Year: 2009

AnimeNEXT, Are we there yet?

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It is officially convention season again! This time of year is always a lot of fun but takes quite a bit out of me. Plus, there is a lot of planning going on. While I think this year AnimeNEXT has been more on top of it compared to last year, that isn’t much of a compliment. Also this new location I know nothing about. Though it looked like such a pain commute I ended up getting a hotel room last minute. Still, we got our panel confirmation along with approval for press badges a couple of weeks before the convention so that is something. Speaking of our panel, that is right ladies and gentlemen, Reverse Thieves will be making their second appearance at AnimeNEXT! Come see our panel “I Can’t Believe You Haven’t Seen This!” on Saturday from 9-10AM. It’s early but come on! Oh, and we will be wearing Reverse Thieves t-shirts on Saturday. I know, I know we are like the coolest people you know.

AnimeNEXT is a mid-sized convention. It is bigger than a small con with it’s ability to swing some bigger guests and bands but is smaller than your 800 pound gorillas like Otakon and AnimeExpo. This gives it a unique feel. I am disappointed that we don’t have any awesome Japanese guests that interest me like we have in the past. But if you go in with the right attitude, and a few friends, any convention can be fun. Also good panels are good panels no matter where you go so I hope that this year’s panelists are up to par. Plus the dealers’ room is usually good. We will be running the “I Can’t Believe You Haven’t Seen This!” panel in Panel Room 2 with celebrity blogger Carl from Ogiue Maniax so you have two reasons to wake up early on Saturday. Also we will be giving away prizes at the end of the panel so that actually makes three! Don’t forget to check out Carl at the Anime Blogging Basics Panel on Sunday at 2 PM in Panel Room 1, too.

Our tentative schedule is as follows:

Friday
Funimation Sneak Peek Panel
Anime Through the Generations Panel
Anime’s Pirate Legacy Panel
Anime Princesses Rule Panel
Japanese Crime Fiction in Anime Panel
My Stereotypes are More Offensive than Yours Panel
These are a Few of My Favorite Scenes Panel

Saturday
I Can’t Believe You Haven’t Seen This! Panel
(This is our panel!) 9AM – 10AM
Misako Rocks! Panel
Vertical Panel
Anime/Manga Influence Panel
Business of Webcomics Panel
ParaPara Dance Workshop
Japanese Snacks and Sweets Panel
Funimation Panel
Bad Anime, Bad! Panel
As the Otaku Grows Panel

Sunday
Con Horror Stories Panel
History of Manga Panel
Otaku Perceptions and Misconceptions Panel
The Misadventures of an AnimeNEXT Con-Chair Panel
Gravitation & Genshiken Panel
Anime Blogging Basics Panel
Con Feedback Session Panel

As a reminder: No Ongoing Investigations this week!

Kamichu!, Let’s all go to Kami-con!

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I was initially interested in Kamichu! because I heard people describing it as Spirited Away the TV series. That is some pretty high praise so it had a lot to live up to. When I went to Anime Expo I randomly saw the end of episode three and all of four while waiting for a panel to begin. While I really enjoyed it, I will admit to forgetting about it. When I saw it on a Geneon clearance sale later I picked it up. And then I promptly threw it on my unwatched anime pile. I dug it out when Narutaki and I agreed we should review something that was not a robot show. We were pleasantly rewarded for our efforts. This is a well done comedy for the whole family. It is just a warm series that has comedy, romance, and a dash of nostalgia with a fun supernatural twist.

I was initially interested in Kamichu! because Hisui came over and basically told me what she did in that first paragraph. Spirited Away is one of my favorite Studio Ghibli films (as I am sure it is many others’) so anything that even remotely resembles it, I’d need to check out. It also looked very cute. The show ended up being equal parts magical, funny, and charming. It has a lighter than air quality to it making Kamichu! easy to enjoy. While we stay earthbound (mostly) the show transports you to its setting and integrates you into its life. And it certainly has the ability to entertain the young as well as the old.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #047

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At first it seemed like Cross Game was more of the same from Mitsuru Adachi. Its initial similarities to Touch are quite easy to notice. They are both about boys who start with little interest in baseball and have a change of heart after the death of a loved one. After reading seeing a good deal of Cross Game they are very different shows. Tatsuya and Minami from Touch have a very different dynamic than Ko and Aoba on top of being very different characters overall. Cross Game shows that Adachi has not lost any magic as a manga-ka who blends dramatic romance with sports manga action. His characters are fun and play off each other well and he knows how to stage a scene for dramatic impact. So far we have not really seen anyone play a full game of baseball. Adachi is setting up the characters so that we care about Ko and his team winning before they play their first game. I like how Ko has become the secondary teams secret weapon. It leads to a good mixture of comedy and suspense as they try to keep his amazing pitching skill a secret. So far Cross Game is still on track as a good show to keep your eye on especially if you like shonen romance.

Vertical had mentioned the Shinjuku Shark books a couple of times at conventions and piqued my interest. After all, a detective story is what we have an affinity for around here! So the self-titled first book finally got a look see by both of us. The Shinjuku Shark strikes fear in all that know him and in many that don’t. He is somewhat of a rogue cop who the brass can’t stand. He has no partner to speak of as he prowls the streets of Shinjuku with little fear of the Yakuza and other gang types. While Samejima (The Shark) certainly has a hard-boiled feel, he is humanized through his relationships and by him actually having moments of fear when going up against the villains in these stories. Also after learning a little of his past in the force as well as the reason he has been permanently relegated to the Shinjuku streets he quickly becomes a character you want to follow. Some other notable people are Yabu the weapons expert on staff and Samejima’s boss Momoi who is nicknamed The Cadaver because of his stellar personality. Both of these guys help Samejima out once and a while, so you know not everyone is against him. They make a great team and certainly made me want to see them appear more. One of the things that struck me was some of the coincidences in this book. We aren’t looking at a small pool of suspects, we are talking about an entire city, but it is relatively obvious who is behind things about half way through. Also the final intended victim was rather convenient. However, if I accept these things the story has some well-paced and suspenseful moments.

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