The Anime Almanac

So the list of my anime pet peeves might not be that large, but they are topics I’m really critical of and have spent way too much time writting about on this website and twitter:

1) DRM
2) Fansubs
3) Crunchyroll
4) Bandai Entertianment Inc. (BEI)

Now it would seem like the last point just doesn’t match with the other three, but on the contrary, they all boil down to one thing –

What’s wrong with anime on the internet in America and why it is not getting better.

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I noticed something very amazing last Thursday. There was a common theme running with all the people I follow on Twitter. Up in Connecticut, Ramune and Neato, the team that makes up the web comic Kitsune Kiki, were making their way to JFK airport to catch a flight to Baltimore. Japanator’s Dick McVengeance was taking a drive down from New Jersey. Down in Georgia, long time anime blogger Matthew was also catching a flight, while Gia was preparing for a cross-country flight out of LA. And this whole time, I was on a Greyhound bus from New York to Baltimore, surrounded by nerds, fangirls, multicolored wigs, and cat ears.

For one day, it appeared that every otaku in America was traveling to Baltimore for Otakon. It was an otaku pilgrimage, and the Baltimore Inner Harbor was our holy land.

After spending my weekend at Otakon, attending many panels, and observing the otaku culture, I certainly know why it has become such a sacred place for our little subculture. Although I did a full coverage of the event live on my twitter account, I would like to go over a few major highlights of the convention that really stood out for me.

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