GEORGIA HOBBS/TECHNICIAN
The dealer's room at Animazement attracts convention attendees with merchandise of all kinds, from Japanese snacks to figures of anime characters, Saturday, May 25.
Eight-thousand-eight-hundred people dressed up for Animazement last weekend, not only as their favorite characters, but in formal attire for the first time at the convention.
The annual convention, founded by a handful of N.C. State students in 1998, is held in the Raleigh convention center. The convention’s attendance has grown significantly since then and now its landscape—full with a formal ball for the first time this year—is changing as well.
The first convention, held in 1998, brought a modest 700 attendees compared to the 8,800 this year. Along with increased attendance increase during the last 15 years, the convention itself has evolved year-to-year. The all-volunteer staff of Animazement attempts to improve the convention each year via feedback on Facebook and otherwise online.
The Animazement staff reacted to fans who asked for a formal-attire dance in addition to the Dealers Room and events related to Japanese visual culture. The idea of the formal was to have slow ballroom dancing in fancy attire—not cosplay outfits of anime characters worn by most during the convention.
Brooke Hellier attended her sixth Animazement this year. She was one of the fans that asked for the formal, however like many that asked for the formal she was disappointed.
“At other conventions they hire live bands and play classical music” Hellier said. “This one played pop music . . . it was basically the same as the other dances rather than a formal ball.”
In previous years arcade and other games were kept in the north lobby. This year they were moved to make room for more artists’ stands and rooms for panels. The selection was also expanded to have an arcade game room that went 24/7 throughout the weekend, a console game room and a retro game room.
The Dealers Room underwent changes this year as well. This room held various dealers who came from all over to sell personal items and companies like F.Y.E. that came to sell various DVDs and Blu-rays of anime.
“I really liked how they let people take pictures of cosplays in the Dealers Room because that’s mainly where I get the most pictures taken,” said Crystal Holdefer, a third-time veteran of the convention.
Others thought the Dealers Room lacked the amount and quality of vendors compared to previous years.
“Seeing the Dealers Room only half full with vendors was a little disheartening,” Katie Peterson, also attending her third Animazement, said.
Some saw a thinner focus in the Dealers Room as a potential plus for next year if utilized correctly. Users in official forums and the Animazement Facebook page posted suggestions utilizing the half of the room not occupied to spread out the booths to allow more walking space.
Kali Ebert, a junior in zoology and poultry science, felt constricted by the timing of panels and the hours of the Dealers room.
“I would like to see less conflicting panels and just better hours for the Dealers Room. Panels overlapped and many of them were during the limited Dealers Room hours making it hard to go see what they were selling,” Ebert said.
Passes are already available on the Animazement website for next year’s pre-registering and it is set for Memorial Day weekend at the convention center in 2014.
To keep Animazement ever evolving to the interests of their fans the staff encourages people to add their input to the forums and Facebook groups throughout the year to help the convention grow and improve.