Sakuracon 2012

Sakuracon was a convention that took place on April 6-8. It featured many professionals from the anime industry, as well as musical performances from Stereopony, Moi dix mois, and Kanon wakeshima. In my opinion, the event was amazing, and entertaining. There was a lot of stuff to buy at the exhibitor's hall, tons of talented artists at artist's alley, and the performances were the best in my Sakuracon-going years. I also got a chance to take a picture with the band Stereopony, got a few autographs, and even had a picture drawn for me from the artist who drew the Toradora manga. I also had a playmat done by a couple of artists in Artist's Alley.

I have talked/interviewed with a few people on their thoughts about this year's Sakuracon. They all generally thought that this year was the largest Sakuracon, mainly because the exhibitor's hall / Artist's Alley size doubled from last year. Some people complained about the exhibitor's hall, saying that the items seemed to be more expensive than last year. The new rule pertaining autograph signings had mixed reactions as well. Some liked it, because it gave them incentive to go to the person's Q&A section. Others hated it because of the same reason - they had things that went on during the same time the Q&A was, so they could not get a priority ticket.

Those that went to the concerts had both good and bad things to say:

Stereopony:

The good: They started on time (which was a first for me at Sakuracon), played extra songs that went overtime, had anime videos for the songs that were in the anime played, had a good encore.

The bad: Some early technical issues (feedback from the mic)

Kanon Wakeshima:
The good: The concert showed her talents with the cello as well as her vocal range.

The bad: Started almost an hour later than scheduled. Even though Kanon Wakeshima is being produced by Mana (a member of Moi dix Mois), it doesn't seem like the right time of opening act for Moi dix Mois.

Moi dix Mois:

The good: They knew how to get the crowd pumped up. They performed songs better live than on album.

The bad: It started during the Kanon Wakeshima autographs, so people that wanted to go to both had to miss the beginning of the Moi dix Mois concert as well as not being able to go up front to the 'mosh' pit.

Another thing that bothered people was the fact that you could not even have your phone out and on during the Kanon/Moi concerts. If the staff saw a person with a phone on, they got a warning or escorted out.

People also mentioned that Steve Blum was an awesome person for staying 3+ hours after schedule to do autographs for the people who waited in line.

Stereopony:

Kanon Wakeshima:




Moi dix Mois: