July is the month of the big three in America. It contains Anime Expo, San Deigo Comic Con, and Otakon all back to back. Otakon always tries to equal or exceed Expo while trying to outdo itself as well. This leads to some wonderful shows for us out on the East coast. As if inspired by last year’s NYAF, this year Otakon is filled with premiere movies along with their normal stellar line up of guests and events. The crown jewel in the events is certainly Makoto Shinkai and his latest work Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below. But there are also a slew of other spectacular guests among them a Hetalia contingent as well as Masao Maruyama and the Madhouse secrets he brings. As always there is a swarm of bloggers, podcasters, superfans, and BNFs including an international crew this year. We can’t guarantee this will be the best Otakon ever but it will undoubtedly be unforgettable. We recorded a micro-podcast (less than 12-minutes long) detailing our plans in case you don’t feel like reading this post.
Our tentative panel schedule:
Friday:
09:00: Best Manga You Never Read (That’s us!)
10:00: Japanamerica
11:00: Remembering Satoshi Kon
12:30: Bunkraku premiere
01:30: Journey through the CLAMP Universe
03:00: Angel ScandyS Q&A
04:00: Japan’s Apocalyptic Imagination in Anime, Manga and Art
05:00: Otakon Game Show: Qualification Quiz!
06:00: Fandom & Criticism: The Art of Active Viewing
08:00: Otakon Game Show!
11:00: Bad Anime, Bad!!
12:30: Let’s Play Ero-ge!
Saturday:
09:00: Gyaru Culture Revealed: Destroying the Myths
10:00: Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below premiere
10:00: Masao Maruyama Q&A
11:00: Noboru Ishiguro Q&A
12:00: Mythbusters: Anime Edition
01:00: Special Surprise premiere
03:00 Investigating Detective Anime (That’s us!)
04:00: Vertical Industry Panel
05:30: Atsuhiro Iwakami Q&A
05:30: Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos premiere
07:30: Underrated Mecha Anime
09:00: Bandai Entertainment After Dark!
11:00: Cyborgs, Cybernetics and Metal Men
12:30: Anime’s Craziest Deaths
Sunday:
09:00: Toei Tokusatsu, 35 Sentai & 40 Years of Kamen Rider
10:30: Japanese Directors & Producers
12:30: Japan’s IP (Intellectual Property) Problem
12:30: Kylee concert
Just as I was going to bed, I saw the Reverse Thieves sign in the sky signaling it was time for me to podcast (or a text message . . . I forget). So I teamed up with Basil and Kevin from the OSMcast! to tackle Saturday, the biggest day of Otakon 2011. We talk about the highs and lows of our experiences including premieres, guests, porn, detectives, gals, and ultra violence! During the breaks Basil interviews the average fans and sees how they are experiencing the East Coast’s biggest anime event. Listen and hear why we all try to return to Otakon every year without fail.
Reverse Thieves 