Category: Events

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!

Brooklyn Botanic Gardens: Sakura Matsuri 2009

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The rain, cherry blossoms, and tears can all fall with infectious joy or breathtaking sadness. The Sakura Matsuri was held at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens on Saturday and Sunday. Every year around this time they have a collection of Japanese performances and lectures on a wide range of Japanese arts in the background of the falling cherry blossoms. You get a wide variety including: dance, music, poetry, and artistic botany. The crowd is also very diverse. I saw families, couples, friends, young people, old people, otaku, and hipsters. There were many people in cosplay but they hardly overwhelmed the normal patrons nor were they ever disruptive on the day that I went. I am curious if it was any better or worse on Saturday.

Most everyone I know went on Saturday and I went Sunday. This meant that Sunday was a solitary journey which lends a different feel to the proceedings. For some reason the whole day brought to my mind the 71st episode of Urusei Yatsura, Shinobu’s Cinderella Story because of the constant rain. I half expected to get drawn into an adventure of romance and danger. But that just goes to show what an odd person I am in the end. Plus I always like to picture myself as Shinobu. Maybe because we have similar personalities. Maybe I just want the ability to hurl tanks when upset. Still all the cherry blossom trees were in full bloom and you often saw blossoms littering the air and walkways. Although a popular activity was people shaking the trees to get the rain of petals effect. It was definitely a good weekend to capture the proper ambiance of Sakura Matsuri.

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Japan Society: KRAZY! The Delirious World of Anime + Manga + Video Games Exhibit

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An exhibition highlighting parts of Japanese popular culture is not to be overlooked. Though going in I didn’t really know what to expect or how much there would be to see. Just knowing that all these pieces that have influenced not only each other but popular culture in Japan and abroad makes quite an impression. This is going on til mid June so we figured if you haven’t seen it yet maybe you will after this!

I like anime, manga, and video games so this exhibit seemed right up my alley. I usually go into exhibits like these with guarded expectations. You never know when the person who put together the exhibit is an expert on the subject or someone who is catering to demand in the market. I was also a little worried because all three subjects are interconnected but very different. With an exhibit like this I want to get something out of it. I want to either learn something new or gain some greater insight about something I already knew about.

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