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Archive for April 2018
Hey guys, kanna here. I know it's not Monday. I know I promised Mental Health Month would start after my prediction of The Origins of Diabolism, but something happened at an anime convention that I just couldn't overlook. While I did not attend the convention, Anime Matsuri (it was in Texas and I'm currently in the midwestern part of the US finishing college), the photos and posts I saw from the Boycott Anime Matsuri Facebook page (oh, yeah, there's one of those) were enough to make me sick to my stomach and write this post. Here's the link to their Facebook page: Boycott Anime Matsuri
Let's talk about con etiquette. While I have a feeling not everyone has been to anime conventions (I've only been to four, and they were pretty small conventions), I strongly believe this is important stuff to know for when you do go to an anime convention. I'll discuss the issue that brought this post about before I address the do's and don'ts of anime conventions.
I'd also like to apologize in advance for this being an all text post and not having pictures. I know reading a wall of text is boring and I'm bound to lose your attention at some point, but I needed to get this out there.
What brought this post about (and I'm not going to post a photo of it, but I will post the link if you're curious to see why I'm so offended) was something that happened at Anime Matsuri. This convention is already surrounded by controversy surrounding sexual assault and harassment from the CEO, John Leigh. Numerous women (who shall remain nameless for multiple reasons) have come forward with their stories, and although John and his wife, Deneice, have tried to silence them, they keep coming forward. Kudos to these brave women. It can't be easy to come forward with something like that.
Moving on.
What happened to make me so pissed off? I'll tell you.
So Anime Matsuri started out okay, just like any typical, well-organized anime convention. Heck, even the MAYOR of Houston showed up in an Itachi (Naruto) cosplay. So as people went along to the different panels (I'm not sure which voice actors were there, if any, because so many cancelled, and I don't know what the panels were) in their different cosplays, we eventually saw a guy dressed up as a Nazi. People said that he read a Goku (Dragon Ball)/Anne Frank crossover fanfiction where Goku fought Hitler as Super Saiyan at an official panel, but there's no proof of it actually happening and no one has come forward about it.
As if that wasn't bad enough, not only did this jerkwad's armband have a swastika on it, but it was for the SS-Totenkopfverbände, the elite SS agents who were in charge of the concentration (death) camps. Not only that, but he wore a GAS MASK. And this happened on PASSOVER (a Jewish holiday), no less.
The guy claimed to be a representative of Geeks 5 Ever, a "A group of nerds and geeks who talk about the stuff you actually care about, not Kanye West but stuff like Batman v Superman." However, back in February, Geeks 5 Ever cancelled all their panels at Anime Matsuri. When they found out about this Nazi guy, they were FURIOUS. They said on their Facebook page, "We no showed at Anime Matsuri and we heard some Nazi dude took it upon himself to run our panels which we do not approve. F**k that guy. He is not a part of our group and no one in G5E would ever dress as a Nazi."
I'm working on scheduling an interview with Geeks 5 Ever to get their take on the matter and hopefully clear a few things up. I'll keep you posted on when that happens. It's looking like this weekend or next weekend. Send me your questions ASAP.
As if things couldn't POSSIBLY get any worse, the next day, that same jerkwad wore a MAGA hat. For those who don't know because they don't follow American politics (I don't follow them that closely, myself, save for the really important stuff), MAGA stands for "Make America Great Again," which was...ugh, I can't believe I'm actually saying this...US President Donald Trump's election slogan.
Look. I'm an advocate for free speech. As a blogger, I feel that my right to free speech is something I take for granted (as do most people, bloggers or not). What I don't support, however, is blatant hatred, which is what our current President (my grandma is probably rolling in her grave as I talk about him) is full of.
I'm not going to name the individual who did this because I don't know his name. What I will say is that at Anime Matsuri 2016, he dressed up as one of the Columbine shooters. If that's not inconsiderate, I don't know what is. Additionally, this isn't the first time that something like this has happened. In January, at Anime Los Angeles, two individuals dressed up as the Columbine shooters (link goes to CNN for some fast facts about the Columbine High School shooting).
I'm not putting pictures of the person who dressed up as a freaking NAZI for several reasons; the main one being that this could bring up some bad stuff in people who are Holocaust survivors reading this. If you want pictures, go here. If not, DON'T CLICK THE LINK (I did, and what I saw made me sick to my stomach).
Ok. I could go on and on and on about this, but I want to touch on some of the do's and don'ts of conventions. And that's exactly what we're going to do. There are TONS of things to keep in mind when you're at a con, and each con has its own rules, so I'm just going to touch on a few common ones.
1. HYGIENE, HYGIENE, HYGIENE
I can't stress this one enough. Big anime conventions, such as Youmacon or Anime Matsuri are crowded to the point where it could be considered a fire hazard. The first con I went to and volunteered at had to put people on a waiting list to get in because the building was so small and could only hold so many people. It got moved to a bigger location the following year so there wasn't a waiting list.
What I mean by hygiene: Shower every day of the convention before you go inside the convention hall. Make sure you use deodorant. Wash everywhere. You'll be surrounded by a ton of sweaty people because of the crowds, but you don't want to be the one that people want to avoid because you reek of insert-bad-smell-here.
2. COSPLAY
I actually mean two things with this. Let's start with the first one:
COSPLAY. IS. NOT. CONSENT!
Just because people (I'm not listing genders because I don't want to offend anyone based on how they identify) dress a certain way does NOT give anyone the right to touch them in areas they wouldn't be comfortable in without their consent. Allow me to link this video about consent (it's actually pretty funny).
Look. If you want to wear a sexy cosplay, wear a sexy cosplay. No one is stopping you; just make sure you're decently covered and abiding by all state and local decency laws. That does NOT give people the right to touch you in places you're not comfortable without your consent.
The second thing I mean:
Rule #1 about cosplay (this was taken from the Event Policies page on Anime Matsuri's website, but it applies to almost all conventions): Cosplaying is one of the main features of AMCLLC. We ask all Cosplayers and Costumers to be tasteful with their choice of costumes keeping in mind that it is a family oriented event.
Nazi costumes are NOT family friendly. Enough said. That costume was not chosen in good taste and clearly ignores the fact that Anime Matsuri is a family oriented event.
3. PICTURES AND AUTOGRAPHS
One important thing to note is that each and every guest at an anime convention will have their own photograph and autograph policies. The important thing to keep in mind, however, is that you ask first before taking someone's picture at a convention or recording them on any kind of video. The laws about recording someone without their consent varies from state to state. Michigan, for example, is an "all party consent" state, meaning that everyone involved has to give their permission. I think (I'd have to do some research) the same could be said for pictures. When I met Penn and Teller when I went to Las Vegas, I made sure to ask before I took selfies with them.
As for autographs, follow the autograph policies set by each guest. I cannot stress this enough. While all their policies may be different, you're only allowed a certain number of autographs. If you don't abide by that...well...the consequences aren't very good.
The rest of it (with regards to rules) is basically common sense. What you choose to do at an anime convention is your business. Just follow the rules that each con has, and you should be ok. If whoever your cosplaying as has a weapon, make sure you follow their weapons policies. Conventions are pretty strict about that, and with good reason.
Well, that's basically it. There's more, but if I kept your attention this long, I am AMAZED. Stay tuned for Mental Health Month! Again, I'll be reviewing (in no particular order):
No Game No Life
Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rebellion
Tokyo Ghoul
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
See you next time for Mental Health Month! ~k
Let's talk about con etiquette. While I have a feeling not everyone has been to anime conventions (I've only been to four, and they were pretty small conventions), I strongly believe this is important stuff to know for when you do go to an anime convention. I'll discuss the issue that brought this post about before I address the do's and don'ts of anime conventions.
I'd also like to apologize in advance for this being an all text post and not having pictures. I know reading a wall of text is boring and I'm bound to lose your attention at some point, but I needed to get this out there.
What brought this post about (and I'm not going to post a photo of it, but I will post the link if you're curious to see why I'm so offended) was something that happened at Anime Matsuri. This convention is already surrounded by controversy surrounding sexual assault and harassment from the CEO, John Leigh. Numerous women (who shall remain nameless for multiple reasons) have come forward with their stories, and although John and his wife, Deneice, have tried to silence them, they keep coming forward. Kudos to these brave women. It can't be easy to come forward with something like that.
Moving on.
What happened to make me so pissed off? I'll tell you.
So Anime Matsuri started out okay, just like any typical, well-organized anime convention. Heck, even the MAYOR of Houston showed up in an Itachi (Naruto) cosplay. So as people went along to the different panels (I'm not sure which voice actors were there, if any, because so many cancelled, and I don't know what the panels were) in their different cosplays, we eventually saw a guy dressed up as a Nazi. People said that he read a Goku (Dragon Ball)/Anne Frank crossover fanfiction where Goku fought Hitler as Super Saiyan at an official panel, but there's no proof of it actually happening and no one has come forward about it.
As if that wasn't bad enough, not only did this jerkwad's armband have a swastika on it, but it was for the SS-Totenkopfverbände, the elite SS agents who were in charge of the concentration (death) camps. Not only that, but he wore a GAS MASK. And this happened on PASSOVER (a Jewish holiday), no less.
The guy claimed to be a representative of Geeks 5 Ever, a "A group of nerds and geeks who talk about the stuff you actually care about, not Kanye West but stuff like Batman v Superman." However, back in February, Geeks 5 Ever cancelled all their panels at Anime Matsuri. When they found out about this Nazi guy, they were FURIOUS. They said on their Facebook page, "We no showed at Anime Matsuri and we heard some Nazi dude took it upon himself to run our panels which we do not approve. F**k that guy. He is not a part of our group and no one in G5E would ever dress as a Nazi."
I'm working on scheduling an interview with Geeks 5 Ever to get their take on the matter and hopefully clear a few things up. I'll keep you posted on when that happens. It's looking like this weekend or next weekend. Send me your questions ASAP.
As if things couldn't POSSIBLY get any worse, the next day, that same jerkwad wore a MAGA hat. For those who don't know because they don't follow American politics (I don't follow them that closely, myself, save for the really important stuff), MAGA stands for "Make America Great Again," which was...ugh, I can't believe I'm actually saying this...US President Donald Trump's election slogan.
Look. I'm an advocate for free speech. As a blogger, I feel that my right to free speech is something I take for granted (as do most people, bloggers or not). What I don't support, however, is blatant hatred, which is what our current President (my grandma is probably rolling in her grave as I talk about him) is full of.
I'm not going to name the individual who did this because I don't know his name. What I will say is that at Anime Matsuri 2016, he dressed up as one of the Columbine shooters. If that's not inconsiderate, I don't know what is. Additionally, this isn't the first time that something like this has happened. In January, at Anime Los Angeles, two individuals dressed up as the Columbine shooters (link goes to CNN for some fast facts about the Columbine High School shooting).
I'm not putting pictures of the person who dressed up as a freaking NAZI for several reasons; the main one being that this could bring up some bad stuff in people who are Holocaust survivors reading this. If you want pictures, go here. If not, DON'T CLICK THE LINK (I did, and what I saw made me sick to my stomach).
Ok. I could go on and on and on about this, but I want to touch on some of the do's and don'ts of conventions. And that's exactly what we're going to do. There are TONS of things to keep in mind when you're at a con, and each con has its own rules, so I'm just going to touch on a few common ones.
1. HYGIENE, HYGIENE, HYGIENE
I can't stress this one enough. Big anime conventions, such as Youmacon or Anime Matsuri are crowded to the point where it could be considered a fire hazard. The first con I went to and volunteered at had to put people on a waiting list to get in because the building was so small and could only hold so many people. It got moved to a bigger location the following year so there wasn't a waiting list.
What I mean by hygiene: Shower every day of the convention before you go inside the convention hall. Make sure you use deodorant. Wash everywhere. You'll be surrounded by a ton of sweaty people because of the crowds, but you don't want to be the one that people want to avoid because you reek of insert-bad-smell-here.
2. COSPLAY
I actually mean two things with this. Let's start with the first one:
COSPLAY. IS. NOT. CONSENT!
Just because people (I'm not listing genders because I don't want to offend anyone based on how they identify) dress a certain way does NOT give anyone the right to touch them in areas they wouldn't be comfortable in without their consent. Allow me to link this video about consent (it's actually pretty funny).
Look. If you want to wear a sexy cosplay, wear a sexy cosplay. No one is stopping you; just make sure you're decently covered and abiding by all state and local decency laws. That does NOT give people the right to touch you in places you're not comfortable without your consent.
The second thing I mean:
Rule #1 about cosplay (this was taken from the Event Policies page on Anime Matsuri's website, but it applies to almost all conventions): Cosplaying is one of the main features of AMCLLC. We ask all Cosplayers and Costumers to be tasteful with their choice of costumes keeping in mind that it is a family oriented event.
Nazi costumes are NOT family friendly. Enough said. That costume was not chosen in good taste and clearly ignores the fact that Anime Matsuri is a family oriented event.
3. PICTURES AND AUTOGRAPHS
One important thing to note is that each and every guest at an anime convention will have their own photograph and autograph policies. The important thing to keep in mind, however, is that you ask first before taking someone's picture at a convention or recording them on any kind of video. The laws about recording someone without their consent varies from state to state. Michigan, for example, is an "all party consent" state, meaning that everyone involved has to give their permission. I think (I'd have to do some research) the same could be said for pictures. When I met Penn and Teller when I went to Las Vegas, I made sure to ask before I took selfies with them.
As for autographs, follow the autograph policies set by each guest. I cannot stress this enough. While all their policies may be different, you're only allowed a certain number of autographs. If you don't abide by that...well...the consequences aren't very good.
The rest of it (with regards to rules) is basically common sense. What you choose to do at an anime convention is your business. Just follow the rules that each con has, and you should be ok. If whoever your cosplaying as has a weapon, make sure you follow their weapons policies. Conventions are pretty strict about that, and with good reason.
Well, that's basically it. There's more, but if I kept your attention this long, I am AMAZED. Stay tuned for Mental Health Month! Again, I'll be reviewing (in no particular order):
No Game No Life
Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rebellion
Tokyo Ghoul
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
See you next time for Mental Health Month! ~k
