Category: Events

Otakon 2009

6 Comments

otakon, program

If you have never been to Otakon, let me just say that it is like a whirlwind of anime, manga, costumes, music, fans, panels, guests, and friends. You are practically going non-stop from the moment you touch down in Baltimore. Maybe it is just the way my mind works, but it seemed to be ten-fold this year! The amount of things seen and done in just one day sound almost impossible. I distinctly remember some of us talking on Friday night about how things done that morning felt days in the past rather than just hours before. But I’m not complaining, I call Otakon the highlight of the summer for a reason! This year only went on to prove that statement further.

Otakon came and went in an amazing and thrilling blur. I remember the highlights but the details even a few days later are still sort of fuzzy in my head. So in many ways this con report is just as much for me as it is for anyone reading it. This is my chance to sort out what I felt and what I did in my own mind because there was just so much information to process. I was almost always doing something. In fact, I wore myself out so much there was two or three times I just had to stop and nap or get food even if it meant missing out on something awesome. At first I was worried that there were not going to be any Japanese guests worth talking about but in the last few weeks before the con they pulled some great guests out at the last second and turned my perception of how great this was going to be right around.

otakon, badges

Friday
No Means No, Defense against Fanboys and Fangirls panel
Know Your Creators panel
Yutaka Yamamoto panel
Mobile Suit Gundam: Celebrating 30 Years panel
Anime Recruitment
Legend of the Galactic Heroes: History’s Future panel
Mecha Appreciation panel
Opening Ceremonies
Kikuko Inoue panel
I Can’t Believe You Haven’t Seen This!
MELL concert
Guess the Melons 18+ panel

Saturday
Gundam Model Building workshop
Funimation panel
MELL press conference
Maruyama, Ishiguro, Kikukawa, Matsubara press conference
Anime and Manga Studies panel
From Kenshiro to Kenshin: The Neo-Shonen Revolution panel
Fred Schodt panel
Fred Schodt autograph session
Return of the Anime Old Timers? panel
Otaku TV panel
The Problem with Otaku panel
Review Anime the Right Way panel

Sunday
 Without Watching the Anime: Opening & Ending Themes panel
Hidenori Matsubara panel
Osamu Tezuka, Astro Boy, and the Manga/Anime Revolution, with Fred Schodt panel
Naomi Tamura concert

otakon crew 2009

Narutak, Kohaku, and I all met up at my apartment. The anticipation was practically visible! Before we left I got an early birthday present of some very choice pencil boards, one of manga art Hayate No Gotoku and a cute Gakuen Kino one. We fortunately got a ride to the MegaBus pick up in front of Penn Station. I must agree with Mike Dent, MegaBus rocks! I will never ride a Greyhound again unless forced to. The free WiFi was awesome and the ride was smooth and clean. We took over the back of the bus where we pretty much had a pre-Otakon party. The Baltimore public transportation was a little slower than we had first anticipate but we arrived at our hotel by about 6:30PM. Here we encountered the first and only real major problem of the convention: the Radisson overbooked the con rooms. They tried to throw us into a super small single when we had booked a double. Thankfully Narutaki is a master of getting what he needs and they eventually gave us a bigger room.

megabus

If you saw the amount of stuff being lugged to Otakon, you would think we were moving there. Heck, at the very least you would have thought everyone was a cosplayer bringing gear, but no. However to be fair, when I say we, I mean 9 people and also a lot of it was free stuff for our panels and food that was quickly eaten up. I wouldn’t say I was nervous about MegaBus, I had done some research, but a new experience is always a little worrisome in these cases. Though really with so many friends along, a misstep can easily turn into an adventure! Luckily we didn’t have to prove that rule as the bus was great, well-organized, and on time. While the bus stop is certainly far out from the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, the price tipped my hand and everyone seemed satisfied. I was a bit miffed at the Radisson because they have served me so well in the past. In the end, things turned out fine once a larger room was acquired, remember: calm persistence! I will just mention that I use quite a bit of the tips in our Con Survival guide and they serve me quite well.

Continue reading →

Otakon, Return to the Motherland!

4 Comments

Ah, it feels so great to be returning to Otakon this year. There is just something so special about it and I don’t think I want to miss another one. This great love is what keeps me on the east coast convention wise. Like so many other years and conventions we are traveling in a large herd that includes Carl from Ogiue Maniax, Scott from Anime Almanac, and Evan from Ani-Gamers. Not to mention the many, many people we will be seeing during the convention. And, wow, a very nice guest list this year even if it was right down to the wire! Going right along with that, this is our first opportunity to attend as press giving us the chance to get a little closer to these amazing guests. We are also running panels so it will be a very well-rounded experience though we may be taking on too much. I expect a thoroughly enjoyable and busy time. I will be tweeting as much as I can from the con but I won’t have much Internet access otherwise. There will be fun, there will be food, there will be sleuthing, and there will be burning friendship! Otakon 2009, here we come!

I warn everyone that is in a post filled with dirty, filthy lies. There is so much to do, so much so see, so many people to talk with, and just any number of unexpected occurrences that can and will happen that I am sure this schedule will only be half right most of the time. More often than not it is not a matter of picking something to do but rather deciding between three equally awesome things. And as press we could be getting interviews as well so that makes everything even more up in the air. If you want to be guaranteed see both of us then your best bet is to attend our panels. We always give away great free stuff! I am bringing two Iron Mountain boxes filled with prizes this year so be there or be square. Other than that,  if you see someone with a Reverse Thieves badge or a Reverse Thieves shirt just say hello. We are always eager to talk. Also if you want to get me to attend your panel just ask. As long as I do not have something vital to do I will usually attend. I am easy that way. Now that I look at it, I have no where decent on the schedule to each lunch or dinner but that is why you bring snacks and drink lots of water. So hopefully I will have a kick arse time and so will everyone else who attends. Excelsior!

Our tentative schedule is as follows:

Friday
Travel to Japan panel
No Means No, Defense against Fanboys and Fangirls panel
Know Your Creators panel
Yutaka Yamamoto panel
Mobile Suit Gundam: Celebrating 30 Years panel
Anime Recruitment (12:45-1:45PM this is our panel!)
VAMPS panel
Legend of the Galactic Heroes: History’s Future panel
Opening Ceremonies
Kikuko Inoue panel
Evangelion panel
I Can’t Believe You Haven’t Seen This! (7:00-8:00PM this is our panel!)
MELL concert
Living with Kami: Shinto panel

Saturday
Gundam Model Building workshop
Funimation panel
Women of the Floating World: Geisha and Oiran panel
Anime and Manga Studies panel
Naomi Tamura panel
Anime’s Craziest Deaths panel
MELL panel
From Kenshiro to Kenshin: The Neo-Shonen Revolution panel
Fred Schodt panel
VCI Entertainment Industry panel
Fred Schodt autograph
Noboru Ishiguro and Yukio Kikukawa panel
Return of the Anime Old Timers Panel?
Review Anime the Right Way panel
Video Games That Push Our Buttons panel
Dubs That Time Forgot panel
Otakon Game Show
Sailor Moon’s Influence in Hentai (18+) panel

Sunday
The Negima Chupacabra Society panel
Without Watching the Anime: Opening & Ending Themes panel
Masao Maruyama panel
Hidenori Matsubara panel
Osamu Tezuka, Astro Boy, and the Manga/Anime Revolution, with Fred Schodt panel
Naomi Tamura concert

As a reminder: No Ongoing Investigations this week!

New York Asian Film Festival 2009

2 Comments

Last year I attended only one film, Dororo, at the New York Asian Film Festival. Though we did try to see L Change the WorLd, too, but it was sold out. In any case, this seemed like a big mistake in retrospect. There are tons of films from all different genres. Everything from pulpy mysteries to sex-centric surrealism to over-the-top samurai action to sweet romance was up for grabs at this year’s Asian Film Fest. Many of these films one might not have a chance to see otherwise. So with that in mind, and a little help from the NYAFF guide book, we set out to see some unique flicks.

I missed out on all the movies last year including Dororo but that is because if it were not for bad luck I would have no luck at all. On the other hand, Narutaki and I insisting on seeing the L movie no matter how many times life seemingly tried to let us dodge it is our own fault. But this year we are in it to win it and are hitting up a bunch of the movies playing. My priority number one was to see the 20th Century Boys movies not only because they are most relevant to the blog but also because I really enjoyed the manga. All the other movies are interesting experiments. I was not sure how many I would like but I was ready to be surprised.

Continue reading →