Friday, March 14, 2025

Music News

Music

Lotus Juice Live Concert Coming to San Francisco in March

Anime and video game music fans are in for a treat as renowned vocalists Lotus Juice takes the stage at the Legends of Anime concert on Saturday, March 29, 2025...

Theodore Mak - 14-02-2025

Music

Live Report: Phantom Siita Makes Their US Debut With the "Moth to a flame" World Tour

What can be said about Phantom Siita?  I had initially thought that the name was Phantom Theater but no, it is instead based upon the words "phantom,"  the scientific name...

Brian Lee - 02-02-2025

Music

Phantom Siita - Moth to a flame World Tour Announced

Phantom Siita is a relatively young idol group. Just a couple of years old, they will be embarking around the world. They are produced by the now legendary Ado, who...

Brian Lee - 03-11-2024

Music

Kenshi Yonezu Announces First-Ever Tour Across Europe, Asia, and the U.S.

Japanese singer-songwriter Kenshi Yonezu has announced his first-ever U.S., Asia, and European tour dates. His world tour kicks off with two performances in Shanghai on March 8 and 9, 2025...

Theodore Mak - 09-10-2024

Anime News

Anime News

BEYBLADE X at San Diego Padres Games

BEYBLADE X is going to San Diego, offering fans an opportunity to battle at Petco Park during two San Diego Padres home games. The event will take place on August...

Theodore Mak - 18-08-2024

Anime News

Shion Wakayama AVIOT Talk Show @ Anime Expo 2024

Anime Expo 2024 was brimming with excitement, and one of the standout moments was the talk session at the audio company AVIOT’s booth in the Entertainment Hall featuring the talented...

Administrator - 18-07-2024

Anime News

Warner Bros Anime Expo Panel - Batman Ninja vs Yakuza League and Suicide Squad Isekai

Warner Bros. Animation unveiled the Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League trailer at their recent panel at Anime Expo. This highly anticipated sequel to the 2018 film Batman Ninja gave fans a glimpse of what to look...

Salvador Mateos - 16-07-2024

Anime News

FAKKU Guest Spotlight Q&A: Karasu Chan

NOTE: This article is meant for those 18+. Discretion is advised. For this year, FAKKU's guest is none other than Karasu Chan, an artist from Taiwan. Karasu Chan is well known...

Brian Lee - 14-07-2024

Anime News

Studio Bones Gachiakuta Panel @ Anime Expo 2024 Report

Studio BONES held a panel on July 4th, 2024 at Anime Expo. Hosted by Joey Bizinger (aka The Anime Man), fans got to hear about the upcoming anime adaptation of...

Theodore Mak - 12-07-2024

Gaming News

Gaming News

Dying Light: The Beast Announced - Gamescom 2024

It's been some time since we have heard anything from masterminds over at Techland and what is in store for the Dying Light franchise. During Opening Night Live at Gamescom, Techland...

Ken Dubois - 20-08-2024

Gaming News

Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage Ai Furihata and Mayu Yoshioka Talk About Being Idols In a Game - Anime Expo 2024

I have always been obsessed with rhythm games and Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage has been at the top of my list. At this year's Anime Expo, Sega brought a playable...

Ken Dubois - 04-07-2024

Gaming News

XSEED Games Announces Anime Expo 2024 Lineup and Hidden Title

XSEED Games has unveiled its plans for this upcoming Anime Expo during the 4th of July weekend.

Ken Dubois - 28-06-2024

Gaming News

Life is Strange: Double Exposure Gets a New Trailer Showing Off Gameplay and New Details

Square Enix has released a new Life is Strange: Double Exposure Trailer revealing everything players want to know about its latest entry in the Life is Strange universe.

Ken Dubois - 13-06-2024

EDITOR'S  NOTE: Mikey's testimony of the maid cafe was deemed unreliable by the staff of the FaniMaid Cafe. The numbers of maids who dropped out have been exaggerated, but the real number is not available for the public. Also, prices for the maid outfits started from as low as $100+, not $200. His testimony is not stricken due to the conflict of interest from its source.

 The first thought that ran through my head as I looked at the Fanime 2008 website was this: “The maid cafe is back? AGAIN?” To anyone who recalls the lamentable experience I had (or perhaps you had if you're unlucky enough), the FaniMaid Cafe was not quite the maid café experience that people expected. FaniMaid, however, proved me wrong this year, and my experience was several times better than last year.

Through the direction of Sydney and Jun, the second year of FaniMaid made a considerable improvement in performance and presentation. Sydney returns from running the cafe from last year, and Jun joins the team this year as the head maid trainer. Although not quite devoid of flaws, the experience proved to be enjoyable for me as well as other con goers.

Whereas last year, the cafe was situated in a small corner of the convention center, the cafe took up the wide open area on the Hilton side of the con. The larger and more spacious seating arrangements were also brighter and offered a better view outside than last year, giving the café a much more airy feel. Such a feel aided the eyes and allowed for a much more relaxed atmosphere.

 The service this year had also improved along with its location. As mundane as this may seem, this year's maids were capable of greeting and seating guests properly. Even better, guests leaving the cafe were shown out by their maid or maids and told “itterasshaimase.” Jun, trainer and volunteer maid for the cafe had done her best to drill the volunteers with the basics of what a maid café is, and the sort of culture it comes along with. The culture sometimes, though, was harder to teach than it seemed. Basic etiquette was easy, but getting maids to understand the concept of moe proved to be hard for Jun. “Some of the volunteers felt uneasy saying 'Irasshaimase Goshujinsama,'” Above all though, the maids seemed enjoy themselves; To Jun that was their goal just as much as entertaining the customers, or as she put it, “It's meant to be cute.”

Along with etiquette, the maids this year did better at conversing with their customers. While last year featured only a short chat, FaniMaid improved by adding more things to do with the maids while they sat at a table. Conversation was still an option, games of jan-ken (rock, paper, scissors) or origmai crafts were also available.

Food was a mixed bag this year. As with last year, the prices for food was still exorbitant. The only positive news was that their soda was only $2.25, the cheapest soda in the con. The sandwiches also saw an improvement. They seemed fresher and tastier than last year and their price was a comfortable four dollars. The cakes, however, were five dollars for a fairly small serving. The price of the food is left to the caterer's whims, but high prices still stand ominously in the way of a completely fulfilling experience.

I must be fair though, to say that FaniMaid itself was not completely devoid of problems would be far from the truth. Their improvements were great, but critically speaking, there was still room for much improvement. The maids this year were heavily understaffed. Mikey (Crack Pr0n), head panelist of Damn You Internets and a knowledgeable source of maid café knowledge, exposed the behind the scenes problems with FaniMaid. He complained about this year's management on how late they were to get the maids together for training. “On April 12, the maids finally realized that [they] might be able to volunteer for this, and then they realized [they] had to pay $200 for the costume, just to volunteer. After that, they were given only three weeks of training.” According to Mikey, 20 of the maids dropped out at the last minute, leaving only 12. At some times, the maid café was heavily understaffed because of this.

The professionalism of the maids also seemed to deteriorate as the day went on. While I was given golden treatment when I first went to see the café on Saturday afternoon, my second time through was slightly different. For people who didn't quite understand what a maid cafe was, some patrons grabbed their food from the cashier and went to seat themselves. Had I not yelled at my ignorant companion, he would have sat himself down at a table with his food. Thus the maids were not very prompt in seating us, and the catering staff sometimes took out the joy of being served by maids by handing customers their food or drinks directly, as was the case for my friend who only ordered a bottle of coke.

Overall, the cafe was an improvement, and hopefully, it will continue on this trend to become an even better cafe in future years. FaniMaid, although not the best, was definitely a much more enjoyable experience than the previous year. 

MORE STORIES

Feb.14

Music

Lotus Juice Live Concert Coming to San Francisco in March

Anime and video game music fans are in for a treat as renowned vocalists Lotus Juice takes the stage at the Legends of Anime concert on Saturday, March 29, 2025...

Feb.02

Music

Live Report: Phantom Siita Makes Their US Debut With the "Moth to a flame" World Tour

What can be said about Phantom Siita?  I had initially thought that the name was Phantom Theater but no, it is instead based upon the words "phantom,"  the scientific name...

Dec.14

Interview

Fate/stay night 20th Anniversary - Interview with Ayako Kawasumi, Kana Ueda, and Noriko Shitaya!

The Fate/stay night 20th Anniversary Celebration brought fans from across the United States together for one momentous occasion. We had just finished with a talk show reminiscing about the past...

Dec.06

Convention News

Fan Expo San Francisco 2024 Impressions

Over Thanksgiving weekend, Fan Expo San Francisco returned to Moscone West Convention Center for its third year, reaffirming its place as a key event in the Bay Area's pop culture...

Nov.03

Music

Phantom Siita - Moth to a flame World Tour Announced

Phantom Siita is a relatively young idol group. Just a couple of years old, they will be embarking around the world. They are produced by the now legendary Ado, who...

Oct.15

Convention News

Bay Area Anime Impulse/K-Play! Fest/Collectors Expo 2024 Impressions

Returning for its second year in the San Francisco Bay Area, Anime Impulse arrived at the San Mateo County Event Center on October 12-13. If you're unfamiliar with Anime Impulse...

Oct.09

Music

Kenshi Yonezu Announces First-Ever Tour Across Europe, Asia, and the U.S.

Japanese singer-songwriter Kenshi Yonezu has announced his first-ever U.S., Asia, and European tour dates. His world tour kicks off with two performances in Shanghai on March 8 and 9, 2025...

Sep.05

Music

NCT DREAM US Tour Starts this Month

South Korean boy group NCT DREAM, formed by SM Entertainment, will be kicking off the first leg of their US tour this month in Los Angeles, California on September 12...

Sep.03

Music

Lovebites US Tour Begins Soon

We are almost to the beginning of Lovebites' US tour. This is a long-awaited series of performances, and in a way, it's surprising that it took this long. One of...

Aug.20

Gaming News

Dying Light: The Beast Announced - Gamescom 2024

It's been some time since we have heard anything from masterminds over at Techland and what is in store for the Dying Light franchise. During Opening Night Live at Gamescom, Techland...

Aug.18

Anime News

BEYBLADE X at San Diego Padres Games

BEYBLADE X is going to San Diego, offering fans an opportunity to battle at Petco Park during two San Diego Padres home games. The event will take place on August...

Aug.14

Game Reviews

Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse (PS5) Review

Everyone’s favorite crime-fighting lagomorph and canine duo are back! Originally released in 2010 by Telltale Games, this remaster brings the graphic adventure to the latest generation of consoles/PCs. This release...

Jul.18

Anime News

Shion Wakayama AVIOT Talk Show @ Anime Expo 2024

Anime Expo 2024 was brimming with excitement, and one of the standout moments was the talk session at the audio company AVIOT’s booth in the Entertainment Hall featuring the talented...

Jul.17

K-pop

EVERGLOW Returns to the US for their 2024 Tour - Pulse & Heart

K-pop powerhouse EVERGLOW is set to embark on their 2024 "Pulse & Heart" tour, marking their return to the international stage after a series of successful releases and promotions. The...

Jul.16

Event Reports

Hololive Night at Dodger Stadium Report

The Hololive Night at Dodgers Stadium was a unique collaboration between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Hololive Productions. Popular VTubers Usada Pekora, Hoshimachi Suisei, and Gawr Gura participated in baseball...