I will begin this convention report with a bit of a confession. I have always felt like a C-Grade celebrity in the general anime community. I have enough of a career to have the equivalent of a  decent sized IMDB page but I am never going to attend the anime Oscars expect as a seat filler. So being asked to be a featured panelist at a smaller convention like Genericon might not be the starring role in a blockbuster or an awards bait show. I see it more a juicy role in a strong indy film. You might not get the same acclaim but it still feels very rewarding.

As one can guess with a name like Genericon the subject matters involved is going to be slightly esoteric. While the convention started as a science fiction convention it has expanded to include gaming, anime, comics, and other nerdy hobbies. So that means when you see all the Homestuck, My Little Pony, Adventure Time, and Dr. Who cosplayers they are not out-of-place. Oddly enough they were about as common as you would see at any anime convention. That alone seems like a very telling statement. But with Evan Minto as the convention chair this year there was a bit of an anime bias. But that has been present since I attended two years ago. And one of the guests of honor with year was Tim Maughan so the convention had both an anime related guest and a strong science fiction related guest all in one package. Kyle Hebert did add to the anime related content as well but he is no stranger to doing work with video games as well.

So the convention comes down to a simple question: Is the Generic brand equal to the quality of the commercial brand convention but lower price?

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I’m a guest! I’m a guest!
Genericon made the request
It’s been two years since I’ve been here
among the geeky obsessed
With all new topics, with no amount of  ease
Yes, indeed, I aim to please
While the PowerPoint is still glowing
Let me entertain you, I’ll keep going
panel by panel, one by one
‘Til you shout, “Enough! I’m done!”
Then we’ll lecture you off to sleep as you digest
At Genericon you’ll have fun without a doubt
But for now, let’s geek out
I’m a guest!
I’m a guest!
I’m a guest!
At Genericon 2013 I’m a guest!

Well actually I’m a featured panelist at Genericon 2013 but that does not translate into song anywhere nearly as melodically.

But if you are in the area of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY this weekend I am running three panels. It is a fun little general geek convention that is run by our friend from Ani-Gamers, Evan Minto. I have been recruited to provide my special grand of Otaku knoweldge to the convention. Sadly Narutaki cannot attend the convention so all my panels are 100% unfiltered Hisui. That means Yoshiyuki Tomino madness, Hayate the Combat Butler tomfoolery, and of course a Type-Moon panel.

If you want to see what Reverse Thieves would be without Narautaki to balance me out come see me at Genericon 2013!

Come see me at:

The 156,804,000 Yen Panel: Being a Better Otaku through Hayate – Friday at 9PM
Kill ’em All, and Let Sunrise sort ’em Out: A Yoshiyuki Tomino Panel – Saturday at Noon
Unlimited Information Works:An Introduction to Type-Moon – Saturday at 8 PM

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