A New Year, a New Con
By Frenchie
Taiyou-con 2011
Before this convention, many people were found wishing for some sort of Anime adventure
between the popular Saboten-con and Phoenix Cactus Comicon. Everybody wished and
everybody got what they wanted. What better way to start off the New Year with a convention
named after the valley of the sun, Taiyou-con. I’ll give it major props for how many people
came, but even more props for those that promoted it. There was a record of some unsuccessful
first-year cons (that shall not be mentioned) that were smaller to begin with, for reasons such as
location, pricing, space, timing, etc. All in all, Taiyou-con was fairly successful. It was held on
during winter break, so (almost) everybody was out of school.
Location: Mesa; not everybody will like the location, depending on where they live. The cost
of going is cheap, which is good for the otaku budget. If you can cough up the cash for a badge,
munch on some treats, buy (most) of the things you want, all for under $75, it is one heck of a
weekend. Anyhow, the convention was fairly convenient for those who lived on neighboring
suburbs – Gilbert, Chandler, Tempe. For those that lived everywhere else, the room rates were
very cheap, just over $100 a night. Lastly, it was convenient if you needed to search for food
and necessities, just in case people needed to ward off zombies and such.
Guests: The line-up was fairly small, but what they had to offer had many con-goers wanting
for more. Guests included Chris Cason, Troy Baker, Brian Foster Kane, Tristen Citrine, Perfect
Math Class and Kitsune Robot. Our local bands rocked out to Anime music and brought a new
wave of music performances to the con scene besides dancing at the raves. Brian Foster Kane
and Troy Baker are also musicians who have made several collaborations. If some of you were
lucky, you might have caught some of their songs during the Closing Ceremony. Their take on
music was almost like The Fray and John Mayer put together, very relaxing and self-reflective.
Chris Cason’s work was also one that is very impressionable, as I’ve seen him at the autograph
sessions, making fans laugh and giggle. Tristen Citrine was also an awesome guest to have,
because she does what most people do (and want to do): Cosplay! Her word of advice from the
start of cosplay through the hardships and to the photo galleries stunned many attendees.
Programming: The programming schedule for Taiyou-con could basically be seen as a melting
pot of what anime conventions in Arizona has to offer so far. So if this is your first convention,
there were definitely a lot of things to experience, such as K-On! Tea Time, Pinku Taiyou
Café, J-Fashion Show, Anime Singled Out, Con-nection Dating Game, Masquerade, Karaoke,
and the dances! My 3 personal favorite events were: Search for the Best Video Game, Troy
Baker & Brian Foster Kane with music, and PokéUniversity. Richard hosted the Search for the
Best Video Game panel, which turned out to be a mix of audience commentary and a beautiful
ranking created by Armand Villavert. The search begins with a set list of the top 10 games
and during each convention; the list may change until everybody is satisfied with it. It was
such an amusement, watching people from the audience do what we were supposed to do, to
standing up and wanting to jump the guy (or girl) that changed the “natural order” of video
games. Secondly, I know that every girl out there has an obsession with Troy Baker and Brian
Foster Kane coming into the Arizona con scene for the first time. It was definitely a big deal to
fellow otaku members that have some music background. Off the screen, these two share with
everybody how their music abilities came about and were so nice as to perform a few songs
to the select bunch that were at the closing ceremonies. With the room being so dark, they set
the mood of their music, which was along the lines of how people predicted it would be, just
even better with their live voices compared to their several anime personas. We really hope they
come back to Arizona for an encore performance! Finally, there’s PokéUniversity. Imagine a
room full of Pokemon along with Pokemon cosplayers and maybe some elitists from the game,
and you got a recipe for an entertaining panel. I was focused on the random topics the panelists
had to present to the table, then a lot of randomosity sprung up with people correcting others,
and some people singing theme music when naming all the seasons from the very beginning.
The only moments of silence during that panel were when people had to answer quiz questions.
Even then, all it took was a mini-second for the energy to come back up again when somebody
answers a question and 5 people decide to troll. All in all though, it was a success not because
of the trolling, but because there hasn’t been a (decent) panel on Pokémon that talks about the
general franchise (games, anime, and etc.)
Cosplays: Since this was a small-starter convention, I didn’t want to say I have my doubts on
how good cosplays were going to turn out. There were actually a few that I wanted to note. Past
the typical anime for cosplays such as Naruto, Bleach, Code Geass, Final Fantasy, etc., I spotted
a really nice Ryoko cosplayers with a really cute Ryo-oki backpack, which I later found at the
Vendor’s Hall. She was definitely rocking the outfit with the perfect colored wig! If I wasn’t
too tan, I’d say that she definitely got me putting Ryoko on my future cosplay list. It’s not too
common that you’ll find Tenchi cosplayers, especially since the series is semi-old. But, it does
have a lot of antiquity for those that grew up watching this teenage boy house a lot of women
while trying to save the universe at the same time (sorry if I spoiled it for you). My second pick
goes to the Tron Sora cosplayer. I wasn’t sure if the person was a boy or girl, but s/he did a
really neat job on his/her costume. The lighting definitely had me baffled, because it was very
strong that you could see him/her across the hotel lobby! What was great was that I found him/
her at one of the dances and turned out to be a pretty good waver of glowsticks-on-a-string,
or whatever you call those. My last pick goes to Emperor Kuzco! I’ve seen the typical Disney
Princess line-up and I think they’re unbeatably gorgeous. However, it’s also not very common
to see the Emperor show up at a small convention; not to mention, the person did a really fine
job with the clothing and accessories. But it wasn’t only the cosplay that made me like it, it
was how the cosplayer played into the character that made it enjoyable to catch photos of. The
person seemed to know a great deal about Kuzco’s personality, that it really reflected in the
photos I’ve seen.
Artist Alley: Gladyfaith had the golden opportunity to be the one who is in charge of the Artist
Alley. Her hard work definitely showed in how smooth the operations and transactions went
among the artists and attendees! Of course, there is also her lovely table that was being watched
over by some really close friends! In my personal opinion, I actually found some really need
goodies that I showed some of my friends. I even decided to stimulate the economy by buying
a few cute cellphone charms and accessories on Sunday, for $1 each (and they were 8 times as
expensive before, awesome deal!). Another thing that I found interesting about the Artist Alley
was the layout. It was literally centered around the elevator and bar area, so it was kind of a
pain to go through a crowd of people that had to pick up their badges, go to panels, go to the
bar, as well as stop and shop all in the same area. But because of the layout, it wasn’t hard to
have everybody at the con eventually pass by every single table there. On top of that, the tables
were categorized. If people are only into the Gothic Lolita and Punk fashion, they wouldn’t
have to travel too far to go to similar stores, because they were all next to each other. The same
thing goes for Lolita enthusiasts and artists alike. From what I’ve seen at previous Arizona
conventions, the Artist Alley would usually be meshed with the Vendor’s Hall. I actually liked
how it’s separate for Taiyou-con for two reasons: It separates (and lessens) the traffic in a
concentrated area and it especially gives attendees less time for unnecessary walking (because
we rather be dancing at the rave, right?)
Vendor’s Hall: Given the fact that it’s a small con, I’d expect a small Vendor’s Hall. And
that’s how it was! If you took the time to look through the nooks and crannies of the place, you
probably found a mysterious box of Japanese cosplay books and magazines. I figured they were
left underneath the table, not meant to be bought. These were definitely items that hardcore
cosplayers would want to buy! I found another interesting find at another store, but this one
required a really sharp eye. There was a store that’s situated right in front of the doors to the
Vendor’s Hall and they sold semi-old but original copies of videogames for the original Super
Nintendo, Atari, etc. They had a glass box near the cashier and it contained 5 boxes of Final
Fantasy IV figures! These figures came at a pretty expensive price for only being 2 inches tall,
about $12. If you’re in love with one of the main characters, it’s probably not worth the gamble.
Just across from that store was another store that had a lot of plushies. If you look at the very
corner of their inventory, there was a Ryo-oki backpack! It was very tempting, but I figured the
lady that cosplayed as Ryoko should have it.
My overall impression: I can see a Taiyou-con 2012 happening for a few main reasons: It was
well-promoted, well-prepared, and well-done! I’d really like to personally thank everyone that
was behind the curtains, and you know who you are! I actually didn’t notice too many problems
that ended up making the fellow otaku mad, other than the usual things like panels running late,
raves needing more people, or security being too uptight. Everyone seemed to enjoy their time
there, whether they came alone or with friends. There was something for almost every type
of otaku, which makes them a happy otaku, right? And with all things considered, I expect a
very promising Taiyou-con 2012 filled with more guests, more panels, more cosplays, more of
everything!
