Why Anime Vegas of course! Las Vegas is known for its gorgeous showgirls, flamboyant magicians, instant millionaires, fast paced nightlife, mind-blowing shows, and now for the fastest growing Anime convention in the nation, Anime Vegas! Over this past Labor Day weekend, the Cashman Center, in the heart of downtown Las Vegas, played host to the 4th annual Anime Vegas convention headed by founder — and all around nice guy — Rich Stott. I had the pleasure of speaking with Erin Murray, head of AV Human Resources and lovingly nicknamed “Minion Mistress” (I’ll explain later!). She was kind enough to answer my questions about what it’s like to host an anime convention in Sin City.
GGN: What is different about AV compared to most anime conventions?
Erin Murray: Well, AV tends to be a more personal and hands-on kind of convention. You can really tell that people want to be here. From the dealers to the attendees to our invited guests, we treat everyone well and have developed good relationships with them. Our theme this year is “Fun and Games” and we really want everyone to enjoy themselves and have fun. That’s what this is about.
GGN: Instead of the traditional “volunteer” that you’d find at most anime conventions, AV has “minions.” Do explain!
Murray: Being a “minion” for AV means wearing a badge of honor, it’s a term of endearment. Part of it comes from my hatred for the word “volunteer”. People are eager to become our minions because of the way we treat them. We give them a free T-shirt with “MINION” boldly stated on the chest and a large black circle is printed on the back for some target practice. It’s not unusual for us to grab our Nerf guns and start firing away as a “minion” passes by. We appreciate all of the hard work our “minions” do and we do our best to show them how much we love them. That’s why they call me the Minion Mistress!
Minions have fashion sense too!
This guy has no idea what’s coming!
GGN: What would you say is the highlight of this year’s AV?
Murray: My personal favorite has always been the cosplay masquerade. It’s a popular event for both the audience and the cosplayers performing. But having Geneon recording artist Yoko Ishida is truly our highlighted event of the convention. She’s performing a concert for her fans, free of charge, as one of our main events during the convention. In fact, it’s rare that conventions of our size even get Japanese guests. For the most part, Japanese industry guests tend to travel to much larger conventions such as Southern California’s “Anime Expo” or Northern California’s “Fanime”. Thanks to our convention location as well as our positive reputation for being an incredibly friendly, well run, and rapidly growing convention, our guest list just keeps growing with us!
Yoko Ishida rocked Anime Vegas!
GGN: I’ve noticed that AV has quite an impressive guest list of popular voice actors! What do VA’s mean to Anime conventions?
Murray: Considering that Anime is one of the key reasons to be here and voice actors give life to Anime shows, it’s a necessity to have VA’s as guests. Without VA’s, you don’t have an Anime! We have panel discussions, game shows hosted by VA’s, “meet and greets”, and VA’s are usually walking around the convention itself having a good time. The fans get a closer look into the Anime they love and are given the chance to ask questions about their favorite characters, get autographs, take pictures, learn about the Anime industry, etc. Most VA’s are very approachable and appreciate their fan-base so they’re happy to be here and to see their fans up close.
GGN: I’ve heard you have an otherwise Japanese exclusive “Maid Café” here at AV. For those unfamiliar, what exactly is a “Maid Café”?
Murray: A Maid Café is a sheik, trendy, cosplay themed restaurant where guests are pampered (usually by females) in cute French maid costumes. From what I’ve seen of other conventions, this is definitely something new to the typical Anime con. It’s a place where guests can relax, order refreshments, appetizers, and enjoy comfort as though they were in their own home. We are trying to emulate that same café here at AV with inspiration straight from Tokyo, Japan.
I think anyone would love to get a cookie from this cutie!
GGN: In three words or less, describe AV.
Murray: Voice actors … music … and minions!”
I know that was technically four words, but Erin is so cool, she gets away with it.
Erin really summed it up when she said that people wanted to be at this convention. From the moment I stepped into the heavy hall doors, I could sense that everyone was truly happy to be there. From cosplayers to gamers to photographers to your “first timers,” everyone there created an atmosphere of excitement and energy that can be sometimes difficult to find at Anime conventions.
I found myself roaming through the halls in costume, being surprised when people recognized who I was dressed as, searching the dealer’s hall for that next figurine for my collection (I ended up taking home two Domokun shot glasses instead!), snapping pictures of everything I could, checking out the cuties working in the Maid Café, watching the Super Smash Bros. competition in the gaming hall, meeting new friends and catching up with old ones, watching interactive panels for my favorite Anime shows, and above all, not getting bored!
Some hard to find Japanese videogame imports!
Super Smash Bros. tournament in full swing!
These solar powered “wobble heads” are super hot items at conventions!
I’ve been to many conventions in past years, large and small, experienced and inexperienced, real and not real (that’s a whole story in itself!). I have to say that AV has quickly become a staple in my convention schedule. They have really put together a fantastic event full of activities, entertaining concerts, VA’s to chat with, quality dealers to buy from, and the greatest volunteers … erm … minions I’ve ever dealt with!
As “The King” would say, “Viva Anime Vegas!”
For the record, it was only cranberry juice!
