Sakura-Con 2023: The good, the bad, the ugly
Author's note: Since this is a critique/commentary all pictures used in this are valid under the terms of fair use act of 1976.
Since 2006 I’ve been attending anime conventions. I started off with Kumoricon in Portland. Then in 2009 I attended my first Sakura-Con in Seattle.
Sakura-con is Kumoricon’s big sister convention.
I’ve seen a lot of stuff over the years good and bad at conventions. So, I felt it was about time I started writing about my experiences of what worked, and what didn’t. So, I started off with Sakura-Con 2023 in Seattle, Washington.
And let me tell you 2023 has been quite the year for Sakura-Con. So, for this essay I’ll be explaining what I felt was the good, the bad, and the ugly of the convention.
I’ll start off by saying it disappointed me that Subway has gone out of business at the convention center. But the chain as I understand it has been suffering some serious problems as of late. Everyone seems to be having problems these days.
That said it’s not to say Sakura-Con didn’t have its fair share of food choices. They had quite the selection and I appreciate that fact. They had things such as Bavarian pretzels, hot dogs, even chicken strips.
Also, Taco Del Mar is still there as is the Gyro place and the local coffee shop. So, there was no lacking for things to eat and that’s a good thing. A good food selection means people won’t go hungry.
Also, the new Summit building for the convention Center opened. Which meant the Exhibitor’s Hall got a bigger hall for people to show off their wares. More local businesses get to show their wares with the congoers.
And that is always a good thing.
I liked the bigger space because it offered up more things to look at and more merchandise to buy. I did buy a couple Yu-Yu Hakusho mangas but this year I saved my pennies. But I’m glad to see the hall had a bigger selection of goods and products.
The staff for the autographs especially the ADA area did very well. They were very courteous and kept things going. I appreciate the efficient yet courteous manners.
Now to the next subject of business the bad. I have some complaints about this year’s convention. Should the Sakura-Con staff or leadership see this understand this.
I am not saying these things to attack you or disrespect you only to make you think.
Folks I had some real complaints for this year. For starters the program guide didn’t list all the panels that were going on this year. So, I had difficulty in finding out if a panel I was co-hosting this year was happening.
It was good fortune that YouTuber the Angry Filipino and I had Otaku 25+ on time and on schedule.
Also, I had a hard time figuring out the times for the paid autograph sessions. Now I know the Guests of honor are doing this on their time. But a good general estimate of the time wouldn’t hurt.
Now the fortunate thing is this year I was lucky enough to get the autographs I was looking for. But that might not always be the case. So, like I said a good general estimate put in the program guide for next year would be of benefit,
I noticed that the information booths weren’t exactly working on the same frequency. The various info booths would do well to have more coordination on information for next year. That way congoers can get consistent information.
Now to the biggest bad point of the convention. Sakura-Con is now a full convention campus event. I feel they missed out on a great opportunity this year.
The Paramount Theater is on the Convention Center campus. And it’s one of the oldest and still one of the most popular theaters in Seattle. That's what I call endurance.
Sakura-Con has done things with the theater before. This year though they dropped the ball. As an example, a concert featuring the music of Studio Ghibli would benefit the con and theater.
Schedule the concert for the con's Friday or Saturday night. Make it a combination event for the theater and Sakura-Con. It would be a win-win situation for both.
Now comes the ugly part of this commentary/con report. With the ugly at the convention there’s a lot of stuff to go over.
This year Sakura-Con took a lot of events out of the Convention center main building. And moved them over to the new Summit building. That kind of sudden change was jarring to more than a few people.
There is still a lot of room in the main building.
Having all those empty rooms made for an awkward look to the convention. It might've given the misconception that the convention is losing popularity. I can say Sakura-Con is far from going downhill.
I understand the Summit building is new and exciting. But the main building still has many good years left to it. Don’t toss it aside in so callous a fashion.
The next point of ugly is this. I’m not sure if it was the convention center that did it or if this was the convention’s idea. But I’m of the strong opinion that the whole going cashless thing is a terrible idea.
Now I know there are a lot of political debates on this. But for the sake of time and peace I’ll go into the practical reasons of why this is a bad idea.
What if the power goes out during the con? Considering that Seattle is a coastal city anything could happen. There could be a storm from the Pacific Ocean that knocks out the power.
Also consider Seattle's location. It's in the geographic range known as the ring of fire. There could be an earthquake caused by volcanic activity.
Human error or God forbid a terrorist attack could knock out the power.
If that happens that'll leave a lot of angry and hungry congoers.
Another possibility is what if there’s a glitch or someone puts a virus in the computer system. Never underestimate human nature. If the system goes down, there's a big problem.
Paper money can get replaced. But if someone loses their credit or debit card they could be in for a world of trouble. So, the whole going cashless thing is a case of putting all one’s eggs in a single basket.
That kind of thinking leads to disastrous outcomes.
Another ugly situation came up as I traveled to the Summit building with my girlfriend. I noticed it’s not as handicapped accessible as other places. This is something that could be a problem.
Not everyone at conventions is going to be as mobile as others.
This leads to another ugly situation. this issue is for those who have mobility or asthma issues. The walk between the main building and Summit isn't easy.
I know because my girlfriend has asthma and she had to take a seat because of her breathing issues.
To solve this issue, I would suggest this. A shuttle between buildings every 5 to 10 minutes would work wonders. I know that’s not easy because Seattle is a maze in and of itself.
But a transport would make a lot of congoers including the handicapped ones a lot happier.
The final ugly situation I have is this. Many attendees and even Guests of honor complained about the mask rule. Now I get that Sakura-Con is a non-profit organization.
And they want to protect themselves from lawsuits.
In this crazy day and age there are a lot of opportunistic and unethical people out there. Ones who would love to trash this convention for money and to watch it burn to the ground. Again, never underestimate the dark side of human nature.
Also, I understand that there are people out there who are immunity compromised. I would never consider telling them to jeopardize their health. So instead, I offer up this as a solution.
I recommend making the mask rule optional. That's a happy middle ground compromise. Let those who have immunity issues or don’t want to continue to wear masks.
And likewise, those of us who want to take off the facemasks and breathe again can do so. Like I said a happy middle ground compromise that’s a win-win for everyone.
As for the con cold I offer up these solutions to keep from getting sick. It's not full proof but it's 99.9% effective.
For starters wash our hands after going to the bathroom and/or changing babies. Simple sanitary procedure of soaping up our hands. Then wash them in warm water for the count of ten works wonders.
I ought to know in my day job I work in a position where being sanitary is a must.
The second thing is taking Zinc and Echinacea with our morning vitamins. I got introduced to the stuff before the COVID pandemic broke out. I also started doing that for this year’s convention and I can say I haven’t caught any con cold or anything.
I can say this move proved a success.
In closing there were some good things about this convention. But there were also a lot of bad things and ugly things that happened this year. I point out these problems and offer solutions so Sakura-Con 2024 can be better.
To conclude I give this convention a grade of C plus. It was okay but it needs a lot of work.
Thank you for reading this con report/commentary and have a good day.
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