Random Thoughts of an Otaku

06:49 pm - New York Comic Con Thoughts

It was a good weekend for me. I am tired right now and am contemplating big changes for the second half of a year. I will talk more about this later in the week, but on to the convention. Instead of thoughts and the full breakdown, I am going to give my highlights:

-Got a sketch of Wonder woman Transforming. Alot of Artists don't or won't do it. It is a very nice sketch and I will try to get it posted.
-Got to see Hairspray last night. It is an amazing musical that I will write more about tomorrow. It is worth full price, but I didn't and I will explain that tomorrow.
-Gild Hall is a hidden gem of Hotels. I love this Hotel. 42 inch TV's and luxury all throughout. I have booked my NYCC room for next year at that hotel.
-Got to finally get Peter Fernandez (Speed of Speed Racer) autograph. I had the honor of talking with him at the American Anime Awards last year, but I didn't have an autograph book. That is one of my Autographing finds and I didn't get another all weekend.
-http://www.vixensofvirtuevixensofvice.com/ is a very cool take on Superheroines and Supervillianesses. I can't wait to see the DVD after buying it at the convention.
-I have done three conventions in three straight months and I am ready for a break. I will talk more later.

Current Mood: tired

08:39 am - Back from New York Comic Con

I am back from the New York Comic Con. I had a blast of a time over the weekend. I got to meet people such as Peter David and Luci Christian. The American Anime Awards are the shortest awards show I have ever seen. It took only an hour and five minutes. It was cool to see the stars and the appreciation of the voice actors for their work. The biggest surprise of the night was that Mary Elizabeth McGlynn winning for Best Actress. I am a fan of Mrs. McGlynn's work especially as Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

There was a big disappointment during the weekend. The way the fans dressed for the American Anime Awards. I dressed in nice shirt, tie, dress pants and sweater. I was the exception (the VIPS dressed as nice as I did) amongst fans. They dressed in Jeans, cosplay caps and Samurai Champloo shirts. This leads me to a Hugo's related question. How do the fans dress up for the Hugos? Should I have expected this from all fandom? I am very disappointed about this as a fan. I thought Anime fans showed class through events like formal Final Fantasy Balls at Anime Weekend Awards.

01:37 pm - At NY Comic con

I am standing at a UPS store near the Javits to say I am at NY Comic Con.  This will be my last post of the weekend and I will post more later.  I have been having a blast.  I saw Times Square for the first time.  I saw several stores including the Toys R US store.  It has a Ferris wheel inside.  I wish I had a camera with me to show you it, but I don't.  I will be checking into the Regency Inn and Suites soon.  I will be spending most of tonight going through the show floors for sketches.  Tomorrow is going to be the big panel day for me.

Current Mood: chipper

09:02 pm - Part Two New York Comic Con Guide

This is the second part of my anime/manga guide for NY Comic Con this weekend.  We focus on the major panels and events of the weekend based on a couple different areas: FOr the Cosplayer, For the news fanac, the expected big events and panels and other panels you should see.  

For the Cosplayer: 

THere will be a costume contest at  NY Comic Con.  Calling all costumed fans! OFFICIAL NYCC Cosplay & Costume Contest! Join us Friday February 23rd at 6:30pm, Saturday February 24th at 1:00pm & at 5:15pm, Sunday February 25th at 2:30pm. Come strut your Cosplay stuff! Prizes awarded immediately following the contest. It will be in the Crystal palce south area of the Javits.

10 AM on Sunday in 1E10 will be the Newtype USA panel.  Kevin Lillard will be taking pictures at the panel for inclusion in the magazine.  He will also be taking pictures on Saturday and Sunday for fansview.com. 1E10/11

For the ANN Fanac:

Friday at 5 PM will be the Viz Media Manga Panel.  The first official anime/manga industry panel of the weekend.  1E10/11

Friday at 6 PM will be the Tokyopop Industry Panel.  This is their official panel.  They will be doing another panel as a roundtable later in the weekend 1E10/11.

Saturday at 10 AM will be Manga's Industry panel.  They are an anime company that should have an intresting year with Karas coming out and the Ghost in the SHell: Solid State Society Movie coming out.

Saturday at 12 Noon will the The Matt Greenfield Show.  This is one of their official panels.  It should be quite fun and is their main panel of the weekend.

Saturday at 1 PM will be a Major Anime Announcement.  This could be a major announcement, but we don't know who will make it.  I expect ADV, Manga or Viz to make the big announcement at that panel. 

Saturday at 2PM will the Tsubasa Chronicles panel.  Funimation will debut the show in English and introduce the English cast.

Saturday at 3 PM will The Viz Anime panel focusing on Viz's Anime properties. 

Saturday at 6 PM will be the Melody of Haruhi Suzumiya panel. This will be where some of the questions will be answered about the release of the show. 

Sunday at 2 PM will the Bandai panel along with a super secret screening with ADV.  They are in two seperate rooms, so it should be interesting seeing which one to go to.

Major Events of the weekend

American Anime Awards Saturday at 8 PM.  I will be there and do a full write up tomorrow on this

Uncle Morty's Dub Shack Friday at 8 PM.  This is a cool show on IMaginasian where this is the MST3K of anime.  If you remember the old MAT3K from Otakon, you should go to this panel.

American Anime Awards Pre-Show Saturday at 11 AM This is your last chance to get tickets to the show.  Hear what the Babes of anime think is going to win.

Afro Samurai: THe Directors and producers speak. Saturday at 1 PM.  This is your chance to meet the creators of Afro Samurai.  This seems like a cool show, so get a chance to see this.

Anime News Network Post GAme Show Sunday at 4 PM.  This is where ANN will give their thoughts on the news of the weekend.

Sunday at 3 Pm is the Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society US premiere.  This should be cool to be the first to see in this country.

Other panels you should see:

Friday at 6:30 PM. Stan Lee: An American Icon.  One of the greatest creators in Comics is at the con, this is your chance to see him in person.  Don't miss this chance.  He may not come to another US convention in our lifetime.

Saturday at 11 AM Scifi Channel Presents Battlestar Galactica.  Tricia Helfer and others from the hit Scifi series will be talking at this panel. 

Friday at 8 PM.  SciFi Sunday.  You can see all of this SciFi Sunday before it happens. 

Jhonen Vasquez Spotlight Saturday at 11 AM.  meet the creator of Invader Zim.  An anime fan favorite.

THe full schedule is available at http://www.nycomiccon.com under the Special Events area.  Next part tomorrow morning  or evening.  The American Anime Awards preview. 

Current Mood: cheerful

08:44 am - Part One of New York Comic Con Preview

This is part one of a New York Comic Con preview. I was thinking since no one is talking about the anime/manga side of NYCC, not ANN or Anime on DVD at least. I am going to do an preview of what the major anime/manga companies are selling and talking about at NYCC. Part one will focus on the booths and what cool exclusives are going to be there. Part two will focus on panels, Part three will focus on my picks for the American Anime Awards and Part four where you will see me on that huge show floor.

New York Comic Con full exhibitor list is at http://www.nycomiccon.com. Most of the information is from the NY Comic Con Show Exclusives and Autographs page. Some it is from what I expect from them and reading their press releases.

Who is signing and what the big companies going to be selling at their booths.

ADV Films: Booth 651

When it comes to conventions, every anime fan knows to watch out for ADV Films, and this year we’re pulling out all the stops for the New York Comic Con! We have all latest DVDs on sale at the very best prices at the ADV / Best Buy booth, and that’s not all. Come get your picture taken with the real life Guyver! Watch out for the Legendary ADV Booth Toss™ with shirts, sweatbands, and swag galore!

Meet some of the very best voice talent in the business, including Christine Auten, Greg Ayres, Jessica Boone, Shelley Calene-Black, Luci Christian, Kira Vincent Davis, Alice Fulks, Hilary Haag, Taylor Hannah, Vic Mignogna, Chris Patton, and Serena Varghese!

Bandai Ent: Check Show Guide for information

NARUTO CCG PREMIER JONIN LEVEL EVENT!!!

• Saturday starting at 10am (Swiss Round Play)
• Sunday starting at 10am (Final 8)

Event Description:
New York Comicon will be the site of the first Naruto Jonin Level event of the year! This tournament is open to all players but sign up soon because spots are limited to the first 150 players that register. Bandai will be providing an incredible array of prizes including a PS3, iPod, and PSPs. These top finishers will also receive rare promo items such as framed foil cards sheets, limited edition game mats, and more!

In addition the champion of this tournament will be elevated to “Jonin” status and awarded a very rare metallic Jonin pin specifically created only for champions of these Bandai hosted Naruto CCG events!

Central Park Media: Check Show guide for booth number

Basically, they are using the show to clear out older titles. They do have some interesting panels that I will talk more about in part two

Funimation, Booth #745:

To keep the 2007 convention year full of excitement FUNimation Entertainment will be bringing exclusive items to purchase. Exclusive booth sales items will include Kodocha box set; Full Metal Panic vol. 3; Solty Rei vol. 2; Speed Grapher vol. 6; Trinity Blood vol. 5 and more! We will have a numerous amount of FREE items at the booth for you to sample include our FREE DVD from the FUNimation Channel (which will be streaming LIVE into our booth). And if you are a big fan of the voice behind your favorite anime series FUNimation will have some of the hottest voice talent at the booth signing autographs for FREE all weekend. Note: All of their autograph signings seem to be on Saturday and Sunday.

Kotobukiya: Check Show Guide for booth number.

Don't know what they are doing at the show. 

Manga Entertainment: Check Show Guide for Booth Number

They will be part of Starz and ANchor Bay entertainment booth at the show.  They are part of Starz entertainment a show sponsor.

Media Blasters: Check Show Guide for booth number.

At this point, I expect that they will be selling their DVD's and that is about it.

Pokemon USA, Inc, Booth #211:

Autographs from the voice actors of the latest Pokémon movie, “Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea” , due out April 3. Actors attending are the voices of Ash, May, and Brock (times TBA)

Exclusive items from PokemonCenter.com, featuring a different limited edition Pokémon pin each day of the show and Pokémon Trading Card Game tournament.

Tokyopop: Booth 731

Besides Creator signings and selling of manga, they are doing a costume contest for one of their new manga. http://www.tokyopop.com/608.html is the link for more information.


VIZ Media, LLC, Booth #619:

Pick up this year’s FREE collectible canvas convention bag, featuring BLEACH and INUYASHA THE MOVIE 4: FIRE ON THE MYSTIC ISLAND! Get your VIZ Media bling for your chance to receive a cool gift from our Roving Prize Patrol! Don’t miss a chance at the interactive NARUTO games! Get your free manga, while supplies last! Check out our retail area, where we’ll have exclusive manga like THE GENTLEMEN’S ALLIANCE + Vol. 1 and FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST Vol. 12,and exclusive anime like BLEACH Vol. 3 and NARUTO Vol. 10 and more!

Also, If you have a Bluetooth capable phone, you can get three new trailers for Death Note.

Yamato, Booth #874:

Is pleased to present is 2007 New York Comic Convention Exclusive. From its continuing Japanese Sculptor Original Character Series, meet Sapphire, the hottest redhead you’ll ever meet from master sculptor Kouichi Yamazaki (TANDEM TWIN) clan of Lynx Animal Girls. The 1/6 scale, solid cast, PVC Statue comes window boxed and with its own Tandem Twin Signature display base. And like her fellow Lynx, Sapphire comes ready to bear all with a completely removable top, revealing the mark that shows the true fire that burns deep within her. Don’t miss out on the hottest figure of the year, Tandem Twin’s – Animal Girl Lynx (Sapphire) only available in a limited quantity of 400 pieces!! MSRP is $68 for this fiery beauty, but at the New York Comic Con, they will be sold at a convention exclusive price of only $55. Any left over figures will be sold exclusively on YamatoToysUSA.com after the convention at full retail price. So be sure to get yours at the convention. 

Other exhibitors and dealers at the show who are expected to deal in Anime/Manga:

AAA Anime, Anime Castle, Anime Musketeer, Anime Pavilion,  Anime Selects, Boshi-Basiik, Cartoon Passion, Genki Hats, Go Comi, Image Anime, Kinokuniya Bookstores, Muteki Sales, Science Fiction Continuum, UART Limited, VideoGamesNewYork, Yaoi Press.

Part two tonight: Panels of NYCC.

Current Mood: chipper

08:17 am - Last weekend at Home

This is my last weekend at home for the full weekend until the Middle of March. I am excited to just be going to Katsucon for a day, but I do have a room at the Hotel Harrington (if I decide to stay for the Masquerade.) The last train home leaves pretty early in the evening (8:30 PM) and the next train isn't until 3 AM. THat would make for too long of a day for me.

I am never really enthused by Katsucon. The main reasons to go are to see costumers and shop. The programming isn't as full as Otakon or the con I help run. The only day that has alot of programming (besides viewing rooms) is Saturday. That is why I am probably going to just go for the day to sell Dealer's Room Space.

I am excited about New York Comic Con the weekend after that. The American Anime Awards are happening there and I have a ticket for them. It is really a fun con to be a part of. I did volunteer, but I haven't heard much about that or my ticket for the event. I hope I get the ticket soon at least. The long fandom winter in the Northeast is finally over with.

Current Mood: content

10:02 am - San Diego Comic Con, Here I come

I have my San Diego Comic Con plans decided upon. It is nice to have the only things for a con that I need to work on are a roommate and the membership for the convention. I got a steal of a Airplane fare with a Airplane Voucher. I got a voucher for Airtran for $205 bucks and with taxes it was $217 from BWI to San Diego. Airfares are $394 round trip from BWI to San Diego. I am not unhappy about the price. If you are flying to Comic Con from Baltimore, Washington, or Philly, Airtran is starting service to San Diego in May.

I will finally have a chance to be out of town for five days. The flight times aren't perfect times (Leaving at let's say 8:30 AM and coming back at 6 PM), but they are liveable times. For an east coast person, you may not get a chance to go again to San Diego Comic Con. I wish it was up the coast a little bit, so I can meet Kevin Standlee. There will be other chances to do that such as at SMOFcon or Worldcon 2008 in Denver.

I am doing the convention double in a couple of weeks. I will be at Katsucon on Saturday to start selling Dealer's Space for Anime USA 2007. The next weekend I will be up in New York City for NY Comic Con. If you need a room, I have room for you. Just replay with an e-mail address and I can give you more information. I really don't know my plans at this point as I will be volunteering at some point over the weekend.

10:02 pm - Life and Fandom

It is a very busy time as I shop for family and friends. I am sorry I haven't posted in a couple of weeks, but this is the time of year where I focus on friends and family. This is what makes this time of year, so much fun. Family Christmas is tomorrow for me and I always look forward to it. We are not a large family and only see each other twice a year because of our hectic lives. I can't wait to see Uncle Lee and for him to pick on me on my middle of the road politics. These are days that I remember as much if not more than the conventions I go to.

Speaking of Conventions, I have decided that my first convention of 2007 is New York Comic Con. I can't wait to see the larger show floor and to finally meet Stan Lee. I really hope to get to see Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone complex: Solid State Society at the show and all the other surprises that will happen at the con. I do need to get the Friday off, so I can see some of NYC. One of my regrets from last year's New York COmic Con was not seeing some of NYC.

Current Mood: tired