Otaku no Podcast » Conventions

Episode #0020 – Convention Survival Guide, 2011 Edition

The Ghost in the Machine — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 13:43:40 +0000

Well, the summer con season is in full swing, and as usual, we’re late to the party This week we give an update to our famous convention survival tips, which should hopefully help you have a more enjoyable con-going experience. And of course we bust out our favorite anime picks as well.

Today’s Theme Song: “FIGHT OR FLIGHT,” by Yū Kobayashi. Second ED to the anime Dragonaut: The Resonance.

Our Picks:

Michelle:
- There is a ton of anime available to watch online, completely legally and (oftentimes) for free. Some of our favorites include Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Crackle. Also, many anime distributors run their own streams.
- Animation Runner Kuromi
Me:
- K-ON!
- Clannad and Clannad: After Story
- Royal Space Force – Wings of Honneamise

Clannad: After Story – Complete Collection [4 Discs] -

Includes:Clannad After Story: Episode 11 (2009) Clannad After Story: Episode 10 (2009) Clannad After Story: Episode 9 (2009) Clannad After Story: Episode 8 (2009) Clannad After Story: Episode 6 (2009) Clannad After Story: Episode 4 (2009) Clannad After Story: Episode 18 (2009) Clannad After Story: Episode 17 (2009) Clannad After Story: Episode 16 (2009) Clannad After Story: Episode 15 (2009) Clannad After Story: Episode 14 (2009) Clannad After Story: Episode 13 (2009) Clannad After Story: Episode 12 (2009) Clannad After Story: Episode 1 (2009) Clannad After Story: Episode 3 (2009) Clannad After Story: Episode 2 (2009) Clannad After Story: Episode 24 (2009) Clannad After Story: Episode 23 (2009) Clannad After Story: Episode 22 (2009) Clannad After Story: Episode 21 (2009) Clannad After Story: Episode 20 (2009) Clannad After Story: Episode 19 (2009) Clannad After Story: Episode 5 (2009) Clannad After Story: Episode 7 (2009) Clannad After Story: Episode 11 No synopsis available. Clannad After Story: Episode 10 No synopsis available. Clannad After Story: Episode 9 No synopsis available. Clannad After Story: Episode 8 No synopsis available. Clannad After Story: Episode 6 No synopsis available. Clannad After Story: Episode 4 No synopsis available. Clannad After Story: Episode 18 No synopsis available. Clannad After Story: Episode 17 No synopsis available. Clannad After Story: Episode 16 No synopsis available. Clannad After Story: Episode 15 No synopsis available. Clannad After Story: Episode 14 No synopsis available. Clannad After Story: Episode 13 No synopsis available. Clannad After Story: Episode 12 No synopsis available. Clannad After Story: Episode 1 No synopsis available. Clannad After Story: Episode 3 No synopsis available. Clannad After Story: Episode 2 No synopsis available. Clannad After Story: Episode 24 No synopsis available. Clannad After Story: Episode 23 No synopsis available. Clannad After Story: Episode 22 No synopsis available. Clannad After Story: Episode 21 No synopsis available. Clannad After Story: Episode 20 No synopsis available. Clannad After Story: Episode 19 No synopsis available. Clannad After Story: Episode 5 No synopsis available. Clannad After Story: Episode 7 No synopsis available.

TEST LINK: Clannad Complete Collection

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Poll: How many anime conventions do you usually go to in a year?

Donald Burr — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 22:25:24 +0000

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. Click for J-List now!Related posts: Poll: What is the thing you most enjoy doing at anime conventions? Poll: Who is your favorite K-ON! character? Poll: What do you think of anime figurines, Figma, etc.?

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Poll: What is the thing you most enjoy doing at anime conventions?

Donald Burr — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 19:41:40 +0000

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. PC dating-sim games @ J-ListRelated posts: Poll: How many anime conventions do you usually go to in a year? Poll: Who is your favorite K-ON! character? Poll: What do you think of anime figurines, Figma, etc.?

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Episode #0012 – Convention Survival Guide

Donald Burr — Fri, 28 May 2010 11:43:06 +0000

Welcome to a very ghetto episode of Otaku no Podcast. I say “ghetto” because I am doing NO editing whatsoever in this episode. That’s because it’s past 4 AM on the morning I’m supposed to be leaving for FanimeCon. Actually I was supposed to leave last night but wasn’t able to get my act together (way too many last minute things, not to mention packing, etc.). So you’ll hear a lot of “umm”s and “ahh”s, and me being scatterbrained in general, because, well, it’s frakkin’ 4 AM and I’m TIRED. (Normally I try and edit out as much of this as I can, to save your sanity.)

But I wanted to get an episode out to you anyway, to talk about FanimeCon, but also I figured that since summer con season is starting up, it might be a good idea to gather together our best convention survival tips. These are the tips and tricks that have saved us from many a ride on the FailBus and have helped us better enjoy our time at anime conventions. Hopefully they will help you as well.

Of course, being past 4am and all, the big idiot (i.e. me) forgot to mention that he will be hosting not one, but TWO panels/workshops at FanimeCon; one on podcasting (“Anime Podcasting for n00bs” and one on con photography (“Con Photography: Shoot to Win!”). But if you’ve been paying attention, you’d know this already…

Today’s music: “STARGAZER ~ Hoshi no Tobira” by Negishi Satori (ending theme for Mobile Suit Gundam SEED C.E. 73: STARGAZER)

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Anime LA Day 2 mid-day convention report

Donald Burr — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 21:54:31 +0000

The day started off on a good note – I actually managed to get up and out of bed before noon, which, according to most of my friends, is a miracle.

The con is definitely in full swing now. It’s Saturday, which means lots more people in attendance who couldn’t come during the week because of work or school. It’s also the day when most of the “big” panels and workshops are. And it’s Masquerade day (by far one of the most popular events at any anime convention). The lines at registration at 9:30 this morning were pretty impressive, and I’d imagine that as the day goes on, they will grow.

The most interesting and informative panel this morning was “How not to run an anime convention” presented by fan guest of honor Bekka the Alice. As past chair of Nan Desu Kan, she definitely knows what she’s talking about. She presented many tips and techniques and things to watch out for, signs that a newly-born anime convention might be heading down the road to failure, and how to avoid these pitfalls, interspersed with a few war stories as examples of what not to do, and how catastrophically FAIL things can become if you didn’t heed her advice. Very interesting, and I’d wager that alot of her advice would apply to other types of public events as well. Bekka has graciously agreed to come on Otaku no Podcast to talk more about how to properly get a new anime convention from conception to reality.

I attended several other panels and workshops on amateur/beginning voice acting, and while informative, they weren’t quite what I had expected. More on these later.

Unfortunately my camera is out of commission at the moment. I forgot to charge the battery last night, and I used up what was left this morning taking panel shots for the photo gallery. I really need a second camera battery. The camera’s in the room charging so that it’ll be ready in time for Masquerade; in the meantime I’ll have my video camera with me (which takes passable stills) for as long as its puny battery lasts. (I need a second high capacity battery for that as well… one of these days…)

Still quite a few hours left in the day, during which I hope to attend a few more panels/workshops, visit the dealers room and artists alley, and get as many pictures as I possibly can. (and maybe an interview or two as well) Then, of course, there’s Masquerade. Stay tuned for more…

My Anime Los Angeles schedule

Donald Burr — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 00:38:26 +0000

OK, I’ve started blocking out my time at Anime LA. Obviously, anime conventions, human frailties, etc. being the way they are, I might not make it to all the events I’ve called out, but I’ll do my best. And of course I’ll do my best to get plenty of audio, photos, and videos to share on the podcast as well.

If there is an event you would be interested in me covering (see the schedule for a list of events) please let me know and I’ll do my best to cover it (or have one of my evil minions cover it).

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you

Anime LA (draft) schedules are up (Updated)

Donald Burr — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 06:21:49 +0000

FYI, the draft event schedules for Anime Los Angeles, as well as the anime video room schedule, are now online. Cosplay gathering schedule coming soon, and of course being a draft schedule, all of this is very much open to change, so do check back often.

Update: 01/05/2010: A restaurant guide (PDF) is now online. This should help all you hungry otaku feed your need, whatever it may be. Also, their tech department is in desperate need of a few good men and women (i.e. volunteers).

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Episode #0010 – Convention Photography 101

Donald Burr — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 21:58:57 +0000

No, unfortunately, this isn’t Part 2 of “Anime on the Cheap” that I’ve been promising. Things have been just too hectic and I haven’t been able to finish the research for this. However, I think you’ll like this just the same. Think of it as a special Winter Holiday Season present from us to you.

We’re coming up on a new year, which means of course a new year of Anime Conventions! And what do we like to do at anime conventions? (Besides the obvious of course) Take PICTURES!!! To that end, friend of the show Dave “KirinDave” Fayram and I, being enthusiastic amateur photographers, decided to get together and share some of our favorite tips and techniques for getting those awesome cosplay shots that everybody fawns over.

Speaking of conventions, Anime Los Angeles is coming up real soon now… Friday through Sunday, January 8-10, 2010, to be precise. Perhaps I will see you there? (look for the clueless looking guy handing out Otaku no Podcast business cards…)

Today’s Theme: “Shutter Speed” by Shinkichi Mitsumune (opening theme for the US release of Speed Grapher) (Fun fact: the ‘real’ theme for Speed Grapher is “Girls on Film” by Duran Duran; however, FUNimation was unable to secure rights to the song for the US release of Speed Grapher.)

Cameras: Point and Shoot – Canon PowerShot G11, Panasonic Lumix LX3, Sigma DP2 DSLR – Canon Digital Rebel XS, Nikon D40 Micro 4/3 – Olympus E-P2

Lenses: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Nikon 50mm f/1.8D Canon EF 35mm f/2 Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II AF-S Tamron AF 70-200mm f/2.8 Di LD IF (for Canon) (for Nikon) Photojojo Fisheye Lens Adapter

Flashes: Canon Speedlite 580EX II Canon ST-E2 Speedlite Transmitter Nikon SB-900 AF Speedlight Flash Orbis ring flash

Bags/Straps/Etc.: Domke F-5XB Blackrapid RS-4 Scott E Vest photo vests

Books: The Digital Photography Book, by Scott Kelby. A good book about digital photography, done in a “cookbook” style – rather than going into lengthy discussions of exposure theory and ISO and whatnot, a particular type of picture is presented with the “recipe” (type of lens, camera settings, any special gear required, etc.) for getting that type of shot. The Digital Photography Companion, by Derrick Story. A good general purpose digital photography book. The Hot Shoe Diaries, by Joe McNally. Joe McNally is one of the premier authorities on the use of small strobes for creative lighting.

Websites: Photography Exposure Basics Strobist – another excellent resource for those interested in exploring the creative lighting possibilities of small off-camera strobes. LensRentals.com – one of the best gear rental sites I’ve found. Great selection, great prices, absolutely stellar service. One guy’s outrageous portable lighting rig CHDK – free third-party firmware for many Canon point-and-shoots that enhances their functionality by adding many controls such as shutter-priority, aperture-priority, RAW, live histogram, and more

Our Picks: Me – The Third: The Girl with the Blue Eye, Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu (season 1) (season 2), Denno Coil Dave – Time of Eve, Kurosaki Corpse Delivery Service

Our Links: Me – DonaldBurr.com, Twitter Dave – Flickr, Tumblr, Twitter, XKCD Explained

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Attention New York City: New York Anime Festival is THIS Weekend!

Donald Burr — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:28:08 +0000

New York Anime Festival will be hitting the Jacob Javits convention center THIS weekend – Friday through Sunday, September 25-27. Special guests include Yoshiyuki Tomino, the director of Mobile Suit Gundam; and Yui Makino, the voice of Sakura in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. Film premieres include Gurren Lagann: The Movie – Childhood’s End, Cencoroll, and 20th Century Boys. There’ll also be tons of musical goodness, including the US debut of all-female Japanese theatre/idol supergroup AKB48, and the Far East to East Showcase musical tour, featuring Kokusyoku Sumire, Swinging Popsicle, Echostream, and Gelatine. Of course this barely scratches the surface of the tons of other cool things that’ll be going on at this mega-convention. For more details, check out their website.

Unfortunately New York is a bit of a trip for me, so I won’t be able to go, nor do I have any Evil Henchmen(tm) in the vicinity whom I can order into action. So if you’ll be attending any of the convention or ancillary events, I would really appreciate it if you could type up – or better yet, record – a short review of what you thought of the event. You can send it to me using any of the contact methods listed on the “Contact Us” page. Who knows, I might just use it in the next show, and you’ll be famous In any case, if you are going, please do enjoy yourself!

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you

Holy crap, that’s a lot of people!

Donald Burr — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 06:05:50 +0000

If you’re a long time listener of Otaku no Podcast, I’m sure you’ve heard certain of our panelists complaining about the large crowds at certain of the more high-profile anime/comic conventions. Indeed, when you look at the attendance figures for two recent events, Anime Expo (reportedly 44,000) and San Diego Comic-Con (reported by Wikipedia as “[n]early 140,000, at least 125,000″ but suspected to be much higher, perhaps as high as 250,000), you can’t help but be impressed by those numbers. Comic-Con attendance, in particular, has eclipsed the population figures of most small to mid-sized towns here in the USA.

But even that pales in comparison with the news I received today that, according to early estimates, Japan’s Comic Market (“Comiket”) welcomed a record 560,000 attendees at its Summer Comiket event this past weekend (August 14-16, 2009). Comiket’s organizing body reports that the high attendance figures also indicate a spike in new attendees, which should come as good news to the manga industry.

Think about that, people. FIVE HUNDRED SIXTY THOUSAND. Holy crap, that’s a lot of people! Sure makes our grousing and complaining sound petty and immature, doesn’t it?

Comiket, as it’s called by the cool kids, isn’t the same as your typical western Anime convention. For one thing, it’s frakkin’ HUGE. It dominates the entire Tokyo Big Sight, a massively huge (one might even say “Xbox huge”) convention center with a total floor space of 230,873 m². It’s almost exclusively devoted to manga, specifically doujinshi, essentially self-published manga. Most doujinshi “circles” (the groups who sell their doujinshi at Comiket) are unknown fans, though many well-known manga artists choose to publish doujinshi in order to publish outside of their usual publisher relationships. And they sell a TON of this stuff at Comiket – perhaps as many 20 acres (81,000 m² according to one source). It’s also known for its epic and legendary cosplay. There is plenty of photographic evidence to back this claim. Search for yourself. (I would post links, but there are really too many to post here, and I don’t want to make this article over 9,000 pages long!)

On our last episode I expressed my doubts as to whether my stamina would hold me through a Comic-Con. Well, after reading this, I don’t think I’ll be attempting Comiket anytime soon… perhaps ever. sweatdrop

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Episode #0008 – San Diego Comic-Con 2009

The Ghost in the Machine — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 14:09:54 +0000

Once again, I have convened one of our famous Panel Discussions of Doom(tm). This time, our topic du jour is a look back at the recently-held San Diego Comic-Con 2009. And we’re joined by a new guest this time! We also go over a few news items (this is a “news lite” show – I wanted to get the Comic-Con discussion out ASAP), but I still manage to squeeze some “Weird Japan” into the mix. And I also debut a new segment as well – be sure and listen for it!

News:

Weird Japan:

Comic-Con Recap:

ANIME! High Art – Pop Culture exhibit at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
- Running now through Sunday, August 23, 2009

Picks:

Danny – Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, Hayate no Gotoku! (Season 1 on DVD, Season 2 on Crunchyroll), G.I. Joe A Real American Hero: Season 1.1

Lupin the III

Hayao Miyazaki (Writer). Manga Video 2006, DVD, $9.49

Hayate the Combat Butler

Artist Not Provided. Bandai 2009, DVD, $12.47

G.I. Joe A Real American Hero

Shout! Factory 2009, DVD, $13.05

Dave: The Mighty Boosh (info page on Adult Swim website)

The Mighty Boosh Special Edition DVD (Seasons 1-3)

BBC Worldwide 2009, DVD, $55.99

Me: Ghost Hound

Ghost Hound Vol 1

Artist Not Provided. A.D. Vision 2009, DVD, $7.29

Cool finds of the week:

“PixelPerfect” shows you how to draw and color Manga in Photoshop
Robo-maid will make your coffee for you, kill your houseguests for you
Mahoromatic:
Mahoromatic
Artist Not Provided. Section 23 2009, DVD, $11.92

Plugs:

Anime Expo 2009 photos on Flickr

Donald Burr — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 10:53:38 +0000

Friend of the show Beep has set up a Flickr group to share your photos from Anime Expo 2009. A few of us have already started posting pictures there. If you’ve got pix from AX’09 you are welcome to share them as well. Or just click the link and check out all the cool cosplay.

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San Diego Comic-Con is Here!

Donald Burr — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 04:03:14 +0000

I can’t believe that it’s that time already. Yes, that awesomely huge comic convention, Comic-Con, is set to rock the San Diego Convention Center this Thursday through Sunday, July 23-26, with a special Preview Night on Wednesday, July 22. But if you’ve procrastinated up till now hoping that you could get in at the last minute – sorry! You’re out of luck. All memberships are sold out. WOW! This year’s attendance is going to be epic!

Our intrepid reporter Danny Barer will be there and we will be talking with him after he has come back (and has had a chance to decompress) about all that went on at Comic-Con. Look for that episode sometime next week. (I just learned that one of my other friends is going as well, so I’ll try and wrangle him onto the podcast as well).

For more information, check out the Comic-Con website.

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Episode #0007 – FanimeCon 2009 Review

Donald Burr — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:50:46 +0000

Here it is, the special mid-week episode I promised containing my review of FanimeCon 2009. In short: It’s the perfect compromise between huge mega-con and small local fan-run con, and I liked it. A lot. We also go over some news, including, yes, some more Weird Japan. No picks this week, but I think you’ll like this episode just the same.

News:

Weird Japan:

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Episode #0006 – We’re Not Dead! (Yet…)

Donald Burr — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:49:02 +0000

Yes, it’s true, we’re still very much alive and kicking. Let’s just say that 2008 was the Year of Hell, and a lot of stuff happened in my life (most of it NOT good). Things aren’t quite at the levels they were before the Year of Hell, but at least the dust has settled and I’m in a more or less stable situation right now. So I figured it’s time to revive the show!

Today we bring you yet another of our big group discussions, this time talking about our experiences and thoughts on Anime Expo 2009, quite possibly North America’s largest anime convention, which happened this past July 4 weekend. We also give out some anime recco’s along the way. And, of course, go over this week’s anime news of interest.

This Week’s News:

Picks of the Week:

Donald – Galaxy Express 999, Last Exile, Shangri-La
Michelle – Chi’s Sweet Home, Chi’s New Address
Danny – Hayate no Gotoku (aka Hayate the Combat Butler), Shangri-La

Last Exile

Funimation Prod 2009, DVD, $110.97

Hayate the Combat Butler

Artist Not Provided. Bandai 2009, DVD, $12.47

Our Websites:

On the way to AX

Donald Burr — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:23:56 +0000

OK, We are on the road. (rails, actually) Expect to hit the LACC around 3 pm. Watch this space for more updates and announcements of live broadcasts. J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for youRelated posts: Anime Expo 2009 photos on Flickr Otaku no Podcast is proud to announce that we are now a Friend of JList! ChibiCast #0021 – Random-Updates-a-Gogo

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you

Anime Convention Alert: Anime Expo is THIS Weekend!

Donald Burr — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 04:20:34 +0000

I should learn to never make promises. No sooner had I posted the last “we’re coming back soon, honest!” message, then I got slammed with a huge wall of work which pretty much left me with NO free time – not enough to even watch anime. (See, that’s the problem with freelancing in a tough economy: you take what work you can get, when you can get it, and count yourself lucky because you may not be so lucky next month.)

Of course, now that I actually have a break in my work schedule, my voice is now gone thanks to a freak summer cold I managed to catch. (I suppose I COULD do a podcast now, but you probably wouldn’t like it, as I sound something like a cross between Darth Vader without his breathing mask, and a 50 year old chain smoker.)

Anyway, the voice (and my cold) are finally healing up.. and just in time too… because Anime Expo is THIS WEEKEND!!! (Time sure flies, doesn’t it?)

Yes, Anime Expo, one of the world’s largest – certainly the West Coast’s largest – anime conventions, will return to the Los Angeles Convention Center THIS WEEKEND. Actually, the dates are Thursday July 2 through Sunday July 5. Some of the awesome Guests of Honor who will be making an appearance at this convention include:

Hiroyuki Imaishi – Recipient of the 12th Animation Kobe Director’s Award. Mr. Imaishi has worked on Neon Genesis Evangelion, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, and many more!
Daisuke Ishiwatari – Video game developer best known for creating the fighting game Guilty Gear. He also provides the in-game voice for the characters Sol Badguy and Order-Sol.
Yun Kouga – Revered manga artist who has garnered praise and acclaim for her current series Loveless. Ms. Kouga is also the character designer for the anime MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM 00.
Yosuke Kuroda – Mr. Kuroda has been involved in numerous projects including Excel Saga, Gungrave, Hayate the Combat Butler!, Hellsing OVA, Love Hina, etc.
Seiji Mizushima – Famed director of the upcoming theatrical version of MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM 00. Mr. Mizushima also worked on Fullmetal Alchemist, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and many more!
Moi dix Mois – Sound project headed by Mana, the consummate guitarist and leader of Malice Mizer.
Toshimichi Mori – Mr. Mori is currently working on the Aksys Games title BLAZBLUE as its director, lead artist and designer.
Toshiyuki Morikawa – Legendary voice actor who has in many popular anime roles, such as Bleach, Gundam X, Full Metal Panic, Initial D, Inuyasha, and many others.
Morning Musume – Famous not just for being the Japan’s top female group, but also for its unique approach with the shuffling of band members.
Yasuhiro Nightow – Creator of the highly popular TRIGUN manga that inspired the television anime series of the same title.
Atsushi Nishigori – Recipient of the 7th Annual Tokyo International Anime Awards. Mr. Nishigori has worked many titles and now serves as the character animation director for Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann franchise.
Satoshi Nishimura – The director of the highly anticipated 2009 TRIGUN movie. Mr. Nishimura has also worked on many huge and popular titles, including Black Lagoon, Rurouni Kenshin, and Street Fighter Alpha.
Takashi Okazaki – The creator of the popular Afro Samurai manga. Mr. Okazaki has also done illustration works for Spider-Man 2 DVD & Blade III Sound Track CD.
Kari Wahlgren – Kari Wahlgren was first introduced to anime audiences as the Vespa-riding, guitar-bashing Haruko in “FLCL.”
…and tons more industry guests!

Aside from the many GoH, fan, and industry panels, there’s also the ever-popular Anime Music Video (AMV) contest, AX Idol singing/voice acting contest, Masquerade cosplay contest, various tea and masquerade balls, gaming (both console and table-top), dances, karaoke, concerts, maid cafe, film and video rooms, and of course, the always impressive Dealers Room.

Full 4-day passes are $65 ($70 at door), or $50 ($55 at door) for a two-day pass, or $30 ($35 at door) for single-day pass. A 4-day childs pass is $30, and children 5 and under are free. Online registration is still online and is highly recommended.

For more details, including links to the online registration, and complete details on events, schedules, guests, and more, check out the Anime Expo website at http://www.anime-expo.org/.

I’ll be on site during most of the convention (I’ll be getting in mid-day on the first day so will miss the first half day or so) and will do my best to bring you coverage from the convention. (I’m not making any promises, I’ll just leave it at “I’ll do my best.”) If I can, I’ll be broadcasting certain events live, either via Ustream/Stickam, or over our experimental streaming radio station, Otaku no Radio, so keep an eye on the website for more details. At the very least, I should have a post-con wrap up episode (including video highlights – if my camcorder, which was recently damaged, gets back from the repair shop in time) shortly after the convention ends.

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you

MikomiCon is THIS Weekend!

Donald Burr — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 06:14:04 +0000

For those of you in the Southern California area, specifically Cal State Northridge, MikomiCon will be held THIS WEEKEND – Friday through Sunday, September 19-21. The convention will be held at the CSUN campus, at 18111 Nordhoff St., in Northridge. That’s at the cross of Prarie St. and Zelzah Ave. This relatively new convention (only in its third year) has gotten off to an excellent start. I was lucky enough to be able to attend for one day last year, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. This year’s convention is shaping up to be even bigger and better, so you won’t want to miss it! Guests of Honor include Rob Paulsen, Robert Axelrod, Johnny Yong Bosch, Kyle Hebert, Roger Gibbs, Leslie S. Klinger, Tone Rodriguez, and Erika Weinstein. Musical guests include Stephanie Yanez, Eyeshine, M3 Productions, DJ Helsing, The Black Crystals, Jishin Taiko, Vaeidos, Rusika, Makenai, and L2D. Aside from the usual Masquerade, Dealers Room, Gaming, Panels, and Video Rooms, other events include the Ninja Wall Challenge, Pirate Rum Party (gotta have balance in the Force after all), tag team watermelon eating contest, Bridget Shuffle Competition, Modeling, and even Sumo.

But don’t take my word for it – see for yourself the vast cornucopia of anime goodness that is the Mikomicon Program Guide; Download the program guide here.

Sadly, online registration is closed; you will have to register on-site. On-site registration opens bright and early Friday morning at 8 AM. At-door pricing is $40 for full con (all 3 days), and $35 for single-day attendance. (Child 12-and-under pricing is $35 for full-con and $30 for one-day.)

Sadly, I will not be able to attend this year. If you are able to make it, send us your review and photos/videos!

Click for J-List now!

Video #0001 – Anime Los Angeles 4

The Ghost in the Machine — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:55:09 +0000

Finally getting through some of the con video that’s filling up my hard drive. Here is the Anime Los Angeles 4 (2008) video I promised… uhh, a while ago.

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Episode #0005 – Anime Los Angeles 4

The Ghost in the Machine — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:54:20 +0000

I was able to make it to all 3 days of the Anime Los Angeles 4 convention. Once again, I have gathered together a panel of friends who were also able to make it to A-LA 4, and we give a summary of, and our review of, this convention. We also talk a bit about the upcoming Anime Expo convention, one of the largest anime conventions in the USA, which will be held from July 3-6 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Finally, we talk about some of the anime that we’ve been watching recently, and give out some recommendations.

I didn’t have time to go through any anime/manga news, new releases, or upcoming conventions; I’ll put out a smaller “mini episode” with that information in it hopefully sometime later this week.

This week’s panelists:

Myself, Donald Burr Chad Page Michelle Klein-Hass Daniel Barer Amy Bowen

Our anime recommendations:

Me:

Kanon, Volume 1

ADV Films 2008, DVD, $31.98

sola (Series has recently been licensed but is not yet available for purchase)

Chad:

Shana 1 – The Torch Bearer

Geneon [Pioneer] 2006, DVD, $39.00

Gurren Lagann, Volume 1

Artist Not Provided. ADV Films 2008, DVD, $29.98

Wings of Honneamise (Blu-ray/DVD)

GENEON [PIONEER] 2007, Blu-ray, $39.95

Zettai Shonen Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

Michelle:

The Dagger of Kamui

Rintaro (Producer). ANIMEIGO 2003, DVD, $12.89

Danny:

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Volume 1

Fumihiko Shimo (Writer). Bandai 2007, DVD, $5.93

Cat’s Eye.

Amy:

The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy

Pietra Rivoli. Wiley 2006, Paperback, 288 pages, $3.49

J-List is a peaceful island of Japanese pop culture for you

Episode #0004 – JTAF 5 Review

The Ghost in the Machine — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:53:39 +0000

If you are a new listener, and heard about us through either the Feeble Force network of podcasts, or Allison Sheridan’s excellent NosillaCast… welcome! Thank you for taking the time to download this episode, and we hope you stick around for many more to come!

In this episode, I discuss my review and impressions of the JTAF 5 (formerly JapanTown Anime Faire) anime convention, held November 10-11, 2007 at the Fort Mason center in San Francisco, CA. On the whole it was an enjoyable convention, but had some notable problems in terms of location and crowd control. Sadly, JTAF is going on hiatus, and have put all plans for next year’s JTAF on hold until further notice. I certainly hope this does not spell the end of what I consider a very friendly and fun convention.

Pictures from the event can be found on my Flickr page, and a highlights video will be posted here soon.

We also discuss some of the latest news in the anime and manga community, including the following stories:

Hentai PC dating-sim games at J-List

Episode #0002 – Convention-al Wisdom

The Ghost in the Machine — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:51:39 +0000

Like many things in life, anime and manga are best enjoyed among groups of like-minded individuals. There’s nowhere better to accomplish this than at an Anime Convention. This week, we’ll discuss what anime conventions are, and what you should expect to encounter at one. We’ll also bring you reviews and commentary on two of the biggest anime and comic conventions in the world: Anime Expo, and San Diego Comic-Con International (SDCCI), which both occurred this past July. If you missed them, don’t worry! There are plenty of conventions coming up in the next few months, and we’ll give you the skinny on those as well. This is a two-part series, so there will be even more convention talk next week, so stay tuned!

As a reminder, please check our web site:

http://otakunopodcast.com/

for show notes, news about the podcast, and other items of interest.

Also be sure and check out our forums, and leave a comment by email or voice mail.

Upcoming Anime Conventions:

(for even more, be sure and visit http://www.animecons.com/)

Animation on Display

http://www.aodsf.org/

August 25

Cathedral Hill Hotel, San Francisco, CA

Little Tokyo Anime Festival

http://www.myspace.com/littletokyoanimefestival