On Site:

DJ Ranma S from Anime Jam Session	Scott from The Anime Almanac	Narutaki from Reverse Thieves
OutOfTimeProd from Out Of Time Productions	Greg	Jon I. from JANAiBlog
Kyle Hebert	Vince A	Hisui from Reverse Thieves
animenext from AnimeNEXT	Vampt Vo from Ani-Gamers

Narutaki:
Awake!

Hisui:
@Narutaki I am … somewhat awake!

Hisui:
“Best” experience. Walking in on someone masturbating in the bathroom!

Scott:
@Hisui I hope that was at the con and not at @VamptVo’s house! (o_o)

OutOfTimeProd:
You know what sucks…Exhaustion.

Greg:
Good morning . Time for a relaxing sunday! Try to “take it easy!”

OutOfTimeProd:
@Greg You know that never happens.

OutOfTimeProd:
For anyone who is at , look for me and say hi! I’m wearing a black shirt saying “I’m In Shape, Round is a Shape”.

Narutaki:
On the way to the last day of the con. :(

OutOfTimeProd:
girl playing never gonna give you up on the bassoon.

Narutaki:
Giving some input from the Otaku Diaries at the Otaku Perceptions panel at 10 this morning.

OutOfTimeProd:
look who I found at .

OutOfTimeProd:
Cosplay Chess at the arena at

Greg:
At the otaku perceptions and misconceptions panel. http://twitgoo.com/14lb2g

Scott:
Man, I’ve only been at the otaku perceptions and misconceptions panel for a few moments and it’s already all over the place! (o_o)

Narutaki:
Otaku discussion panel was lively!

Scott:
Overheard: “Happy Fathers Day, Gendo!”

Narutaki:
Heading to the artist alley for one last look.

Vampt Vo:
Watching Cosplay Comedian Joe with @AniGamers writer Ink. Ummmmmm.

Vince A:
@Narutaki Buy from FantasyClay in the Alley. Her being my wife has no impact on this message :-)

Jon I.:
In just the one day I’m actually going to I managed to spend over $200.

Jon I.:
Now watching Tony Oliver, Greg Ayres, and Uncle Yo do “Whose Line Is It Anime?”

Jon I.:
That $200 was spent on another Touhou figure, a Miku Hatsune figure, and a Gundam model. Pics when I get home.

Narutaki:
Grabbed a couple of little things from artist alley, only things i have bought at the con besides one book of manga for $3.

Narutaki:
Pokemon cosplay seems to be up this year.

Greg:
Watching Legend of Galactic Heroes with fan commentary. http://twitgoo.com/14lens

Scott:
So it looks like nobody has Strawberry Marshmallow figures anymore. :-(

Scott:
So I ended up going with a sexy Fujiko in a cheongsam dress. I love cheongsam dresses.

Scott:
Omg, I just saw a Trucy cosplayer and it wasn’t @Kim (T_T)

Narutaki:
Taking a quick lunch break then heading to a Gakuen Alice panel.

Scott:
Fact: “The Final Countdown” makes anything 10x more awesome.

Narutaki:
Maybe next year I will rent a car to in to Otakon, I really miss driving to cons.

Narutaki:
Apparently you had to get a ticket for the Stereopony photo session, not sure where/when those were available.

Narutaki:
Sundays of cons I always feel restless.

Scott:
Meh, nothing really appealed to me in the artist alley.

Greg:
Omg. Toradora dvd set………painfully hard to resisit…

Narutaki:
No panelists for Gakuen Alice panel.

Narutaki:
I escaped as people began a rousing game of heads up 7 up.

Narutaki:
Sad I wasnt able to fit in the ParaPara Dancing panel this year.

Narutaki:
Catching a bit of Anime Jeopardy.

Narutaki:
The first round has Soul Eater, FMA, Hetalia, DBZ, and random. I would sooo lose.

DJ Ranma S:
Getting ready to interview Greg Ayres! Tweet questions if you have em!

Greg:
At the psychology of anime 2 panel. Looks like it’s a sequel to the zenkaikon panel… http://twitgoo.com/14lnjn

Jon I.:
I’m surprised (and relieved) that the Square-Enix fan panel didn’t turn into a Kingdom Hearts fan fest.

Narutaki:
If i see too many bro pounds at a con I start to get worried.

DJ Ranma S:
Need more questions for Greg Ayres! :D Bring em, but be tasteful! ^^

Narutaki:
Time for the con feedback panel, im saving mine for the report but im curious about other peoples feelings.

Jon I.:
Why are people still shouting “THE GAME”? It’s old and not funny anymore! Oh, and you all just lost.

Greg:
@Jon I. prime example of doing it wrong.

Narutaki:
Surprised that i didnt see any Haruhi series cosplayers.

Jon I.:
Now catching the last few minutes of Uncle Yo.

Scott:
Ok, I think I’ve done all I can do at AnimeNEXT. Time to head home!

Narutaki:
Goodbye

Greg:
Leaving . It was a good con. Better than last year. But it can still be better.

DJ Ranma S:
Leaving Anime NEXT. It’s been fun, see y’all in 2011!

Kyle Hebert:
Thanks, Anime Next for a FANTASTIC weekend!

Narutaki:
On the train back to NYC.

Vampt Vo:
.@Hisui and @Narutaki have officially left the building. That’s all for , folks!

Narutaki:
One con over now working on Otakon on the train home!

DJ Ranma S:
We just past a billboard that said Jerseydoesntstink.com and that’s where we started smelling the stench. #irony

Vince A:
Back from weekend at . Fun time but damn tired now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My Final Thoughts

Scott:
Over all impression of AnimeNEXT this year: they really could have done better.

Scott:
I had my issues with the staff all weekend long, but on top of that, the programming was just not that good.

Scott:
RT @RipFilms: this was my 1st anime event. I have nothing to compare it to, I had a blast!

Scott:
Yeah, I’m still amazed at just how many peoeple are still new to the fandom and going to conventions for the first time.

Scott:
I apologize for being so critical, but this is around the 5th con I’ve been to this year, so I am probably expecting more of it than others

Scott:
Even something as cool as the Stereopony concert was completely ruined for me by the misscomunication of the staff members running it.

Scott:
But as @Narutaki pointed out to me earlier, we do get a different view of the con than the normal attendees because we’re bloggers.

Scott:
Probably no on else at the Stereopony concert noticed the problems because no one else was trying to write a feature on them.

On Site:

DJ Ranma S from Anime Jam Session	Scott from The Anime Almanac	Narutaki from Reverse Thieves
Greg	OutOfTimeProd from Out Of Time Productions	animenext from AnimeNEXT
Vince A	Hisui from Reverse Thieves	Kyle Hebert
Vampt Vo from Ani-Gamers

Narutaki:
Up and at ‘em!

Greg:
OH yeah, good morning twitter peeps. Time for another great day…

Greg:
Unfortunately I don’t have the time to keep watching #jpn struggling against #ned…oh well

Hisui:
First panel of the day will be the history of Gundam panel at .

DJ Ranma S:
Been here since yesterday, finally checking in. ^^=b (@ AnimeNEXT 2010) http://4sq.com/cGFxC3

Narutaki:
Oh no bad puns so early in the morning.

Vampt Vo:
Today’s “Awesome Thing” at will my “The Changing Faces of Anime” panel at 7pm in Panel Room 3. BE THERE.

Greg:
Arrived at with my new car. Managed to only stall once. Hooray.

Scott:
Here a little early. Sitting in at the There She Is panel and prepping for my interview.

Greg:
Crowd today is noticeably younger.

Narutaki:
In the car on the way to with @Vampt Vo and @Hisui !

animenext:
Good Morning AnimeNEXT!

OutOfTimeProd:
Good Morning AnimeNEXT 2010 this is where I slept last night comfy isn’t it?

animenext:
The AnimeNEXT Dealers Room opens for Saturday in a few minutes

DJ Ranma S:
And the dealer’s room blew a fuse.

Vince A:
@DJ Ranma S Has it been fixed yet? Curious since I’m in the 300 building

DJ Ranma S:
@Vince A Yeah, it was only for 10 minutes.

Vince A:
Another exciting day of video programming here in the 300 building at AnimeNEXT

animenext:
How’s your saturday? I’m looking forward to Gashicon’s fashion show and Kenji Kamiyama’s panel today!

animenext:
If anyone is reading this look for a girl in a white dress with pink polkadots and say hi!!! ;)

Scott:
Watching through these There She Is cartoons again
is just reminding me how freaking brilliant they really are.

Greg:
Playing some rockband and the video games.

Narutaki:
Heading to the Gundam panel first thing.

Greg:
Moving the video games to the holiday inn allowed for more game rooms! http://twitgoo.com/148vew

Narutaki:
Kenji Kameyama press conference at noon!

OutOfTimeProd:
I’m looking for the girl in a white dress with pink polka dots so I can say hi to her

OutOfTimeProd:
Look for this and yank his beard! And tell that @Scott told him to do it

Scott:
@OutOfTimeProd I am quite the negative influence.

Greg:
I love you lo carb monster. Sleep-deprived congoer’s best friend.

Greg:
At the conbudget panel…to kill some time

Greg:
Cosplaying is an expensive hobby.

Greg:
Planning to buy strike witches today ;)

OutOfTimeProd:
I’m waiting for the salior moons dressed up as Lady Gaga for an interview.

Narutaki:
I was hoping the Gundam panel would be more of an in depth discussion than an overview but it was well done.

OutOfTimeProd:
I’m at the independent filming panel and its the same guy who did it back at nyaf in 2008.

Scott:
Done with my interview with Stereopony. It was brief but pleasant.

Greg:
another panel: otaku through the generations.

Narutaki:
I love SEED and made that clear despite opposition :P

Greg:
Someone is wearing a lucky star sailor fuku t shirt….why would anyone willingly wear that?!

Greg:
“Anime and sport fandoms are the same because we all paint our faces.”

Narutaki:
Waiting with some familiar faces for the press conference.

Greg:
Every time I enter the dealers room I fear for my wallet…

Greg:
Media blasters had a great deal. $5 for obscure B Anime.

Greg:
Oh wow. http://twitgoo.com/149mcm

OutOfTimeProd:
E Honda!

Narutaki:
Caught the tail end of the Stereopony Q&A they were cute but of course the questions were terrible.

Narutaki:
Funi industry panel, only industry panel at the con, now.

Scott:
It’s @funimation’s new convention guy, Josh.

Scott:
Josh keeps on saying “y’all.” You don’t hear that language around here that often.

OutOfTimeProd:
At the @funimation industry panel, but leavin now for an interview

Narutaki:
Funi mentioned they are going to be doing alot for Hetalia at the next few cons.

Scott:
Surprisingly, there was not much of a big reaction to the Hetalia trailer. (o_o)

Narutaki:
Lots of DBZ questions at the Funi panel.

Scott:
No new announcements from funimation his time. I guess that they are saving all the good stuff for the major cons next week.

Scott:
So I think I’m going to give Josh a B+ for his first @funimation panel. He’s not quite up to @neumaverick yet, but the kid has potential.

Narutaki:
Am I the only one who thinks its weird to have your picture taken with a cosplayer like they are a celebrity?

Vince A:
@Narutaki No you’re not but then again I’m all for removing cosplay from cons anyway :-)

Vince A:
Did you know that there was a live action Lupin the Third movie? We’re showing it right now in all of its cheesy glory in Video 3

Narutaki:
Taking a quick lunch break with my leftover cheesebushes half.

Greg:
State of anime industry panel by Greg Ayres. http://twitgoo.com/149t8o

Scott:
At the Greg Ayres fansub panel. It’s a subject I’m kinda familiar with.

Scott:
A very different tone to this panel than the one he had two years ago. But of course, it’s a different time now in the simulcast age.

Scott:
Also, @Chris Cimi needs to pull his damn pants up. :-P

OutOfTimeProd:
Got to spend a half hour with Kyle Herbert awesome guy! Extremely jealous that he got to Australia # anx2010

Narutaki:
Quite a few girls dressed as the girl from Scott Pilgrim.

Scott:
I just heard Kevin Smith mentioned for the second time this weekend. We must be in New Jersey or something… ;-)

Narutaki:
Lady Gaga cosplayers?

Scott:
Decided to sit in on a screening of Strawberry Marshmallow, because I’m really in the mood to watch this show now. (^_^)

Scott:
Hey, @TOKYOPOP never released the 6th volume of Strawberry Marshmallow, did they? :-(

Scott:
You know, I think I’m gonna get one of the Marshmallow girls for my traditional “buy only one girl figure per con” this time around.

Narutaki:
Waiting for the IT CAME FROM FRANCE panel, looking forward to it!

Narutaki:
Cant cover panels if i cant get in.

Vampt Vo:
We got into the “It Came From France” panel, got kicked out to be counted for fire codes, then couldn’t get past the line with press badges.

Vampt Vo:
Seemed really weird, since most of the staff are very friendly and accommodating to press.

animenext:
The Promise Sisters concert is coming up at 4:30pm in the GSEC

Narutaki:
Had pancakes for dinner!

Narutaki:
Attending the changing faces of anime panel, the room is so hot. BLEH.

Narutaki:
Almost got kicked out again, sigh.

Scott:
Man, does a press badge mean nothing anymore at this con? (-_-)

animenext:
The AnimeNEXT Con Chair, Robert Rustay, is being interviewed by the media!

Scott:
It’s really hot here at @VamptVo’s character design panel, and it’s not just because of the sexy panelist.

DJ Ranma S:
@Scott I know right?

Narutaki:
Drank too much soda at dinner, stomach is :(

Greg:
@Vampt Vo ’s panel on changing faces of anime was great.

DJ Ranma S:
Time to hit up the masquerade. Expect comments from me… I hope there’s a power outlet in main events…

DJ Ranma S:
They ran out of press spots and put us in the front row. I approve.

animenext:
The convention is starting to seat attendees for the Masquerade

DJ Ranma S:
#WordOfAdvice never buy Dynex tripods from Best Buy. They’re really craptacular.

DJ Ranma S:
Whoever’s doing the music mix for the masquerade to pump the audience, kudos sir!

DJ Ranma S:
First skit is Hetalia, brace yourselves.

DJ Ranma S:
The skit rickrolled everyone. I approve.

DJ Ranma S:
Hetalia skit went all kinds of crazy. I like.

DJ Ranma S:
The Card Captor Sakura skit was precious.

DJ Ranma S:
Para para Haruhi skit… I can get behind this.

DJ Ranma S:
Soul Eater skit made no sense.

DJ Ranma S:
Avenue Q – Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist to Hetalia… It’s working so far… They rewrote the lyrics. ^^

DJ Ranma S:
That skit was win!

DJ Ranma S:
Dancing Vocaloid skit, I like!

DJ Ranma S:
Gravitation with Thriller and YMCA. Stop it, they’re both overdone. But they redeem themselves with N’Sync – Pop.

DJ Ranma S:
And now, Cromartie High School to Daft Punk… And stop it Corey.

DJ Ranma S:
This next skit is going to be bad… Very bad…

DJ Ranma S:
Called it. #condesermicrophone

DJ Ranma S:
Okay, we got a YGH skit done to Poker Face with new lyrics… I approve!

DJ Ranma S:
BROOKLYN RAGE! And they’re spoofing the 4kids dub. I APPROVE!

DJ Ranma S:
I hereby decree that the vuvuzela should be blown for all bad skits.

DJ Ranma S:
Paroding Hetalia to the Potter Pals song isn’t working…

DJ Ranma S:
If I knew there were going to be this many Hetalia skits, I would have brought the ubiquitous red cup.

DJ Ranma S:
Sumomo is getting everyone up for exercises… Yeah, I’m so not getting my lazy butt up. :p

DJ Ranma S:
This Akatsuki skit sucks. ‘Nuff said.

DJ Ranma S:
If you’re gonna do a dance routine, put some emotion into it.

DJ Ranma S:
Any song with italian techno is automatic win! :D

DJ Ranma S:
I found my best in show!

DJ Ranma S:
To the Miku on stage. Great job! You have energy and having fun! That’s how it’s supposed to be when you’re on stage solo!

DJ Ranma S:
Nine-tails on stage busting a groove! (see what I did there)

DJ Ranma S:
The No More Heroes skit started hard, dropped, and is now back on track.

DJ Ranma S:
Up next CLAMP skit… Audience blew my eardrum out.

DJ Ranma S:
The CLAMP tribute skit was nice! It was just Magic Knight Rayearth tho…

DJ Ranma S:
Is it me, or is almost every solo dance skit is the same girl? o.O

DJ Ranma S:
Damn, lost my usb cable.

DJ Ranma S:
And now the audience is singing Pokemon. :D

DJ Ranma S:
The Princess Tutu skit is throwing some much needed culture at the audience.

DJ Ranma S:
Wait, what… Bellydancing? With swords? I approve!

DJ Ranma S:
FUCK YES BEATMANIA SKIT!!!!!!

DJ Ranma S:
Beatmania + Evacuate the Dance Floor = Standing Ovation!

Vince A:
YGO Abridged panel is full and starting

Scott:
You know, I’ve ignored it for so long, but the Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged series is pretty damn funny.

Narutaki:
Time for Bad Anime Bad! one of my favorite parts of

Narutaki:
Always good to end the night with a laugh, get job Bad Anime Bad as usual!

Greg:
At the “as the otaku grows up” panel, hosted by @UncleYo http://twitgoo.com/14bf3t

Scott:
Getting ready to watch @funimation’s Master of Martial Hearts. I’m really looking forward to this! (^_^)

Scott:
Oh my god, Martial Hearts is awful. Really awful. But it has “Guilty Pleasure” written all over it. (^_^)

Scott:
Ok. I think I’ve seen enough with the first two episodes. I’m looking forward to reviewing this one this summer. ;-)

Greg:
Back from . Phone died in the middle of the “hentai Worth Watching” Panel. Pretty good panel despite the lack of preparation.

Scott:
Thought I heard some vuvuzelas. Turned out to just be geese.

On Site:

Scott from The Anime Almanac	Greg	Narutaki from Reverse Thieves
OutOfTimeProd from Out Of Time Productions	animenext from AnimeNEXT	Vince A
Vampt Vo from Ani-Gamers	Kyle Hebert	Hisui from Reverse Thieves

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Good Morning

animenext:
Good morning everyone! Today is the first day of AnimeNEXT! I’m so excited! I hope you are too :)

animenext:
Up and raring and ready to go for day one of AnimeNEXT. Are you ready?

OutOfTimeProd:
We are kicking off our summer convention season in NJ for animeNEXT? Anyone goin? Just us? Damnit…

Hisui:
Off to Anime Next soon enough! Hope to see everyone there.

Narutaki:
Leaving for AnimeNEXT!!

Scott:
Took the day off work to prep for the con. I’ll be showing up early in the afternoon.

Narutaki:
On the train to AnimeNEXT!

OutOfTimeProd:
The line for #anx2010

OutOfTimeProd:
the lobby at the convention center

animenext:
Registration is moving people through as fast as possible

Greg:
On my way to #anx2010

Greg:
Instead of using i287, I’ll be driving to rutgers and using easton ave!

animenext:
Video programming is up and running at AnimeNEXT, go check it out if you are looking for something to see early #anx2010

Narutaki:
On the way with @Vampto and @Hisui

Greg:
And I am here! #anx2010 http://twitgoo.com/145riq

Scott:
Making my way to the con. Stopping for some lunch first.

Greg:
Pleased with the new room layout.

Vampt Vo:
After getting a little turned around in Bound Brook, @Hisui, @Narutaki, and I have arrived at AnimeNEXT!

Narutaki:
Im here!

Scott:
All checked in! (^_^)

Scott:
“Anime Almaniac” Well, they almost got it right. (^^;)

Narutaki:
Got press badge smoothly. Checking out artist alley first and familiarizing myself with the con layout.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Con Floor

animenext:
How are things out there AnimeNEXT attendees?

Greg:
@animenext Groovy.

Greg:
Damn my phone camera sucks in dim places http://twitgoo.com/145s35

Greg:
Going to have to take photos is brighter rooms.

Scott:
There’s a girl sitting behind me that sounds exactly like @narutakiRT. It’s kind of freaking me out. (o_o)

Narutaki:
An artist alley table with only cats and catgirl art. I smell profit.

Scott:
@Narutaki (o_o)!!!!

Narutaki:
HOUSE FANART!

Greg:
Always impressed by #anx2010 variety in the dealer’s room. http://twitgoo.com/145xxi

Greg:
…but no touhou in sight…

Narutaki:
Decent crowd already. Lots of cosplay.

Narutaki:
I keep seeing a group dressed as funny lookin mice, what is that?

OutOfTimeProd:
sword fighting at the arena

Narutaki:
People carrying around ball-joint dolls really freak me out.

Scott:
Warning, if you are standing in the middle of a crowded hallway and not moving, I WILL push you aside and I WON’T say sorry for it. (-_-)

Scott:
The same applies for photo shoots. I hope you enjoy “big annoyed blogger” in the middle of your shots. ;-)

Greg:
“You don’t want to be glomped by a 400 lbs slave leah.”

Scott:
@Greg that sounds kinda hot…. (>_>)

Scott:
Now waiting to meet up with my father. He’s chaperoning my old anime club to the con.

Narutaki:
Hadnt seen the Playarts Zidane figure in person before, now I kinda want it.

Scott:
Dude, forget about AnimeNEXT, the cat expo is coming to town! >(^_^)<

Narutaki:
Guys talking about how they are going to split up the girls they are meeting later.

Scott:
Scott Pilgrim cosplay FTW! Check it out, @radiomaru!

Vince A:
I have been Shanghai’d to work in the Artist Alley

Vince A:
Would stylized clay cosplay figures sell?

Narutaki:
Waiting for Kenji Kamiyama autograph now, not much of a line but he is doing another session tomorrow that might be busier.

Vince A:
Argh! Stuck in the Artist Alley again.

Narutaki:
Someone keeps yelling for someone with my name its confusing me!

Scott:
So many lovely ladies… <3

Scott:
If I didn’t set a “No More Rei Figures” policy for myself, I would totally get this.

Scott:
So many plushies, yet not a Chi among them. :-(

Greg:
I just blew 100$ on doujinshi….I need to stop doing that…

OutOfTimeProd:
Starting to doze off, that’s what happens when you ae awake for twenty four hours

Scott:
Everyone seems to be so exhausted at the con today. Must be the late start and hot weather.

Scott:
Gah, this diet is making me one cranky con-goer today. (-_-)

Scott:
Turns out the Scott Pilgrim cosplayer that I tweeted earlier (and you all seemed to like) has a name. Peeps, say hi to @bookishbelle!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Panels

Kyle Hebert:
We will be streaming The Big Bald Broadcast live today from Anime Next at 1p eastern / 10am pacific. Tony Oliver, Little Kuriboh and more!

Greg:
There are two vocaloid panels today. Wut?

Greg:
First panel of the day…about random humour comedies…  http://twitgoo.com/145smd

Kyle Hebert:
Big Bald Broadcast is streaming NOW.

Scott:
Hanging out at @kylehebert’s Big Bald Broadcast. Check out the live stream. http://www.stickam.com/bigbaldbroadcast

Scott:
I am no longer the dude with the iPhone in the front row. I’m the dude with the iPad. :-P

Scott:
@kylehebert’s Big Bald Broadcast

Greg:
In a “inside the lives of congoing otaku” panel. Why isn’t everyone here?

Greg:
The congoer panel was very good. Insightful presentation on past, present and future anime conventions.

Vampt Vo:
Only TRUE HEROES will show up to “Fandom & Criticism: The Art of Active Viewing” at 3pm in Panel Room 6.

Greg:
Anigamers are running a panel on criticizing shows,manga, or video games.  http://twitgoo.com/1464j5

Scott:
It’s time for the active anime viewing panel @Vampt Vo, @uncleyo, and ink.

Greg:
“FAN-WANKING”

Kyle Hebert:
Had a great BBB panel. Thx to all who showed up and caught the stream. Also, wishing a happy bday to the Engineer, Marc Swint!

animenext:
The AnimeNEXT launch party starts in Main Events in a few minutes

Scott:
Checking out the opening ceremony. Let’s see what awkward sketch they will put together this year.

Greg:
The con chair opening the #anx2010 launch party. http://twitgoo.com/1468ic

OutOfTimeProd:
@Scott where you at g?

Scott:
@OutOfTimeProd front row. I’m the smooth pimp with the iPad.

Narutaki:
Active viewing panel with some of the @anigamers peeps was good, audience really participated! Good job guys!

Scott:
And this year’s awkward sketch is… wait for it… wait for it… The NEXT-y Awards!

Greg:
Stereopony takes the stage! http://twitgoo.com/146t6h

Scott:
RT @Greg Stereopony takes the stage!  http://twitgoo.com/146t6h

Vampt Vo:
The panel went pretty well as far as I could tell, though I’d love to hear any comments/criticism from anyone who attended.

OutOfTimeProd:
Storytime with @UncleYo

animenext:
Kamiyama-san is signing sutographs now in the Expo Center

Narutaki:
Waiting for Miyazaki panel but no panelists have shown up so I have my doubts about it happening.

Narutaki:
Oh they moved the room because it was so full. No indication, gee thanks.

Vampt Vo:
Waiting for this History of Mecha panel to start. There are strangers sitting in a dark room chattering to each other. Uh…OK.

Vampt Vo:
Alright, so the panel started… Sort of. People are yelling memes out right now. Oh, wait, now the lights are on. What’s going on?

Greg:
Kenji Kamiyama!!  http://twitgoo.com/1470bs

Scott:
Anime director Kenji Kamiyama.

Scott:
Kamiyama: “I’m not allowed to say anything official, but we MIGHT be working on the third season of Ghost in the Shell: SAC right now.”

Narutaki:
At Kenji Kameyama panel, mostly decent questions from the audience!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stereopony

animenext:
Are you going to the concert tonight at AnimeNEXT?

Narutaki:
Stereopony concert starts at 830 not 9 now.

Narutaki:
On the way to grab some grub them head to the Stereopony concert!

Vampt Vo:
Eating at RT (Ruby Tuesday) with the RTs (Reverse Thieves).

Greg:
Enjoying dinner at Ruby Tuesdays with @Narutaki @Hisui @Vampt Vo .

Scott:
In the press pit at the Stereopony show. It looks like they’re letting people in.

Scott:
I should be able to get some pretty decent shots from this angle.

Scott:
They certainly have the fog machine up and running at full blast.

Scott:
Grr… Looks like they’re gonna kick me out of the pit after the first three songs. Lame. (-_-)

Scott:
I’ll try to get some video during that time, but the audio might be screwed up.

Scott:
The crowd waits for the show to start in the fog.

Greg:
The view of stereopony from back here is better than the photo suggests.  http://twitgoo.com/147bxy

Scott:
Well, that was a very unpleasant experience dealing with the @animenext security. Great work, guys. (-_-)

Scott:
And here they are, Stereopony!

Scott:
Lead singer Aimi.

Scott:
Another shot of Aimi.

Scott:
The audio on the video I took is awful, so that’s all I’ll have from Stereopony tonight. Still totally pissed at the security. (-_-)

Narutaki:
As usual people under 5′3″ get stepped on at concerts.

Greg:
Stereopony closed off their concert with their bleach song!

animenext:
The Stereopony concert is over. We love you!

Narutaki:
Stereopony rocked it!

Narutaki:
Got a pretty good wack from my camera while jumping at the concert. Fail.

BIGGEST SURPRISE OF THE CON: I bought this figure!

On Site:

Scott from The Anime Almanac	Mike Ferreira from Anime Dream	Jon I. from JANAiBlog
Scott Green from Ain’t it Cool News	tristencitrine	ChrisBeveridge
Brigid from MangaBlog	DJ Ranma S from Anime Jam Session	OutOfTimeProd from Out Of Time Productions
Lauren Orsini from Con Chowdah	funimation	neumaverick
Ed Chavez from Vertical Inc.	Reni Mimura from ReniReni.com	rolandkelts

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mornings in Boston

Scott:
I dreamt last night that I was sharing my room with a bunch of cute girls. Woke up to find that nope, they were all dudes. Snoring dudes. :(

Scott:
And now I got @Jon I. and @OutOfTimeProd looming over me as I try to sleep. Interpret that any way you want, Twitter!

Scott:
In fact, one of their cameras is pointing right at my bed! (O_O)

Scott:
But I actually did sleep great last night. Ear plugs are god’s greatest invention.

Brigid:
Beautiful day. Sun shining. Bird singing. Husband swearing as he clears out birds who were nesting in the soffit.

Brigid:
Sometimes we live a little too closely with nature. Also, I miss having a landlord who would take care of stuff like that.

ChrisBeveridge:
ah, another morning at #animeboston. Panel at 10 for me and then #funimation’s panel at 5. Then home!

Jon I.:
I’m totally wearing my Kannagi shirt to #AnimeBoston today. LIKE A BOSS.

Jon I.:
If you’re at #AnimeBoston today and are looking for me, I’m probably the only loser wearing a Kannagi shirt.

OutOfTimeProd:
So who already has gone out and buy an #ipad? anyone?

Scott:
48 minutes since the launch of the iPad, and yet, I still don’t have one. :-(

Jon I.:
My Kannagi shirt is getting lots of compliments! #onlyatananimecon

Reni Mimura:
Ohayoooo(^^)/

Jon I.:
Heading to #AnimeBoston now!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Panels

ChrisBeveridge:
Time to do that panel thing soon (@ Hynes Convention Center w/ 2 others) http://4sq.com/90cwO3

Scott:
The man himself, @ChrisBeveridge!

Mike Ferreira:
Off to @chrisbeveridge’s panel now. :) A little late, but better late than never.

Scott:
I like talking hardcore industry at the @ChrisBeveridge panel.

neumaverick:
First panel of the day is our ‘Adventures in Marketing’ workshop at 1pm in Wrkshp 313. Hope to see you all there. #animeboston

tristencitrine:
Heading to adventures in marketing anime panel! Hynes 313! Seeeeeeeeeya there for good times!

tristencitrine:
A gaggle of vocaloids!

Scott:
At @neumaverick’s interesting anime marketing working.

Jon I.:
Now at the “Adventure in Marketing Anime” panel with @neumaverick and @tristencitrine. #AnimeBoston

Scott Green:
Nice attendence count for AWO’s Black Jack AnimeBoston panel

Scott:
The girl running the geisha panel comes in costume. It’s actually a very nice touch.

Brigid:
At the Roland Kelts panel at AnimeBoston, sitting with @mbeasi and @nfntrobin.

Lauren Orsini:
Sitting two feet from @rolandkelts. Awesome dude.

Scott:
Catching that final part of @rolandkelts panel. This guy is always awesome.

Scott:
Most bloggers post photos of cosplayers. I post pictures of writers and industry folks. (>_<)

Scott Green:
Anime Boston Roland Kelts panel… Guy’s good with narative. Audience pretty rivited

Scott Green:
Don’t agree with everything being said. At least now, US interested in Tezuka’s dark, sexual work. For example upcoming Ayako release.

Scott Green:
On the other hand, effective explanation of Super Flat and artistic fundimentals of manga

Scott Green:
“Hello Kitty has no mouth becase she should feel like you do”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tweet-ups

Lauren Orsini:
@Jon I., lunch take two?

Jon I.:
@Lauren Orsini Sure, look for me near the first floor escalators.

Lauren Orsini:
@Jon I., ok coming!

Scott:
@Jon I. wait for me!!!

Jon I.:
@Scott Sure, come on over.

Scott:
Had a nice lunch with @Lauren Orsini, @Jon I., and @OutOfTimeProd.

Scott:
Btw, peeps, @Lauren Orsini is the official blogger for AB. Be sure to check out her blog at http://blog.animeboston.com/

Lauren Orsini:
@Scott, thanks for the plug!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vertical

Ed Chavez:
Kinda laying low right now but it’s been nice seeing friends and associates in Boston. Anyone recommend a place for lunch?

Scott:
So of course, here’s @Ed Chavez to talk about vertical.

Jon I.:
Now at @Vertical_Ed’s panel. I’m really looking forward to Twin Spica. #AnimeBoston

Scott Green:
If someone bombed Ed Chavez’s Vertical AnimeBoston panel, manga blogging might be decimated (10% of population here?)

Brigid:
At the Vertical panel. Nintendo Wars, O’Ekaki Decadence, Twin Spica 1, Black Jack 11, The Flowers of Edo by Michael Dana Kennedy

Brigid:
@Ed Chavez on O’Ekaki Decadence: “I thought it was going to be really cute, but it ended up being really disturbing.” Number puzzles?

Brigid:
Twin Spica: Strong storytelling. “It’s continuous from start to finish—not a lot of little arcs.”

Scott Green:
Chi’s Sweat Home probably pushed to 6.28. Printed in Japan. Working to get things right

Brigid:
Lots of super-cute bookmarks and postcards to promote Twin Spica and Chi’s Sweet Home!

Brigid:
Black Jack 12 will feature a cover designed by a NY college student, winner of their cover contest.

Brigid:
New manga out in August: 7 Billion Needles, sci-fi story based on novel by Hal Clements, about a shy girl who shares a body w/alien

Brigid:
New edition of Apollo’s song in 2 vols, with new cover, later this year.

Scott Green:
Apollo’s Song, Tezuka sex ed with creator at his most dialectical, will be getting new, two volume publication

Brigid:
What’s cuter than The Cute Book? The Cuter Book! Their puzzle and craft books are their best sellers; look for this one in October.

Brigid:
Osamu Tezuka’s Ayako, his most historical manga, set after end of World War II. 704 pages for $24.95!

Scott Green:
Tezuka’s post war family epic Ayako due 10/19. Since I have Adolf, 5 years ago, the two Tezuka manga I wanted were Dororo and Ayako

Scott:
And so vertical announces that they have a title they can’t announce yet.

Brigid:
@Ed Chavez is teasing us. A new Tezuka license? A mystery manga (hardcover, 320 pages) by someone once published by Viz??

Scott:
The artist used to have manga published by Viz. That’s the only clue he gave.

Scott Green:
Vertical talking with Tezuka Pro about new license late next year. Mystery title from author who was once published by Viz in 4/11

Scott:
It seems that Ed is seriously pimping out Chi’s Sweet Home at this panel.

Scott Green:
Classic manga for older audiences said sell better than classics for younger. (my take. Keep hunting for billingual Princess Knight)

Scott Green:
Rumors/mummers about Rose of Versailes manga license by non-Verticle

Scott:
My hunch is that Ed was taking about CMX, but again, that’s just my hunch. It would match their line of classical shojo.

Scott Green:
Mystery why no Yokoyama (Tetsujin28, Witch Sally, Comet-san, adaptations of Chinese classics) licensed in North America

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oddities

Scott:
The con is screening Negima followed by Strike Witches this morning. When did Saturday Morning Cartoons get this… dirty? (^^;)

Scott:
In related news, the first Negima anime series is really bad. (-_-)

Scott:
I’m also counting the number of times I walk into the middle of a cosplay photo shoot this weekend. I’m up to 3 so far.

Scott:
An old man in a kilt just sat next to me. #onlyatananimeconorscotland

Jon I.:
There’s a guy here from the local blood drive center dressed up as a vampire. This is win.

neumaverick:
I just got the question, “what’s Akira?”
…wow.

OutOfTimeProd:
On the ballot for the AMV contest at #animeboston, they have “When They Cry” set to “happy happy joy joy”. @Jon I. was amused by it.

Jon I.:
SOMEBODY FIND THIS AMV ON YOUTUBE OR SOMETHING PLEASE

tristencitrine:
Cake dress time! Explosion of pink wheeeee!

Scott:
And here is @tristencitrine and her infamous cake dress!

OutOfTimeProd:
MARCO! #animeboston

Scott:
So no joke, there was a midget cosplaying as FMA’s Edward Elric. Don’t call him short, it’s inappropriate. (>_>)

Scott:
There was a girl next to me at the panel that was a skinny female version of me. Same shoes, same pants, same jacket, even same iPhone! O_O

Scott:
The only problem was that her hair was also kind of similar to mine, thus she kind of looked like a man. (>_<)

Scott:
RT @tohnokun Think about it, she could be tweeting near enough the same thing right this minute too! <- ((o_o))

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dolla-dolla Bills, Y’all

tristencitrine:
I just became the mayor of Funimation Booth Anime Boston on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/aClJPu

DJ Ranma S:
Anyone at #AnimeBoston with a spare ball ticket? They’re sold out! Almost willing to do anything to get one!

Scott:
So FYI, @funimation will be presenting the exact same panel at both conventions, so whichever presenter gets to it first breaks the news.

Scott:
It also seems that @funimation hasn’t had any product to sell at their AB booth at it hasn’t been delivered yet. (^^;)

tristencitrine:
Breaking from @neumaverick product is here brown bag specials available soon at anime Boston! Yeeeehaaaa!

Scott:
Peeps, I’ve found my one girl figure for Anime Boston 2010.

DJ Ranma S:
A dealer was kicked out of #AnimeBoston for selling bootlegs. Come to find out, THEY ARE LEGIT! I smell lawsuit…

Mike Ferreira:
Today’s Dealer Room Swag: Patlabor Parts 1 & 2

Mike Ferreira:
Lucky Star (full series – $40! Would’ve cost more to buy discs 3-6!)

Mike Ferreira:
Devil Hunter Yohko

Mike Ferreira:
Now & Then Here & There

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FUNimation

tristencitrine:
Three hours til the big panel! Three more hours to get more fanciful video before then!

tristencitrine:
Almost paneltime! happy happy happy.

tristencitrine:
Slime time! The first person at anime Boston who comes up to me at the funi panel and says “aggro tablecloth” gets the yellow perler slime.

Jon I.:
FUNimation panel has been moved to room 302. Same time: 5pm. #AnimeBoston

Mike Ferreira:
After a brief jog between two rooms, I made it! waiting for the @FUNimation panel to start

tristencitrine:
A winner is you @chrisbeveridge ! A slime appears!

Mike Ferreira:
@funimation’s panel is starting – will update if anything comes up

Scott Green:
I think Funimation’s AnimeBoston panel gut shot the convention center’s wi-fi

Mike Ferreira:
#AB2K10 – Nothing new yet – SAVE Editions, Shaw Brothers, Soul Eater @Funimation panel

Mike Ferreira:
Wifi is spotty as hell right now

Mike Ferreira:
More business as usual – KenIchi, Eva 1.11… this will go in the final report, but not the newsie. #AB 2K10

Mike Ferreira:
#WarOnPants – “Don’t turn Strike WItches into a drinking game! You won’t make it through the first half of the first episode!” – @funimation

Mike Ferreira:
A few other pressers turned to their iPhones, since the wifi’s messy – #Animeboston

Mike Ferreira:
DBZ Kai Trailer is go

Scott Green:
Funimation PR announced new license in email…. spoilarz

Mike Ferreira:
@Scott Green spoilers indeed!

Scott:
Breaking: @funimation announces Eden of the East movies.

Mike Ferreira:
FMA Brotherhood – BR/DVD -5/23

Mike Ferreira:
DVD = $49.98, BR = $54.98

Scott:
Three Eden of the East movies. On both DVD and Blu-ray in 2011.

Scott:
Breaking: @funimation announces Chobits

Jon I.:
RT @MarcFBR: Early Press Release- Funi got the Eden of the East movies and is doing Blu-rays.

Mike Ferreira:
@FUNimation announced Chobits.

Scott:
26-episode series, again on DVD and BD in 2011.

Mike Ferreira:
X complete series and OVA – June 15, $49.98 (DVD only)

Scott:
They released the PR early, so you peeps all know this news before anyone at this panel do. ;-) (besides us press, of course}

Mike Ferreira:
My Bride is a Mermaid – Part 1 – 7/20 – “no take backsies!” – #animeboston

Mike Ferreira:
Damn you, screamers! >_< “Black Butler” “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA O_O”

Mike Ferreira:
Spice & Wolf 2

Scott:
Breaking: @funimation announces Spice and Wolf II

Mike Ferreira:
“C-span with furries!”

Mike Ferreira:
Eden of the east & Chobits panel reveal

Mike Ferreira:
Original OP for Eden of the East will be used

Scott Green:
Awesome. Funimation got music rights to Oasis’ Eden of the East opening

Mike Ferreira:
Writing the newsie now

Scott:
Notably NOT MENTIONED in the panel was Summer Wars.

Mike Ferreira:
@Scott Predicting Bandai for that

tristencitrine:
Yay with all my happy heart- Eden of the east opening song. The answer is yes. Yes!

Jon I.:
THREE new annoncements by FUNimation! Eden of the East movies, Chobits (rescue), and Spice & Wolf 2. #AnimeBoston

Scott Green:
Seen one episode. Production I.G’s Eden of the East is one of few anime I’m enthuiastically looking forward to.

Jon I.:
Also, FUNimation will be using the original OP for Eden of the East. That song by Oasis that we all love. #AnimeBoston

Scott Green:
If you’re a Stand Alone Complex fan, keep an eye out for the Eden of the East release (political sci-fi)

Mike Ferreira:
Q&A now

Mike Ferreira:
Adam’s mic died! D:

Mike Ferreira:
Shin-chan update in the near future! MORE IS COMING! :D :D :D

Mike Ferreira:
…is it sad that this makes me happier than SPice & Wolf 2? #animeboston

Mike Ferreira:
D-Gray.man – @funimation only has the first 2 seasons

Mike Ferreira:
Will get more depending on performance

Mike Ferreira:
DBZ Kai – NIcktoons only, no Nick proper

Mike Ferreira:
and end of panel

funimation:
Chobits! We got it.

funimation:
Spice and Wolf Season 2! We got that too.

funimation:
Eden of the East movies 1-3! From us to you.

funimation:
Aw shucks…Just bringing you guys what you want!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Interviews

Jon I.:
Just filmed @OutOfTimeProd’s interview with Josh Greele. #AnimeBoston

OutOfTimeProd:
About to go in for our interview with Carli Mosier im hoping i say her last name right. MARCO! #animeboston

Jon I.:
Now heading to film an @OutOfTimeProd interview with Carli Mosier. #AnimeBoston

OutOfTimeProd:
Just had an awesome interview wit Carli Mosier at #animeboston, one of the coolest girls ive met and took my mic during the interview

Lauren Orsini:
Sitting next to Nobu Uematsu at the press conference. May or may not be peeing myself.

Jon I.:
And I’m a few seats over! RT @laureninspace: Sitting next to Nobu Uematsu at the press conference. May or may not be peeing myself.

Mike Ferreira:
Currently preparing for & being nervou about my upcoming interview with Greg Ayres. ^^;; Wish me luck, everyone!

Scott:
@Mike Ferreira be sure to ask him about fansubs! I hear he likes to talk about him. :-P

Mike Ferreira:
Just got out of my interview with Greg Ayres – I was apparently the last interview of AB 2K10 :) -feels special-

Mike Ferreira:
@Scott was right – he DOES like to talk about piracy and fansubs. ;)

Jon I.:
I must say, press relations at #AnimeBoston are quite excellent overall. I am pleased.

Scott:
You know, they’re not perfect, but Anime Boston is one freaking well done convention. I’ll have a positive con report up next week.

Mama-mia! What a mash-up!

On Site:

Scott from The Anime Almanac	Jon I. from JANAiBlog	Scott Green from Ain’t it Cool News
Mike Ferreira from Anime Dream	ChrisBeveridge	Lauren Orsini from Con Chowdah
tristencitrine	DJ Ranma S from Anime Jam Session	OutOfTimeProd from Out Of Time Productions
Ed Chavez from Vertical Inc.	neumaverick	funimation
Reni Mimura from ReniReni.com	SentaiFilmworks

All Roads Lead to Boston

DJ Ranma S:

Just missed the damn train. Oh well, time to take care of my last minute Anime Boston stuff.

Lauren Orsini:

Waiting to board the plane. Sooooo excited to get to Anime Boston. @janaiblog’s photos aren’t helping either!

tristencitrine:

The dfw airport terminal isn’t fun at all. At least it was an efficient day and the weekend bodes well for good news.

Mike Ferreira:

Welp… it’s time for me to get some sleep. :) Have to be up at 5:30 to make my train. ‘night, everybody!

Scott:

Ok, getting ready to board my bus to Boston. Hopefully I can get some sleep to make my ride go faster. (-_-) zzz

DJ Ranma S:

On the bus to Boston. The outlet isn’t powered by me, so no netbook till I arrive. If ya need me, just DM me. :D

Mike Ferreira:

On the train, headed for #AnimeBoston. ETA – about 8:15-8:30

Mike Ferreira:

Yes, this train has free wifi… I heart MBTA. :)

Scott:

Caught an earlier bus to Boston. I’ll probably be at the hynes around 3.

DJ Ranma S:

Finally, The Ranma has COME BACK to #AnimeBoston… *theme song plays*

Scott:

In Boston. Unloading in the hotel room then heading to the con.

Lauren Orsini:

I’m in boston now. And I just received the best news of my life.

Lauren Orsini:

Also, my plane was delayed by air force one, of all things. Would’ve been bad if it had been any other reason.

tristencitrine:

Just landed! Hellooooooo Boston! I missed you!

Reni Mimura:

Reni is in Boston!!good night…(–)zzzz

Jon I.:

Just arrived in Boston. What did I miss?

Jon I.:

Got my press pass! I’m all set for tomorrow.

Scott Green:

Nice. Anime Boston press pass just says “Scott”. Looking forward to confusion possibilities

Scott:
One of the better press badges I’ve gotten at these cons.

Jon I.:

What’s awesome about #AnimeBoston is that there is a FOOD COURT nearby! Say hello to unhealthy eating all weekend long!

Jon I.:

And with that basket of cheese fries, I believe I’ve consumed about 4,000 calories today.

Jon I.:

MORE CALORIES! GO!

Jon I.:

During con weekends, there are two things I stop caring about: my money spending, and my calorie intake.

Mike Ferreira:

@Jon I. Agreed fully. I usually end up $500 poorer and 4 pounds heavier!

Jon I.:

Where everybody knows your name…

Jon I.:

Let the drinking commence!

Scott:

Because I’m being really strict about my diet, I think I’m going to make this a dry convention for me this weekend.

Scott:

Whenever I get drunk, I tend to eat the things I’m not supposed to be eating… (>_<)

tristencitrine:

@Scott me too! Especially sweets. Then again I’m a super lightweight.

On the Con Floor

Lauren Orsini:

Good morning Anime Boston! My roommates have rooms that open early, so I’m up too! Can’t wait to start exploring.

Lauren Orsini:

Stopped by the toy store- I mean MicroCenter- for some last minute supplies for Anime Boston. Cheapest I’ve ever seen a mic for.

Scott:

@Lauren Orsini Is it this model? http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/9963/28recorder1dyl9.jpg

Lauren Orsini:

@Scott, imagine if I conducted interviews with that thing- I wonder what people would say!

Jon I.:

I already have a headache from all the loud fangirls at #AnimeBoston.

Jon I.:

Nice to see Section23 on the #AnimeBoston sponsors list.

Scott Green:

David Williams spotted (staffing Section23’s booth)

Scott Green:

About 20 people watching Cyborg 009 screening. Wonder if that’s more than saw it on Cartoon Network

Scott Green:

I love how there’s a woman who dressed up as the gun otaku from Those Who Hunt Elves every year

Jon I.:

Now waiting for “Who Wants To Be An Ani-Millionaire” to start. #AnimeBoston

OutOfTimeProd:

so they change the schedule here at #animeboston, that means everyone on twitter should take a drink.

OutOfTimeProd:

Of course, the opening ceremonies is starting late. drink to that

Scott:

@OutOfTimeProd Glad to see that Anime Boston hasn’t changed at all in the four years I’ve been absent. :-P

Jon I.:

Who Wants To Be An Ani-Millionaire panel is loads of fun! Well organized too. #AnimeBoston

Jon I.:

Fill in the blank! #AnimeBoston

Jon I.:

Here’s a tougher question for you. #AnimeBoston #Trigun

Jon I.:

The other Higurashi! #AnimeBoston

Jon I.:

Now at Pictionary, where people can’t draw. This is supposed to be keychains. #AnimeBoston

Mike Ferreira:

I hope @Scott made it to opening ceremonies! Reni Reni just performed a song onstage.

Scott:

@Mike Ferreira I think I’ve seen her more than enough times. Hell, she probably sang the the song we wrote together. :-P

Mike Ferreira:

@Scott I wouldn’t doubt it :P Still, I’m giving a shout-out, since you were the only guy covering her for, well… forever. ~_^

Jon I.:

Way too many “It’s a jackal!” jokes here at Pictionary. #AnimeBoston

OutOfTimeProd:

When playing Anime Pictionary, the answer is always a jackal.

tristencitrine:

I’ll be tweeting from anime Boston and sharing pix and cool stuff! Please RT <3

tristencitrine:

As soon as I can get downstairs. Arrival was verrrrry late last night, but now I’m a lot sparklier!

Mike Ferreira:

Currently, on floor 2 of the Hynes uploading my second video log. :)

Mike Ferreira:

Once that’s done, it’s off to have some fun, goddammit! >:o or something. #AnimeBoston

Lauren Orsini:

Artists Alley is the size of a dealer’s room at most DC/VA cons. Anime Boston is enormous.

Lauren Orsini:

@Jon I., what are you doing for lunch? I want to meet you!

Jon I.:

@Lauren Orsini Not sure yet, probably grabbing a bite at the food court with a friend. I’ll let you know.

Jon I.:

@Lauren Orsini I’m heading to the food court now if you wanna meet up.

Lauren Orsini:

@Jon I. , I do but I don’t know where it is or what you look like

Jon I.:

If you’re on the lookout for me at #AnimeBoston today, I’m wearing the J-List black/yellow Haruhi shirt.

Lauren Orsini:

@Jon I. , well found the food court at least. I am wearing neon blue tights.

Jon I.:

@Lauren Orsini That’s ok. Some other time then. What panels you going to later?

Lauren Orsini:

@Jon I., mock combat next.

Jon I.:

Now waiting for the “Anime Openings and Closings” panel to start. #AnimeBoston

OutOfTimeProd:

getting ready to film the mock combat for cosplay panel at #animeboston. if any1 is there, look for me ill have the ny yankees clothes on.

DJ Ranma S:

Holy shit, no reg line! I r shocked! #AnimeBoston

Mike Ferreira:

Uploading the Main Events stuff for my #animeboston coverage

Scott Green:

Anime Boston: spotted First President of Japan, Project X and Short Cuts

Jon I.:

Oh jeez. The scheule changed and I ended up missing @alexleavitt’s panel. #AnimeBoston

Jon I.:

Dear @AnimeBoston, you could have tweeted about all these schedule changes. Then I would have known!

Mike Ferreira:

And I’m off to an interview! Later again, Twitterers!

tristencitrine:

Here at @clarineharp s panel in Hynes 302 at animeboston so come check it out!

Lauren Orsini:

At the Anime Science panel. Turns out a lot of stuff in anime (flying people etc.) is impossible. #duh

neumaverick:

Walking of the booth for some lunch. My mom met @jessiepridemore. Not sure that was a good idea.

tristencitrine:

I now state for the record I owe Todd Haberkorn a plate of tacos.

Jon I.:

The guy running the moe panel later says it’s all about HOW MOE IS POISONING OUR MINDS. Oh I can not wait for this! #AnimeBoston

Scott Green:

Saw a guy wearing an awesome Edward Gorey meets Gegege no Kitaroh shirt

Lauren Orsini:

Sending photos of the best cosplay I’ve seen to my friends. Including Pimp Gendou and Classy Pedobear.

Scott:

And I’m at the convention! (^_^) Checking out the anime remakes panel.

Scott:

Nothing like a @DarylSurat panel to remind me just how much I hate old school anime. :-P

Jon I.:

@Scott I agree. This panel is not moe enough!

Jon I.:

Actually, some of the anime remakes at @DarylSurat’s panel look really worth checking out.

ChrisBeveridge:

has finally arrived at #animeboston. Who else is here?

Scott:

@ChrisBeveridge here! I’m sure I’ll run into you in person at some point.

Jon I.:

@ChrisBeveridge Me! =)

neumaverick:

Come by panel A for our sneek peak panel starting in 10 mins. #animeboston

Jon I.:

Now in the room for the moe hating panel. Me and @Scott are armed and ready. (not really)

DJ Ranma S:

Whoa, crapload of cosplayers, more than usual! #AnimeBoston

Jon I.:

Moe bashing panel is kinda crowded. Either lots of people hate moe or lots of moe fans wanna get TOLD. #AnimeBoston

tristencitrine:

Goin to the Funimation sneak peek. Panel at anime Boston. See ya there!

tristencitrine:

Come say hi if youre here at the con!

DJ Ranma S:

Flo is at #AnimeBoston! #Progressive #Flo

Scott:

Panel on the history of mo is way too dry and drawn out. If you’re gonna lecture, you gotta make it pop.

tristencitrine:

Watching this initial d clip reminds me why I should never drive while listening to super eurobeat. But its so much fun.

ChrisBeveridge:

@tristencitrine that clip got me juiced for the release.

Jon I.:

Moe panel was boring at first but picked up in the second half. Best of all I didn’t get pissed off. #AnimeBoston

Scott Green:

Wow. Anime Boston managed to pack a room for Capybaron’s scifi lit panel. Not bad

Scott Green:

I was definately wrong in my speculation that having PAX East prior week would lead to anemic Anime Boston attedence.

DJ Ranma S:

Sims is not a cosplay, it’s a cop out! #AnimeBoston

Jon I.:

Basically, it was an informative panel about the history of moe with a mild anti-moe bias.

Jon I.:
I recorded most of the moe panel btw but camera ran out of batteries about 3/4 through. Maybe @OutOfTimeProd will put it up for you guys.

Jon I.:
Now at @alexleavitt’s panel about Watanabe’s works after Cowboy Bebop. #AnimeBoston

Jon I.:
Glad I didn’t have to raise my hand when @Alex asked “Who hasn’t seen Cowboy Bebop?” #AnimeBoston

Jon I.:
Keynote presentations look so much nicer than PowerPoint presentations.

DJ Ranma S:
FullMetal Luigi – nimeBoston

Scott:
Getting ready for the Avatar panel to see if this person just flat out steals one of my blog posts. :-P

Scott:
Man, every panel I’ve been to so far has been completely packed! (O_O)

Scott:
Well, the Avatar panel was really good until it turned into a bitch-fest about live action adaptation. (-_-)

Scott:
It went from a smart look at the Asian influence in the cartoon to “omg, they’re all white in the movie!!!1!”

Scott:
Panelist: “What should we do? Boycott the movie!!” I’m not kidding, it’s major fan raeg from the panelists. How lame. (-_-)

Scott:
@Zeether77 It’s a Hollywood film. God forbid they adapt it for the big screen. (-_-)

DJ Ranma S:
In The Groove 3 – nimeBoston

Scott:
Gawd, what a huge flamer!

Scott:
Overhead: “You know Misty from Pokémon? Well this was a MAN-sty!” (o_o)!!!

Scott:
I somehow imagine a bunch of punks just leaving a bar of soap on the window sill.

Jon I.:
@Scott Shit, better remove that soap I put on the windowsill!

The Dealer’s Room

Scott:

Okay, I gotta think of what anime girl figure I’m going to get from the Anime Boston merchant room this weekend.

Scott:

It’s tradition that I buy one and only one girl figure at every con I go to. Here are a few from past cons: http://www.twitpic.com/13ax7r

Scott:

I try to have it coincide with something at the convention, like when I got the Kannagi figure at the Otakon Bandai announced it.

Scott:

I think that if they have any Chu-Bra or Hanamaru Kindergarten figures, I might get that.

neumaverick:

Come by and check our wide anime selection. (@ Funimation Booth Anime Boston) http://4sq.com/aClJPu

neumaverick:

Btw I made a Foursquare spot for the FUNimation booth at Anime Boston. You and all your friends should check in. Maybe you can be the mayor.

Jon I.:

Now waiting for the Dealers Room to open. #AnimeBoston

Lauren Orsini:

Anime boston dealers room dwarfs even otakon’s. What alternate dimension is this?

Mike Ferreira:

Dealer’s Room Roundup – Hidamari Sketch S1, Sakura Taisen TV, Afro Samurai, School Rumble S1, and 2 Ah! My Goddess artbooks. #AB 2K10

Jon I.:

Found the moe store. Goodbye wallet. #AnimeBoston tp://twitpic.com/1cnmby

Jon I.:

#AnimeBoston attacked JON’S WALLET with MOE! It’s super effective! ($143.77 damage dealt!)

Jon I.:

Here’s what I bought. The Rise figure is rare and expensive. #Toradora #Persona4 tp://twitpic.com/1cnso5

ChrisBeveridge:

Hm. What #Anime toys should I buy my kids at #animeboston this year…

ChrisBeveridge:
got some nice Sgt Frog swag.

ChrisBeveridge:
Keroro goodness!

ChrisBeveridge:
has been told that he should really be happy with what he hears at the #funimation panel at #animeboston tomorrow night.

Video Game Orchestra

OutOfTimeProd:
Here’s to hoping that there will be room at tonight’s VGO concert *lifts drink in air* #animeboston

Jon I.:
Now waiting for the Video Game Orchestra concert to start! These guys were amazing last year. #AnimeBoston

Jon I.:
At the concert, I see #AnimeBoston is treating press guests as Otakon does. By shoving us off to the side where we have a terrible angle.

Jon I.:
#AnimeBoston does the best pre-shows ever. Just putting it out there.

Lauren Orsini:
Waiting for the videogame orchestra to start and they begin the trololo song.

Lauren Orsini:
It’s like anime boston put even more time preparing the pre-show than getting the vgo to come! This is great.

Jon I.:
Okay Video Game Orchestra, we get it, Mario Bros. is awesome. Now play music from another game please. #AnimeBoston

Jon I.:
VGO is now playing music by Nobuo Uematsu from… Blue Dragon?? Really? What about FINAL FANTASY? #AnimeBoston

Jon I.:
If I hear “MARCO! POLO!” one more time I’m gonna start ripping my hair out of my already balding head. #AnimeBoston

Jon I.:
Chrono Trigger! That’s the stuff! #VGO #AnimeBoston

Lauren Orsini:
I got chills listening to VGO’s chrono cross and chrono trigger medleys. This must be how orchestra buffs feel.

Jon I.:
“Time’s Scar” from Chrono Cross is a masterpiece of a song and a staple of all video game concerts. #AnimeBoston

Jon I.:
I’m gonna watch B Gata H Kei. Because everyone else hates it.

Jon I.:
Castlevania ROCK MEDLEY blew large amounts of awesome through my brain. #AnimeBoston

Jon I.:
Metal Gear Solid fans salute the Video Game Orchestra while they play the MGS theme song. #AnimeBoston

Jon I.:
This girl is beautifully singing “Passion” from Kingdom Hearts II. #AnimeBoston

Jon I.:
THE MAN HIMSELF, NOBUO UEMATSU, IS ON STAGE RIGHT NOW. #AnimeBoston

Internet Woes

Jon I.:

Ugh. Hotel Internet sucks. You’d think with all the technology we have, hotels could get decent Internet.

Lauren Orsini:

No internet in the hotel rooms at anime boston! This bites

OutOfTimeProd:

Of course, the hotel that we are staying for Anime Boston has slow internet. The daily updates will be uploaded eventually tonight.

Jon I.:

The free Wi-Fi at the Hynes Convention Center is a godsend. Every con center should do this! #AnimeBoston

Ah, Katsucon.

This was probably the first time I ever decided to go to a convention at the very last minute. It’s been a while since I attended a convention, and my plans for traveling to Chicago for C2E2 this spring are not looking all that fruitful. So as FUNimation’s Adam Sheehan was describing the company’s plans to promote Strike Witches for Katsucon weekend, I bit the bullet and made plans to attend the convention. And thanks to Jon and Ernie of the Out-of-Time Productions crew, I was able to get a hotel and a ride down to DC.

But unfortunately,  we got hit with a blizzard in the area just two days prior to the convention. Even though the roads were clear for the ride down, I was still feeling all the stresses of the week built up as I entered the Gaylord Resort and Convention Center.

So that made all the problems that I encountered at Katsucon all the more obvious and annoying, and when it was all said and done, I left DC with a very bitter taste in my mouth.

A High-Class Venue for a Low-Class Event

I think that there were two main problems with the convention, and the first was the venue and location. There’s one thing that can be said about the Gaylord Resort and Convention Center, and that is it is nice.

It is really nice.

And… perhaps a little too nice for an anime convention.

The venue pretty much felt more like a shopping mall than a convention hall, complete with upper class clothing boutiques and glassware shops. And the weird thing is that these shops remained open through out the entire convention.

Now, the fans that attend these events tend not to be that well off as far as money goes. They often have to travel in large groups, and then they squeeze a ridiculous amount of people into a single hotel room in order to cut costs, provided they can even afford that in the first place. So they couldn’t really afford the boutique shops, which remained deserted all weekend long.

But what’s worst is that they could not afford food, and food is kind of important when you’re away for the entire weekend.

There were no fast food nor any chain restaurants in the entire venue or neighboring areas. An onsite catering service served sandwiches and hot dogs, but they closed around noon every day, so it was useless and unreliable. The only places that con goers were able to eat at were high class restaurants, which were far too sophisticated in both atmosphere and price.

Why should our only food options be filet mignon or lobster when all we want to do is eat for the weekend?!

Now, one service I thought was actually really well done was the Katsucon’s staff-run coat and bag check. Drop off your coat and bags, grab a ticket, and come back when you’re done to pick it up. They were even open until 4:00 am so that you could actually enjoy in late-night activities without worrying about your stuff.

That is, until I went to drop my suitcase off after we checked out of our hotel Sunday morning. That’s when the Gaylord screw job struck again.

“Sorry, you can’t drop your luggage here, ” the volunteer informed me as she took my coat.

Wait, what? But this is the bag check, right?

“Yes, and you can check your laptop bag, shopping bag, or backpack. But your luggage has to be kept by the Gaylord bellhop.”

But I didn’t stay at the Gaylord. This isn’t my hotel.

“… sorry,” she said in the most sympathetic way possible.

Great. Just great. I even went to the press ops office to drop off my heavy bag, but they told me that they didn’t want to be held responsible for it, so no dice.

The only folks willing to help me were the staff members of FUNimation, who told me they had plenty of room in their dealer’s room booth for me to keep my bag there until the con was over. If it wasn’t for them, I would have been rolling around my huge suitcase all over the con floor that final day.

It was a pretty venue, but it was not a venue that catered to the otaku masses. We were totally out of place, and I’m sure the poor bastards sharing the con center with us that weekend felt the same way as well.

The Failure of the Maids

So the second major issue with Katsucon was in its organization, or rather, the lack thereof.

Because they stopped con catering Saturday afternoon and all the neighboring restaurants were way too expensive, I had no choice but to go to the Katsucon maid cafe for my Saturday night dinner.

Now I’ll be honest, I’m far too shy to actually go to a maid cafe. I can barely keep a idle conversation going with a regular waiter, so you can imagine my horror of having to deal with a waitress that is supposed to be engaging with you. So while I’m Mr. Moé and can probably tell you everything about maid culture, I am not going to be going to one any time soon.

But these were desperate times, and I seriously needed food at a somewhat reasonable price. So I made my way to the cafe as my last resort.

Well, it turns out I had much more to worry about than my shyness, like just getting my damn food in the first place.

The maid cafe was packed and had a long line waiting outside of it. So they decided to cut down the line by fitting as many parties as possible into big tables of up to six people. So I sat with a pair of teenage guys cosplaying as Pokémon characters and a pair of young Asian girls.

Three sets of complete strangers, all eating at one large table together, awkwardly not talking to each other.

Our maid for the evening, Yumie, was not only taking care of our table of six, but also had to take on the table of six next to us and probably other tables somewhere else. She was in charge of taking our orders and keeping us entertained with her company. However, with over a dozen people to serve, that wasn’t quite so easy.

The girl seemed to have no idea what any of the food items were. She mixed up the food between the two tables and completely forgot to give us eating utensils. The Pokémon boys paid a little extra to play a board game with her, but she was so busy working the other tables that she had to play one round at a time before running off.

So she wasn’t the best waitress. That’s okay, that’s not her job, However, the restaurant they had rented out for the cafe had actual waiters and cooks on staff to take care of the food. The real waiters were supposed to take the orders from the maids, and then pass off the food to the maid to deliver to the table.

Well, the problem is that Yumie was NEVER AROUND for the real waiters to pass off the food to us. As I was starving, I could see my food waiting there in the hands of an actual waiter, who was gradually looking more annoyed and impatient as our maid was no where to be seen.

What was wrong with this picture? Where was our maid, and just why did she have to be there to deliver the food that was sitting right next to us?

By the time Yumie came back and actually delivered our food, I quickly ate it, plucked down my 10 bucks, and got the hell out of there. I wasn’t sticking around for dessert. The maid cafe was a mess, and it was just one example of how the Katsucon staff did not have their act together that weekend.

This disorganization also became evident on how poorly the panels went. No one was there to tell the panelists when to stop talking, so many of the guests ran overtime. When a line formed outside of a room for an upcoming panel, there was nobody on staff there to clear out the room and let in the new people. It was up to the attendees to adhere to this unspoken convention rule, and a lot of the times, they just ignored it.

And not to sound like an old geezer, but I also noticed a heavy use of alcohol on the convention grounds during the evening, way more than I have ever experienced at a convention before. So many kids were walking around completely plastered, causing a ruckus in the hallways and on the elevators.

Where was the security? Where was the crowd control? There was more booze flowing around the Gaylord that weekend than a college frat house on a Thursday night.

Final Thoughts

I really hate being negative in these reports, but it’s honestly hard to figure out what positive things I could say about my first time going to Katsucon.

I really did enjoy the coat check service, but even that failed me on the last day. The guest interview process was a little disorganized, but I was eventually able to arrange for my requested interview.

But that is as far as the pleasantries go as there was not much all that notable about this convention. There were only a few panels that I enjoyed going to, and I have already written about most of them earlier this week.  The bitter truth is that I spent most of the time walking around, bored, hungry, and looking for something to do, so I really did not enjoy my time down there at all.

Now granted, there were many factors working against the convention and its staff. It was a new location this year and they were dealing with the blizzard that occurred just a few days earlier. But there really is no excuse for a poorly organized convention like this, not when you have a fan-driven show like Otakon run so smoothly year after year.

So hopefully this was just bad circumstances that ruined the Katsucon experience for me this year. By hiring more staff, keeping the con running much smoothly, and providing better eating options for the poor kids in attendance, I’m sure that they can greatly improve the situation for Katsucon 17 next year.

But I highly doubt I will be back again to see it.

Top photo provided by Janai Blog.

So yes, I survived Katsucon. As you can see, I wasn’t able to post my daily con reports this time around, but if you’ve been following my twitter feed, you would have seen that I was not quite happy with my experience at the con this weekend. I’m going to spend a little time working on a “Highlights of Katsucon” report to detail just why things didn’t really work out for me. But at the same time, I’m planning to also highlight some of the things I did like about the con, including a very interesting panel from the ever controversial voice actor Greg Ayers.

So be sure to stay tuned to my full con report, which I’m expecting to post within the next few days. However, let me just go over news items from the convention and the little bits and pieces that won’t make it into my report.

Though a bit of a warning, FUNimation was the only company presenting at the convention last weekend, so of course, mostly all of the news will be centered around them.

* * *

First off, check out my interview on The Fan’s POV by Out Of Time Production on our impressions of the convention. Now, remember that I wasn’t in the best of moods on Sunday, so forgive me for being a little too bitter in this interview. But I think it went rather well, even though I completely lost my train of thought whenever anyone walked in front of the camera.

But yes, I am now a level three certified maid. (^_^)

Jon and Ernie also totally hooked me up with hotel and transportation last weekend, and that couldn’t have gone any smoother than it did.  I rate the Out Of Time travel experience an A++++ and would be willing to travel with them again in the future.

* * *

FUNimation had their big War on Pants promotion last weekend, and I actually had a lot of fun with it. As always, American Cosplay Paradise provided top quality cosplayers (pictured above) who played their roles quite well. Not only were the bottomless outfits quite sexy, but the girls said a lot of cute things to keep with the moé theme of the show, and they also said a lot of funny things to keep with the tongue-in-cheek nature of the campaign. I don’t know how ACP finds these girls, but you can see why FUNi and Bandai continues to turn to them for all their promotional needs.

* * *

Another panel at Katsucon that I really enjoyed a lot was the Anime Marketing Workshop that was run by FUNi’s con guy Adam Sheehan.  For the most part, you break up into partners and run through the scenario of marketing  a brand new anime license. From announcement to advertisement to packaging, your product is constantly running into unforeseen road blocks created by the Japanese rights holders, the fan community, and your manufacturing centers. You and your partner discuss each obstacle and plan out the solution to dealing with it.

As a total industry geek, I just loved talking about this kind of back end business stuff. According to Sheehan, all of the obstacles that were described in the fictional scenario have actually happened before with real life titles that FUNi was trying to market.

The workshop was a lot of fun, and I recommend you all check it out when Sheehan brings it to a con near you.

* * *

And finally, the only news from Katsucon that made it to all the other news sites was the rescue license of Trigun. You know, there’s not much I can really say about the series. Trigun is an excellent anime, and it has become very popular with otaku of my generation because of its run on Adult Swim in 2003.

And I think that right there may be the interesting thing about this announcement. What’s the demographic of this re-release? Are new anime fans who have never seen the series really interested in seeing it now, or is this purely for the fans who remember it from 8 years ago? Has the anime market gotten to the point where the “Adult Swim” generation is now a form of nostalgic appeal?

I think this might be a trend we’re starting to see with the FLCL and Trigun re-release happening in the latter half of this year. Notice how both series aired on Adult Swim, and both series will now be upgraded to HD on Blu-ray discs. These are clearly going to be collectibles marketed to that slightly older fan base. In the post anime boom era, we’re actually seeing a reemergence of boom era anime.

It’s just funny how it only takes 8 years for an anime to be considered a “classic.” I’m expecting to hear Evanescence and Fountains of Wayne on the oldies station any day now.

On Site:

Deb Aoki from About.com: Manga	Erica Friedman from Okazu	Scott from The Anime Almanac
Jon I. from JANAiBlog	Edward Sizemore from Comics Worth Reading	OutOfTimeProd from Out Of Time Productions
DJ Ranma S from Anime Jam Session	Brigid from MangaBlog	Vampt Vo from Ani-Gamers
Greg	ANN_Bamboo	NYAF from New York Anime Festival
Dave from Subatomic Brainfreeze	Ed Chavez from Vertical Inc.	Reni Mimura from ReniReni.com
funimation	Peter Tatara from New York Anime Fest	bandaient
Patz from The Gaming Dungeon	Carl from Ogiue Maniax

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

VIZ Media Doesn’t Know

Scott:
It’s the @VIZ crew.

Scott:
Damn, VIZ always have the most enthusiastic reps at these cons.

Brigid:
Did an hour of power on exhibit floor, now sitting in the Viz panel at #NYAF.

Brigid:
Kirby ani-manga, another Pokemon ani-manga, Naruto Shippuden box set, Bleach movie 2… not sure if any of this is news

Brigid:
Viz announcement: Bakuman, by Death Note creators Takeshi Obata and Tsugumi Ohba, debuts in Shonen Jump in May, vol. 1 out in Augus

Deb Aoki:
bakuman manga will be serialized in Shonen Jump mag starting in May 2010, vol. 1 in aug. 2010

Deb Aoki:
Toriko added to shonen jump mag in Feb 2010, vol. 1 in Jun 2010

Brigid:
Another Viz announcement: Toriko, “cross between Iron Chef and Land of the Lost,” debuts in Feb. issue of SJ, vol. 1 out in June.

Deb Aoki:
Gente by Natsume Ono – July 2010 (the follow-up to ristorante paradiso)

Brigid:
Two new series on SIGIKKI.com, What Me Answer? (not sure of the title) starts in Oct, Bob and His Funky Crew

Deb Aoki:
Monster anime box set – due out on Dec. 8, 2009

Brigid:
New Viz Signature title, Gente, by Natsume Ono, followup to Ristorante Paradiso, due out July 2010.

Scott:
Library Wars announced.

Brigid:
New Shojo Beat title: Library Wars, concept by Hiro Arikawa, story & art by Kiiro Yumi, due out June 2010. And: Vampire Knight fan book 9/10

Erica Friedman:
Library Wars…that could have been *so* excellent, but was instead just very good. :-)

Deb Aoki:
New from shojo beat: Library Wars: Love & War – June 2010 — think bookhunter with much cuter, prettier characters. ;-)

Deb Aoki:
Grand Guiginol Orchestra by Kaori Yuki (creator of godchild) – vol. 1 from Shojo beat in Oct. 2010

Deb Aoki:
Nice to Meet You, Kamisama by Julietta Suzuki (creator of karakuri odette) – vol. 1 in nov. 2010 from shojo beat

Brigid:
Another new Viz license: Nice to Meet You Kamisama, and Grand Guignol Orchestra, by Kaori Yuki

Scott:
Inu Yasha anime simulcast announced.

Deb Aoki:
Oct. 3 VIZ will start simulcasting the final episodes of Inu-Yasha on shonensunday.com/anime

Brigid:
They announced the Rin-ne manga, I believe first volume out in October. Missed part of that because I was swearing at the computer.

Deb Aoki:
official Vampire Knight fan book in sept. 2010 w/ sketches, costume pics, floor plans, q&a w/ characters

ANN_Bamboo:
Viz 2010 schedule is packed. Grand Guignol Orchestra, Hajimemashite Kamisama, Monster, Rin-Ne, Library Wars, Gente. #NYAF

Deb Aoki:
two new series for SigIkki.com: What’s the Answer (Kotae wa mittsu) by Tondabayashi – starts Oct 22

Deb Aoki:
new on SigIkki.com Bob & his Funky Crew (Bob to Yukaina Nakamatachi) by Puncho Kondoh – “demented baseball manga” – nov. 19

Carl:
inuyasha still gets quite a reaction from fans. I bet shueisha is like “mmm money”

Deb Aoki:
Q: [various random stuff] A: “we can’t comment on this right now.”

Deb Aoki:
Q: “butwhataboutthisobscuretitle/randomidea?” A: “we’ve thought about that. that’s all we can say”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Japanese Pop-Idols and the Fanboys Who Love Them

Jon I.:
On the train listening to some AKB48 in preparation for the concert.

Scott:
For the past two days, NYAF might have been known as Tominocon 2009, but today, it will be known as AKBcon 48! (^_^)

Scott:
Going in.

Jon I.:
Got into the concert! Standing room only. My feet are gonna kill me.

Scott:
They gave us glow sticks while going in.

DJ Ranma S:
Guess who’s NOT at the AKB48 concert, because a certain someone didn’t show up? -_-

Greg:
AKB48!!!

Jon I.:
AKB48 PUT ON AN A-M-A-Z-I-N-G SHOW!!!! THANK YOU #NYAF FOR THE ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY!!!

Jon I.:
AKB48 was by far the highlight of the con. So amazing. They even did TWO ENCORES!!!

Jon I.:
I took tons of photos. They didn’t come out so great but some came out good. WILL POST SOON!!

Greg:
The AKB48 concert was lots of fun.

Scott:
Really loved those AKB48 girls.

Scott:
I’ll write more about the concert in my upcoming feature on the group, probably later next week.

Scott:
… and now I got AKB48 stuck in my head… (>_<) “Happy, Happy Burst-day!” http://bit.ly/pUdh5

Jon I.:
@Scott Amazing. I’m browsing YT for AKB48 videos at the same time as you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bye-Bye!

Deb Aoki:
Bye nyaf friends old & new — I gots ta catch a plane. Thanx for the fun — let’s do it again next year!

Erica Friedman:
@Deb Aoki It was great seeing you again.

Deb Aoki:
@Erica Friedman yah! Sorry we didn’t have more time to chat — but always great to see you!

Erica Friedman:
@Deb Aoki Same here. Next time, you’ll have to do dinner with us grownups. :-)

Edward Sizemore:
Goodbye NYAF I had a wonderful time. Heading to Penn Station then JFK. Everyone safe travels home. Glad I took next 2 days off.

bandaient:
is heading off to JFK! Thanx #NYAF.

Deb Aoki:
Hi ho hi ho — it’s back to oakland i go — provided the traffic gods are kind enough to get me to jfk on time

Deb Aoki:
Now that manga is having less & less of a presence @ Anime cons, I think I can/should cut back my con sked next yr.

Deb Aoki:
Prolly just Anime expo, San Diego comic-con, c2e2 & NY comic-con/nyaf

bandaient:
#NYAF was so much fun our flight has been delayed at JFK.

Deb Aoki:
Just realized: I acquired 0 manga @ nyaf. :-/ I did buy 5 cookbooks from vertical, tho. :-9

Deb Aoki:
Here’s another reason why I love jetblue: a truffle burger, fries & a glass of zin before flying home :-9

Vampt Vo:
#NYAF is officially over! Waiting on line for Megabus, which is now leaving an hour later than expected, apparently.

Vampt Vo:
A *half* hour. My bad. A whole hour would be torture.

Deb Aoki:
Btw, thanx to the NYC javits center diet, my jeans are baggy ’round the waistline ;-)

ANN_Bamboo:
Coming down from my #NYAF high at Laguardia. Boy, I sure do love sitting in airports.

OutOfTimeProd:
done with #NYAF, see you at the new york comic anime con festival in oct 2010!

Deb Aoki:
My taxi driver asked me where I got my cool sou sou Tabi sneakers. She was bummed when I said I got it from @new_people in sf

Deb Aoki:
Jetblue’s jfk terminal is so awesome. Steakhouse, tapas restaurant, sushi bar…

Edward Sizemore:
@Deb Aoki Unfortunately United terminal is not nearly as nice. McD’s, sandwhich shop, Hudson News, etc. Very disappointed.

Reni Mimura:
Hello(^^)NYAF finish.also Reni’s this summer finish(**)Reni hope with every one next summer too v(o0o)v See you next Sunday in Reni’s show

Scott:
So long, NYAF. Along with my last “In Tweets” report later today, I’ve got three features to write about in the upcoming Fridays.

NYAF:
#NYAF 09 is over! Thank you! Thank you all for a great weekend!

Jon I.:
#NYAF is over and the huge amount of money that was in my wallet on Friday is all gone. Yay for spending money!!

Jon I.:
My #NYAF 2009 con swag: 5 art books, 2 DVD box sets and 1 figure.

OutOfTimeProd:
THANK YOU #NYAF FOR AN AWESOME SEASON FINALE TO THE FAN’S POV

ANN_Bamboo:
Technology hard at work in Washington-Dulles.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My Final Thoughts

Scott:
As far as industry goes, my winner of NYAF this year was Vertical. I did an interview with @Ed Chavez, which I’ll post in a few weeks.

Scott:
I was also very happy to see Tokyopop at the con. I don’t remember the last time I saw them present at a con, but it’s been at least a year.

Scott:
But WHERE WAS YEN PRESS?! Yen Press was my winner of the past two New York Comic Cons. They’re an NYC company. WHERE WERE THEY?!

Scott:
Biggest disappointment? Bandai. And it’s a shame because Bandai owned Otakon just a few months ago.

Scott:
I am totally all con’d out. Can I just sleep from now until C2E2 in April? (-_-) zzz

On Site:

Scott from The Anime Almanac	Deb Aoki from About.com: Manga	Jon I. from JANAiBlog
DJ Ranma S from Anime Jam Session	Edward Sizemore from Comics Worth Reading	Michael Pinto from Anime.com
NYAF from New York Anime Festival	OutOfTimeProd from Out Of Time Productions	Greg
Vampt Vo from Ani-Gamers	Brigid from MangaBlog	Vince A
Hisui from Reverse Thieves	Dave from Subatomic Brainfreeze	Ed Chavez from Vertical Inc.
ANN_Bamboo	funimation	Reni Mimura from ReniReni.com
Patz from The Gaming Dungeon	Erica Friedman from Okazu	Carl from Ogiue Maniax

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AKB48!

NYAF:
The line for AKB48 tickets at #NYAF started at 2 AM. Believe it!

Scott:
On the train heading to NYC, preparing my questions for my AKB48 interview this morning.

Scott:
My main questions are about their NYC experience and I’m preparing some fluff question if I have time left. Anyone got good fluff questions?

Hisui:
@Scott You can ask about musical influences. Who they admire as singers. What they think of the convention.

Edward Sizemore:
@Scott The time honored fluff question, “If you could be any anime character, who would you be?”

Edward Sizemore:
@Scott Quickly followed up w/ “If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?”

Edward Sizemore:
@Scott Finally, the sneaky curve ball, “When does a fish bark condensation?”

Scott:
@Edward Sizemore Somehow I doubt that that 19-year-old japanese pop idols will get the joke. (^^;)

Hisui:
@Scott Also you can ask about their views on abortion and the death penalty.

Scott:
Got to have my AKB48 interview early. Limited to only three questions. Oh well. (-_-;)

Scott:
After the interview, one of them came up to me and handed me a stack of CDs. It’s the only “freebie” I’m keeping.

Jon I.:
@Scott I’m jealous! Congrats!

Scott:
Getting ready to whack off to AKB48, as @Zac Bertschy would put it.

Scott:
Oh wow!! (o_o) What a bunch of cuties!!!

Scott:
I am one happy fanboy now.

Scott:
That was the greatest performance I have ever seen. I can die a happy man now. Videos being uploaded soon.

Scott:
AKB48 takes the stage. http://twitvid.com/784EF

Scott:
Omg, omg, sooooo cute! http://twitvid.com/56192

Scott:
Some AKB48 rump shaking and the crazy Japanese fanboys who went all the way to the USA for this. http://twitvid.com/1E37F

Scott:
As I’m taking the train back home for the night, I’m reflecting on the day and just how much I loved the AKB48 mini-show.

Scott:
I maintained a cool professional persona in all my interactions with them today, but man, did I have a big smile while watching them dance!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Del Rey!

Vampt Vo:
Del Rey industry panel is about to start. If you’re not going to it, then get over to @UncleYo’s performance!

Scott:
There’s no slides, so I have to play it by ear.

Scott:
Del Rey announces Here I Am license.

Scott:
Del Rey announces Youkai Navi Luna license.

Scott:
Del Rey announces Rave Master license.

Deb Aoki:
very exciting — Del Rey picking up last 3 volumes of Rave Master by Hiro Mashima in one big omnibus edition – sept. 2010

Scott:
Del Rey announces Arisa (from Kitchen Princess artist) license.

Brigid:
Del Rey new announcements: Here I Am, by Ema Toyama, creator of Pixie Pop; Arisa, by Natsumi Ando, creator of Kitchen Princess

Deb Aoki:
other new del rey titles: Arisa by Natsumi Ando (creator of kitchen princess) much more serious, suspenseful shojo manga series – nov 2010

Brigid:
Also, they are picking up Rave Master and will conclude the series. (Formerly licensed by Tokyopop)

Brigid:
Ali Kokmen on CLAMP in America: “Full of CLAMPy goodness.” Due out in March.

Brigid:
Del Rey is handing out Moyashimon face masks. Ali: It’s likely walking anthropomorphic bacteria will not kill you, but why take the chance?

Patz:
Yes Del Rey has Code Breaker!

Brigid:
This is interesting: Ben 10 cine-manga will be written by Peter David and illustrated by Dan Hipp (Gyakushu) in his own style.

Brigid:
Bakugan to be written by Nunzio DeFillippis and Christina Weir, the writers of Amazing Agent Luna.

Brigid:
Ali explains the masks they are handing out to promote Moyashimon; @Toukochan asks if they will have nooses to promote Zetsubou-Sensei

Deb Aoki:
Q: will they re-release earlier vols of samurai deeper kyo? A: “we’re monitoring the sitch – if you buy 100’s of omnibus, we may”

Deb Aoki:
Q: will moyasimon have new cover art for all american editions? (dif. than JP editions) A: yes

Deb Aoki:
aw — Del Rey manga has no plans to publish Kasumi Vol. 3. so will the creators have to self-publish it?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yui Makino!

OutOfTimeProd:
on our way to #NYAF hopefully ill be there for Yui concert

Jon I.:
Now waiting for the Yui Makino concert to start!

OutOfTimeProd:
Cute intro to the Yui show with an interview.

NYAF:
Yui Makino’s concert begins in just a few minutes in the ANA Theater!

Scott:
Now waiting for the Yui Mikano concert. Looks like photos and videos are ok.

Scott:
… or Makino. Damn you Japanese and your waaay too simple language.

Scott:
Yui Makino on stage.

Scott:
Yui Makino opens her NYAF show. http://twitvid.com/937F9

Scott:
Yui gets the crowd going. http://twitvid.com/829A9

Scott:
She’s a pretty mellow singer. I guess I’m just too used to the super happy fantastic singing of AKB48-like group.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bandai?

Vince A:
Staying in room for Bandai panel.

NYAF:
See the Bandai panel at 12:15 in 1A24!

Deb Aoki:
hello, bandai. let’s see what you have new today

Jon I.:
Bandai prepping for their panel.

Jon I.:
No new Bandai title announcements =/

Deb Aoki:
bandai @ nyaf: no new anime announcements due to “recession” / negotiations taking longer.

Scott:
yup, Bandai is doomed (-_-)

Greg:
@Scott bandai? I liked it better when it was called adv films.

Deb Aoki:
bandai @ nyaf – more titles will be released in blu-ray in 2010

Jon I.:
13 episodes on Blu-Ray for $80? No thanks Bandai.

Deb Aoki:
i’m sorry. i really, really don’t like dubbed anime. :p

Jon I.:
Bandai needs to make actual TRAILERS for some shows rather than just show the OP. Like for Hayate.

Jon I.:
Bandai just showed previews for Sola and True Tears. They look awesome and moe. I’m glad I bought them.

Jon I.:
I think I might actually buy some the manga that Bandai is releasing.

Deb Aoki:
bandai @ nyaf – doing omnibus editions of Eureka Seven (vols. 1 – 3 in one) and Witchblade Takeru – due in oct/nov ‘09

Deb Aoki:
bandai @ nyaf – escaflowne anime will be released in blu-ray next year.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ANN!

ANN_Bamboo:
For all y’alls at #NYAF, the Anime News Network panel is today at 3PM. Come meet us and learn about all the anime we’re streaming for free!

Edward Sizemore:
Waiting for Anime News Network panel to start.

Michael Pinto:
hanging out at anime news network panel

Scott:
It’s @ANN_Bamboo and the rest of the ANN crew.

Greg:
Lots of people have questions for Anime News Network.

Scott:
Got to talk to @ANN_Bamboo about her secret reviewing technique after the ANN panel.

ANN_Bamboo:
@Scott If anyone asks, tell them it involves peanut butter and brass knuckles.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bloggers Panel!

Vampt Vo:
Everybody’s coming to the Blogger’s Roundtable tonight at 8 at #NYAF, right? RIGHT?

Hisui:
The bloggers round table is going to be like a million billion times more sexy and fun than the cosplay masquerade.

Hisui:
And we give away free stuff at the bloggers round table. Plus I genuinely care about your family The cosplay masquerade does not.

Erica Friedman:
Boy, the blogger panel had better be good, because everyone’s gonna be there. #nyaf

Edward Sizemore:
@Erica Friedman I make NO promises.

Dave:
it would be beyond inadvisable to miss the #nyaf blogger roundtable: 8PM in 1A21

Jon I.:
Not gonna be able to make it to the Blogger Roundtable. Sorry guys! I will hopefully see some of you tomorrow.

Dave:
As the #nyaf Blogger Roundtable draws closer, those who cannot attend bemoan their fate

Scott:
Did I mention we were giving out A TON of DVD box sets at the Bloggers Roundtable? Come for the sexy guests, stay for the prizes!

Michael Pinto:
{ anime } at the bloggers roundtable at #NYAF

Deb Aoki:
Wheee. Blogger panel @ nyaf

Brigid:
I’m at the bloggers’ roundtable at NYAF. Nice to know that portions of my lifetime are ancient history to some folks. :{

Michael Pinto:
@Brigid yeah it’s the kiddie pool up there! ; )

Deb Aoki:
@Brigid tell me about it. I think I’m the only one up here with a 401k ;-/

Scott:
Do too many bloggers spoil the panel? We’re taking about 20 minutes to answer each question!

Michael Pinto:
@Scott I actually liked the fact that there was a large number & variety of panelists

Scott:
It also just occurred to me that I was called a lolicon twice at tonight’s bloggers panel. What the hell, people? :-P

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Karaoke!

Deb Aoki:
Off to post-nyaf karaoke! Yay!

Deb Aoki:
Wheee! @Gia on the mike @ chorus karaoke in k-town

Scott:
Karaoke is fun, but it fails for not having “Baby Got Back” or “The Safety Dance”

Vampt Vo:
At karaoke with Twitter/blogger buddies. Fun times had by all.

Scott:
Linda Lindaaaaa! Linda Linda Linda-aaaaah!

Deb Aoki:
Ha! @erinf & Noah rockin’ the gay bar @ nyaf blogger night karaoke!

Deb Aoki:
Reacquainted myself with one of the truisms of NYC: finding a cab after midnight in the rain is nigh impossible

Deb Aoki:
Phew. It’s 2am & back in dry clothes. Thanx nyaf blogger/karaoke crew! U da best!

On Site:

Scott from The Anime Almanac	OutOfTimeProd from Out Of Time Productions	Erica Friedman from Okazu
Brigid from MangaBlog	Jon I. from JANAiBlog	Deb Aoki from About.com: Manga
NYAF from New York Anime Festival	Vince A	Edward Sizemore from Comics Worth Reading
Greg	funimation	Michael Pinto from Anime.com
TOKYOPOP	DJ Ranma S from Anime Jam Session	Dave from Subatomic Brainfreeze
ANN_Bamboo	Narutaki from Reverse Thieves	Carl from Ogiue Maniax
Kyle Hebert	Peter Tatara from New York Anime Fest	Reni Mimura from ReniReni.com
Patz from The Gaming Dungeon	Ed Chavez from Vertical Inc.	Hisui from Reverse Thieves
bandaient

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tweeting Live from the Con Floor!

OutOfTimeProd:
#NYAF 2009 is here! Whose ready for the weekend? Look for us throughout the convention floor with our new shirts and my Yankees jersey.

NYAF:
Good morning, NYC anime fans!

Peter Tatara:
Didn’t sleep last night. Couldn’t sleep last night. Should have slept last night.

Peter Tatara:
Remember, kids, it’s not love unless you want to cough up blood.

Edward Sizemore:
@NYAF Can I pick up my press badge at 9 AM today?

Erica Friedman:
Hoping to see a few other folks in their Women Make Comics tees today at #nyaf

Edward Sizemore:
FYI Press can pick up badges NOW! Go to the Professionals registration booth for your badge. I got mine off to explore NYC.

NYAF:
Chalk artist Eric Maruscak is setting up now at #NYAF! See him right inside the show floor.

DJ Ranma S:
Tweets will prolly be off this weekend. I’ll be @ Secret Shop booth dressed as Ranma Saotome. ^^ #NYAF

Scott:
I’m on my way to NYC. Lots of industry panels today. Maybe I can take a tour of the dealers room before doors open.

Greg:
Picked up my badge…its quite different from other con badges…

bandaient:
walking around the Javitz. #NYAF

NYAF:
Get to the Kinokuniya booth early at #NYAF before the Baby, The Stars Shine Bright Boutique turns into a scene from 300.

Erica Friedman:
@ the Media Blasters booth

OutOfTimeProd:
The registration line at #NYAF

Scott:
At the press office chilling until they open up the dealers room.

Scott:
I’m still not cool with cosplayer with press badges. There’s a Rorschach in the press room. (-_-)

Vince A:
@Scott They should choose which is more important, reporting or cosplaying. #NYAF

DJ Ranma S:
Finally here at NYAF with @ladysinh. Charging netbook as we speak. Should look for others soon. BTW, dressed as Ranma today n tommorrow.

Scott:
Letters from NY governor Patterson and NYC mayor Bloomberg in the program. I didn’t know they were otaku!!! :-P

Narutaki:
#NYAF press badge gotten without issue. Ran into @Scott

Narutaki:
Getting GoGo Curry with a bevy of cloggers.

Scott:
Domu-kun is in your bathroom, watching you poo.

Edward Sizemore:
okay the Domo ‘Must Hands’ sign in men’s room is great & I hate the character.

Scott:
The con’s VIP wait to be the first on the show floor.

OutOfTimeProd:
inside the dealers room, looks sweet and bigger than last year

Greg:
I am inside. Checking out all the dealers. #NYAF

Greg:
It is confortable now. But tomorrow, this floor will be packed with attendees. #NYAF

Greg:
http://twitgoo.com/3rbpj this guy does this everday and it’s quite awesome #NYAF

Scott:
Del Rey giving out free surgical masks for Moyasimon.

Jon I.:
Con has started and I’ve already spent $50

Scott:
Sega demoing new games.

Scott:
Narrow @funimation booth is narrow.

NYAF:
Don’t miss the maids, all weekend at the #NYAF Apple Kissa Stage!

Scott:
The maids and their stage.

Scott:
Aw man, I just turned down a maid’s offer to sit next to me. Sorry, but I’m busy and I don’t have time to fake-flirt with you right now. :-(

Jon I.:
Dealers room needs more Figmas! #NYAF

Greg:
I am pleased with the way the convention is laid out. #NYAF

Patz:
Shit Sega has Bayonetta demos running at NYAF. So awesome!

Jon I.:
Picked up these Bandai titles #NYAF

Jon I.:
This book is calling out to me #NYAF

Jon I.:
Taiga from Toradora! #NYAF

Edward Sizemore:
Javits Center fountain water is terrible. How many chemicals are in it?

Vince A:
@Scott actually he said no sub-only DVDs, leaving the door open for sub-only in other mediums

Edward Sizemore:
Tons of people with press passes at NYAF. This con is going to get a lot of write ups.

Edward Sizemore:
On to the dealer’s room.

NYAF:
Dear otaku, you know those doors at #NYAF that ask you not to open them? Please don’t open them.

Greg:
Doh. Forgot to charge my backup battery. Guess I won’t be able tweet for too much longer.

Scott:
It’s freezing in this panel room. :-(

funimation:
If you’re at #NYAF you must come see artist Eric Maruscak creat a giant Soul Eater chalk mural. http://yfrog.com/0pcxxj

OutOfTimeProd:
Eric Maruscak chalking up a mural of Soul Eater

Jon I.:
A masterpiece in progress #NYAF

Erica Friedman:
Just ran into @Deb Aoki, had a great chat abt anime/manga journalism

DJ Ranma S:
Holy shit! Found an Ukyo cosplay with real spatula! Yes I fanboyed! =3

DJ Ranma S:
Parappa and Lammy #nyaf

Jon I.:
Free energy drinks! Every con needs one of these! #NYAF

Jon I.:
Aigis & The Protagonist from Persona 3 #NYAF

DJ Ranma S:
Nights!

Jon I.:
I really wish the dealers room stayed open later. #NYAF

Dave:
currently chillin’ on the floor in anime con desperation alley

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Goddamn Gundam Fans…

Vince A:
Think I’ve got my #NYAF agenda set for the next two days. Hope things go on as planned. Should be in NYC in time to get Tomino autograph tix

NYAF:
The Tomino autograph line has begun.

Carl:
@NYAF What’s the format for autographs this year? Will there be more than one day for autographs?

Dave:
@Carl tells me the tomino autograph line has already begun. Perspective: Tomino signs tomorrow night.

OutOfTimeProd:
According to some people, the autograph ticket line at #NYAF for Yoshiyuki Tomino begun at 7am, maybe earlier. The signing begins at 7pm.

Scott:
Waiting in line at 7:00 am for an autograph? You Gundam fans are all freaking nuts. There, I’ve said it. :-P

Dave:
I’m sane, so even though I have a vintage Gundam III poster here, I’ll settle for having one Tomino-autographed item: http://is.gd/3F2rz

Narutaki:
@Dave I think that is an excellent autograph choice! I hope Tomino doesn’t throw it at you.

Dave:
@Narutaki If you mean the Haro, he laughed when he saw it.

Vince A:
Leaving for NYC now. If anyone can save me a spot on the Tomino ticket line, I’d appreciate it. #NYAF

Carl:
#NYAF On line for tomino tickets

Vince A:
@Carl did you need your badge first? I’m in badge line now waiting

Patz:
@Vince A They are checking people for badges before they let you in the line.

Vince A:
@Patz cool.. I’m in the right line first… But this line isn’t moving #NYAF

Vince A:
Why didn’t they mail out the badges this year? #NYAF

Vince A:
Why is the reg staff goofing off as opposed to giving out badges? #NYAF

Vince A:
Ok.. Now in autograph ticket line…. Oy #NYAF

Carl:
#nyaf got me a tomino ticket!

Vince A:
Have Tomino autograph ticket. Now sitting in line waiting to enter show. #NYAF

NYAF:
The Tomino Keynote is at 5:15 in 1A21 at #NYAF!

Narutaki:
Waiting outside the panel room for Tomino keynote.

Greg:
I always feel sorry for the panels that occur at the same time as a ridiculously popular event/panel. #nyaf

Vince A:
In line for Tomino keynot

Dave:
in line for tomino keynote: i expect him to be disgruntled

Dave:
oh my god this translator

Dave:
tomino being drowned out by people singing god knows outside

Dave:
tomino on zeta movies: “people wanted to make money”

Vince A:
In Tomino autograph line

Vince A:
Got Tomino autograph… Excellent

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FUNimation

NYAF:
The FUNimation industry panel starts at 2:30 in 1A24!

Vince A:
Sitting in back of Funimation panel room. Nice to have a chair for a while. #NYAF

funimation:
10 mins until FUNImation panel at #NYAF. 2:30 in Panel Rm 1 (1A24). See you there!

Jon I.:
Heere’s Adam! #NYAF

OutOfTimeProd:
oh @funimation you and your fancy but awesome openings to your panels

Scott:
At the @funimation panel. Lighting is no good for pictures.

funimation:
Aargh. Can’t get laptop to connect from the bowels of Javits. Press releases will come after panel.

OutOfTimeProd:
sitting behind a furry at the @funimation panel, tweeting afterwards unless something awesome happens

Scott:
FUNi: There is too much demand from the fans for dubs, so we will never put out sub-only releases.

Scott:
DTO: FUNi offeres the most content on Xbox Live and PS Network than any other network.

Scott:
Shodojo.com: “Watch and Chat” feature for online streaming.

Scott:
FUNi: Simulcasting is the future of anime.

OutOfTimeProd:
Nabari No Ou looks amazing, very tempted to buy it. Screw it, ill probably buy it. #NYAF

OutOfTimeProd:
Blassreiter trailer at @funimation panel is epic, oct 20th is the date

Scott:
FUNi – Dragonout is an anime with action and “action”. ::wink:: ::wink::

funimation:
Dragon Box will have both Japanese and English tracks + original Japanese opening and closings.

funimation:
FMA: Brotherhood cast returns. Vic Mignogna is Ed but we have a new Al. Aaron Dismuke grew up and Al is now voiced by Maxey Whitehead.

funimation:
Other new cast members include J. Michael Tatum as Scar and Bryan Massey as Isaac McDougal.

funimation:
But Aaron Dismuke will be back in a different role.

Scott:
FUNimation announces X rescue license.

Jon I.:
FUNimation licensed X (TV and OVA)

Jon I.:
FUNimation announces Initial D Fourth Stage

Scott:
This includes all seasons, and they will redo the dub from the early Tokyopop release.

Jon I.:
FUNi will be redubbing all of previous Initial D releases with original music #NYAF

Greg:
Omg. Funimation acquired initial d….all of it and are redoing first 2 stages.

funimation:
We want to talk to you!

funimation:
I’m here – black ruffled blouse, bright purple sweater.

Greg:
@funimation but you’re not goku…;D

DJ Ranma S:
@funimation I’ll keeep an eyeout for you.

ANN_Bamboo:
Highlights from Funimation: Redub of Initial D! Woohoo! But the T-Pop ending theme was epic: “Start your engines, drive with a vengeance.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Scott’s First Liner Note Credit

Reni Mimura:
Ohayo(^^)see you later booth No 218!!(^o^)/

Jon I.:
. @OutOfTimeProd interviewing Reni-chan! #NYAF

Jon I.:
So cute!! #NYAF

Scott:
Reni entertains the crowds.

Scott:
Got a signed copy of Reni’s debut American EP.

Scott:
“My Shy Master” translated by Scott VonSchilling. (^_^)

Reni Mimura:
Reni go home now(^^)/I can see my friends alot\(0o0)/Reni is happy(^@^)/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tokyopop!

Greg:
Tokyopop has a panel…but its not on schedule…

Brigid:
OK, just arrived at the Tokyopop panel. Marco Pavia is handing out ramen—no $7 turkey sandwich for me!

Greg:
So why did tokyopop give me ramen? #NYAF

Scott:
Tokyopop is giving away free ramen. What kind of promotion is this?!

Scott:
The Tokyopop crew sets up for the live webcast.

Scott:
Ms. @Brigid blogging away at the Tokyopop panel.

Edward Sizemore:
@Scott I have to say @Brigid is a very fast typist. The keyboard should start smoking soon.

Brigid:
Good news: Better paper starting with the October releases. The fans spoke and Tokyopop listened! (NYAF—Tokyopop panel.)

Brigid:
DN Angel update: vol. 13 due out in December, vol. 14 is not out in Japan so it will be a while. #NYAF

Brigid:
Now we’re watching video of Domo-kun at SDCC. Love the Domo “Wash your hands” posters in the bathrooms. Do want! #NYAF

Brigid:
New announcement: Priest: Purgatory, original manga based on Priest manhwa/movie

Brigid:
Due out July 2010, 1 volume. #NYAF

Brigid:
Shutter Island, full color GN based on the nvoel by dennis Lehane

Brigid:
The Cabin in the Woods, one-volume manga set in the world of the movie

Brigid:

More new titles from Tokyopop: Songs and Laughter: Stories from the Creator of Fruits Basket (Natsuki Takaya) #NYAF

Brigid:
Twitter keeps crapping out on me. More new titles: Ratman, by Inui Sekihiko; Love Story on the Isolated Island by Duo Brand (to be renamed)

Brigid:
Qwasar of Stigmata, by creators of My-Hime. LDP: “Lots of T&A, lots of references to Russian religion, random Cyrillic text, and boobs!”

Brigid:
More titles—not sure if these are new: Croquis, Blood Honey, Love Knot, Cute Demon, Warcraft: Mage.

Brigid:
Question: What about vol. 5 of Manga Sutra? LDP: Even if we do vol. 5, it will still end abruptly—it’s up to 34 vols. in Japan.

Brigid:
LDP: We tried to do something different with it but it hasn’t sold that well so in later volumes we downgraded the packaging a bit.

Brigid:
Novels: more expensive to produce than anga and don’t sell as well.

Brigid:
different type of license—they take them in small batches, not all volumes at once. “remains to be seen” how they handle it.

Brigid:
Any more Kingdom Hearts? LDP: We would like to but Disney is kind of a pain to work with so I don’t think you will see it anytime soon.

Scott:
Where’s @debaoki?! (o_o)

Scott:
Ah, there’s @debaoki! (^_^)

TOKYOPOP:
JP: Darn wireless technology-our show from NYAF was tweaked by a bad connection. We’ll re-run the INSIDER at another time early next week.

TOKYOPOP:
LR:For everyone having trouble with the webcast, we’re going to be rebroadcasting it at a later date…so stay tuned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vertical

Ed Chavez:
Okay kids a reminder…we’ll be in NYAF booth 101 today selling manga, novels, fatty, and our new cookbooks including Bento Love.

Michael Pinto:
I’m at the vertical panel at #nyaf

Scott:
Good ol’ @Ed Chavez takes the podium.

Scott:
Vertical: We’re like Random House, only smaller… and poorer… and more desperate…

Brigid:
New Vertical title (not manga): Nintendo Magic: How the Video Game Wars Were Won, by Osamu Inoue.

Scott:
Vertical announces Peepo Choo license.

Scott:
Peepo Choo cover

Brigid:
Vertical announces license of Felipe Smith’s Peepo Choo, published in Kodansha’s Morning 2 (Smith is an American artist)

Michael Pinto:
{ anime } vertical panel: peepo choo from felipe smith looks cool

Brigid:
Ed Chavez on Peepo Choo: It’s kind of a Love story, has a little culture clash, Yakuza, otaku theme…

Scott:
Peepo Choo was originally written in English, so Smith himself will provide the translation.

Scott:
Vertical announces Twin Spica license.

Brigid:
New Vertical license: Twin Spica, sci-fi manga

Michael Pinto:
vertical panel: twin spica manga coming out #nyaf

Michael Pinto:
vertical panel: chi’s sweet home announced #manga #neko

Scott:
Chi!!! >(^_^)<

Brigid:
Ed is really sorry about what happened a few wks ago: “Literally we did not have the license at that time. We got the license this morning.”

Brigid:
They could have lost the license because of the leak. (?!)

Brigid:
Chi will be released in full color, flipped, $13.95 per volume. The mangaka was OK with this—they showed her the book.

Scott:
Chi’s going to be in full color and “flipped” from left-to-right.

Brigid:
Says @VerticalEd: “We’re not afraid of flipping. We have flipped before.”

Scott:
Vertical has had the best announcements so far this convention. You can see the @Ed Chavez impact making Vertical a bigger name for fans.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cencoroll

NYAF:
Cencoroll and the Cosplay Variety Show start at 9 PM in 1A08 at #NYAF!

OutOfTimeProd:
oh #NYAF Cencoroll premiere later today and Aniplex is showing the trailer. good times with an one-eyed fish lol

Jon I.:
Can’t want to see Cencoroll tonight

Michael Pinto:
at aniplex – cencoroll looks very well done #

Jon I.:
Time for Cencoroll! There’s a LINE for PRESS

OutOfTimeProd:
watching Cencoroll at #NYAF. whoo-hoo! for english subtitles with japanese audio instead of just japanese audio

Jon I.:
Cencoroll was… interesting. Have to watch it again to figure out what the hell was going on.

Jon I.:
Anime cons really need to learn to position their video screens higher. I could barely read the subtitles.