Thank You For Attending Anime & Gaming Con - Photos, Stories & Reactions

[LikkleMel]

@LikkleMel Did you get the fairly long PM I sent last week about the Sheffield AL do in November?

Yes, and I will respond shortly, I'm still trying to recover from 3 events in a row this month.

[Swalehkhan]

Long time LAGC attendee and first time poster here

I always find LAGC very fun but this year had some issues for sure. I think the one way system was really frustrating and very difficult for anyone with movement issues.

Secondly, I think complaints about the food are unwarranted when you could easily leave the venue and get decent food outside.

My main criticism is in the after party. When I come to an anime con after party I want to dance to anime music. I think it sucks that for the whole night there were less than 5 played and all of them were remixed and mashed up by the DJ. It's a shame because in previous years the after party has been by far my favourite part.

Also, what happened with the old mini cons anime league used to run? I used to love those

Hey! Glad you enjoyed the event. The one way system I understand is frustrating; however, it is for everyone's safety. I'd like to show evidence provided by A Game of Chums https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB3UAsF ... eWithChums timestamp 17.18 which shows if that one way system isn't in place it is basically a free for all between the two doors. It just keeps the flow better, if people with accessibility needs can cut through the one way system by asking a crew member who is on that one way system.

After parties, I can work with our DJ to play more anime music, the Yaki Rave had anime music, but they were mixed to their styles, but I can talk to them about putting them emphasis on anime music for you.

We are hoping to bring back the Big Geek Meets and Mini Cons next year. I'm not going to lie I am exhausted this year, so anytime we have a convention off I genuielly just want to sleep than go out and do more community activities, but myself and Mike have missed this part and are planning on some next year!

Ah thanks for explaining! That makes a lot of sense! And yeah honestly a week deserved rest!

Thanks so much for considering the anime music! I'm just missing the times when my friends and i lost our minds on the dance floor to we are and blue bird

Glad to hear the smaller events might be coming back though! Congratulations on another great event!

[InahaFrost]

A one way system is fine until you have to leave the entire building and walk around obstacles outside to get back inside because you wanted to go upstairs or to a specific room
One way system shouldn't have a route that extends beyond the exit and entrance to the hotel

[Mntspud]

Hi, my wife, my son (13 yes and ASD) and I attended the MK event yesterday. What a fantastic day, we normally have to start heading home around 1pm or my some starts to get disregulated. We stayed until 4:30 and he was absolutely buzzing after it.
It was a fantastic, friendly, inclusive event. All the organisers, staff and other attendees need to give yourselves a huge pat on the back - we'll definitely be going to another one in the future.
Thank you

[irishrambo82]

1srlt time going to an anime con in Belfast was really fun and the games section and traders was well thought out. However the trader that was selling mystery bags of Japanese treats/sweets. Opened the bag when I got home to find four of the items were out of dat of their best before date by a few to six months. The fact she was charging £15 a bag. This was also the case for my friend as well. This was very misleading and dishonest think she shouldn't be able to do this

[pix]

Attended the AnimeCon in Crowne Plaza, Belfast on Saturday with my daughter. Any criticisms of mine would be more toward the hotel than the event or the venue itself. First the good.

I thought the event was pretty well organised. I liked the Q&A's with the voice actors and artists. Shao Dow did an amazing job in his performance I thought. The hotel as a venue for an event was pretty good, allowing the various areas of the event to be split across various rooms and levels off the central lobby, making navigation and access easy. The main hall was on the ground floor just off the reception lobby and had an entrance where there was additional comfy seating and tables. The market hall was on the 1st floor and setup with great selection of items. Plenty of people seemed to be enjoying the table top gaming nearby. The Anime screening and video games were on the 2nd floor and used an entire corridor of rooms to good effect. There were consoles and games from all era's and emulation mini-retro versions as well. Honestly, if I had been on my own I would have spent hours up there.

The negative is really directed toward the hotel. I thought that from a staff and preparation point of view the hotel was poor. That is, the hotel venue and layout were good for hosting an event, but the hotel staff and planning clearly lacked competence. I asked at reception about getting a coffee early on and they first of all seemed to act as if no one had ever asked such a question before in the history of the hotel and suggested to my surprise the bar restaurant, which necessitated joining a queue. There was literally nowhere else to get a coffee/drink without going into this single restaurant and the staff in there were clearly all over the place. In the end after exploring for a bit, by the time I got back down stairs the queue was constant and by around lunchtime I was parched. We queued to get lunch and a drink, but when we got to the 2nd place in the queue, someone from the event, clearly under instruction from some officious prat at the hotel told them to clear the queue form the corridor and we all had to disperse after waiting for 20-30 mins, still having no lunch or a drink. Then went up to the Green Room restaurant and despite there being a menu stand, no kind of barriers, or signs and an open door, we were told rather abruptly by one of the staff that it was a "private event" and the restaurant was closed. Genius move there "Crowne Plaza Belfast" booking out one of only 2 proper restaurants whilst hosting a fairly large hotel-wide event. This only left an indian restaurant option, which we didn't want, OR joining a consistently rather massive queue for chicken nuggets and chips from some catering provided by the event. When we walked past the lobby again the queue for the ONLY restaurant and coffee supply in the building had of course reformed despite the hotel's earlier insistence we clear the corridor for "health and safety" reasons making our earlier dismissal a bit of a joke. So at some point after the Q&A and well after lunchtime we finally managed to get ourselves into the restaurant.

In a nutshell, we enjoyed the event and I think the venue was in theory good for hosting it, but the hotel itself as an entity sucks big time. They need to invest a few hundred quid in a coffee machine or even better, just man one of their other bars instead of being duck arsed - it was just plain ridiculous. Thanks.

[Rich-Allen1976]

I'm coming to the Sheffield do in November, been coming since 2022, although to be honest I didn't rate last year's event, I also don't rate the Mercure as a venue, all the good stuff's downstairs which isn't very accessible even though there's lifts, the food and drink's overpriced at the Bar, and if you leave and go elsewhere for stuff you have to pay again to come back in because your security stamp on your hand will probably have faded away.

[jwme]

The event was alright, but I was disappointed that the VIP packages ran out early (This affected quite a lot of people). The dealer hall was spacious and I didn't feel too crowded while browsing the stalls. More Guests of Honour would also have been nice. The raffle was underwhelming.

[Ojisama]

Sheffield AGC

A very pleasant weekend. It didn't seem as busy as previous years, and nobody seemed to have any problem moving around, other than fighting through the queue of people at the candy-floss stall which was right at the bottom of the stairs. Nice to see a Quiet Space next to the Anime Theatre.

I can't speak about the Gaming Section, as I'm not into that.

My son and his GF were impressed by the range and quality of the Artists Alley, and I had an interesting conversation with the operators of the Leather Stall. The only frustration was trying to get to view the selection at the Print and Frame Stall. So much material displayed in such a small space meant long wait times as customers flipped through all the boxes. Coming back on Sunday afternoon when it was quieter meant I could have a chat with the stall holder, and I may now be able to get some prints from one of my favourite anime franchises when I contact him later.

Performing artists were of good quality. Metal Mickey went down well with the older crowd (Iron Maiden, Europe and Whitesnake covers can't go wrong) but the younger audience looked a bit lost. Personally, I'd like to see him back next year. Anime and KPop lovers were catered for by Grace, Jenny and Holly on Saturday and it seemed to go down well. On Sunday we had Lele and Io Bane who both put on high energy shows that were well appreciated by the audience.

As seems to be a trend, the venue dished out the few brickbats. The coffee machine broke down Wednesday afternoon, and the staff actually tried to send me across the road to Nero's, where the queue was out the door. The postmix system was also out of order, so you had to buy a can of coke/lemonade/soda for your drinks, which upped the price if you were on your own, and the look I got from the staff member when I said I'd rather have my Roku straight. A general lack of staff at the bar resulted in slow moving queues, or perhaps it was the fact that they were inexperienced?

The attendees seemed to be having a good time but I'm still bemused by human behaviour. Why spend £20 on a prop katana and then break it by having a mock fight with your friends outside? Playing around outside is one thing, but the 2 "young adults" who decided to have a mock shoot out in the bar?

GRACE ON SATURDAY.


LELE ON SUNDAY


IO BANE ON SUNDAY


AUDIENCE ON SUNDAY

[Ojisama]

@LikkleMel Oh! I missed out expressing my thanks to this helpful AL staff member who took some pictures for me, and looked after my bag when I accidentally left it behind.