I produce this show out of my own pocket, primarily because of my love of all things anime and Japan. Unfortunately in this down economy, I need as much help as I can get. If you feel so inclined, a small donation to help offset my costs (server, bandwidth, equipment, etc.) would be much appreciated. Either make a purchase through one of our affiliates, bid on our eBay auctions, buy me something on my wish list, or use the handy donation button below.
Bitcoin Address: 14hYjheG9W7aWip7K wLPcfXxoXdALwDcma Total Donations:
0.01000000 BTC
Update, early Saturday morning, January 14: If you are reading this message, then that means that the worst of it is over: the site is up and running on the new server, and all the data was moved over successfully. All that’s left now is tweaking things to get everything working “just right” and tuning for performance. Things may go down here and there for brief periods during the weekend, but the worst of it is behind us.
When I started this blog and podcast several years ago, I really had no idea where this would all be going. And, for the first year or two, our numbers (podcast subscribers as well as web site visitors) were pretty dismal. But lately I have watched those numbers climb ever so slowly as the days, weeks and months flew by, and they’re now at a pretty respectable level. Not quite OVER NINE THOUSAAAAAAAAAND, but getting there. So, yeah, we’re movie’ on up in the world. Unfortunately these larger numbers have begun to strain our resources, namely server capacity, as can be evidenced by the increasingly slow and sluggish Otaku no Podcast website. Clearly it’s high time to make some changes around here.
Actually, the first of these changes happened several weeks ago. As some of you may know, we’ve had our domain name registered through Go Daddy. I was reasonably happy with their service, and was willing to give them a “pass” on some of their more controversial aspects (their “sexy” advertising, etc.). But all that changed when it came to light that they supported the destructive legislation known as SOPA, a very disturbing piece of legislation that, if passed, could pave the way to loss of Internet freedoms and privacy. They have since backed down (somewhat – their language is still very wishy-washy); however this has eroded their credibility in my eyes to the point where I wanted to stop giving them my business. As of several weeks ago, all Otaku no Podcast-related domains are now off of Go Daddy and are registered through Hover.com, an excellent registrar who opposes SOPA. Over the next few weeks I will be moving my other domains (those used for personal means as well as other projects I’m involved in) to Hover. (Note: the Otaku no Podcast website has been hosted for quite some time at 1and1, who are on the record as opposing SOPA.)
Anyway, the real change will be coming over the next week or two, in that we’ll be moving the website onto a new server with significantly larger capacity (but still hosted at 1and1 – I’m quite pleased with their service so have no inclination to switch). At the same time, I’ll be doing some “behind the scenes” work, restructuring the code that runs everything, to make it run smoother and better (things that I’ve been meaning to do for a while now).
So, over the next week or so, as I migrate the site’s code and data over to the new server, you may start to see some strange things happen around here: silly “test” posts, missing pages, missing audio/video files, or perhaps even the dreaded “404 Not Found.” I’ll try and keep this to a minimum, but, in a move as large-scale as this, there are a thousand and one ways that things could go horribly wrong; so let this serve as fair warning.
(Of course, I’ve managed to say in 1,000 words what really only needed about 10. Such is the way with me. Oh well.)
Heads up, people – Anime Los Angeles is coming tomorrow to the LAX Airport Marriott
5855 W. Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90045
1-800-228-9290
Guests include Chris Carson, Stan Sakai, Dave Merrilll, Kyle Hebert, Jon Allen, Lauren Landa, Stephen Weese, Panda Cubed, Jonathan “Jake” Tarbox, Kaiji Tang, Julie Rei Goldstein, Jessica Straus, Danielle McRae, Derek Stephen Prince, Craig Miller, and Mark Allen Jr. And of course there’ll be the usual anime con fare, including a rather nice dealer’s room, artist’s alley, musical guests, cosplay masquerade (and tons of hall cosplay too), dances, gaming (both tabletop and console), and oh so much more.
Pre-reg is sadly closed, so you’ll have to register at the door. Prices are $25 for Friday, $35 for Saturday, or $20 for Sunday. And with their “Parent-in-Tow” program, any attendee 14 years or younger can bring a grown up for free. (It doesn’t have to be a parent; it can be a sibling, other relative, teacher, guardian, etc.)
For more information, you can check out their website; however the latest and greatest information can be found in their awesome downloadable schedule, which you can get using the free Guidebook app (available for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Android, Windows Phone 7, and BlackBerry devices).
Unfortunately, through a strange twist of fate, none of the Otaku no Podcast regulars will be able to make it to con (contrary to what I said in our most recent ChibiCast). I may be able to attend one day (most likely Saturday) but that is still unknown. So con coverage this year may be, erm, somewhat lacking. Gomen nasai.
Greetings, and Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a great (insert name of particular holiday variant you celebrate), and we wish you all the best for a happy, safe, prosperous and fun-filled 2012!
In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve just published our first episode of the year. And you probably noticed something different about it: we now have a sponsor! The various podcast networks we publish through have begun offering advertiser opportunities to us.
But, before you get the wrong ideas and think we’ve gone all commercial and sold out on you, let me (hopefully) reassure you with the following three promises. Whenever I decide to put an ad in an episode, I promise that…
It will be short and sweet.
If you’ve listened to other tech podcasts, such as those on Leo Laporte’sTWiT network, they’ll operate similar to the ads he does: a brief “This podcast sponsored by X” message during the intro, and a short ad read sometime during the middle of the episode. By “short,” I mean 1-2 minute tops. And there may be an extra ad banner on the website. But that’s it. No ginormous background image plastered all over the home page, no over 9,000 hour long testimonials, none of that.
There will be only one ad per episode.
Unlike some of Leo’s podcasts (which sometimes have 2, 3 or even more ads per episode) I’ve decided to only put out 1 ad per episode. MAYBE, if the episode is really really long, I might put a second ad in it. But absolutely, positively no more than 2 ads per episode, and in 99% of the cases, there’ll be just 1 ad.
I will only accept advertisements from companies and products that I believe in, and that I believe offer a product or service of interest to you, the listener.
Ideally I’d love to offer ads from anime-related businesses (stores that sell DVDs/Blu-rays, figures, etc.); if you happen to work at such a company and are looking for a place to advertise, please get in touch ;-). But until such a glorious occasion presents itself, you’ll probably be seeing and hearing ads for various tech related products and services, since most anime fans I know fall rather squarely in the geek/tech enthusiast mold.
Finally, lest you get the wrong idea that I’ll suddenly be “rolling in it” and buying yachts and taking trips to Tahiti or something like that, we’re not talking about a whole lot of money here. Again it’ll basically amount to just a little extra “something” to help keep the bills paid around here. (Besides if I were to take a trip, it would be to Japan, and not Tahiti or anywhere boring like that. 😉 )
Anyway, if you have any comments or concerns about all of this, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you. Here, at long last, is my Anime Secret Santa review of Le Chevalier d’Eon. I’d like to apologize for the extreme delay in getting this up.
Let me start off by saying that I’m not the kind of guy who goes for historical/period pieces. I don’t actively hate them; they’re just not my first choice when I find myself in need of entertainment, anime or otherwise. So, when my friend raved about Le Chevalier d’Eon (which from now on I will abbreviate as LCdE to ease the burden on my poor fingers) I took one look at it, went “Eh, that’s nice, I’ll have to check that out,” then promptly moved on to whatever was next in my queue. Fast-forward to the 2011 Anime Secret Santa contest, wherein one of the three series picked for me was LCdE. Something made me think “aw, what the heck?” and watch it. And I’m glad that I did.
Greetings, fellow humanoids. I hope your holiday shopping is going well. Wait a minute, you’re saying it’s not going so well for you at all? How unfortunate. Well I’ve got just the thing that might help: the return of the 12 Days of Kurisumasu!
In case you weren’t around for it last year (where have you been?!), here’s the scoop: starting on Wednesday, December 14 and going through Christmas Day, Sunday, December 25, I will be picking a cool new otaku-themed product each day and will be featuring it on our Twitter and Facebook. (They’ll also be posted on the 12 Days of Kurisumasu page here, along with a witty (well, at least I think so) writeup.)
Each product I’ll be featuring will come from one of our affiliate advertisers — Amazon, CDjapan, Right Stuf, J-List, etc. Yeah, I know what you’re saying, you’ve been waiting for the “catch” and it finally came. But as catches go, this isn’t much of one. Remember that purchasing through any of the links here costs you nothing extra but brings us a little much-needed income, which helps keep the lights on and the bits flowing.
What products will you be choosing, you might be asking. No real rhyme or reason to it, really. As long as it’s even tangentially related to anime or other otaku-worthy pursuits, then it’s fair game. That means anime DVDs (and even Blu-rays); calendars; figures; “things from Japan” (food, snacks, etc.); plashes; whatever. Hopefully, among this cornucopia of consumer goods, you’ll find something cool and out of the ordinary to give to any otaku-leaning friends/acquaintances you’re looking for gifts for. (Or even yourself…)
One last note: it has come to my attention that there are actually multiple interpretations of the “12 Days of Christmas.” There are some who believe, like I do, that they start on the 14th of December and end on Christmas Day; however there are some who believe that they actually start on Christmas Day, December 25, and go through the first week of January. Well, which one is technically correct or not doesn’t really matter anyway, because I make the rules around here, and I hereby decree that the “starts on the 14th and ends on the 25th” version is the right and proper version. 🙂
Are you an artist that sells regularly in your friendly neighborhood anime convention’s Artist Alley? Or are you a small to mid sized dealer in anime/manga related goods looking to sell your wares at your favorite anime convention’s dealer’s room? Maybe you’re a cosplay photographer looking for a way to monetize your photography skills. Or perhaps your anime club or anime convention has an anime swap meet, where people can go sell their used stuff that’s cluttering up space in their room, and you’d like to give that a shot sometime?
Odds are, you’ve probably had the burning frustration of not being to accept payment from a potential customer. Either they, ahem, don’t happen to have enough cash on them (if they even have any at all), or they try and foist a check off on you – and you know how risky that can be these days!
But what if none of the above applies to you? No no, don’t stop reading yet. I’m sure that you’ve had something like this happen to you: you’re out having lunch/dinner/snacks or bar hopping with friends, but when it’s time to pay the piper, your “friends” conveniently are unable to pay you… “…oh, oops, looks like I don’t have enough cash on me. Can I pay you back next Tuesday?” Or what if you’re going to an anime con with friends and sharing a hotel room? You want to get their money as soon as possible from them, before they “accidentally” go blow it all in the dealer’s room…
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could accept credit cards? Just about everybody has either a credit card or a debit card (one that’s linked to a bank account) these days. Unfortunately, accepting credit card payments has, until now, been reserved for the big time business person. You’d have to set up a special merchant’s account with your bank (that costs money). You’d need to buy or rent one of those big clunky credit card processing machines (that also costs money). And you’d have to pay monthly fees to maintain your merchant status (and yes, that also costs money).
But now there’s Square.
Co-created by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey (who are famous for another technology they created that’s gone big time, a little service called Twitter, Square is, to put it simply, credit card processing for the rest of us. You don’t need any special merchant account. You do need a bank account (this is how they send your payments to you), but it can be a regular old checking account at any US bank.
After you create your Square account and add your banking info, they will ship you — for free — a small device that plugs into your iPhone, iPod touch, iPad or Android smartphone’s headphone jack. This little gem is a real credit card swiper. Download their free app (for iOS or Android). When you’re ready to take a payment from someone, you fire up the app, type in the amount of money you’re charging them (you can even add a picture and/or description of whatever it is you’re selling, assuming you’re selling something), and swipe their card (they accept the big 4 credit card companies: Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover). Then hand your phone (or iPod touch, or iPad) to the buyer. They sign their name on your device’s screen, and enter either a phone number or an e-mail address. The Square software automatically sends them their receipt (either by SMS or e-mail). And you’re all done!
There are no monthly fees, and the Square reader is free. They charge a 2.75% fee per transaction (so, if you sell something for $20, their “cut” is 55 cents). This is actually fairly competitive with what regular credit card merchants pay, and is actually cheaper than PayPal’s fees. And there are no hidden fees or other funny business. Every few days, the money you’ve accumulated (minus Square’s cut) gets automatically deposited into your bank account. Easy peasy. And at any time you can log in to your Square account and get an up-to-the-minute accounting of your sales history, and can even download it in a form that you can easily import into a spreadsheet so you can perform all sorts of weird data analysis on it.
More and more, I’m seeing these devices in use at conventions, either by artists doing business in artist’s alley; smaller dealers/vendors; and average schmucks like you and me. (Why, one of our co-hosts used it at a convention recently to accept payments at their dealer’s room table even!)
Set up an account today and they’ll ship your reader right away. In the meantime, download the app for iOS devices or Android devices. Check out the videos below the cut to see Square in action.
In this episode, the Otaku no Podcast crew get together and give their impressions and review of Pacific Media Expo (aka PMX) 2011. And, of course, we also bust out the anime picks.
Sorry for the delay in getting this episode out (as well as the delay in getting out our other PMX coverage in general). Blame it on a combination of a rather nasty case of Con Plague, an extra busy month of work, and the Thanksgiving holiday.
Yep, folks, it’s that time again. The holidays. Time to brave the elements, hunt for a parking space at your local mega mall, battle armies of crazed shoppers, spill some blood, only to find, after all that trouble, that the Super Whiz Bang Gadget (or toy, or whatever) your (insert name of whiny child, relative, etc.) wants is all out of stock. Lovely.
Hey, here’s an idea: instead of sharpening your swords and suiting up in your battle armor, why not make it easy on yourself and do all your shopping online? And, whaddaya know, we can help you with that!
We are enrolled in a number of affiliate programs that offer a wide variety of items for sale (not just anime). For every purchase you make through an affiliate, we get a small percentage. And it costs you nothing extra.
Probably the most well known is Amazon, whose selection of goods for sale is truly awe-inspiring. Books; DVDs and Blu-rays (yes, even anime ones); audiobooks; household goods; computers, cell phones, and other electronics; clothing; sporting goods; shoes; you name it, they sell it. Shipping is fast (and you can even have them gift wrap and ship a gift directly to its recipient — handy!), and their prices are surprisingly reasonable. Simply use the Amazon search box on the right hand sidebar (it’s called the AnimeFinderâ„¢ but it allows you to search all of Amazon’s catalog), search for something, and click buy, it’s as simple as that. 🙂
Not your cup of tea? No problem. We’ve got quite a few other affiliates to choose from, including:
The Right Stuf, who sell anime as well as related items (character goods, wall scrolls, manga, etc.);
CDjapan, your source for those hard-to-find import CDs, including Jpop/Jrock/visual kei, anime and video game soundtracks, etc. — and they also sell some anime related goods (figurines, etc.);
J-List, “your friend in Japan,” who sell a mind-boggling array of anime-related goods; anime DVDs and Blu-rays, manga, figurines, calendars, and more; Japanese cultural items including bento boxes, chopsticks, kitchen gadgets, and more; items to help you learn Japanese; visual novel and dating-sim games for computers and game consoles; Japanese snacks and drinks; and, ahem, “that” kind of stuff as well;
and Crunchyroll, in our opinion, the best deal in town when it comes to watching all-you-can-eat high quality streaming anime while supporting the companies who produce it.
So if you are in need of doing gift shopping this year — if nothing else, perhaps a gift for yourself even — yet the thought of holiday shopping gives you the screaming heebie jeebies, relax, we’re here to help. (And in return you’ll be helping us as well ;-))
![[Play Now!]](http://media.otakunopodcast.com/images/PlayNow.jpg)
![[View our eBay Auctions]](http://bayfeeds.com/images/Right_Now_108x45.gif)
Update, early Saturday morning, January 14: If you are reading this message, then that means that the worst of it is over: the site is up and running on the new server, and all the data was moved over successfully. All that’s left now is tweaking things to get everything working “just right” and tuning for performance. Things may go down here and there for brief periods during the weekend, but the worst of it is behind us.
Heads up, people – 
Greetings, and Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a great (insert name of particular holiday variant you celebrate), and we wish you all the best for a happy, safe, prosperous and fun-filled 2012!
No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you. Here, at long last, is my 
Greetings, fellow humanoids. I hope your 
Are you an artist that sells regularly in your friendly neighborhood anime convention’s Artist Alley? Or are you a small to mid sized dealer in anime/manga related goods looking to sell your wares at your favorite anime convention’s dealer’s room? Maybe you’re a cosplay photographer looking for a way to monetize your photography skills. Or perhaps your anime club or anime convention has an anime swap meet, where people can go sell their used stuff that’s cluttering up space in their room, and you’d like to give that a shot sometime?
In this episode, the Otaku no Podcast crew get together and give their impressions and review of 
Yep, folks, it’s that time again. The holidays. Time to brave the elements, hunt for a parking space at your local mega mall, battle armies of crazed shoppers, spill some blood, only to find, after all that trouble, that the Super Whiz Bang Gadget (or toy, or whatever) your (insert name of whiny child, relative, etc.) wants is all out of stock. Lovely.
