Tag: Otakon

Otakon 2010: Industry

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hisuiconThis year the industry news out of Otakon was a bit light but that is hardly shocking considering it came right after both Anime Expo and San Diego Comic Con in tough economic times. The leftovers are mostly saved for Otakon. There were several announcements of which dub actors were being used it upcoming high profile dubs. It was good to see that broad spectrum appeal shows were still getting dubs and a bit of fanfare. That being said I could care less about such news and just suggest that anyone who is interested pop on over to ANN as see who has been cast as who.

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Otakon 2010: General Impressions

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hisuiconI am sort of in the haze of con time dilation as I write this; almost no sleep for four days while simultaneously running on the adrenalin rush of the weekend. All my memories of the con seem like a combination of mere seconds ago and ancient history as my perception of time during the weekend was utterly obliterated. I was either talking to someone who was fascinating, listening to someone talk who was incredible, or was running around at high speeds only taking a few moments to eat and sleep. So it seems like the Otakon weekend lasted forever and went by in the blink of an eye. All I know is I am eventually going to crash and crash hard so I am going to try to sum up my feelings really quickly before I shut off like a toy with dead batteries.

Otakon is always my most anticipated portion of the summer. Considering that the guest announcements this year, and many other years, cut it close, even announcing some guests mere weeks before the con, it is the fans and friends that really make Otakon the best part of the summer. But luckily there were also guests from directors and producers plus the inevitable bumps along the way like an impromptu fire drill that made doubly sure Otakon 2010 was a memorable one.

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The Otakon Pre-Game

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Check us out on Calaggie’s Pre-Otakon Podcast!

Otakon, otakon, otakon. Always surprising us up until the last minute it seems. Guest announcements were coming fast and furious over the last month or so. But now here it is, my favorite part of the summer. The two things that are vying for my attention the most are the Welcome to THE SPACE SHOW premiere and the halftime performance by Yoshiki & Sugizo which I am subjecting myself to the masquerade for. And as you can see from our tentative schedule, there are more than a few interesting things going on. We never have time for all of it, but hey we try our best. With press badges lined up, press conferences being planned, and maybe an interview or two to share things have shaped up very nicely. Say hello if you can find me! One or both of us will likely be in attendance at the The Great Otakon Podcast Picnic, too. I’ll be tweeting as much as I can, you can follow along on my adventures!

hisuiconIn less than a day we will be on the road heading to Otakon. As always with Otakon we get all the relevant information before the show but never soon enough for anyone going. That being said the guest line up it very solid this year. I can’t say I am Tomino-level excited for any of the guests (then again Tomino is the one of a kind crazy old man Tomino) but they do have a wonderful selection of Japanese industry guests. I look forward to seeing what each of them has to say about the industry. I am most interested in Takamasa Sakurai because he seems like such an unusual but potentially fascinating guest. There looks like there is always going to be something going on so I hope I find a little free time to eat and check out the dealers room even if I can’t buy much this year.  I will note that I am uncool therefore I will only be tweeting in the morning and the evening when I have access to someone else’s laptop. You can instead imagine me getting into much more fantastical adventures than will actually be taking place. Feel free to write stories about me hijacking panels and getting into fist fights with Vic Mignogna. If you are at the con we will have our home made Reverse Thieves badges to identify us so come up to us and say hello.

Friday
Riichi: Japanese Mahjong, Anime, and You panel
Michael Sinterniklaas Explains Everything About The Industry panel
Vertical, Inc Featuring Felipe Smith panel
Madhouse: Maruyama & Koujina panel
Anime Journalism panel
Opening Ceremonies
Takamasa Sakurai Q&A
The Evolution of Video Game Music panel
Aniplex panel
Anime, Lost in Translation panel
You Don’t Like Moe — And Here’s Why! panel
The World of Sailor Moon. Countdown to 20 years. panel
Bad Anime, Bad!! panel
Yoshida Brothers concert
Anime Cult Classics panel
J-Pop for Dummies panel
The History of Hentai panel

Saturday
Experiments in the Anime Industry: noitaminA panel
From Ayumi Hamasaki to Zilch: A guide to Jpop and Jrock panel
The Changing Faces of Anime panel
Welcome to THE SPACE SHOW premiere
Yuji Mitsuya Q&A
Yura, Kikuta, Shihori Q&A
Masao Maruyama Q&A
Podcasting for your Fandom
Welcome to THE SPACE SHOW Creators Q&A
The Mecha Fan panel
10 Anime You’ve Never Heard of but Must See! panel
The One Piece Podcast panel
Masquerade – Featuring Yoshiki & Sugizo Halftime Performance
The Otakon 2010 Gundam Experience: Life Beyond 30 panel
The Life and Times of Akiyuki Shinbo panel
Inuyasha and Beyond panel
Feminism, Fandom, and Fanservice panel

Sunday
Confessions of a Closet Otaku
Japanese Figures, Toys and Collecting
Home Made Kazoku concert
Dubs that Time Forgot