I am certain there is too much certainty in the world.
Posts tagged 2010
Otakon 2010
Aug 5th
Mukyuu~! むきゅ～！(Gallery)
From early morning, Otakon seemed like a busier convention this year. Previously quiet spaces were already occupied with eager con-goers. The convention announced 29,274 unique attendees. A bump of almost 3,000 from last year, proving the convention did in-fact grow. Despite all this, the usual traffic problems seemed to be more rare. Some crowded hallways weren’t exactly fast moving, but tape was lined down to remind people to keep right. I can’t remember an occasion where I got stuck for more than a second or two. I might have been lucky, but I run around enough that I think there was definite improvement. Outside crowd control, most things I visited seemed to run on time without technical issues. Most of the complaints I heard were about the rave, which had a diversity from the line and it’s management to the crowd and music. I’ve never been a big fan of Otakon’s raves/dances, which seem to cater more to ravers than to fans who have a shared interest with raving/dancing. I’d love to see something that meshes the music and fandom as well as Hardcore Synergy at Otakon. Except, I worry that whoever decides on Otakon’s musical tastes has a disconnect somewhere.
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Otakon Side Quests!
Jul 26th
Like AX, Otakon is going to have a few special things going on. No bonus concerts at panels or the dealers room though (that i know of, seriously)! Nothing that special, sorry to get your hopes up. Anyways…
HenDaNe (booth 111-115 in the dealers room) is having a raffle for some exclusive Yoshitoshi ABe goods! Two autographed sign-boards with sketches and two autographed doujinshi (photo above)! Aside from that, the artist supplied HenDaNe with a number of out of print doujinshi. That’s exciting considering you’d be hard pressed to find those books in Japan. Any purchase of $40 or more earns you a raffle ticket. Then just return to the booth Saturday at 4:30pm for the raffle. If you’re not in attendance, you miss your chance to win!
MangaGamer (booth 214) returns to Otakon, and they managed to bring a limited number of various goods from AX with them. Hardcopies of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and Kira Kira! They also have “less than two dozen” copies of Love+ available. Finally, like AX they are doing another 18+ panel. Sadly they probably can’t have the same surprise concert here, but there will be prizes! Look forward to the panel “Visual Novels: Drama, Moe and Everything in Between!!” in Panel 4 (Hilton Key Ballroom 11-12) at 12:30AM on Friday night. Hopefully, being a Key ballroom means there will be lots of AIR. Cosplayers and everyone else take note! I’ll settle for any Key representation.
I’m sure some more side notes will come down as the clock counts down. Of course it’ll probably be when we’re all traveling at this rate! So, pay attention to my twitter, misuzulive. There will be posts and updates as the convention goes on. And if you see a little blue convertible with several Vocaloid characters on the side as you’re headed up I-95, wave!
Update: No, I’m not implying there will be a Key related announcement by MangaGamer. I just want to see more Key cosplayers.
Anime Expo 2010
Jul 25th
Welcome to Los Angeles, the biggest city in the USA that I can drive through at full tilt. It’s also home to the 19th year of Anime Expo, the biggest anime convention in the United States. Last year they brought in 44,000 unique fans over the course of 4 days. This year they’re back at the Los Angeles Convention Center, with events in the nearby Nokia Theater, Plaza, JW Marriot, and Club Nokia. The convention boasted a wide variety of Japanese and American guests, events, panels, and dealers.
Anime Expo typically offers the most industry guests and events of US conventions, as it is mostly industry supported as opposed to fan run conventions. Many US market companies also make announcements during the convention. 2010 is also the first year since Michael Lattanzio was hired as the CEO of the Anime Expo head organization Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). Attendance suggests this is also the first year since 1993 that the California event has failed to grow. Anime Expo did not release a unique count for 2010, only a turnstile count (4 day pass = 4 people) of 105,000.
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Animazement 2010
Jun 3rd
Animazement returned to downtown Raleigh to celebrate its 13th birthday by the newly completed City Plaza. Despite growing pains as they settle into their second year downtown, they’ve managed to grow and keep things running smoothly. This year they put their hard efforts on display with more to offer than ever.
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April キタ！
Mar 30th
I’m not another anime blogger here to give you the run down on Spring 2010 anime. However, I’d be happy to tell you why this April is going to make me happy. Yeah, there have been better seasons, but I can only name 4 or 5 that get me as excited as a new Key work. I’ll keep it short and sweet, so you’ll still have time for spring cleaning.
Angel Beats!
If you’ve done your homework as well, this one should be obvious. Jun Maeda and Na-Ga’s combined efforts shouldn’t let me down. Airs April 3rd in Japan.
Angel Beats! Homepage
K-ON! Season 2
One of those controversial, bubbly, moe, airhead anime without much in the way of plot. I take it easy, so this is a given. Of course, it could always go horribly wrong.
K-ON! Homepage
Narcissu -Side 2nd-
As I recently mentioned, the long awaited English patch is coming out this week! I’m sure getting over last year’s release has been difficult for some, but I thought I removed all possible doubt in my post. Look forward to it April 1st.
English Project Homepage
Update: K-ON! 2 CM Out! Thanks pKjd.
Katsucon 16 in the Snow
Feb 25th
I’ve been looking forward to this years Katsucon. Ever since last year when I learned it would be held at the Gaylord. It wasn’t a case of nice marketing either, the location lived up to the photos online. The premises was overflowing with great places for photography.
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Katsucon 2010!
Feb 15th
Katsucon 2010 just ended! Pretty busy weekend in their new location at the Gaylord, National Harbor, Convention Center. Probably the most scenic location covered yet.
Anyways, the report is coming soon but for the moment the photos are uploading!
Also, thanks to a Len & Kaito (Dyire on Cosplay.com) for helping take photos during the second Vocaloid shoot on Saturday. Otherwise I would of missed out on some good photos in order to get a little cosplay in.
Edit: Time Lapse of Travel Cam uploaded to Youtube.
Ichibancon 2010
Jan 30th
Just a few days break from Magfest and I’m off again. A new decade and a new anime convention for North Carolina. Ichibancon in Charlotte started out this year at the Great Wolf Lodge. Just across I-85 from Concord Mills and within walking distance of everything from Cookout to Jack in the Box.
Being a first-year con we didn’t have many expectations. I heard about it during Animazement but ever since the Internet was been fairly quiet and it seemed like their website was been up and down. A bit confusing at times but forgivable. We decided to push on, with the Lodge offering free water park access to the 4 people in our hotel room we would still have other things to do.
The lodge was in fact filled with things to do. A gaming room, arcade, spa, water-park… etc. Even a Pizza Hut and a Dunkin Doughnuts. However being a family get-away everything was overrun with pre-teen children running around with their parents. So we were delighted to find out that once this little tiny convention got started. It stayed bustling late into the night!
At first glance it doesn’t seem like much. The convention offered two panel rooms, a video room consisting of a TV and two couches in the convention space lobby, a business alcove converted into gaming room and of course dealers room and main events. But it worked. A decent masquerade, cosplay chess, a ramen eating competition… even 18+ panels. The events I went to felt more involved and there wasn’t a shortage of good panels or panelists. Not to mention the panel room converted to game room late at night when panels were done. There are always more things I wouldn’t mind at a con, but when you get enough things right, it doesn’t matter. Bonus points for not trying to pull off too much and doing it well. I look forward to next year.
Magfest 2010
Jan 30th
It seems like I’ve been trying to get to Magfest forever. I learned about it back in 2002 or 2003. I either kept forgetting or it was just at the wrong time. Admittedly, I’m not a huge gamer and don’t know much about old school games. So it wasn’t exactly priority 1. This past new years I made the trip and it managed to rekindle my love for Dreamcast.
I can’t really compare it to the majority of events I generally go to. However with an estimated 1700 people, I enjoyed it a lot more than anime cons of a similar size. Anime Mid Atlantic and Nekocon come to mind, sorry guys! Magfest just seems to be built around having stuff to do, everywhere. Starting with a huge game room, add arcade machines all over outside that, then add music performances, panels and other events and even a big room dedicated to a bring your own PC LAN. I have to commend them on the security check-in/out system for the LAN room, so one could leave gear and not worry at events. I’ve never had so much fun over a classic Donkey Kong console.
The huge game room was probably my favorite place, compared to game rooms that are a side feature of anime conventions; you’ve got open spots all over. So if you’re looking to kill some time, you have no shortage of options. To name a few of my favorites from the weekend… Crazy Taxi on Dreamcast, that old game where you kill the space aliens that was parodied on a Futurama episode, Keyboard Mania, and that game with the drums.
The 3 days I stayed, the place seemed to be fairly busy but without crowding issues. However I missed Sunday and Monday due to car issues. Which also kept this report back quite a while. For the first time in countless cons, I had to tow my vehicle home. orz