Anime Oasis 2013: Fever

Anime Oasis Fever!

The end of May saw the 2013 edition of Anime Oasis, this year titled "Fever", take over The Grove Hotel in downtown, Boise, ID and I had the pleasure of once again being allowed to cover the proceedings. The convention, as always, was home to many elaborate costumes, guests, and vendors. This year's event opened doors early in the morning on May 24, a Friday, as opposed to opening on a Thursday as in previous years. The strategy, I believe, was to capitalize on the extended Memorial Day weekend, whereas beforehand the convention would end just shy of that Monday. So what was new and/or exciting this year? Read on.

Evening, madam.

LOGISTICS
What could possibly be a more exciting topic to start things off with than logistics? I can think of at least 38. But in this case, I feel like mentioning some of the logistical changes and problems at this year's AO might be a good place to start.

One of the biggest changes to this year's con was the location of the dealers' room. The dealers' room had been moved from one of the second floor ballroom's to a new, sectioned off area on the arena ground floor. This would in turn create three primary events areas that could all host events simultaneously.

Of the convention goers that I spoke to about this change, it was about a fifty/fifty split on how they felt about the new vendor location. I personally was fine with it, as I feel having more rooms for events to run is a good thing. Getting the right events to run on time, however, is something different.

Hangin' out on the balcony.

One day two or three (the middle of cons tend to blend together) I attempted to attend one of the tea parties, this one of the lolita variety. I don't know if I had a screwed up schedule or if something had to be cancelled, but when I arrived in the tea party room, which was relocated and in a much smaller location than the previous year, I had unknowingly stumbled into Fandemonium's Minute to Win It competition. My schedule had told me that the tea party was in another room, but then a sign on that door told me it was in the (get this) tea party room, but so was the Minute To Win It competition. I don't know how that happened, but it was confusing and frustrating because frankly I wanted some tea and maybe a brownie.

The only other confusing mix-up had to do with a late night "fire dance" show that was supposed to occur on the balcony around 10pm on Sunday of the convention. Reportedly, due to the city's noise ordinance or some other such rule, the fire dance had to be moved to the fountain just outside of the hotel. After a long delay, the fire dancers were able to perform for approximately seven minutes before being rained out. I had actually skipped the formal ball this year to see what the fire dancers were all about, and was somewhat disappointed by how things turned out.

All in all, I'd say that while a few things got mixed up (this happens at every convention I've been to and is nothing new), I'd say that overall things appeared to be running smoothly. Then again, it could have very well been a chaotic mess behind the scenes that was ready to let loose at any moment, but if so it was well taken care of.

GUESTS

Now there's some classy gents.
From left to right: Curtis Arnott, Me, Christophr Sabat

Returning to Anime Oasis once again were perennial favorites Michael Coleman (Once Upon a Time), Sonny Strait (Dragonball Z), and Tonya Adolfson (Author/Souls of the Saintlands series). Newcomers this year were The Slants (dance rock band), Curtis Arnott (DBZ Abridged), Lisle Wilkerson (Tekken), and Christopher Sabat (Dragonball Z).

Every guest had Q&A panels and signed autographs for fans as per usual. During one such autograph signing, Michael Coleman could not make it down to the arena floor, as he had a panel scheduled during that time. I had set up shop in his empty chair so that I could go over the photographs I had taken that day. My friend and convention guest Tonya Adolfson was sitting next to me and we concocted the plan that I would sign autographs for people. Not as myself, oh no, but as the Fake Michael Coleman. I told her that I had been waiting my entire life to impersonate Michael Coleman, so why not start now? So, for about a half an hour, a lucky few received the autograph of me, the Fake Michael Coleman*.

*Note: And before any lawyers or you legal types bomb my inbox with forgery notices, take note I literally signed them as "THE FAKE MICHAEL COLEMAN". Although, to be fair, a few "Fake Mikey"s might have made it into the pile, too. Anyways, relax.

Sonny Strait (right) addresses convention chairman Jeremy (left) about his bio in the convention program.
"I am in fact not Vic Mignogna."

Every guest I talked to was cordial and receptive to conversation and questions. Curtis even took some time out to talk to me after Chris Sabat's panel and helped me get that amazing picture a few paragraphs above (PS. I owe ya' one). This was my fourth time meeting Sonny Strait, so it that wasn't as intimidating as it was the first few times. I always advise people when meeting people you admire or respect; just remain calm and talk to them nonchalantly and respectively. It's okay to fanboy/fangirl on occasion and lose your mind, but most of the time it's a better idea to play it cool and not assault guests with awkward stares or barrages of questions they have no doubt been asked hundreds if not thousands of times. The day I go to a convention where I don't have to hear "What was your favorite character to play?" will be a great day indeed.

Artist alley artists.

EVENTS
Anime Oasis is always host to a large variety of events and this year featured many old favorites, both big and small. One major event that has become a mainstay at Anime Oasis is Dead Town, an interactive zombie survival RPG. The event is hosted by COO-IE, an entertainment group based out of the Boise area. The group also puts on Karaoke Quest, an anime themed journey through a story filled with singing and much frivolity.

One of the challenging things for me is staying in one place to actually enjoy these types of events, as I always want to be on the move and getting the best coverage of the overall convention possible. Because of this, I wasn't able to fully experience some of these events but I was able to talk to attendees that had participated in COO-IE's games and the general consensus seemed to be that they were worth checking out.

Want some caaaandy?

Other events included the aforementioned tea parties, Fandemonium's Minute to Win It, guest panels, interactive game and discussion rooms, and more. Anime Oasis isn't a "24 hour" convention (with some exceptions) like some others, but there is usually always something going on to take a look at. One such event was the vaunted cosplay contest that takes place every year, and one that I was able to be a judge in both this year and last year.

Judging the cosplay contest was a lot of fun this year, and the seating arrangements were located much closer to the performance area where the cosplayers would be showing their stuff. Performances ranged from elaborately scripted  short plays to simply walking across the stage and showing off the cosplay. My number #1 overall for best in show, although it did not take home best in show when all the votes were counted, was a phenomenal Howl's Moving Castle cosplay that included moving parts and had to be the size of a go-cart.

Fire emblem cosplayers on the balcony.

Despite any reservations I may have had about the actual placement of the top five cosplay competition winners, they call deserved to be there nonetheless, and I was glad to see people's hard work paying off. Interestingly enough, I think every single one of the top five winners with perhaps the exception of one was from Utah. Come on Idaho cosplayers, we've got to step it up and take first place next year! But in all seriousness, the cosplay contest is always one of my favorite parts of Anime Oasis and I was honored to be able to assist in judging once again. (For pictures of the competition, check out my Facebook fan page here).

Want some candy, stanger? Hoo hoo!

Another event that I found highly entertaining was the Battle Cosplay competition. Cosplayers entered in teams of two and had to roll the dice (literally) to see if they could best their opponents. Hit points and strength were, so I am told, determined by the cosplayer's character. Each team was able to store up three levels of "super moves" that they could unleash on the opposing team. I believe there were about 32 teams in all and the final battle came down to a team of Wreck It Ralph cosplayers, King Cybug (King Candy post-transformation) and Venelope, versus another team that I unfortunately can't remember the origins of, but I want to say some that they were some kind of ninjas. In the end, King Cybug and Venelope were bested by the other team and left defeated on the cold arena floor. What better way to end a convention, right? In the end, it was a fun event to witness and I was able to grab multiple shots for the Facebook page linked above and below.

Con. chairman Jeremy Lopett at closing ceremonies.

Later on in the evening of the third day of the convention, the traditional slumber party took place in one of the ballrooms on the second floor of the hotel. I had never actually attended one before so I thought it would be fun to check out. I think I may have very well picked the best year ever to attend it. The slumber party was really less about sleeping and more about karaoke, dancing, and having fun. Halfway through the slumber party, COO-IE member and local rock station DJ Adam took the microphone and told us that someone in the crowd had something special to announce; a proposal. Yes, the AO2013 slumber party had a marriage proposal, and not only a marriage proposal, but an in-cosplay marriage proposal at my hometown anime convention. How freakin' cool is that? I didn't remember to get their names, but in the off-chance that they happen to read this: Best of luck to you ladies, and congratulations again.

Whatchu lookin' at!?

THE REST
In addition to scheduled events, the convention also featured a video viewing room, trading card and board game room, photography room, cosplay repair room, video game room, tattoo artist room, and of course the artist's alley and dealer's rooms. I managed to visit every single room at the convention this year, something that I always attempt to do at every convention but sometimes don't manage to in a timely manner. My dear friend, the aforementioned Tonya Adolfson, was in charge of the cosplay repair room once again. I personally witnessed her turn a bundle of tinfoil into a masquerade mask for the formal ball that evening using nothing more than the tinfoil and her imagination. If anyone ever has problems with their cosplay or needs ideas on how to make something work, seek her out if she's available at your convention. Trust me, given enough duct tape and safety pins, anything is possible in cosplay repair.

I didn't spend a great amount of time in the dealer's room/sectioned off area this year nor artist's alley, but I seldom do until the last day of any given convention, although there are exceptions. This year I saw many great crafts and pieces of art on sale, and as always I hope that every vendor and artist did well and sold plenty of merchandise. Alas, a poor journalism student such as me has to think of other things before purchasing anything from the convention; things like gas station hot dogs, ibuprofen, and energy drinks -- you know the finer things in life.

Give us back our Smash Bros.!

One bone I still have to pick with Anime Oasis is the lack of a proper game room with console games set up for attendees to play. A good game room is a life saver for when you're bored, tired, psychotic, a journalist, or some combination thereof. This year, much like last year, the game room consisted purely of arcade machines with nary a single console in sight. Most conventions I've attended have some consoles set up and even tournaments (see Fandemonium 2012). Sadly, Anime Oasis seems to want to keep things as they are as it pertains to the video game room. While I love arcade games, and I do, I would have loved to have seen some Street Fighter IV, Soul Calibur, Tekken, or even Smash Bros. C'mon, AO, I know you can do better than that!

FINAL THOUGHTS

"Guys no really, I'm.. I'm trying to wrap the convention up. Guys... hey c'mon now..."

Overall, I enjoyed Anime Oasis 2013 quite a bit and, while there were some logistical problems that even the convention chairman admitted needed to be fixed, I feel that things are getting better every year  and attendance figures seem to be reflecting that. At last count, and this is from memory at closing ceremonies, the convention drew over 1600+ this year, which was more than last year by about 200 or so.

Chairman Lopett gave a passionate speech at the end of the convention about wanting to grow the convention and not have a ceiling on how great it can be or how big of guests they can get, and I think that's a good message to go out on. And speaking of not having a ceiling on guests, if Anime Oasis were to land Sean Schemmel of Dragonball Z fame, I'd probably go back on my own advice given earlier and descend into a fanboy induced frenzy, never to recover. But in all seriousness, every year seems to be bigger and better to me, which is why I always try and make the time to set aside a few days every year at the end of May to be at AO.

Final goodbyes at closing ceremonies.

AO will always have a special place in my heart, especially because it was the first convention I ever attended four years ago. I want to see it do better every year, and I hope that the problems, big and small, will be ironed out in time for next year's convention. Every time something major changes at an event of this scale, there's bound to be some problems, and that is understandable. I enjoyed the convention despite a few of the bumps in the road. Had fun, no drama, good memories, can't complain.

See you all again next year!

-Jeff

NEXT PLANNED CONVENTION:
Evo 2013, the largest fighting game tournament in the world.
Las Vegas, NV July 12 - 14

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