Guests

[colwot]

Is it time for Expo to ditch the Autograph Guests?

I have been attending Expo for several years. The space devoted to Guests signing is getting less and less each expo. There is no room to queue. One queue to see four guests and when you get to the front, one of them has gone for a break and another to a photo session! Other shows are far better at organising signings. A great deal of the stalls that used to come to Expo which appealed to the Auto and SciFi collector have stopped coming. Expo has been fantastically successful with attracting the Anime and manga fans, I think it should concentrate on this market.

What does everyone else think?

[SciFiMAD]

100%, either make the guests a bigger part of the show, taking into account without guest at the beginning of Expo there would not be Expo or say bye bye to them. Just like a lot of the fans that used to come to the shows for the guests.

[joleslie]

Either ditch them completely, or make a completely separate area from the manga that is spacious enough for queues.

[StarryKat]

A completely separate area would be best, where the board selling wooden cosplay weapons was, that would have been ideal for the guests, longer, more space for people to move. I mean it should still be kept within the hall, the guests would be bored if they didn't have the atmosphere or wacky cosplayers to look at. I think maybe there should be a limit on the size of weapons though, seriously some people were not careful when moving with their giant weapons.

[SapMao]

The layout was better last October.

Thought it was weird to have to buy photoshoot tickets from the photo area that was tucked around the back out of sight.

[Kirst]

The layout was awful.

But meeting Alessandro Juliani made it worthwhile (he was gorgeous!!)

[GottaHaveFaith]

It's tricky.

Expo has had some excellent and unique guests that haven't appeared elsewhere, but when you look at the way they're represented at the events, it's clear they're not treated as of equal importance to the rest of the things that fill the halls.

I applaud Expo for getting the guests. I think there are some fantastic sci-fi and cult guests that I'd never get to meet anywhere else, but I don't want to be queuing in small areas or struggling to hear what the guests are saying simply because of the dominance of everything else.

Yes, I absolutely realise that the rest forms the most successful part of these events, and I respect that. However, the guest signings part of the event needs to be treated a little differently I believe.

Getting the guests there is only half the job. It needs to be a pleasant experience once we get there too - not for us collectors to be made to feel like we're being hidden away somewhere at an event that is really meant for Anime/Manga fans. I often feel like we're imposing on their territory now - which is ironic considering how the guests used to be the main pull back in the day!

I hope perhaps in future the organisers can reconsider the set-up, perhaps expanding it and giving us collectors a little more of a comfortable and enjoyable experience. Thank you.

[Barry790]

i see the anime part as a neccassary evil. if it wasnt for the neo sponsers, manga fans and the like then expo wouldnt have nearly as many pople going or make enough money to get the more "niche" guests (4400, blood ties, eureka etc..).

the only down side is the stalls, whereas most cons have loads of region 1dvd and merchadise stalls expo only had a handful of non japan ones.


and ...oh yeah....japanease stuff tends to induce head aches

[zebredy]

The guests were the reason I went to my first London Expo, and I'm glad I went, but:-

Its not what it used to be, manga/anima (excuse spelling) is taking over to much now, and the show is loosing something for me...

Less sci-fi guests signing, means less stalls relating to sci-fi memorabilia, which will mean some people who used to come won't come anymore. (which they don't like my friends) I found hardly any sci-fi stalls there this time, in the past I have seen loads of dvd stalls, and a lot more stalls selling the figures, and other models. Granted you don't want 20 of the same stall, but manga/anima is taking over a lot. (I'm talking about Star Trek stall, and ones selling classic BSG figures etc just for an example.)

I'm not a fan of the manga/anima stuff but I have no problem with it being there, before anyone says anything, its just without this show there is only one other sci-fi signing event in London (not 3-day convention in hotel) that I know of where you get the mix of guests stall etc, but its never compared to this one before, until now. For people like myself who only go for guests and to see what the stall may have, this event is becoming second best to the other show...

I would love to see there be more guests, bring back some of what the show used to have, don't get rid of any of the manga stuff by any means but just don't loose the singing please. This show has in the past (for me) been the best for movie previews and photo-shoots, and used to be one of the best for guests, unfortunately its not anymore, what happened where did all the guests go?

[zebredy]

i see the anime part as a neccassary evil. if it wasnt for the neo sponsers, manga fans and the like then expo wouldnt have nearly as many pople going or make enough money to get the more "niche" guests (4400, blood ties, eureka etc..).

the only down side is the stalls, whereas most cons have loads of region 1dvd and merchadise stalls expo only had a handful of non japan ones.


and ...oh yeah....japanease stuff tends to induce head aches

I disagree with this, there was hardly any (if any) manga/anima stuff at the show when I first went, and yet the show had queues to get in that were out the main doors to the hall. It still had the guests, infact it had more guests then it does now. It was chaos inside when getting autographs, but as I said it was busy, and people were there from 6-am with the autograph folders and posters to get signed, but not anymore...

So expo does not need the manga/anima to attract people to the show to get the big guests names, cause as I said they didn't have much manga/anima in the begining and didn't need it then to get the guests, so why now?

I don't have a problem with manga and anima and I'm not saying get rid of it before any one says anything (though I'm sure they won't)

[sjbonnar]

Ok, before this goes any further...

YES, please discuss how the guest and obtaining autographs/pictures are obtained as the Expo needs to know your thoughts.

NO, don't start bashing the animé and manga parts of it as, it must be obvious, that this is the direction the MCM Expo is beginning to go in and with the new revenue it provides, Expo has more than doubled.

So please continue, just don't start the "Oh it's all animé/manga now and I hate it".

This is a bit of a pre-emptive as we do get that EVERY expo LOL

[GottaHaveFaith]

I have to say I feel it is a valid comment though.

Look at it like this - if Expo are to get first timers like Edward, who should be HUGELY popular with collectors, and yet aren't managing their guest signing areas well enough to encourage collectors to come along to their events regardless of the huge amounts of Manga/Anime stuff .. well, it's going to be a bit of a waste of time.

This is not only disappointing for us attendees who do go along and see these guests far quieter than they should be, but clearly the organisers are dealing with missed opportunities too.

Obviously there are clear issues already with overcrowding etc, so perhaps they don't want loads more attendees coming for the guests too, but in the end I bet they'd be a lot happier if they could encourage the 'collectors' market to come back to Expo too

And I certainly don't mean any of this as a criticism - I just think it's one area they could work on slightly. As I've said before, getting the guests is only the first step. One they do very well obviously, but then they need to improve that particular area to make it a pleasant and welcoming experience for "us".

I hope they can take all of this into account without thinking we're stirring things up I genuinely know a lot of people who think the lineups are FANTASTIC but are really put off by the overwhelming Manga/Anime vibe. That's not to say get rid of it - they'd be crazy to! But perhaps there's a way of managing this event to balance it, and encourage both sectors to attend as such .. that would be ideal

[SapMao]

I like it as it is because I can chat to the guests more and don't have to worry about huge queues although I didn't get autographs this time due to the no posed photos signs.

As for the anime side of things, it makes this event unique and interesting compared to others. I like seeing all the cosplayers and taking pictures of the better ones.

[GottaHaveFaith]

The problem with having 'more time' is generally that means there's far far less attendees that are actually meeting the guests.

In essence, eventually they'll probably decide that the guests aren't worth getting along because there's not enough people meeting them.

Plus a lot of the time it's far too crowded and noisy to be able to have proper conversations with them anyway.

No-one's really saying get rid of the anime/manga stuff at all ..

[sjbonnar]

No-one's really saying get rid of the anime/manga stuff at all ..

I know that. Like I said, it was a pre-emptive because, as you've seen as well, a lot of people start the "animé vs. everything else" at expo argument at the end of each expo. Sci-Fi vs. Manga, Autographs vs. Animé, it always happens. I just wanted to make sure that people didn't start it is all ^_^'

Like I said, what's going on in here is great as it needs mentioned if people are unhappy!

[GottaHaveFaith]

Ahh don't worry, I don't think people intend to start lol

It's just sometimes if some voice opinions on possible changes etc, you'll get the Anime/Manga fans coming in defending their corner, and saying we're all moany etc

As long as that doesn't happen, I'm sure things can be expressed in a fair way

[joleslie]

The location Expo put the guests in is very inconsiderate and not planned well at all. They were in an area that was so small the queue not only blocked stalls, but also blocked the aisles (unlike the photo session area, which despite being a bit hidden away was wonderful for the queues as it did not affect anything else).

If guests are at Expo, they should at least be put in an area which is able to handle them without causing problems. It would also make sense to put any related stalls nearby (eg DVDs which aren't aimed towards manga fans, trading cards, etc), allowing all the fans of that particular thing to be able to stay in the same area and not need to force their way through the swarms of cosplayers in a vain attempt to find something else of interest.

Personally, however, I feel the guests are pointless at Expo these days. The attendance is high enough with the manga fans, so Expo wouldn't really lose out on much revenue in that regard, and those collecting autographs no longer go for the 'fun'; instead they simply go for the necessity of their collection. It would be a lot more fair on those fans to be able to go to an event that isn't painful to attend.

[Lanowar]

If you've ever been to the ***EDITED BY ADMIN - DO NOT MENTION OR PUBLICISE EVENTS NOT RELATED TO THE MCM EXPO GROUP! *** then you can tell there is a place for guests at a convention, though that said there is more space there. As for revenue from what I'm told Universal basically poured money in and explains why one lane seemed to be just banners for Hellboy 2, Wanted, Hulk and well most of the movies being displayed really.

[Gonin]

Solution is simple.

Seperate all the Anime/Manga fans from the SCi-fi fans and put them into two different buildings. Then set one on fire.

OK, bad joke. Sorry. But even though i'm a anime fan not a sci-fi one alot of the kids at expo annoy the hell out of me. I'm clearly a grumpy old tit these days but i feel expo shoves fandom down your throat. The two events need to be split up because the Sci-Fi element seems so dilutted now that its an insult to ask them to pay.

While i'm ranting, what happend to the Anime preview stand. Has expo just dropped good old free entertainment and just rented out more stands to people desperate to grab your cash?

[panda z]

While i'm ranting, what happend to the Anime preview stand. Has expo just dropped good old free entertainment and just rented out more stands to people desperate to grab your cash?

I completely agree with this.

Some people may feel like anime and manga is taking over the expo, but as an anime fan I feel that this year all I was given was the chance to buy things, that incidently I can buy cheaper on the internet!

There was only one VA there (okay two if you count Alessandro Juliani) and no manga-ka, no anime industry reps with exclusive announcements, nothing of the sort.

And as Gonin quite rightly pointed out, no anime screenings either! Beez were launching The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, but had no VAs doing signings and no screenings. At Midlands last year they screened the first episode of Bleach to promote the first DVD and I was expecting something similar.

Okay this is slightly off the topic of guests, but I wanted a rant.

At least the Sci-Fi fans and collectors are being given more than stuff that they can buy...

[joleslie]

At least the Sci-Fi fans and collectors are being given more than stuff that they can buy...

Maybe so, but we can't find it!

I spent an hour walking round Expo on Saturday (well, I was trying to walk around, but it was difficult to move) and didn't see much at all which was aimed towards sci-fi fans. To be fair though, it was difficult to look given the mass amounts of people.

If it isn't a different event entirely, it's plainly obvious the sci-fi/guests aspect needs to be in a very different area, kept separate. Otherwise the event is horrible for us to attend.

[Rabbo]

This was my last London Expo. I think the event is now so much animanga focussed that the guest element is being wasted or thought of as an aside to an extent. Put these guests in another collectors type show and they'd be 3 times as busy as they were at Expo.

I hope with expo buying the memorabilia event that they can use the birmingham shows to get back to the days of old.

[zebredy]

The only thing with splitting up the guests and the manga/anima stuff is that (although only a few) there are some people who like both and therefore go for both, so the suggestion to put them in different halls completly wouldn't work for them.

They did have (years ago) the guests signing down the sides of the hall which worked ok for a time, but having a section like where they had the stage, and putting all the guests in there (eg the warcraft section they had last time) would work, don't see why they didn't think of that, as it looked like they had a seperate small hall within the bigger hall which had the warcraft gaming stuf in, which I could easily see the guest in, especially as they don't seem to have that many anymore.

What do you guys think?

[GottaHaveFaith]

It would work - no-one is suggesting having separate exclusive sections (or at least I didn't believe they were) but rather having them clearly defined in their own areas.

Having two halls next to each other would cure the overcrowding, give them more space to increase stalls, advertising, etc, and have the guests in an area that isn't overly crowded or noisy.

Of course people would be allowed access to both - everything would be able to flow nicely between the two.

[joleslie]

A friend of mine queued for two and a half hours for Eddie's autograph, only to be told when he'd got to the front that he had to have a VQ ticket. Where is the logic in this? Insist on VQ tickets, yet not tell any of the attendees until they've stood there for ages and almost got to the guest.

This, in itself, shows it's evident that Expo do not care about the autograph collecting fans anymore. Posed photos have been stopped (Expo trying to get more revenue yet instead are only succeeding in causing more people not wanting to attend), guests are being shoved in a corner, and fans aren't being informed of what they need to do to even get to the guest! How difficult can it be to have a crew member at the entrance point of the queue checking for VQ tickets? Yet this is not done, causing hours of waiting for nothing.