Over the past few years we’ve gone to quite a few small conventions (and large ones) across the west coast. We have seen some that were awesome… and a few that we will never attend again.
Thankfully we can comfortably say that we fully intend to return to Saboten Con next year.
Arizona has had a difficult time with their anime conventions. Anizona showed promise, but then fizzled out and then totally failed. PAF was a wonderful first year convention, but simply didn’t have a second year. And finally that brings us to Saboten.
This is the second year of the convention, however it wasn’t run like a second year convention. The staff clearly had experience in what they were doing with both the organization as well as the execution of the convention itself. Many things were planned well such as ticketed events to accommodate for the lack of space for long lines, and a convention schedule that ran until 3am. They are also one of the few conventions that have planned for adult events such as ‘Club Sabo’ which had a cash bar available for people to hang out in.
On that note, i do have to say that the events/panels were very well rounded. They covered a wide range and had old favorites such as Asian music panels (jrock, kpop, ect), game shows (with prizes), to new panels such as “how to spot a fake asian” (courtesy of Panda Cubed) Besides that, they had all the important events. Masquerade, Rave, musical guests, ect ect. The con was not without a couple of problems, but imo they are easily fixable problems that all cons suffer from.
And with that in mind, here is Sirhc’s TOP AND BOTTOM 5.
HIGH POINTS OF THE CON
1. The bar in the center of the hotel. Suffice to say you could find us there (in costume). Shonen Vegas does not condone underage drinking, but with that said… Shonen Vegas does approve when conventions remember that not all anime fans are under 21
2. The People. The best reason to go to an Arizona convention is to hang out with the awesome people in the anime community.
3. New Panels. They took a chance and booked some panels that were different from the norm. and they were good. Kudos to you saboten for taking a chance. If you haven’t been to an Arizona con then you are truly missing out on a great anime community.
4. Lots of Water. even in October it was hot. And there was no lack of free water. As a Kadaj Cosplayer i raise my plastic cup to you.
5. Minimal Lines. They did many things right to remove as much of the lines as possible. badges didn’t have names preprinted which made picking up the badge on day 1 ULTRA FAST. i can’t emphasize how awesome it is to not have to wait in line to pick up a badge.
Also ticketed events were a good idea, epically in a hotel con where space is already limited
LOW POINTS OF THE CON
1. The area was a little too small for the amount of people that were there. It can’t really be helped as Arizona isn’t known for the vast amounts of convention space. Hopefully next year they will be ready for their potential growth.
2. Dealer’s room small. Again, it’s a second year small con. They did invite all local vendors which is good for the economy. But big dealers won’t show up to a no name con. With that said, hopefully this con can start to make a name for itself and get a bit more support from the industry.
3. Scheduling problems. What con doesn’t have them. Panelist not showing up, things run late and everything gets off track. Hopefully next year the staff will be a little more attentive of keeping to the schedule.
4. Paid Events. Honestly, this is my only REAL complaint. (as the first 3 complaints can apply to almost every small con in the country) The Cosplay Prom had an additional fee to attend but i did not feel that i got anything worth paying for. Hopefully they will do a better job next time or simply make it an open event for all to attend. The Maid Cafe did have a fee, however i felt that one was a bit more justified as they served food and had maid performances.
5. Equipment Issues. This one isn’t a personal complaint, though i did see a problem here. It appeared as though equipment for panels had not been tested ahead of time. Projectors were not setup, or when they were setup it was at such a stupid angle that you couldn’t see what was on the screen because it was too small or was distorted. Also there was a lack of mic’s, power cables, and staff tech support to make panels run smoothly. This is probably a large contribution to the panels getting off schedule. Next time test your stuff the day before
FINAL VERDICT!
We can easily look back on this convention with fond memories, and fully intend to go back next year. For now i can only hope this con learns from the Anizona failure when it abandoned the fans and attendants in favor of making money. A con will make money when it is successful and its success depends on the people who attend the convention. Having communicated with
the con staff, they are already looking towards the future to bring an even bigger and better con in 2010. All of the issues that we had were already being addressed. While we aren’t expecting this to be the new best small convention, it is definitely a small convention that we highly recommend looking into next year.
I would like to give a special Thanks to: Tiffany, Joe, Tiff, Lion-o, Naomi, Kisa, Yuki, Judy, All the Hotel and Convention Staff, Cosplayers and the Arizona anime community for letting us have a great time.
by: Chris Hori
