Official Feedback Thread 2023

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Kalyoth
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Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by Kalyoth »

Hi just curious if this will be coming like it did in past years? Thanks!
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by Nemra »

Make it so. Henceforth, this post is the official thread.

Please post feedback (good & bad) here regarding Anime Boston 2023.

Rules:
1) This is not the place to post constructive criticism regarding previous years, but only for Anime Boston 2023.

2) Do not disrespect each other or staff. If you disagree with something, feel free to discuss, but we will not tolerate blatant disrespect for your fellow attendee or staff.

3) This is also not the place to post feedback for panelists. There should be an entire section for panelists to use for feedback in the appropriate forum, so use those. However, if you have feedback regarding the way panels are handled by AB staff, this is the place to post it.

4) This is not the appropriate thread for Staff feedback. Please use the Staff forums for feedback regarding your division.

Please do not expect an immediate response from Staff. While the convention is over for everyone, for staff it is very much still being worked on and we're winding down and resolving many things on the back end. Be assured, however, that we are reading every comment and taking it in full consideration during the convention and after.

We also have a feedback survey! Please fill it out at your earliest convenience.
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by RoaringJade »

Please stagger chairs where possible, especially the large video rooms such as the AMV Contest. By stagger, I mean instead of having each row/chair right behind the one in front, shift halfway so the person behind can view between the shoulders of those in front. I had a very tough time during the 2 hour AMV Contest from large and tall attendees in front and where I was seated it was not easy or comfortable to view the other screens.

My group LOVED the large signs throughout the con, especially near the escalators with room #s for Dealers room, Artist Alley, etc.

Some panels, mainly gameshow ones, were in tiny rooms that instantly filled up. Like 310 was used for 3 different very popular ones, and if you were in one you'd miss the seating for the next.

Every year we wish the Dealers Room was open later so we could browse after dinner. We're thankful the Artist Alley is open late.

Speaking of Artist Alley, the Art Auction seems bare each year. I think it could use more variety and promotion? It would be amazing if Artist Alley got a bigger room too. I know there was a waitlist for artists.

I had a great experience this year. Thank you.
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by BreadCosplay »

I just wanted to post to praise the Cosplay Events team for such outstanding organization and help this year. Cosplay repair was ON POINT. Water and snacks were readily available sometimes in more than one area of the greenrooms/setup rooms at Events which was a HUUUGE PLUS. The team members were all so patient and careful and helpful and everything ran so SO smoothly (at least in the case of the events we participated in, Death Match, Chess, Masquerade). WEEGEE IS SUCH A FANTASTIC MASQUEREADE HOST AND DOES ROADIE SO PROUD!! As well as the All Might and Miruko from Death Match who did FANTASTIC, and of course Kotaro Tatsumi from Chess and PEGASUUUUUS. EVEN THE IDOL SHOWCASE WHICH I ALSO ATTENDED AS AN AUDIENCEMEMBER WAS ON. POINT!!! The Meiko and Mari were SUPER!

AWESOME cosplay events work this year, SERIOUSLY!
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by kittengeist »

This was my fourth AB, but first since the pandemic started. There were pros and cons for this con which I’ll highlight below.

PROS:

The idol showcase was absolutely amazing this year! Everyone went beyond expectations and the energy and support to everyone performing was so nice to see. The MCs were also amazing! I loved their energies and hope they come back for future idol showcases.

Security this year was great and went very smoothly, I almost never had to deal with a line when entering the convention.

This was my very first time running a panel and the staff that worked with me and my cohosts made our panel work out so well! I cannot thank them enough for making things run smoothly and even joining in on the jokes sometimes.

CONS:

I was disappointed seeing staff blatantly misgender and mispronoun people. In this day and age it’s something that should be expected to use proper pronouns and gender ESPECIALLY when being corrected multiple times.

The dealers room was very disappointing this year. There wasn’t a lot of variety compared to previous years and even found someone selling bootleg merch.

The constant promotion of hololive was kind of annoying to see. It was so in our faces that it was a major turn off when at the con.

The AC not being on Friday was bad. I was overheating very badly throughout the day which wasn’t helpful given I was wearing a mask. There should be more consistency with the AC.
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by BreadCosplay »

Now really quick to the one gripe I had with the con this year. I'm not in the internals and I'm sure something happened that caused this, but to say I was disappointed that there were no idol guests at AB this year would be an understatement. Hybrid Thoughts of course is very talented and wonderful guests, I don't want to discredit the work they do or their talent.

However, the theme this year was Idols, and as much as I know they're not focusing as much on themes going forward, Anime Boston has been able to secure Japanese musical talent for several years, Asaka, LiSA, and ASCA being great examples. I absolutely up until Day 0 expected a second musical guest to be announced - as has happened previous years - next to Hybrid Thoughts. This ultimately didn't happen, and it's still a bit confusing.

It seems both in my opinion and in the opinion of others I've spoken to that AB went along with the least expensive and most convenient musical guest option they could get their hands on. I didn't see Hybrid Thoughts recommended in the Guest Recommendation thread, either, and the choice seemed to have not been expected by anyone. I'm still very disappointed that no idol talent was able to be secured as guests at this years Idol themed Anime Boston.
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by Nemra »

I covered this at the feedback panel regarding a lack of JPN musical guest.

To start, local outreach is something we've been exploring more, JPN musical guest or not. They had nothing to do at all with the fact that we didn't have a JPN musical guest this year, the cards just happened to play out that way and I can see how people might speculate that this was the case. It was not at all the case. We had the budget for both and were pursuing both.

Long story short, because I can't really get into the boring specifics, but we encountered more-than-usual bumps along the road this year, mainly in the form of licensing and visas. We'd solve one issue, another pops up and so forth, not to mention the often slow pace of bureaucracy; it ultimately fell through. It's a shame because we had someone lined up that I was personally pretty excited about this year! The good news though is that we're in a much better place for 2024 so we shouldn't, hopefully, encounter those issues as heavily again.
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by Penti »

What I enjoyed:
  • Security was just as smooth as last year; I zipped through the lines effortlessly.
  • I loved the new signs, listing where everything was and helping direct you from place to place; it really helped tie the whole con together between the Sheraton and Hynes.
  • The arcade was great, especially having that spot dedicated specifically to Touhou Project games. I found myself coming back to this a lot during the weekend.
  • The new setup for autographs; it made it very easy to figure out where to go, and not needing to line up early to get tickets was great.
  • The various photo op sets; these were nice, and my friend and I took a lot of pics using them.
  • The Spotlight game. I wish I had known sooner what all those QR codes around the convention center were; hoping to see it come back next year so I'll be ready to play.
What I didn't like:
  • I feel like there was a lack of communication with the registration on Thursday; it closed at 8PM, while the website and Guidebook app said it was open until 8:30. Perhaps a sign saying "sorry we have to close early" would have helped clear up the confusion.
  • I do wish they had published the schedule for the autograph sessions in the Guidebook app, to make it a little easier to plan my day. I was at least able to ask someone at an information desk to find out when the session I wanted was happening, at least.
  • I feel like there should be more time between some panels to clear out the room and setup. The swap meet on Saturday started late, with a really long line of people waiting to get in the door, so maybe giving more time after the concert ended would help get the room ready.
  • I was a bit let down that they didn't do Pin Bazaar again this year, given I really got into collecting those with the initial 2019 wave.
  • The lines were rough; it felt like a lot of the panels I wanted to do filled up quickly if I didn't line up like 30 minutes before.
Things I'd like to see next year:
  • Turn A-chan into a marketable plushie. I mean, there was a B-kun dakimakura for 2022, so it'd be great if you took it a step further and made a plushie of A-chan; I could picture her in either a Fumo or Nesoberi style.
  • I think it'd be cool if, for a theme for next year, you were to revisit 2004's loose theme of signs inspired by the MBTA.
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by Sayoria »

I noticed a lot of gameshows in 310 this year. This in my opinion, was a very bad place to have them as it feels that gameshows have a generally decent turnout of interest. I remember getting in line for Taskmaster Friday night and even pretty early, I just made the cut as the very last person allowed in because the room was so small.

I get that the the games in 310 were pretty experimental, but gameshows need to be in a bigger room. Something on the size-level of that the 312 Fan Creations room is, at the least. It was too small for Family Feud too.

This was pretty much my only real complaint. I love gameshows. This was the first year it was hard as heck to get into many of them.
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by xenoglossy »

Sayoria wrote: Tue Apr 11, 2023 7:02 pm I noticed a lot of gameshows in 310 this year. This in my opinion, was a very bad place to have them as it feels that gameshows have a generally decent turnout of interest. I remember getting in line for Taskmaster Friday night and even pretty early, I just made the cut as the very last person allowed in because the room was so small.

I get that the the games in 310 were pretty experimental, but gameshows need to be in a bigger room. Something on the size-level of that the 312 Fan Creations room is, at the least. It was too small for Family Feud too.

This was pretty much my only real complaint. I love gameshows. This was the first year it was hard as heck to get into many of them.
They used to usually be in 302/304, and I have no idea why that wasn't true this year. They could easily have swapped places with the fan panels that were in 302/304, few if any of which were likely to draw that kind of crowd.
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by shinyrocks »

Good stuff:
  • Loved the jam zone. It was a great place to just hang out in and all the bands were fantastic. I hope it comes back next year!
  • Tickets for the masquerade are a great idea. It seems like everyone who wants to get in still gets in, you just no longer have to sacrifice your entire Saturday evening for it. Publicity for the tickets wasn't great but maybe that's just my friend group.
  • As a side note, giving masquerade tickets to panelists was also great! Also having security line skip available is nice, even if it wasn't actually necessary at any point thanks to the improved metal detectors.
  • Accessibility was much better this year! Loved the booklet, loved that we could ask AB staff to radio the disability coordinator(s) with questions if necessary, double loved that it wasn't ever necessary.
Bad stuff: Panel Ops seemed to be REALLY struggling this year. I co-ran two panels this year and generally like to spend time at fan panels so I have a lot of opinions. In no particular order:
  • Panel scheduling didn't make any sense. There doesn't seem to have been any consideration of what kind of audience a panel might attract, what space would be appropriate, and whether or not it was competing with similar content.
  • Quick example: one of our panels is pretty niche. The other is very popular. Both were also run at AB last year, with the popular panel filling a large room even when scheduled against last year's concert. This year the niche panel was put in 302 (which is combined with 304 and seats a ton of people) while the popular panel was given the workshop room. I saw this kind of thing repeated all weekend, with 302 playing host to niche panels while events in smaller rooms filled up 15 min+ before the start time. "Um, Actually" is the main one I remember, mostly because the game show track actually used to be in 302/304.
  • As much as I complain about my own panels, I think the best example of bad scheduling would be putting Samurai Firefighters (not an 18+ panel) in 302 at 1am. I feel really bad for this person, and I absolutely would have gone to their panel if not for the timing.
  • Overall panel selection seemed kind of weak this year? I'm also not sure if on-theme panels didn't get the usual boost or if people just didn't submit them this year, but there was remarkably little idol content to go around.
  • This may be standard practice, but it seems that a bunch of panels were waitlisted and then just... never rejected? I understand that the schedule changes up until pretty much the first day of the con, but idk it feels weird to not get official confirmation that you didn't make the cut.
I had a lot of fun this year despite all my complaints! It just seems to me that the paneling side of things had way more problems than it did last year, which is odd. I hope it's just a fluke.
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by Master of NERV »

Hi, Staff! Only gonna cover matters that AB has direct control over:

Registration: Came in Thursday night. In and out quickly and smoothly. The only niggling issue I had was not being able to purchase con merch in the Registration room as usual for lack of registers.

Bag and Coat Check: This was not yet open when I arrived about 9:40 am Friday, giving me no option but to drag my bag to the Marriott to be secured there. Please note that there was no mention of the room's operating hours in the Con Chowdah or the con's Hours of Operation page on the web site.

Slumber Party: The mere concept of this refuge for the burned-out is a wonderful addition that needs to stick around. I only stuck my head in, but it was clear that the space was well used.

Panel popularity vs. Room capacity: There were two events I feel I need to at least mention. The first was "Maximum Fail: a D&Dsekai" (Constitution A, Saturday afternoon); this event was at capacity and closed off. The second was "Anime you should NEVER admit to watching" (Panel 309, Saturday evening); here, there was such an overflow that the panelist decided to speed-walk his way through the program so those waiting outside could have their own session--a very kind thing to do.

FINAL VERDICT: All things considered, another fun and relatively smooth con. No major complaints, at least not from me.
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by BreadCosplay »

Nemra wrote: Tue Apr 11, 2023 2:34 pm I covered this at the feedback panel regarding a lack of JPN musical guest.

To start, local outreach is something we've been exploring more, JPN musical guest or not. They had nothing to do at all with the fact that we didn't have a JPN musical guest this year, the cards just happened to play out that way and I can see how people might speculate that this was the case. It was not at all the case. We had the budget for both and were pursuing both.

Long story short, because I can't really get into the boring specifics, but we encountered more-than-usual bumps along the road this year, mainly in the form of licensing and visas. We'd solve one issue, another pops up and so forth, not to mention the often slow pace of bureaucracy; it ultimately fell through. It's a shame because we had someone lined up that I was personally pretty excited about this year! The good news though is that we're in a much better place for 2024 so we shouldn't, hopefully, encounter those issues as heavily again.
This is an amazing clarification and I'm super excited for '24 now. Thank you so much for the clarification!!
>>>our carrd/socials<<<

MAJIMA'S AB 2024 LINEUP
Goro Majima (Yakuza Kiwami)
BREAD'S AB 2024 LINEUP
Sakura Minamoto (Zombieland SAGA)
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by Kalyoth »

Master of NERV wrote: Tue Apr 11, 2023 7:54 pm Hi, Staff! Only gonna cover matters that AB has direct control over:

Registration: Came in Thursday night. In and out quickly and smoothly. The only niggling issue I had was not being able to purchase con merch in the Registration room as usual for lack of registers.

FINAL VERDICT: All things considered, another fun and relatively smooth con. No major complaints, at least not from me.
It was purchaseble Thursday - i myself purchased 2 shirts from the staff at the table. Of course, I used card & device took it. Did u try different form of payment?
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by Kalyoth »

Writing from the side of an Attendee: My only Feedback as attendee would be that The Autograph changes were a Mess. Not looking to insult the entire process as the change, while not liked by all, overall had effort put into it. But room for improvement exists. Advertising guest pricing & forms of acceptable payment as part of their official guest notice would bring AB into line with the majority of other cons under similar system.

A very specific gripe: the line for Keith Silverman on Saturday afternoon. there ended up being two lines apparently due to the fiasco of his Friday session. However, his Handler/Assistant/Banker moved so godly slow in the process that was set up for saturday, we stood in line 3 hours just to wait in paying him 1 person at a time, every 10 minutes, like the Handler was the actual guest spending time with a fan. I had to walk out of the line & return to Support Squad for further shift needs that evening for main events. Was very disappointing in how that system was operated.

Writing in terms of the Support Squad Side: would love more of those light batons for line control/event seating. Very handy & attendees were very responsive to their use. Major positive upgrade. Security please expand their numbers & availability when we help line control!

In terms of the balance of the con - it ran quite smoothly overall.
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by Mirotic »

Another AB in the books!

Pros:
  • As always, friendly staff (at least the ones I interacted with!)
  • Quiet room was awesome, good amount of space and a nice area to de-compress
  • Loved the signage
  • Idol Showcase and the glowsticks were fun! The hosts were great.
  • Photo areas on the 3rd floor were fantastic and will hopefully be re-used!
  • Cosplay repair 10/10
Cons:
  • Dealers room setup felt better than last year but still a bit lacking in terms of variety
  • Was not a fan of the movement of the game room (console/PC in the autograph room and arcade room by itself)
  • Crowd control esp in artist alley was not great, people constantly stopping to chat/take pictures created a very congested environment
  • Certain meetups are outgrowing even ballroom A (Genshin, MHA) would it be possible to hold them in an even larger room? I noticed Sat morn the auditorium was open. Just a suggestion! At a certain point it becomes a fire hazard
  • Panels were at odd times, some very late into the night, if this was requested by the panelist sure, but if not would it be possible to have them earlier in the night?
  • I was disappointed by lack of Japanese VAs and music guests, but it sounds like that may improve next year!
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by TheGlassesGirl »

I had a great time as always this year! Just a few things:

Good Stuff:

-I want to give an extra special shout-out to the Cosplay Events staff, they are SAINTS. I was in multiple events and staff were always checking on our well-being and making sure we had whatever we needed. I especially appreciated those backstage at Lip Sync Battle who had multiple cups of water waiting every time I came offstage (which was much needed as I had some dance-heavy songs). They were organized and supportive and overall fantastic.

-Security lines went super quick, just like last year. I don't know exactly how those detectors work but they are great, 10/10.

-Absolutely LOVED the Spotlight game! I liked spotting my little idol on the screen and it was very fun to outfit them with new stuff. I also loved all the play-along preshow stuff and the recap videos (shout-out to the editors on those, they must have had some quick turnaround!)

Less Good Stuff:

-Why were game shows in 310? They needed to be in a bigger room, that room was way too small compared to the demand for game shows. Myself and my partner were disappointed to get turned away from Um Actually, and I only barely made it into Family Feud despite lining up for it a full 30 min beforehand (I only got in because I was a single person and could fill a single empty chair-if I had been with my group, we'd have been screwed).

-At registration on Thursday evening, we were told that only those with full weekend badges could pick up their badges that day. This was only announced in the main registration room itself by staff announcing it and by a piece of paper being taped to the registration hours board (so if you were waiting in the line in the Sheraton, you wouldn't know until you waited long enough to get in there). This wasn't a problem for myself and my partner (as we both had weekend badges), but I did have some friends who got one day only badges who were frustrated to have waited in the line only to be told they couldn't pick up their badges. This ended up being reversed sometime on Friday too, so I'm not sure why it was in place on Thursday? There was also no announcement of it being the case on AB's website or social media, so I'm not sure why it was a thing. If people could only pick up their one day only badges on the day of, that should have been made clear on the website and social media.

-On Friday morning there was a staff member at the Hynes entrance stating that people needed to specifically have their badge lanyards around their neck in order to be let in, and that just showing your badge wouldn't be enough. I had my badge tied to a strap on my cosplay, as I would have to take it off for cosplay games later and had large ears on my cosplay that I could not pull the lanyard over. This staff member almost refused to let me in simply because my badge was not around my neck, even though it was visible, attached to me, and on my person (they let me in once I said I was in cosplay games). I had other friends in cosplay games who were stopped in a similar manner. Why was this a thing? It seemed unnecessary, and it wasn't a thing that was required any other day of the con.

There are just minor gripes though-overall I had a wonderful time at the con and plan to be back next year!
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Anime Boston 2024:
Thursday: Kanamori (Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!)
Friday: Vanitas (The Case Study of Vanitas)
Saturday: Yor Forger (Spy x Family)
Sunday: Rui Kamishiro (Project Sekai)
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by MistyKristiCosplay »

This marked my 9th AB to date, and as always it was a great con I will be back next year, and with that is the feedback from this past AB:

PROS:

- This was the first year that I had applied for cosplay events and I just gotta say cosplay event staff did a really good job organizing everything while also being extremely welcoming and attentive - and huge kudos to having cosplay repair backstage, this was probably infinitely helpful to the participants.

- Security moved quickly, since the implementation of the security system last year I never waited beyond 5 minutes in line, even at peak times on Saturday so I never had to use my security fast-pass.

- Artist’s Alley felt a bit better this year in terms of crowding in my opinion, I just didn’t notice nearly as many people stopping in the middle of the aisles as I did in the past.


Neutral:

- Regarding Dealer's Room hours- It might just be me, but I feel like the room closing 3 hours earlier than the artist’s alley feels disproportionate (For Friday and Saturday). I know consideration does has to be taken into account for the vendors but I feel like even on Friday it may make more sense to have the room close at 8 pm (rather than 7 pm) considering the Dealer’s Room also opens at noon on Friday particularly.


CONS:

- Friday morning, I was entering the con for the first time that day through the Hynes entrance, I had my badge worn as being attached to my belt (As the cosplay I was wearing already featured two accessories that were around my neck - making it difficult to see my lanyard) However, I was told very abrasively by the AB staff member checking my badge that my badge had to be around my neck specifically. This confused me greatly as this was the first year I had ever heard this policy, I then had to get out of line only to try to maneuver my badge around my neck accessories and my relatively long wig. The only policy on AB’s website states: “17. Badges must be worn and visible at all times” - this policy does not state that the badge must be worn around the neck specifically - I wore my AB badge around my neck for the rest of the weekend to prevent any other occurrence like this but I would like clarification since I know I am most likely not the only cosplayer who would wear a badge around their belt/bag/wherever due to wearing a complicated cosplay that would hinder a badge from being visible around their neck.

- The Dealer’s Room still felt very sparse this past year in terms of variety, I know AB can't particularly do much about this but I still felt the need to include this.

- I’m echoing some of the same sentiment of the users above, as I feel particular panels occurred at extremely late night slots despite the panel themselves not being 18+ in nature (One example I can name off the bat is an Ebook Manga panel that I believe was scheduled at Midnight on Friday) I can understand if the panelist themselves had requested these time slots themselves but I feel like some more consideration should be taken into account regarding the content of a panel and the timing of the panel itself.
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AB 2024:
???
Luka Megurine (Vocaloid)
Columbina (Genshin Impact)
Serena (Animal Crossing)
Ganyu (Genshin Impact)

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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by Master of NERV »

Kalyoth wrote: Tue Apr 11, 2023 8:20 pm
Master of NERV wrote: Tue Apr 11, 2023 7:54 pm Hi, Staff! Only gonna cover matters that AB has direct control over:

Registration: Came in Thursday night. In and out quickly and smoothly. The only niggling issue I had was not being able to purchase con merch in the Registration room as usual for lack of registers.

FINAL VERDICT: All things considered, another fun and relatively smooth con. No major complaints, at least not from me.
It was purchaseble Thursday - i myself purchased 2 shirts from the staff at the table. Of course, I used card & device took it. Did u try different form of payment?
I was at the very head of the line. I suspect they got some devices after I left.
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by xenoglossy »

TheGlassesGirl wrote: Tue Apr 11, 2023 9:49 pm -On Friday morning there was a staff member at the Hynes entrance stating that people needed to specifically have their badge lanyards around their neck in order to be let in, and that just showing your badge wouldn't be enough. I had my badge tied to a strap on my cosplay, as I would have to take it off for cosplay games later and had large ears on my cosplay that I could not pull the lanyard over. This staff member almost refused to let me in simply because my badge was not around my neck, even though it was visible, attached to me, and on my person (they let me in once I said I was in cosplay games). I had other friends in cosplay games who were stopped in a similar manner. Why was this a thing? It seemed unnecessary, and it wasn't a thing that was required any other day of the con.
Oh, yeah, I'd almost forgotten, but that happened to me too. I had the lanyard attached to my belt loop because I was wearing a wig that would make it a little difficult to put on and take off if it were around my neck. I'd done that in previous years and never had any problems, so I was very confused as to when "badges must be around your neck" had become a rule and why. And then none of the other staffers who checked my badge at any point on Friday said anything about it. (I can't speak to whether it was a thing on Saturday or Sunday, because those costumes had less elaborate wigs so I did have my badge around my neck on those days.) I think it's a weird and unnecessary policy, but if it is a policy it needs to be communicated clearly and enforced consistently.
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by Nemra »

I will confirm that there is no such rule as having to have your badge around your neck, only that it should be visible so I apologize for that experience.

On the topic of the Thursday merch, we found out an hour before registration opening that the square register wasn't working and I made a dash to purchase a new one. Luckily the apple store nearby had one (literally one) available so crisis averted! but yea, the table was not setup yet in the first 30 min or so as a result but could have been a much more interesting experience otherwise heh... :?
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by animationalstar »

THE GOOD:

-The majority of staff that I encountered were very nice and welcoming, also the security check when entering the Hynes ran smoothly and efficiently for the most part

-The large signs that let you know where certain rooms are (Dealer's Room, Artist Alley, etc.) were super helpful!

-The displays on the 3rd floor of the Hynes were great, they were nice to see and lots of people enjoyed them

-The Masquerade ticket process for picking up tickets for the Masquerade was such an easy process! I loved the one ticket that would allow for floor or balcony seating in case you changed your mind about where you wanted to sit

-The Masquerade was phenomenal! It actually let out earlier than the 11pm ending time, and Weegee is a perfect host. Great choice of skits and walk-ons, always a blast to see!

THE BAD:

-While the autograph room was structured very well in terms of how autograph areas were placed being well organized, I was disappointed in how late guests were in showing up on time for the limited time their autographs were available. In particular, Erika Harlacher's autograph signing from 3:00pm - 4:30pm on Saturday afternoon was upsetting in that she still did not arrive at her table once it hit 3:45pm. I ended up leaving the line for her autograph at 3:45pm after being in line for almost an hour, so I'm not sure if she showed up after that time. If guests do have a limited time frame of when they are available for a signing, I believe that measures should be taken to ensure that guests arrive on time. I don't know the circumstances of what happened, whether it fell on AB staff or on the guest themselves for why they were late, all I know is that it happened.

- For those of us who purchased a program book for the additional $5.00, we should be given our books when we pick up our badge at registration. I was not given my book when I got my badge, and when I explained that I paid for a book, I was told to go into a separate line behind other people instead of picking up my book then and there with my badge. There were other people that also had a similar issue, not being given the book they paid for and told to come back another time. Is there a way for staff to see that someone who purchased a badge also purchased a book so alleviate any confusion?
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by Kanechan »

My impressions of this year's con:

It was good, as I expected it to be, but nowhere near as phenomenal as in past years. And by "phenomenal" I mean it didn't offer as much to be excited about as in past years. I think they're still catching up from the lack of a show for two years, and admittedly the pandemic did a number on this con; the effects can be measured by comparison with previous cons. It may be another couple of years before this show regains the ground it has lost.

Apart from that, my only real gripe was the waiting in the autograph lines. It was especially bad for meeting Keith Silverstein, as there were actually two lines--the first was only to get to pay for the stuff you wanted him to sign or do for you, the next was to actually meet him, and I was in those lines for the better part of 3 hours. I survived long enough to get what I wanted from him, but I don't think I've ever spent that long in a line before (and I pray I never do it again, but next year might be more of the same). Autograph prices might be my next sticking point, but that was beyond most people's control anyway.

Good things: Apart from the celebs I managed to get autographs from, I also met two people from the industry I have always admired greatly: Translator and subtitle scripter supreme Neil Nadelman, whose works I probably have more of than anyone else in the industry, and Carl Gustav Horn of Dark Horse Comics, whose work in the manga arm of DH is most respectable. I never imagined being able to meet these guys before, and I'm thankful to the con for the opportunity to finally meet them at last.

I look forward to the next con, with anticipation of more and better opportunities to meet my faves in the industry, and to immerse myself better in the subject matter at hand.
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by Baby Seal »

Nemra wrote: Tue Apr 11, 2023 2:34 pm I covered this at the feedback panel regarding a lack of JPN musical guest.

To start, local outreach is something we've been exploring more, JPN musical guest or not. They had nothing to do at all with the fact that we didn't have a JPN musical guest this year, the cards just happened to play out that way and I can see how people might speculate that this was the case. It was not at all the case. We had the budget for both and were pursuing both.

Long story short, because I can't really get into the boring specifics, but we encountered more-than-usual bumps along the road this year, mainly in the form of licensing and visas. We'd solve one issue, another pops up and so forth, not to mention the often slow pace of bureaucracy; it ultimately fell through. It's a shame because we had someone lined up that I was personally pretty excited about this year! The good news though is that we're in a much better place for 2024 so we shouldn't, hopefully, encounter those issues as heavily again.
Thanks for the clarification on this, glad to see that it wasn't because of budget issues or just that it was an afterthought.

I mostly go to conventions for JP guests, so I was really impressed last year that you managed to get ASCA when many other large cons like AX or ANYC struggled to get big name JP musical guests due to Japan still being closed, so I had high hopes for this year too. As I'm sure you noticed, quite a few people were very disappointed (and vocal) on Twitter about the lack of JP guests in general (seiyuu/industry along with anisong/idol guests), especially when comparably sized cons happening around this time like Sakuracon, ACen, and KawaiiKon were managing to get some really good JP guests this year. And I know that the con theme is not necessarily an indicator of what the programming will be like, especially since the themes are being scaled back now, but it really did feel like a missed opportunity to not have an idol group this year.

It's unfortunate that visa issues threw a wrench in things but it makes sense now and I really do appreciate the transparency. As you mentioned, the optics did make it seem from an outsider's perspective that there were budget constraints. I'm happy to hear that 2024 is looking promising and I'm definitely willing to return if things work out correctly next time!

Anyways, a couple other things I could mention:

The arcade room felt a little cramped with the long lineups for some of the games, last year I believe it was in a bigger space which was nice. Maybe there wasn't room for it this year though and the bigger room had to be used for something else.

Artist alley was spacious and had plenty of room to walk around comfortably, which was very nice and is unfortunately sometimes not the case at other anime cons from my experience. Wasn't too thrilled with the lack of variety but that's not really anything you can control.

Dealer's room was also roomy and had enough space to walk around in easily, but in this case I do wish it was a bit more dense with some more vendors added in, it felt a little bit sparse.

I'm sure some people will have things to say about the registration line, but given the flooding situation and the length of the line, I didn't find waiting in it to be too bad. The line moved fairly quickly considering that it stretched all the way downstairs and out the doors and around the block.
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by Soarinwater »

Hi there!

Overall very positive con experience for what I took part in mostly. No big red flags or concerns beyond just one really big one that made me worried how similar situations were handled.

I was getting my badge around 8pm on Thursday, so I understand being tired and trying to hurry everyone along and everything was okay up until I got up to the counter to actually get my badge. I had my ID, Vax card up and QR code up on my phone and I was very kind of rudely ushered up to a counter were the staff member was on their phone, acted really put off when I held up my code before they said you need to type in your info, scanners broken (which again, is fine, tech fallouts happen) but I have some concerns about this overall, why would I put in my own info? I wouldn’t - but I could have just put anybody’s information in, and then after it printed the staff member didn’t bother even checking my ID or Vax info. And simply stayed on their phone the entire interaction.
I understand that it was late in the night and they were maybe struggling with a technical issue but just something about the interaction rubbed me the wrong way and just seemed to be a bit of a safety concern with the lack of care that went into it.

I just wanted to make someone aware of it to help aide in situations like this in the future, thank you
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by Victablook »

pros:

- the cosplay games department really brought their A-game this year. everything was run so smoothly with minimal hiccups. the staff was also incredibly supportive of their participants and made sure they were taken care of, and i’m so proud of the quality and creativity of all the performances the participants brought to every cosplay event. cosplay games are always the top highlight of anime boston for me. i’ve been doing cosplay games for anime boston since 2015, and this has to be one of the best years to date.
- the dealer’s room! finally there was more variety to the booths being offered. i was very pleased to recognize a few local businesses that were from my area like mall goth trash. please keep up this kind of variety! i usually get disappointed by the dealer’s room because it feels like every booth is selling the same anime merch, but i didn’t feel like that was the case this year.
- the spotlight game was a super fun addition. i love how it engaged the congoers and it was exciting to look for my own idol avatar on screen. please keep this feature in future years!

cons:
- the lack of communication regarding pre-reg pickup on thurs being for weekend passes and friday only passes only. i didn’t have an issue because i got a weekend badge, but i witnessed many turned away because they only pre-registered for saturday or sunday only. i understand the reasoning behind it, but there was absolutely no communication making this clear on the AB website nor on AB’s social media. if you’re going to uphold such a policy, please at least state it clearly on your website, otherwise you’re going to cause another upset next year.
- the lack of variety in artist’s alley. almost every booth sold stuff just of the trendiest anime these days, and so i wasn’t interested in anything fandom-related because i wasn’t into many of the series these artists were selling. unfortunately, this is a prevailing issue for most AA’s, which i understand because artists need to make as much money as they can.
- the excessive amount of hololive promotion. it felt like AB was just pushing hololive too hard this year, and because of this, it seemed like certain vendors in AA and dealer’s room felt pressured to do the same. for example, i was very disappointed to see that OMOCAT, which is usually a regular vendor at AB who would sell a variety of their items, sold nothing but hololive stuff - especially when i was looking forward to buying their other merchandise, such as their OMORI products. one huge table just to sell your hololive stuff? come on. ):
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by Sayoria »

In speaking of the dealers room, second year with a big ass van just stealing a potential 4 other booths. I get that they probably pay a lot for the space but cmon. If Tesla came in and offered to buy out one side of the dealers room to display their cars during the con, would we be doing that? It's an anime convention. Once I saw the big pink van back, I didn't even approach it.
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by Anna-neko »

Positive:
~ the cutest lil tea photo space on 3rd floor. Every year there's adorable photo sets, but this one was the beeeeeeeeest! Please keep bringing it back
~ The lil avatars mini-game QR code thing ~ ♥♥♥. Seeing that first thing on Friday during a panel talking about Gaia Online no less *chefs kiss*
~ Swap Meet in the Sheraton this year made life so much easier (didn't have to carry the heavy bag as far) Can we maybe get more rectangle tables instead of the round ones tho? ("which side of table is yours again?" confusion is real)
~ mad props to Thursday registration staff!! The system only showed my prereg from 2022, and they got me registered proper quickly
~ the big new "directory" signs placed around the Hynes were super-helpful! Always forget where things are, and seeing the big sign with all the listings A++
~ cosplay repair room remains invaluable, never stop having it

Negative: can we please please please do something about printing full legal names on badges? Like maybe not. Or perhaps move that to the back of the badge. Remind me why AB absolutely needs full names on badges and can't just switch to something else like so many other cons?? (seriously, with everyones phone cameras getting higher and higher res, and all the badges very visible over everyone's cosplays..... not exactly feeling the safest with my Very Unique Name so easily seen by half the internet when pics are posted)
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by Eri Kagami »

I've been going on / off since 2013. Even with the negative, I still look forward to Anime Boston every year. And I'm on the west coast! For context, I lived in Boston for a few years, and Anime Boston has always, and will forever be, my home con.

The Good
+ Cosplay games! No one does it like Anime Boston. I loved being a participant and watching from the audience. I was Nero in Cosplay LSB. It's so much fun!
+ Loved that a lot of restaurants at the Pru took mobile order. It saved us so much time (and CAVA for the win!)
+ Masquerade! I have returned and this was so well organized and well run. Would do this again!
+ Gundam Pros - you're like my favorite Gunpla people ever!
+ A lot of academic panels with hearty content. I'm sad I missed a few, but I'm glad I caught the ones I did.
+ Sheraton staff was super friendly.
+ AMV's that actually have me curious about checking out new anime! (Currently watching Death Parade)

The Bad
+ Really missing the decorations. Maybe we can have decor that is evergreen? I wouldn't mind a return of the ramen bar next year (or the kaiju cutouts from previous years).
+ Kinda wished panel rooms were larger. I'm happy that people here love academic panels (and that's s good thing!). Let let more nerds in!
+ Really miss JPN guests, but I can deal
+ Crowding and bottleneck over in the third floor in the 310/309 section

Also, I know you're looking for more staff. If you do wish to continue with the ballroom dance next year, my team from California is more than happy to help you all with dance lessons and putting on an amazing ball. We also run the ball for Anime Los Angeles and we're more than happy to be of service!
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by Goldfish221 »

The Good

+ I love the security checks in the Hynes, it was so smooth and fast. There was hardly lines and when there were they moved fast.

+ I loved the large signs added this year for Auditorium, Dealer's Room, Artist Ally etc

+ I found the AB staff I interacted will lovely, I wish I knew names because I would give shot outs <3


The Neutral

+ I loved the arcade room but if possible I would request more of machines and a bigger room. It was always busy when I went in.

+Dealers room was good, but I would love to see more companies like Cruncyroll, Aniplex, and companies that are more directly in the industry have booths. Similar to how there used to be the Funimation and Cruncyroll booth prior to the merger. HiDive has a ton of space but not a lot of stuff to look at or buy. Also maybe give Arda a larger space as they are a sponsor and they are a very popular booth.

The Bad

-Panel rooms really need to be bigger and have more panels in general. I wanted to pop into a panel when I had some spare time prior to an engagement I had. But every panel room I went to in the hynes was full up, even ones I didn't think would be. (Also this may be because there were more people in attendance for 2023).

-Program guides. I was very underwhelmed for being charged $5.00 for what felt a lesser quality product. The free versions of the program book seemed to be a better quality and had the same content ( I don't really care the book pages are in color vs black/white). The book was so big it doesn't fit on my shelf right and looks weird next to my 2005-2022 books T-T. If the program guides are available in 2024 I would recommend making them a tad bit smaller and higher quality with the covers. Thicker paper (And I personally like the gloss better than the matte finish) and adding more content because the content in the free/included books in years past, is the same as the one we pay $5.00 for now.

Also another idea is releasing a free PDF version of the program guide attendees can just go print themselves.

Overall AB is a great con and I plan to return, but I do think there are kinks that should be worked out.
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by trashlordizunia »

Now that the post con depression has dissipated and my assimilation back into reality isn't so jarring, here are my thoughts!

Good: going through bag check and security was a breeze, as it's been the previous past few years.

The little forest and tea room backdrops were so fun! Me and my boyfriend really enjoyed taking pictures in front of those (as 2B and 9S!)

Cosplay games and the masquerade are always wonderful events to see!

Artist alley had a lot of things that I enjoyed this year. There were multiple times that I had to keep walking because I didn't want to drain my merch fund so fast :lol:

The...eh: I know I said security was a breeze, but my boyfriend had a slight issue with one of the guards on Saturday when we were entering back into the con from lunch. A female security guard pulled aside my boyfriend screaming at him asking if his prop sword was real, but it had already been checked and had the orange zip tie around it indicating so. Still made him go back to prop check. A waste of time, and she was sort of rude about it.

Panel room size: there was one panel me and my bf/friends wanted to see, I believe it was the 'anime you should never admit to watching' one. Room was 100% full with a crapton of people still behind us that were also turner away. Please take the popularity of panels into consideration when picking which things go into what rooms.

An add on to the above, please, for the love of God please put the game room back to the original room it was in in previous years. Every time we came in it was always jam packed, making it impossible to get on a DDR machine or play anything else.

Coat check. We were there late on Saturday night because we hit the hentai AMV extravaganza and left at about 1:30. When we went to the coat check area it was closed, no one had told us thay they move bags to the lost and found on the first floor after a certain time. Some sort of signage or notification In the guidebook app or anime boston's website would have been helpful so we didn't have a scare.

But yep, those are my thoughts. I'll be back in 2024!
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by wdragon »

The good:
  • AMV contest. Everything about it. The contest itself was great, as was ditching the paper ballots and switching to online voting. Only thing that would be nice would be if it were possible to vote throughout the show as each category ends, but it's not the end of the world to wait until everything is over
  • The new metal detectors. It's like the equivalent of replacing tollbooths with fastpass lanes. It completely solves the logistical hassle of going back and forth between hynes and sheraton. This should be the standard for all conventions across the country.
  • Dropping the mask mandates. It's 2023, so it's nice to see that left in the past where it belongs
  • Anime Unscripted is great every year, but this year was really a cut above the rest
  • Greg Ayers. I don't typically care about the guests, but Greg is awesome and one of the few guests I make a point to see
  • The badges. I really like the plastic holster for a paper badge because I can stuff my id and hotel key in the back of it. Lots of conventions have a hard plastic badge. Hopefully AB never switches their design. AB has almost always had this style, but it's worth mentioning this is great and shouldn't change.
The mixed:
  • Masquerade was excellent, but disagree with the decision to forbid people from competing in both performance and craftsmanship, making them pick one or the other. This means there is no longer a "best in show". (a "best in show" for each category isn't "best in show", it's just a rebranded first place for the category)
  • The arcade room. The space was very tiny compared to previous years, and there weren't enough of the games that people wanted to play such as Wacca and Chunithm. (Also, MaiMai was completely absent this year)
  • Panels. The panels that were there were good, but it felt like there were far fewer than normal. Maybe there were fewer applicants and it's not AB's fault, maybe AB rejected tons of people and it was their fault. No clue.The only thing I do know is that it felt like there weren't enough and the panels that were on there felt like they were in rooms that were to small for them leading to them exceeding capacity. (of course, the quantity is a contributor here as well since it means everyone is going to be trying to get into the same room). Late night was especially lackluster this year. It's the first year in over a decade that I've gone back to my room before midnight.
The bad:
  • Badge pickup. This used to be a quick 5 minute thing in 2019 and before. Now with the Vaccine checks it's an hour or longer. It's time to leave the vaccine mandates in the past just like the mask mandates. Additionally, it's time to start giving the option for mailing badges like other large conventions do.
  • Artist's Alley felt artificially crowded at times due to the booths not going wall to wall. There was a huge row of empty space on the left hand side of the room behind the last booths. Go wall to wall and make better use of the space. This would give wider aisleways and make it easier for people to navigate.
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by kittehspring »

This was my 11th (I think?) AB! Overall I had a very enjoyable time.

My biggest problem had to do with badge pick up. We got there almost as soon as badge pickup opened on Thursday. The line / wait was okay. I was with three other people and three out of the four of us ordered the booklet. We were all told different things:

-I was asked if I ordered the booklet and was given one once I said yes
-My bf had to ask for it and when he did, his badge person replied with “yeah there is one but you had to have pre-ordered it”. He told them that he did preorder it and then was given a book
-Our friend was not asked about it at all either and had to go back inside registration get it.

We were also never given the con chowdah / never told where to get it.

My other problem was with miscommunication between staff regarding the Hololive stuff.

Firstly, I suppose it’s my own fault since guaranteed entree tickets were a thing last year, but I didn’t realize they brought them back this year until mid afternoon Friday so we were unable to get a ticket for that day. I asked the people at the info desk on the third floor about it, and they sent us to the ticket desk down the hall. Then the desk was empty with no sign saying hololive tickets were out or anything so I asked a staff member walking by and he didn’t really know. He was really helpful though and radioed about the empty table and said something like “They must be out of tickets unfortunately”.

Next, regarding the meet and greet stuff. My bf and his brother both one meet and greets (one on Friday and one on Sunday). Neither were given a meet and greet pass at badge pick up nor told where to get one on Thursday. Friday comes around, and his brother has to ask where it’s being held because the room was not really specified. When he gets to the room, they proceed to ask him for the pass and when he said they never gave him one / he didn’t know he needed one, they gave him a hard time about accepting the email.

Because of this, his brother (my bf) asked staff people on Saturday if he needed to get the pass for his Sunday meet and greet. The people at the desk both said they didn’t know much info about the meet and greets and said the email should be fine. Then on Sunday, he was also given a hard time about not having the pass despite multiple people saying the email would have been fine. I understand trying to keep things like this under wraps for the most part, but having everyone on the same page about the pass and what room it was in would have been nice.

Other than that, I have the same feedback as everyone else. Dealers room was better but still a little lacking, artist alley was better but still managed to become cramped on Saturday, Arcade room needed to be bigger, etc. I really enjoyed the little spots set up to take pictures and I almost wish there were a few more with different variety but I understand if it’s a money thing!

Again overall, I had a very enjoyable time! I wish I could have gone to more things but the hololive panels conflicted with almost everything else I was interested in.
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by Kira_Kira »

My friends and I only went on Saturday. We got to Hynes around noon. The line to pick up badges stretched several blocks outside of the convention center and took over an hour to get through. I don't think I've ever had to wait that long to get into a con, even for massive ones like NYCC.

Maybe this is more personal opinion, but it kind of felt like the panels just weren't that interesting this year. And for the ones we did try to get into, they were full by the time we got there.

Artist alley was fun, really loved a lot of the vendors this year. Really packed, though.

Maybe I'm just kind of over conventions and need to take a break in order to get excited about them again. Not sure if I'll be coming back next year.
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by Shiggitay »

I've been attending AB since 2009, and every now and again an "off-year" happens, and this year was indeed somewhat of an off-year for me. I overall had fun, but a few things stood out for me that I hope can be changed for next year's con.

PROS:

-- The masquerade was fun as always, and Weegee has really gotten good at what she does. I'll always miss Roadie (RIP).

-- The line management was great as always

-- Overall a smoothly run event.

aaand time for my main con...

CONS:

-- Having the console gaming room combined with autographs was interesting at best, but not optimal for most... Historically you had all video gaming in one room (in Hynes Ballroom A/B I believe) and this year having the arcade gaming in Hynes 311 was kind of odd to me... Also the providers could have been better... Please try and get Snow Phoenix / Pyschic Drive for AB 2024 as they have awesome arcade selections in their arsenals and I think many would be happier. I'm not saying who you were able to get was bad, but it could have been better.

WITH ALL THAT SAID, I had a good time at AB.. Many fun moments with friends that I would never give up for anything! See you at AB 2024!
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by Amjam »

I didn’t attend this year because masks were not mandated. I commend the vaccine requirement, but in a busy convention it’s not enough to stop transmission.
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Better set ups for cover bands

Post by bloodninja »

I thought that the Berkelee anime cover bands played their hearts out but I wish they had a better place to play than the “jam zone.” The lights were on the whole time and the hall really wasn’t great acoustically. It would be nice to make this part of the con more special and perhaps therefore encourage more musical acts at the con.
McBuddy
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by McBuddy »

As an attendee of Anime Boston over the last 10 years, this is the first time I've left feedback/review. I love this con so much that I have continued to come back every year despite living so far away now. Despite all this, I just had some things that really bothered me that I wanted to share.

I will start off with things I liked:
- The volunteers were great as usual. You guys did an awesome job despite all the construction within the area.
- I loved the little side activities like the jam zone and the little scavenger hunts.
- I'll always love Hololive at Anime Boston. Thanks for bringing them back and inviting more idols this time around! Getting an auditorium for them (like last year) is so awesome compared to how some other cons run their Hololive affiliated activities.

I do have quite a bit of things that have bothered me compared to past years:
- Panels. I know other people have complained about it, but I just wanted to add to the complaint list. Gameshows are my favorite part of Anime Boston, and I'm sure a lot of other people feel the same way too. It was really weird seeing so many panels shoved into 310 when they've usually been held in 302/304 in past years. For example, Who Wants to be an Animillionaire was hosted on Sunday morning (despite definitely not deserving that spot) and was also in 310 despite always filling 302/304. (Also, why weren't all the super popular gameshows we've seen over the last few years back again this year?) It really sucked when only a small portion of the queue was able to get into the room. Speaking of which, the number of panels and panel rooms seemed to have dropped a decent amount from past years. The schedule just seemed smaller compared to every other year. I've always boasted about how community driven and panel focused Anime Boston is but this year felt like it fell short.
- Guests. I don't know if it's still because of COVID, but it really seems like the guest list this year was super underwhelming. There were no Japanese guests and the musical guests this year (despite having a super cool portfolio) didn't really compare to what we've been able to pull in the past (FLOW, LiSA, etc). I just hope Anime Boston gains momentum back for next year.
- Arcade. Is there a reason why the arcade and gaming console areas were split up this year and not hosted in the usual ballroom? The console gaming in the same area as guests and tabletop games this year was kind of weird, and cramming the arcade games in a small room created a super clammy environment. I would love to see everything gaming combined into one big spacious area again.
- Cost. I'm sorry for bringing this up, and I completely understand with inflation as well as not having a physical con for a couple years has probably taken a toll on Anime Boston, but it just seems like so much was cut despite how much the pass cost increased to. With less panels and underwhelming guests in addition to all the changes listed in the update back in November, it just seems a little crazy that they're cutting so much from an attendee standpoint.

Overall, I just hope Anime Boston doesn't change so much. Anime Boston has always been great in the past, I really hope upper management isn't trying to change things that were never really broken in the first place.
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by spk44 »

The convention volunteers and staff were helpful and nice as always. The security line moved swiftly, which was good.

One of my only complaints was the room assignment for the "Bad Anime, Bad!" panel. My group got in line half an hour early, which got us into the panel room, but barely. And I could see people being turned away at the door who were in line. The room also didn't seem to be setup for full attendance, since I had trouble hearing the panel with the room's speaker setup.
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lazerem
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by lazerem »

Had a great time at the con this year and have a few thoughts!

Pros:
  • Cosplay meetups! I look forward to the meetups/photoshoots every year, it's so cool to see other people's cosplays and take pictures together.
  • Artist alley was great this year, lots of really talented artists and a good mix of styles of art, both fan art and original stuff, etc.
  • Security/the metal detectors went a lot smoother this year, it didn't feel like I was going to lose a ton of time to the security checkpoint if I had to leave the Hynes and come back for any reason the way it did in past years.
  • Hololive stuff was cool and I hope AB can keep doing collaborations with them.
  • The mobile game and showing people's avatars on the screens in the panel rooms was a cute touch.
Meh:
  • Not sure how I feel about the way video games was split up to be honest. I think the room the arcade games were put in might not have been big enough, it felt pretty cramped in there.
  • I didn't mind the new autograph setup but having the schedule listed in guidebook would have been helpful.
Cons:
  • I know so many people have brought up issues with panel rooms and panels filling up too fast but it really did feel so much harder to get into panels this year than last, especially on Saturday evening when the con was busiest. Hopefully going forward more popular panels can get a bigger room. More panels happening at the same time would help too, it felt like if you couldn't get into what you wanted there weren't many options for backups.
  • I'd also like to second the concern I saw someone bring up with legal names being printed on badges. On top of the stated privacy concern, this also creates an issue for people that don't use their legal name socially anymore, for example people in the trans community who are still working on getting their name changed legally. I understand needing a way to tie a badge to a person in the registration system in case of emergencies but I feel there has to be a way to do this that doesn't raise these privacy and inclusivity concerns.
  • With the panel rooms filling up and crowding in popular areas like the artist alley and arcade room I can't help but wonder if AB is starting to outgrow the Hynes?
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Shiggitay
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by Shiggitay »

lazerem wrote: Sun Apr 23, 2023 2:36 am
  • With the panel rooms filling up and crowding in popular areas like the artist alley and arcade room I can't help but wonder if AB is starting to outgrow the Hynes?
===NOT STAFF AND JUST A LONG TIME ATTENDEE===

We've long outgrown the Hynes IMHO... The NEAS (New England Anime Society) has looked at other convention spaces like the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (where PAX takes place) but they didn't like the layout and decided it wouldn't work for AB. The BCEC is more setup for tradeshow style cons like PAX, and there's also the fact that the hotel and food situation there is sparser than downtown in Back Bay where the Hynes is.

</My $0.02>
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by LtTawnyMadison »

PLLLLLEEEEAAASE have an option to get badges mailed to pre-registrants. The 1+ hour line to get in is very frustrating for all.
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by KiwiKei »

Overall a good con, but I hate changes that were made to this year.

Pros:
- Great staff. I want to give a special shout out to the announcers in artist alley; they were quite entertaining.

- Signs were great - large signs made it alot easier to find things.

- Photo sets on the 3rd floor were great, hopefully there will be some more in the future.

- Bag & Coat check - absolutely loved this. Cheap, quick, and simple. I also managed to check in a prop and they took good care of it, making sure it stood up and didn't get crushed. Shout to all that staff.

- Secruity lines were great. Very fast - tho at the main entrance people didn't realize you could go on the left side (lots of people assumed it was a fast pass area for staff/artists/exc)

- Jam zone was cool. Feel like it was in a great space.

- Cosplay meet-ups were great! Some rooms felt too small, and I do miss the majority actually being in the Hynes. But overall fun experience, easy to find times and locations.

Cons:
- Badge pick up line was a joke. I picked up my badge on Thursday, and while I didn't have any issues I had friends that did because staff decided to close the line 30mins early with no notice.
I also had friends that had to pick-up badges on Friday and Saturday. All of my friends pre-registered. For some reason this year they decided to combine the pre-reg line with the people who need to buy their tickets at the door. This caused the line to be so much longer. In past years I've never waited more than 20mins. Friday my friend waited 35mins. And on Saturday my friends waited over an hour! Because of this we missed some things, including our maid cafe reservation. There is just no reason why they combined the lines.

- Panel rooms were too small. I'm not sure what happened with this, did staff just underestimate how popular panels would be? I tried to go to the How to Artist Alley panel on Sunday... got there 15mins early and the room was already filled. It was a small room, I've never seen a panel in such a small room. I've been to Jrock panels in past years and they were in much, much, larger rooms but had a fraction of the audience.

- Dealers room lacking in variety. Saw a booth selling bootleg merch. Idk if it's just me but it feels smaller than when it used to be on the first floor. Also the return of the t-mobile truck... still the most random thing for an anime con. Was a little fun last year cuz they let you do photo ops in the truck, but not this year.

- Autographs and Guests. No one likes that we have to pay now, but I understand why. But I do wish prices and payment methods were clearer, like right on the website or guidebook app. Same thing with autograph times. I know this has also been said, but I want to see more Japanese VAs, musicians, exc. Especially musicians, there are plenty who have toured in the US, want to, or even live in the US (at least part-time). Hyde has done multiple shows in Boston in small bars, and I think he fully deserves the big stage since he's one of Japan's biggest stars.

- Moving the console/PC games down to the autograph room. Does staff know just how loud that stuff is? Let's all be honest, the console/PC area is loud and smells. I do think they should be their own space, but it was just a strong contrast from the peacefulness of people meeting guests and people playing board games. Really the console
/PC games being in that room ruined the vibes cuz do you really wanna be talking over some dude yelling at a TV?

- Time. Last year when it was in May was the perfect time. The garden was open, it was warm out, and at least college students were out of school. I know dates are picked yeeeeaaars in advanced. But after it being in May last year I just miss it being in May. It was just a perfect time.
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by fuzzy nukes »

Thought I submitted this but apparently not.

This was my first Anime Boston.

PROS:

Registration. I stopped by on Thursday night to get my badge and while the line was long, it was pretty much always moving. So it didn't take as long as I thought it might.

Entry. Might have been the quickest entry into any Con I have ever been to. I don't carry bags just to avoid all the nonsense that comes with it in the security lines, but just being able to show my badge and walk through the machine was so nice and easy I wish other places would use it.

Artists Alley. I practically live in Artists Alley in any Con I go to. I was nice to see a lot of artists that I haven't seen before as well as one guy who I managed to meet as 3 different Cons in 3 years. If anything, I wish there was more space for more artists but I guess that is not currently possible.

Idol Game Thing at the Start of Panels. I wish I knew about this sooner. It was a nice little thing to do while waiting for the panels to start. I hope you guys bring it back next year.

Location. It was nice to just hop of the train and be able to just walk to everything including the hotel and the con. I do like the Convention Center as well but it does kinda seem like it is close to max capacity.

Hours. It was nice that there was stuff for if I woke up early and decided to get a feel for the place, which is what happened Friday. It was also nice to have quite a bit 18+ stuff but it would be nice if they also started a bit earlier.

CONS:

Dealers Room. It just feels like the same things at every Con in the dealers room. Sure, there are some things that I have never seen before but it just feels the same.

Rooms for Certain Panels. As this was my first AB, I have no idea what the situation is with panels rooms and capacity in years past. But, I managed to get into 2 high demand panels and experienced something I never saw before. The panelists sped run thru it so they could run the panel twice in the time frame. The fact that this has never happened to me in all the years I have gone to Cons and it happened twice at AB, says something.

Line Management: For some of the higher demand panels, the lines got to be ridiculous. Either do what AX does and put tape on the ground to show where lines should form or do what Otakon does and have areas roped off in the large hallway where the lines can go. Either can help it be more organized and stop from being a complete mess. Also helps when you have areas that people aren't allowed to block off as people will be redirected. I will say though, to make up for that, you did have a lot of staff every so often in the biggest lines to help direct the flow but I don't think that should be a good permanent solution going forward.

Video Rooms. Need more of them. That is all.

In Conclusion:

I very much enjoyed my first Anime Boston. I wish my brother could've came as well so I could've split the hotel bill but its not a big deal in the end. I do wish there was more room for more panel rooms and more video rooms but I don't think that is possible without a move. I look forward to coming back next year.
Otakon attendee: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022

Anime Expo attendee: 2019, 2020

Anime NYC attendee: 2020, 2021

Anime Boston attendee: 2023
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Re: Official Feedback Thread 2023

Post by DocWatson »

Since AB has an (E-mail) newsletter, I feel it would be a very good idea to use it to announce in advance when hotel reservations will open, please.
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