up yet, so we scatter... sort of. Most folks hang around the vicinity, playing 3DS or checking their phones, walking down the hall... but just far enough away so they can still see/hear the area, just in case the line suddenly opens.

And then, maybe the "official" half hour before the posted time, or maybe earlier depending on how big that ever-expanding swarm is, a staffer will abruptly announce that the lineup is open, and people RUN chaotically to get into formation. It's frenetic and kind of funny, but I can really understand the frustration of the folks who try to be good and come back at 12:01 for the 12:00pm line, only to find there's already 100+ people ahead of them.

I reckon the only solution is to make the lines officially open earlier, but maybe there's not enough space? I actually really like the 3rd floor layout, and the system of "line up in auxiliary queue room--->walk over to main queue room--->walk into autograph suite and meet guest!!" It just feels like maybe there aren't enough queue rooms to go around? Otakon and AX have their autograph queues in larger, more open areas, but they have problems too (AX has huge, poorly-marked lines next to each other, Otakon has plenty of space but a single entry point for all autograph lines that's perpetally clogged, etc.) I'm generally kinda OK with the current system, but would be all for it if the staff could figure out a fix...

As for general feedback from a longtime attendee, speaker, and friend of the con:
-Security lines owned. Efficient and lightning-quick! I hate the security theatre and find it largely pointless, but if the MCCA and the con's insurers deem it necessary, this is the way to do it. The security contractors manning the tables/wands were generally much nicer and more relaxed this year, too.

-Guest selection was top notch. Great mix of crowd-pleasing North American guests, exciting insiders from Japan, and kickin rad musical acts. After I missed them in NYC in 2010, I figured I'd never get to see Puffy again, so their performance in particular felt like a real gift to me :)

-BIG HUGE PROPS for splitting Constitution into two rooms. That room has traditionally been for guest focus panels, and I rarely saw it even half full in previous years. The two separate rooms feel like the PERFECT size for the midsized panels.

-In general, having a lot of programming in the Sheraton was great. I'm more of a 'watch Japanese guests discuss their craft' kind of attendee, and the Sheraton's ambiance was well-suited to that. The Hynes is better for the huge expo halls, gaming areas, and mammoth FUN TIME panels. I do wish there was an accessible staircase to the small panel rooms up on the 5th floor - I saw a couple of great presentations there, but had to do some waiting for the elevators.

Overall, a particularly great year for me, at what's always been a fun con. It feels like the crummy weather put a damper on walk-in crowds, though. While it was nice to have the extra elbow room, I hope the con wasn't hurt too badly by this!! Can't wait for next year, guys-- you killed it!!
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by NewEnglander »

Celebrated my 10th year attending Anime Boston with my daughter, and I have to say it was a huge change from last year! Security and line management was greatly improved and I feel that this setup should be the norm for future cons-to-come. It felt like old times, where I could actually leave the event site to eat or pop up to my hotel room, and not have to worry about standing in line again for extended periods of time instead of enjoying the con. Keep up the good work, AB staff!
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Xias »

Mike Toole wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2017 11:53 amI do wish there was an accessible staircase to the small panel rooms up on the 5th floor - I saw a couple of great presentations there, but had to do some waiting for the elevators.
Pssst....there was an accessible staircase to the 5th floor. I just think very few people knew about it.

So for some background here, I ended up staying on the 5th floor of the Sheraton this year for my hotel room, on the South Tower side. This ended up being perfect on a number of different levels: since other attendees need to get to the 5th floor for panels it was the only floor you didn't have to scan your room key to get to, and on top of that I had a panel at one of the 5th floor panel rooms on Saturday so it ended up being all of a 1 minute walk from my hotel room which was very cool.

But anyway. Eventually we too noticed that it was getting increasingly impossible to get back to our hotel room, let alone to the panels on the 5th floor. Some time on Saturday one of the orange shirted staffers showed us where the South Tower staircase was. Even though it was labeled "Emergency Exit" on the 5th floor door (and thus I wasn't sure we were allowed to use it at first), I asked the hotel staffer on our floor if it was okay and he assured me it was. So this might be something to keep in mind for next year when the elevators get backed up again.

The exact location of the door is basically right nearby the South Tower elevators on the 3rd floor- it is a very nondescript looking door, you have to know what you're looking for, but any staffer nearby will probably know what it is. On the 5th floor, it puts you in a hallway right by the South Tower elevators, which is a very short walk from the 5th floor panel & video rooms. The only downside here is there is no access to the 1st or 2nd floors from this stairwell (if you look below the 3rd floor landing, there's a stop sign and it explicitly says something like "No Hotel Access- Staff Only" or something), so you have to walk up to the 3rd floor every time you want to use it. But still, it was a lot faster than waiting for the elevators. So keep this in mind for next year, if you want to get to the 5th floor panel rooms but find the elevators are extremely backed up (as they seem to get on Saturday and Sunday especially, not quite as bad on Thursday or Friday).
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Nemra »

in regards to complaints about autograph pricing, these are not Anime Boston autograph sessions and are completely at the discretion of the guests. If there is a signing that is not happening in the typical rooms and isn't shown on the schedule or guidebook, it is out of our hands entirely.
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Kalyoth »

Nemra wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2017 12:15 pm in regards to complaints about autograph pricing, these are not Anime Boston autograph sessions and are completely at the discretion of the guests. If there is a signing that is not happening in the typical rooms and isn't shown on the schedule or guidebook, it is out of our hands entirely.
These prices were quoted to me by the AB Security while standing in the lines in the Anime Boston Autograph Sessions in Sheraton on 3rd Floor. Was something like $10.00 for items on table $15 for photo's? May want to check with those staffers. I'm not complaining about pricing existing as much as no notice prior to being in the line waiting to see them about it. Others were understandably quite upset over hearing about the pricing with some even walking out.
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Nemra »

Sounds like it was pricing for the merch not the autographs themselves, so just to clarify...was this pricing for the autographs themselves or pricing for merch that was in the room that you could purchase to be signed?
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by kidcore »

this was my first anime boston, and i think it ran better than other cons i've attended. the environment was great, people were friendly and there was no choas. (besides a few ppl who thought it would be a good idea to pop balloons and scared me and security. )

the only negative ghings i have to bring up are:
some fan-run panels were REALLY bad. i was looking forward to going to the pretty cure panel all weekend, only to be extremely disappointed. the guy running it had no social skills and expected everyone to know everything. also they started to explain each episode. i left not even 5 minutes in.

the schedule layout is hell for me. i have dyslexia and can't for the life of me figure anything out. also on the website why don't you all bulletpoint roles the guests are in... again with my disorder it makes it way too hard.

i was kinda upset you only had one chance to get an autograph from a certain person. also it sucks only 100 people are garenteed to get a ticket.
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Shinden »

For completion's sake, my full list, even if NEAS is not responsible:

SECURITY:
The lines situation was a far cry from previous years. While I still disagree with the need for and implementation of security, the way it was handled this year was as close to perfection as it can get. I never waited more than a minute.

However I must complain about the consistency. While most of my experiences entering went smoothly, one in particular searched every pocket in my bag, including shirt pockets, sweatshirt pockets, etc. The man tasted my vape liquid (I mean, there's no danger to his health or anything, but what gives?). After every item he said "what else you have", the whole interaction was about four minutes, after which he pulled me aside in a curt manner to bring a telescoping flag pole to prop check, where the Securitas staffer there looked in confusion as to why the security guy was so aggressive with me.

I know Securitas is contracted out (my buddy who works for them at Sig Sauer actually was asked to do a detail at AB), but it still seemed wildly different depending on location and who you got. Really the only issue now is, it's stressful when you go to the con and don't know whether you'll get someone who normally works at an amusement park and is just making sure you don't have any weapons or illegal things, or someone who works at a high security weapons manufacturer and treats you like you're crossing the border at Panmunjom.

PROGRAMMING:

Well rounded panel selection, however the Sheraton 5th floor panel rooms are still too out of the way, and give me nostalgia pains for when my family could afford hotel vacations with pools.

Screenings were good, but if I may make a possible no-go suggestion: raise the projectors like, five feet. Watching subs while a guy puts his arms behind his head is infuriating.

Also as a panelist I was offered a line skip tab to put on my badge. However when I checked in with operations they told me I would have to go back to registration to get this. Why didn't they give them at Programming? I didn't ever need to use it, and I wasn't planning on it (unless there was an emergency) but it seems like a good idea to give them to panelists when they check in.

GUESTS:

Still wanting for Studio Trigger.

DEALERS:

Always the hilight of the con. Again, well rounded. I got deals I couldn't get online for nendoroids, and I didn't see any bootlegs. Only issue I had was with other congoers taking photos, completely blocking the walking space for a while, but that's not going to change. Maybe we can have a "count to eight rule"?

VENDORS:

Why why why why did they close vendors on Sunday. Finding food was a nightmare. Ended up going home early just to eat.

BLOG IT (personal stuff):
Vape pen broke while I was drunkenly stumbling home from Ittoku with a pitcher of Kirin and a bottle of sake in my system. Finding any sort of nicotine in the general area was next to impossible, cashier at Star Market claimed it was because of a contract between the mall and the hotels.
2012: I, Otaku
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2014: An Introduction to Kill La Kill
2015: Beyond Honnouji
2016: Japanophile's Guide to Boston, Nippon wo Mamore
2017: All About the Imperial Family
2018: Contrasts of Tezuka
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Painted_Outlaw »

kidcore wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2017 2:04 pmsome fan-run panels were REALLY bad. i was looking forward to going to the pretty cure panel all weekend, only to be extremely disappointed. the guy running it had no social skills and expected everyone to know everything. also they started to explain each episode. i left not even 5 minutes in.
I'm less angry at your reply as much as extremely confused?

First off, what do you mean that I "expected everyone to know everything"? Was it because of when I said how there was such a turnout, I didn't need to go over the production history? You know what was mostly for humor, right? I had the slides made up, I was gonna do it either way, haha. And, I tried describing stuff such as "Ashita no Nadja" (the show that preceded Futari wa Pretty Cure) and the FWPC staff such as Takeshi Washio and/or Daisuke Nishio; if I was talking to ones who knew everything, I wouldn't have felt the need to do that.

It's probably true that I could've delved more into the FWPC writer staff but, it's pretty difficult to find out that staff from that early on. (I think the earliest writer I've found was PC5's Yoshimi Narita but that's its own topic).

I didn't "explain each episode" either. I did delve a bit into Futari wa's mid-show shift but that was kinda important in describing how the show got extended via its popularity. Otherwise, I just gave summaries of the show and character arcs but on ones like Heartcatch or Suite, I had to reel myself in because well, I want people to watch these shows not hear out of the blue everything that goes on in say, Moonlight's character arc for instance. Then, they won't watch it. I want to get people into this franchise, not drive them away.

I'm not gonna touch the "no social skills" part because I wouldn't know where to start.
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Anna-neko »

Xias wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2017 12:05 pm Pssst....there was an accessible staircase to the 5th floor. I just think very few people knew about it.
second this!! Also I'm starting to feel like an upgraded NPC or something for knowing they're even there... as have been using it for years
On Sunday they had a staffer (hotel staff, dude in a suit) holding the door open in the stairwell as a sorta helping hand to all the people marching down the stairs with their luggage

North Tower - if u walk past the elevators into the hallway thar - turning left are some excellent bathrooms with a full-length mirror in the ladies, and turning right ... like 2nd door down are the stairs
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why, yes, I have been goin to this con since day 1. Wanna brain-break on the age math?
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Maydog »

I respectfully wish to request if Anime Boston could seriously consider a way to set up mailing pre reg badges of some sort to pre reg members prior to the start of the Converntion. I know I have mentioned this last year but I really wish this was something that AB could accomplish. Other conventions who do this have just about elliminated their pre reg lines. Plus members wouldn't have to wait on it to pick up their badges, just go right to the convention. I understand not everyone would do it because it would involve a service charge but the convenience of this for most would be fantastic.
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by naomimoan »

HI!!! First time posting in the forums, but figure I can give my feedback at least.

I've been going to Anime Boston for 6 years, but to be honest, I've always been one to just drop in, shop (all day) at the dealer's room, play some games, go to some of the big concerts, and that's it. I'm a simpler con goer I guess - I think I've only cosplayed like twice at Anime Boston.

Anyway, compared to the last few years, the entry lines to the convention was drastically better overall! The only time that was a struggle was Saturday morning. They still had to use that god awful alleyway, and of course like last year, it was cold... very cold. I feel so bad for the other girls who were in full costume that showed a lot of skin. That can't be safe! Can the convention get some big heat lamps, kind of like how restaurants use for outdoor seating, in that alleyway to keep people warm?

Also while we're on the same topic of lines, the lines seem to criss cross alot at the short stairs from the Sheraton hotel to the Hynes (right in front of the same alleyway). There's got to be a better way to manage that area. With lines coming from and merging from the hotel and the mall and people trying to get through, it's a traffic mess! At one point the lines backed up wayyy outside, and I think the mall security (hah?!), not the convention staff, had to do a lot of the trafficking . There were staff there I think wearing orange shirts, but they were all clustered in groups and just chatting/tapping on their phones. I remember a lady behind me yelling "DO YOUR JOBS!" C;.

Anyhoo, it was a big mess, that is until this group of convention staffers in blue shirts showed up. They all had radio harnesses on and brought with them an army of staff in orange vest (I think it said "volunteers" on them)? They were super efficient, constantly talking on their radios and "10-4" this and "copy" that, and knew exactly what they were doing. Once they starting placing people at certain spots to direct traffic, it was super smooth getting people moving and into the convention. A few friends of mine who were way behind me and still waiting outside the alleyway said that this blue shirt came out to meet them to direct them to a different entrance so they can get out of the cold and into the convention quicker. What service <3!

I don't think lines getting into the convention got any worse than that morning, so a great job to these blue shirt staffers and the rest of the staff at Anime Boston for really listening and fixing one of the biggest pains at this convention! You did an amazing job! I'll be back next year!
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Mad Dad »

Awesome job with the bag check reorganization and having access to the dealer's floor around to the main aisle instead of across from the cafe.
We're already registered for Anime Boston 2018 and looking forward to it!
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by nodsviper »

Anyone else have walk up 20 flights of stairs in the emergency stairwell when the elevators were offline Friday evening? :lol:

The unfortunate weather was perfectly timed for the weekend. If you guys are driving far and want to save some money on parking, I suggest ditching your car at alewife station and riding the T in. It's less than $10 a day for parking, and taking the red line > green line can drop you off a few hundred yards from the Sheraton. The lines to get into the convention center this year were better than last year, I suspect partly due to the lack of metal detectors. As some others have said, more 18+ stuff spread out over longer time slots would be awesome.

The crowding caused by groups standing around in the hynes hallways needs to be addressed next year. Coming out of the Okamoto's concert on Saturday there was a huge bottle neck in the hall due to a bunch of cosplayers performing a skit or something. At least half the hallway was taken up by people either taking pics or being part of it.

Please continue to have concerts at AB! Nano ripe and then Okamoto's this year were radical.
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by sohopefully »

madman1502 wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2017 7:40 pm This one's a bit of a personal hang-up, and might be the only bad thing I had to say about any panel I went to: The Lip Sync, while an awesome event and very much a panel that I would vote to bring back next year, needs to have a rule about mouth coverings. It felt cheap for a Kakashi to make it to the finals when we can't even see if their mouth is moving.[/list]
Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback! We appreciate hearing from you, especially for taking the time to touch upon our newest addition to the Cosplay Games lineup.

Lip Sync Battle, though it is called "Lip Sync Battle," is actually a contest about putting on the most entertaining performance. Being able to match lips to the song is actually a very, very small part of this. Anyone who's focused on that element probably isn't going to win because it's primarily about getting the audience excited about what's on stage. Like Death Match, it's a popularity contest. Get the audience to cheer for you, and you win.

Also, the inclusion of Kakashi, a character whose lips one cannot see, was intended to be a visual joke. (Is he doing a great job at lip sync? Who knows!? Haha!) We do appreciate the fact that this may have been lost on some, however, and will keep these to a minimum if not eliminate them entirely in the future.

Hopefully we'll see you at Anime Boston 2018!
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Bluebeard45 »

Ok- One criticism, the Hynes Convention Burgers. And I'm dead serious about this. Those things were so foul they were not passable as food. I grabbed one and brought it over to the condiment station to add ketchup to it, and when I opened up the foil the bun was absolutely soaked in what I imagine was grease? Like it was soaked to the point where if you touched it it would slough off and there was no way to take the bun off to add ketchup. Touching it just deformed the gelatinous blob surrounding the low grade meat. THANKFULLY I decided to add the ketchup before paying for it, so when I saw the Lovecraftian horror contained within that foil pouch I left that thing on the table and booked it to the taco stand. If I had actually put down real money for that I would've been furious. If that's the Hynes' best attempt at a hamburger, please just skip them next year. They need to be made aware that that is NOT an acceptable meal.
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by sohopefully »

MadaZer0 wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2017 4:41 pm Less to Do: I remember that there were even events or you could call it "Quests" or a "Scavenger hunt" where people would have to go around the con to find pieces of information to complete it and earn a prize. Or those years that I saw people with buckets walking around trying to do something with them. Cant remember exactly since I didn't partake in them often. But I know my friends did and it seemed like it'd be really fun. Might've actually done it this year if there was one. But it seems like that disappeared as well.
Hello, and thank you for your feedback! We appreciate when our attendees take the time to offer their thoughts, and you raise some excellent points.

Cosplay Games did have a Scavenger Hunt, which we offered at both standard and master levels. We had them at the Cosplay Games HQ up in 303. Next year we hope to distribute some at the info desks as well to make them more accessible to more people. Thank you for voicing your enthusiasm for this event. We'll be sure to keep it in our roster!

The Barrel Game is also organized by Cosplay Games. It was not used this year as it is generally tied to Cosplot, and it did not fit into the story line this year. We hear you, though, and we will try to find a way to work it in next year regardless of whether or not it ties into the plot. You ask, we provide as best we can!

These are incredibly useful suggestions to us, and I would like to thank you again for them. Hopefully we will see you at Anime Boston 2018!
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by sohopefully »

Yukito Kunisaki wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2017 6:44 pm While on the subject of games, I believe in more audience participation for some games. I didn't attend too many this year but I did in 2016. It felt like most games would already have people prior to the game. I think as an audience member, that going there knowing I could take part in something is what catches my immediate interest. It's why i quit going to Family Feud. The idea is fun and all but if the teams won't be taken from the audience, why would I, someone who is competitive and wants to go to these gameshows to actually try to take part in them.... go? I know Family Feud is an instant no-go. Yes, I enjoy the show and all, but going to the panels, it's like.... you expect to have a "chance" to be part of it.

A good example this year was lip sync battle actually. I went there thinking I could do it but I ended up on my tablet more than I thought I would. (Not to say performers were bad. They were good, but without that chance of being able to get into it, my interest in the event dropped nearly 85%.
Hello, and thank you for your comments!

Cosplay Games applications are open from January 1 until at least the end of February. Our games take a great deal of advance coordination as each one is effectively a show that is being put on for our audiences. We work at length with our participants in order to provide the most entertaining experience possible. Cosplay Games events are showcases for cosplayers, and, unfortunately, we need to select in advance. Game Shows generally involves much more audience participation and spontaneity.

That said, we do have some games (Match Game, for example) that involve some audience participation. Also, we are definitely trying to find more ways to include attendees who might not get to apply in advance as we recognize the large number of first time attendees at Anime Boston each year. Stay tuned, and we will do our best to have some exciting new things to show you next year.

Hopefully we'll see you at Anime Boston 2018!
Hope Middleton
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Kalyoth »

Nemra wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2017 1:03 pm Sounds like it was pricing for the merch not the autographs themselves, so just to clarify...was this pricing for the autographs themselves or pricing for merch that was in the room that you could purchase to be signed?
This was the pricing for the merch provided by guest for autograph if no item brought for autograph or for photograph taken of the guest. Again, not me critiquing it, just that the situation caught many off guard. I have seen this merch previously in the guest rooms for signings with no announcement ever made for purchases. I would imagine a simple notice posted for autographs informing our members that merch may also be available for a fee (including photos) would probably be enough under the guest listing announcement on the guest page both printed & on web site each year.
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Nemra »

Kalyoth wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2017 8:31 pm
Nemra wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2017 1:03 pm Sounds like it was pricing for the merch not the autographs themselves, so just to clarify...was this pricing for the autographs themselves or pricing for merch that was in the room that you could purchase to be signed?
This was the pricing for the merch provided by guest for autograph if no item brought for autograph or for photograph taken of the guest. Again, not me critiquing it, just that the situation caught many off guard. I have seen this merch previously in the guest rooms for signings with no announcement ever made for purchases. I would imagine a simple notice posted for autographs informing our members that merch may also be available for a fee (including photos) would probably be enough under the guest listing announcement on the guest page both printed & on web site each year.
Right. I just wanted to make sure that they weren't advertising it in a way where they made it so that you have to purchase something in order to get the autograph, in which case that would be something some people would need a talking to for next year.
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by kiarrens »

nodsviper wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2017 7:06 pm
The crowding caused by groups standing around in the hynes hallways needs to be addressed next year. Coming out of the Okamoto's concert on Saturday there was a huge bottle neck in the hall due to a bunch of cosplayers performing a skit or something. At least half the hallway was taken up by people either taking pics or being part of it.
Sorry about this! These were my masquerade participants. Many arrived earlier than intended (usually a helpful thing... except this year), and we were trying to get them out of the way before you guys started exiting, but it didn't quite work out due to the costumes being oversized. Apologies again!

Also, to the person on page one who had issues with being put way over to the right, this is entirely my fault. I apologize profusely and will ensure that it doesn't happen again.
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Assistant Masquerade Coordinator 2013 - 2014
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Master of NERV »

Here goes!

First up: whatever you did about security, it worked--far better than I would have imagined. (Disclaimer: so as not to compare my experience with someone waiting for at-door registration, I got my badge on Thursday night and had no need to leave the complex.)

The longest wait I had to enter the Hynes was about 10 minutes on Friday morning, usually half that (and no longer than 5 minutes outside in line). The no bag/bag signs were a big help, as was the signage on the floors. The multiple stations at the Artist's Alley entrance (which I never found closed, BTW) worked great.

Not only was security fast, the Hynes staff seemed to be almost transformed. They were professional, courteous, and even chipper, going so far as making friendly off-the-cuff comments while we waited our turn. Also, it confirmed I theory I had--if security was calm, we'd be more likely to stay calm ourselves. It makes me seriously wonder if a new agency was hired between events.

I need to make a bit of a confession here. Whenever people asked me about attending this year, I felt compelled to give them an unvarnished account of last year's difficulties as a due warning. After this year, I'll be able to give an unqualified thumbs-up for anyone wanting to come to 2018!

I know that the Museum has been around for a bit, but it was very nice having it in the Hynes this year. Having attended every AB since the beginning, the exhibits brought back a lot of great memories. I sincerely hope it was well attended!

The Fan Creation theater was a great addition. I think you should make it a permanent fixture.

Last but certainly not least, having Lisa Ortiz at AB after so long was a real treat!

See you all in 2018!
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by LantisEscudo »

Master of NERV wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2017 8:56 pm The Fan Creation theater was a great addition. I think you should make it a permanent fixture.
This was actually our second year running the theater, it just had a new name and a real sign this year. We're glad you liked it, and we plan to continue running it as long as it remains popular.
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by QueenVulpix »

I haven't been able to attend the con for a couple years which has certainly made me sad (Attended in 14' and 15') read all about last years issues with security and am glad to read that this year things were much better! Going to do everything I can to make it to AB 18' but as I'll most likely be having major surgery in early 2018 it might conflict with my ability to attend then >_<

The fan creation theater certainly sounds like a really neat addition to and something that wasn't there the last time I attended the con so I look forward to it next year if I'm hopefully able to make it!
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Oos »

My only real complaint is that a couple times I saw a photographer taking pictures of someone in a punky black and pink lolita looking outfit and laying in the middle of a walkway in the pru. for like 10 full minutes. whoever this photog was is kind of a jerk.

i also gotta say (though this was out of the con's control) that 60 dollars for a nendoroid is ridiculous and i saw a loooot of booths that had them for that.

MORE AFFORDABLE FOOD OPTIONS. i dont want to pay 9 dollars for a taco bowl or 7 for just a (apparently really crappy from what ive read here) burger. i had to pay like 20 bucks for lunch if i didnt want to eat a really iffy looking burger or eat more than JUST a burger. i dont know if its the hynes responsible for this or not but the loss of the food court took out about half my budget for the weekend because i wanted to get a little more for the money i had and not have diarrhea for the weekend.

last complaint: it kind of bugs me that there were panels around noon sunday when a lot of hotel check-out times are between 11/noon. i had to miss the touken ranbu panel, the ONLY one i would have wanted to go to, because we had to stay behind and check out.


as far as good stuff: as a disabled person i gotta say that how things were run with lines this year? MUCH better.
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Master of NERV »

KrisChan89 wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2017 2:17 pm The audio for almost all events is way too loud. I'm not trying to sound like an old fuddy-duddy, but it was so painful to listen to the concerts, the AMVs, the video aspects of the Masquerade, etc. We left halfway through the Puffy AmiYumi concert because it hurt our ears (and we could see others holding their ears as well) and I could feel the bass in my chest. I'm not unfamiliar with loud concerts, I've been to many, but these were unbearable each year, and I feel really ruin the Artists' performance when all you can hear is bass and the occasional high-pitched note.
I have to second this. I went to the Outlaw Star Blu-ray premiere and had to clamp my ears during the opening credits, and I was in the back of the room. The audio seemed particularly heavy on the low frequency, which is why I stopped going to the AMVs some years ago.
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by runicmagitek »

I had an utter blast this AB! Many thanks to the staff for making this possible. I'll definitely be returning with friends in tow for next year. Like everyone else, here's my list o' feedback.

Pros
  • It's going to sound like a broken record, but security and lines this year were tremendously better. My friend and I were staying at the Sheraton and oh boy, were we glad the Artist Alley entrance got figured out. I don't think we wait for more than a minute in that line. Even the entrance through the Hynes was smooth and easy. All the security folk were friendly and mindful of our cosplays. The only weird interaction was on Friday up in the Artist Alley, where one of the security folk was all serious and took out my jam packed make-up bag and asked, "Are there drugs in here?" And when I told him it was all make-up stuff (you know, while I'm in full blown make-up; I was doing Midna) and he could check it, he gave me a look and put it back in my bag. Kinda weird, but everyone else was great, so this one interaction didn't bother me.
  • Cosplay Repair Station! My Midna cloak was starting to rip every time I bent over to put down my bag for pictures, so we rushed to the repair station. The people there were so very kind, both staff and con-goers, and I can't stress enough how much I appreciate the help. Every time I walked by there, it was jam packed. I can only imagine everyone who took advantage of it was appreciative of the efforts.
  • I didn't go to many panels this year, but what I did go to, I loved. I was a big fan of Wait Wait, Don't Anime and Iron Cosplay. Jumping off of that, I don't know how you guys figure out hosts for some events, like Iron Cosplay or Afterdark Dating Game, but it's an A+ job. The chemistry with the hosts was awesome and I loved seeing them all interact.
  • People were respectful with asking for pictures or just coming up to my friend and myself in general while we were in cosplay. I've been to other cons with heavy crowds and worried that a more intricate cosplay would get bumped into or stepped on, but I never had that happen here. The cosplay atmosphere at AB is what really makes me love doing it.
  • The photosuite area, as always, is superb. People were beyond friendly and the photographer was great with giving tips to make sure our photos came out awesome (and I can't wait to see them!).
  • I loved the theme this year and loved little things like retro music being played before all the panels got going. That was a nice touch, regardless if it was done on purpose or not.
  • I don't know if this was a joint thing with AB and the Sheraton or just the Sheraton, but the clean room contest thing was an awesome idea!
Cons
  • I was disappointed the print area from the photobooth never got up and running, at least not in the times I went down to check. Checked Friday - it was down. Checked Saturday - still down. Went back Sunday around 1:30ish? Everything was gone. I know the digital photos will be available soon, but I was looking forward to getting a good print of my cosplay that I could keep.
  • Security seemed inconsistent with prop checks, mostly in the Artist Alley entrance. Friday was fine and they tagged things appropriately, but on Saturday, we had to point to the ties the guy had under the table and on Sunday, we were just told to go to the main entrance to get that done. In theory, someone with a prop that didn't meet standards could have slipped in if the person decided to not go down and have it checked. I'm glad they were a lot more lax this year, but that did bother me.
  • I do wish there were more Japanese guests. I don't really watch dubbed anime, so when looking at the list of guests, I recognized only one person, and even that wasn't enough to make me clear out time for an autograph. I know this might be a lot more strings to pull than with an American guest, but it would make me immensely excited to actually recognize guests for once (someone mentioned Studio Trigger and I don't know what sorcery you need to make that magic happen, but if you have it, PLEASE DO IT).
  • I had little to no issues with crowds in regards to people stopping for pictures. With my experience, everyone went off to the side or was conscious of what was going on. What I DID have trouble with was just random groups of people stopping in the middle of a hallway for no reason or people standing right in front of a doorway to text. I nearly crashed into a couple of folk who did this. This might be hard to police, especially when it feels like Common Sense 101, but I do wish if someone needed to chat with their friends or make that important text, they're not do it in the middle of heavy traffic.
  • The dealer's room felt lacking. I went to three different places in search of a particular manga and none of them had it and when I kept looking at the A section, they all looked the same after a while. I was also shocked at the amount of dealers who had expensive, fragile figurines up front for people to easily bump into. I didn't want to go anywhere near those areas in fear I'd breathe on one wrong and it would break. Lastly, there seemed to be a handful of artists in the dealer's room? And not official art, but clearly fanart. Was it overflow from the artist's alley? Were they the actual original artists or people stealing someone else's work and printing it for profit? I had no idea and couldn't find any indication of why they were there, so it left me feeling iffy on the whole thing.
  • This is super specific and I won't be upset if it's something beyond AB's control, but I thought I'd bring it up. I have a mixture of food allergies and digestive diseases that making eating out difficult. I pre-pack all of my meals and snacks before cons in fear that I won't find anything to eat. Granted, I didn't check out the cafeteria that was there, but when I saw people walking by with burgers and hot dogs, I figured it was a clear NO in regards to whether or not I could eat there. I wish there was indication or even an attempt at offering other options for people who are vegetarian/vegan or gluten free or dairy free or something free. And not just "can I have it without bread?" but actually make an effort not to cross-contaminate and not treat my issues like a joke. I would gladly dish out $10 to eat something I know won't bring me immense amounts of pain instead of relying on my trail mix and jerky. Again, not sure if AB has any say in this, but I thought I'd say something in case there was a chance you guys were able to do something.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself this year! Thank you again for putting on AB and see you all again in 2018 :D
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2019
N/A
2018
Twili Midna (Legend of Zelda) | Canti (FLCL) | Satsuki Kiryuin (Kill la Kill) | Neptune Vasilias (RWBY)
2017
Julia (Cowboy Bebop) | Twili Midna (Legend of Zelda) | Canti (FLCL) | Glynda Goodwitch (RWBY)
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Julia (Cowboy Bebop) | Squall Leonhart, SeeD ball uniform (Final Fantasy VIII) | Nicolas Brown (Gangsta)
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Aleron »

This was my fourth Anime Boston, starting in 2014. Another great effort this year. I had some tummy troubles on Saturday and Sunday that kept me from enjoying the con to its fullest, but everything I did experience seemed very well executed.

Pros:

- Security greatly improved versus 2016, I think as good as it can be given the restrictions that are placed on AB by the MCCA and Prudential. I never waited more than a few minutes.
- Registration was a dream. I pre-registered and picked up my badge on Friday around 1pm. In 2016 (or 2015?) this took almost an hour. This year the time in line was measured in seconds!
- Easy to move around in the Hynes (was attendance a bit lower?)
- Great AV tech staff in the panel rooms, as usual. My girlfriend did three panels this year (magical girl related) and the staff did a great job with audio and video testing, and adjusting sound levels during the panel as appropriate. We also had trouble with the VGA to HDMI converters in one of the rooms, but we were able to just fall back to VGA, so no big deal. (Any panelists looking for a new laptop in the ~$500 range, I recommend the Thinkpad E570/E575, only laptop I've seen that has both VGA and HDMI.)
- All staff I encountered were courteous and helpful.

Cons:

- They ran out of t-shirts! I guess I shouldn't have waited until Sunday to buy one, but then if I got one earlier, someone else would have been without a t-shirt. I was hoping for a reprint run, but I saw the comment above about no reprints. 2017 buttons were gone too at the time I was looking - the only thing left were posters and water bottles. I got a poster, but I'll forever lament the one gap in my anime con t-shirt collection.
- I've never understood why the majority of the closing ceremony at AB is taken up by the AMV contest winners. Is it just a tradition? I came late and wasn't able to see the beginning of the ceremony. The room was packed, security was not letting anyone else in. Only once the AMVs started did people start to leave, and I was able to get in. The AMVs were all great, I have nothing against AMVs in general. I just don't understand why they have the honor of being celebrated to such an extent during the closing ceremonies, ahead of all of the other elements of anime fandom.
If it's a tradition to always announce the AMV contest winners at closing ceremonies, maybe this could be done in a single compilation video. They could show short, 15-30 second clips from each winning AMV, instead of playing every one in its entirety.
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Faceman »

runicmagitek wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2017 8:04 am Cons
  • I was disappointed the print area from the photobooth never got up and running, at least not in the times I went down to check. Checked Friday - it was down. Checked Saturday - still down. Went back Sunday around 1:30ish? Everything was gone. I know the digital photos will be available soon, but I was looking forward to getting a good print of my cosplay that I could keep.
Unfortunately we had a series of technical difficulties with the Photo Print Suite. I'll spare the details, but in the end it was something that we could not fix by Saturday afternoon. We were faced with two bad options: sell people sub-standard photos that we were't proud of, or shut the print suite down. We chose the latter.

We'll be reviewing the equipment we use for next year and plan to have a better print studio than before.

I did forget to put a sign on the table saying that we'd be out of commission after we made the call. That was totally on me and I apologize for it.
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Shinden »

nodsviper wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2017 7:06 pm If you guys are driving far and want to save some money on parking, I suggest ditching your car at alewife station and riding the T in. It's less than $10 a day for parking, and taking the red line > green line can drop you off a few hundred yards from the Sheraton.
This. I parked Thursday-Sunday at Alewife, cost me $23. Plus a 7 day link pass for $21, overall this was my cheapest AB in terms of travel cost ever.
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by thetoddfather »

MadaZer0 wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2017 4:41 pm Video Programming: Are we not passed the point of showing Bleach or Cardcaptor Sakura? I know its the Retro theme'd year but I swear to god, even if it wasn't, the very same anime would be shown at the con every year. For example. I love the Evangelion Rebuild Movies, But there was a time that those movies were shown, EVERY year for several years. I was surprised I didn't see it this and last year. I was EVEN more surprised, shocked even that yall actually put up recent anime like 'Saga of Tanya the Evil" and "Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid" (Probably due to CrunchyrollxFunimation and their recent popularity tbh and not the actual person that's in charge of the programing of the video rooms). I think its pretty progressive to show recent anime, its great that If there's nothing to do (Which was often the case), I can just take my friends to video room 203 and introduce them KonoSuba 2 (Maybe that's being too progressive putting the 2nd season up instead of the 1st season, but I'm not gonna complain much since its something NEW).
As head of Video Programming I'm not sure what you are asking or saying. I can say that anime companies don't dictate what we show in our rooms. We ask for advise but are not required to follow it. Generally we try to showcase titles that are new or brand new. Crunchyroll sends us a list of titles that they will send us on DVD but it is limited at best and only for the current season. I try to pick the most popular of them for screening because I know people want to watch those. I intentionally didn't show the Eva rebuilds this year (along with the Madoka movies and other movie remakes of anime) so that we had more room for retro title's and fan favorites.

In general there is so much anime coming out that it is hard to keep up with what is 'good' and what is 'popular.' We try our best but... we are only human.

IMHO there between 12 and 24 repeat titles from last year but most are guest related or are newer classics in the making. As far as being past CCS and bleach both of those were there because they are out on BD and we thought it would be fun to show them.
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by nenie »

Great con AB, once again. Very satisfied with how everything ran this year. Thank you AB and to the Hynes. It felt like a laid back presence. No rush, no excessive lines stressing everybody.

During dinner time on Friday the atmosphere was I want to say so homey. Saturday night after the Masquerade felt like you got more than enough from the day's events, retiring to your room with your friends and bonding over the experiences, worth it. Sunday felt like the bright afternoon of the last day of school, or graduation where you say your final goodbyes and people sign your shirts and take their photos with you before everyone has to leave. Last minute wandering of the hallways. It was all great.
Lines what lines?
The biggest pro to all of this was the improved security check points and lines. Went easily into bag check line on Friday morning in the Prudential entrance. And it seemed like it was going faster than no-bag line. Both line wait times were reasonable. Less than 15 min I would say. My group left for dinner at 4PM to 5Napkin Burger (it was less busy to eat there btw) and we easily entered right back into the Prudential entrance after. Even less of a wait time in the line.
On Saturday morning I noticed it began to crowd around 10AM and 11AM. My group had already entered into the con to pick up our Masquerade tickets. I went back to the Sheraton to go to Lisa Ortiz's panel. What I saw between the Prudential entrance and the Sheraton registration was the chaos from the last few years. I saw that people had to be moved outside in the rain and sleet. Ouugh! I already expected this. And thank God I didn't have to go to that line. I kept on going to the Sheraton. Not sure how long that had to happen but after my panel was over, I went ahead to the Artist Alley Entrance around 11:30ish. AA entrance was a BREEZE! No waiting, in and bag checked. It was great.
Sunday we used the Prudential entrance, very quick once again. I liked it. The whole security lines. Excellent. The staff were nice, and quick. I believe a few times security has told me "enjoy your time at the convention" Another instant, well I dismiss it because it doesn't bother me but i do get creeped out. I think this one security staff was trying to hit on me. He brought up the question, "you're here at the con, and where's your boyfriend?" Ugh, and I said very quick and moved on, "i'm in a courtship" and he said, " alright alright, ain't nothin wrong with that." Uggghhhh :lol:

Karaoke back in the Hynes! Halleluyah, thank you AB!
Someone mentioned a projected screen with the lyrics, yes that would be great for next year. Other than that the sign-ups system with the url link to the spreadsheet was genius. Keep that going.

Dealers Room
I guess i noticed it too, there were a lot more Plushie vendors than other types of merch. I really miss the KPOP vendors. Please bring them back. And the AA vendors are more apparent this year, but I don't mind it. I wish the DR was open longer. I noticed a lot more taxes happening in my purchases.

Coat/bag check
Was excellent. Thank you Hynes for the services. And for taking care of my stuff.

Guidebook
As always, wonderful.

The Deathmatch was greaaaat, but it's a shame the newer series gets more love than the older ones. Boohoooo! All the events were great thank you for another great year AB! Whats the theme for next year?
AB07 Aya from Super Gals
AB08 Bouquet from Blue Dragon & Kairi from KH2
AB09 Dawn from Pokemon Diamond and Pearl
AB10 Pan from Dragon Ball GT
AB11 Mio Akiyama from K-On!
AB12 Talim from Soul Calibur 2
AB13 Utena from Revolutionary Girl Utena
AB14 Rico Brzenska from Attack on Titan & Terra from Teen Titans
AB15 Rico Brzenska from Attack on Titan & Utena
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AB17 Kiyone from Tenchi Muyo & Pokemon Go Trainer
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by pulsedemon »

Nenie wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2017 1:55 pmDealers Room
I guess i noticed it too, there were a lot more Plushie vendors than other types of merch. I really miss the KPOP vendors. Please bring them back. And the AA vendors are more apparent this year, but I don't mind it. I wish the DR was open longer. I noticed a lot more taxes happening in my purchases.
Not that this one post especially requires specific response, but it hits basically all the topics that I saw raised in other posts!

As others have mentioned, there's not really much I can do to control what someone brings. Observations like we've seen in this thread that vendors that don't typically bring a lot of plush pals brought, in fact, a lot of plush pals means that there was probably some market trend driving it, either that plush did really well last time (or has been doing well at other shows recently) or that prices were low if stuff was being blown out or something. That's a lot of supposition and I didn't ask about it because this thread hadn't happened yet while we were at the show. :P

There's usually one super reliable Kpop guy, but he was sick and accidentally slept through the 6 minute window that was open while booths were available.

I was thinking of cutting fan art as we were working on this past year, but I hesitated. No hesitation remaining! No disrespect meant to anyone, but I'm not looking to run a more expensive Artists' Alley. I just have to carefully word things to avoid refusing actual original art (not fan art) and doujinshi (because reselling isn't the point of the Artists' Alley) and anything else I might be forgetting.

As for the hours, we've got a lot going on and overlapping some of the biggest programming in the evenings to get some less-crowded (read as 'lower earning') hours isn't really valuable for exhibitors and I have to eat something at some point. My team and I also run the swap meet after the Dealers' Room closes, so I also need to go to sleep at some point. The schedule each day for me was basically wake up at 7 AM, wash up and get ready for an 8 AM meeting, get into the Dealers' Room around 9 AM when setup starts, run that room all day until cleanup finishes at 8 PM, then go to the swap meet at 9:30 PM and get out and go to bed at 11:30 PM. The Sheraton beds are ass, so I need all the sleepytime I can get.

Sales tax at 6.25% should be happening on everything apart from clothing under $175. If you got charged more than that (or got charged on clothes that sell for less than $175 per item) let me know and we'll see if we can resolve anything for you. Naturally, I'll need details!
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Ciaobirdie »

runicmagitek wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2017 8:04 am
  • This is super specific and I won't be upset if it's something beyond AB's control, but I thought I'd bring it up. I have a mixture of food allergies and digestive diseases that making eating out difficult. I pre-pack all of my meals and snacks before cons in fear that I won't find anything to eat. Granted, I didn't check out the cafeteria that was there, but when I saw people walking by with burgers and hot dogs, I figured it was a clear NO in regards to whether or not I could eat there. I wish there was indication or even an attempt at offering other options for people who are vegetarian/vegan or gluten free or dairy free or something free. And not just "can I have it without bread?" but actually make an effort not to cross-contaminate and not treat my issues like a joke. I would gladly dish out $10 to eat something I know won't bring me immense amounts of pain instead of relying on my trail mix and jerky. Again, not sure if AB has any say in this, but I thought I'd say something in case there was a chance you guys were able to do something.
I agree with this 100%, I have Celiac disease so I either bring snacks or I leave the con for somewhere I know is safe. I did pop into the cafeteria just to check things out, and there were pretty much no safe foods (I'm coming from a gluten-free standpoint), whether the foods themselves were not or because of cross-contamination were not. Honestly though I very highly doubt the Hynes to do anything about this, and to be honest even then I wouldn't trust is just because of the whole cross-contamination thing, but even just labeling things would be nice. I will say that the mall has some pretty good gluten free and even 100% Celiac friendly places (California Pizza Kitchen, Cheesecake Factory, Wagamama, etc).
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by Cave »

Nenie wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2017 1:55 pm Karaoke back in the Hynes! Halleluyah, thank you AB!
Someone mentioned a projected screen with the lyrics, yes that would be great for next year. Other than that the sign-ups system with the url link to the spreadsheet was genius. Keep that going.
Thank you so much! I had been throwing the idea of digital sign ups a few weeks before the convention, but wasn't sure about what to do for people who didn't have a phone/mobile device to sign up on. On Thursday though, we decided to just go for it knowing we could always easily go back to paper if necessary. Then we were able to get one of our old computers which worked (almost) perfectly!
Heather Auxier
Karaoke Co-coordinator 2023-2024
Karaoke Staff 2010-2022
Registration Staff 2009
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sohopefully
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by sohopefully »

runicmagitek wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2017 8:04 am
  • Cosplay Repair Station! My Midna cloak was starting to rip every time I bent over to put down my bag for pictures, so we rushed to the repair station. The people there were so very kind, both staff and con-goers, and I can't stress enough how much I appreciate the help. Every time I walked by there, it was jam packed. I can only imagine everyone who took advantage of it was appreciative of the efforts.
  • I didn't go to many panels this year, but what I did go to, I loved. I was a big fan of Wait Wait, Don't Anime and Iron Cosplay. Jumping off of that, I don't know how you guys figure out hosts for some events, like Iron Cosplay or Afterdark Dating Game, but it's an A+ job. The chemistry with the hosts was awesome and I loved seeing them all interact.
Thank you for your feedback! We appreciate when attendees share their thoughts with us.

Cosplay Repair Station had its own room this year, and we're thrilled about that. Thank you for letting us and them know that it was successful (and busy!).

I can't speak for Game Shows, but Cosplay Games (AfterDark Dating Game) had a new Host Pool for cosplayers to apply to. We're excited to hear that you thought the chemistry was good between hosts, and we will definitely be keeping this set of applications so we can continue to get quality hosts for our games.

See you at Anime Boston 2018!
Hope Middleton
Cosplay Games Coordinator - 2017-2018
Masquerade Staff - 2016
Chibi Zone Coordinator - 2015
Attendee 2003-2014
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BostonGreekGeek
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Re: Feedback Thread for Anime Boston 2017!

Post by BostonGreekGeek »

The thing I can attest to is the disability entrance to the con. I have ataxia. Its a non visible mobility disability which gets me extremely tired just by walking. So this was the first year I got a disability badge as I did not know my condition would qualify me. The thing that bothered me is the lack of a specific line for the disability badges. At PAX they have a special line dedicated for bags, no bags and then, staff/medical badge/volunteers. At anime Boston, the volunteer would walk you past one of the bag or no bag lines while asking everyone to move aside. This made me feel worse about having a medical badge despite needing it. I felt like the volunteer should walk behind me shouting shame while ringing a bell and all the people waiting in line should spit on me as I past. That has to be addressed somehow. It made me wish I was in a wheelchair..which may happen in the future..but right now im still walking, and people cant see the issues I have. Having everyone move aside for me, made me feel worse for what I have.
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