EDIT: This is a relatively hi-res Flash version above. I still can’t figure out why it won’t let you skip ahead easily. If that won’t work for you, for now, you can also download the video directly from my Box.net account (500 MB).

Also, omo has provided a transcript, for those who prefer to read rather than to watch.

This is it, folks: the video you’ve all been waiting for: JPMeyer, Hinano, and DS live in the flesh! This panl is all about how to start an anime blog, with plenty of Q&A from the audience–plus a bonus interview with Omo and the panel three afterwards! Recorded by myself and my erstwhile cameraman, Young Lee, the man with the HD camera. Many thanks to him for providing the equipment. (You should check out his website, too; he’s a budding filmmaker himself, which is why his equipment is full of awesome.)

This is the Veoh version, which offers a 500 MB downloadable version if you visit its page. The downloadable version is actually almost HD (960×544). I am working on a real HD version (1280×720) which will be available for download from thi website, probably via BitTorrent. Stay tuned; I will announce it when it’s available!

Thanks to the panelists for the opportunity. I hope I get to do something like this again!

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L to R: DS, JPMeyer, Hinano--and my hand

In which the blogmen (and woman) cometh; and when Rie comes to town, there’s no stopping the Diet from getting first class footage.
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Rie's signature--one of many fruits of this con

I attended the New York Anime Festival as a deeply privileged man: the holder of both press and, courtesy of my website partner Ray, VIP passes. I was also deeply privileged to meet so many of you, my colleagues on the East Coast in anime blogging, and to spend time eating with you all. All of you made this a wonderful con experience for me and some of the best footage and coverage for Anime Diet ever. Thanks.

Now that the Oscar speech is over, let’s expand on the experience a bit. (No pics yet; I can’t get them off my camera until I go back home. As I write this, I’m still stuck in New York because I missed my bus.)

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Wow

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I came 5 minutes late due to subway lateness–but thank God for taxis.

11:18 AM: Which role was hardest to play? Lacus Clyne. She didn’t feel the character was quite so realistic, because she’s not so emotional–”not so expressive”–always had to be gentle and nice, with not so much emotional variation.

11:21 AM: So many people are trying to ask questions in Japanese! She just did a Suigintou voice though.

11:21 AM: Rie poses US a question: who plays video games? Practically everyone raises his or her hand. Internet games? Nearly everyone keeps their hand up. “There is no life without video games.” She also asks how do you stop yourself from playing when you have work to do? “Sheer force of will,” one audience member says. Rie giggles, claps her hands.

11:24 AM: she notes that doing voices for games is more demanding, because she has to read through much more material at once. “Feel like I’m an addict of the game.” Playing games on the train “makes me feel like I’m in heaven.”

11;25 AM: What is her favorite moment in Bianci (sp?) The wedding. Makes her feel very “girly.”

11:27 AM: Someone says “Aishteru!”

11:28 AM: Any future roles as Lacus Clyne? She doesn’t know.

11:30 AM: Can’t hear the question. Something abotu Gundam Seed. Someone just gave her a gift. Plus she just gave everyone a chance to take a picture with the gift. More people are presenting gifts. THE MOST LIBERAL MANAGEMENT EVAR

11:34 AM: Yomi reminds her of the way people get obsessed with dieting. “It was really cute.”

11:34 AM: (Her): Who’s a fan of Azumanga Daioh? Chobits? Gundam Seed? The last gets the most cheers. She is also looking for Lacus cosplayers.

11:36 AM: Someone asks a question about Kara no Kyoukai (yay!!!). Did she enjoy her role? Very heavy character and story (of course!) First time she played such a sad, tragic character (Kirie: an enemy of Shiki. I think this was movie 3?)

11:39 AM: Sing something for us? Which one? Anything? She sings the Lacus song from last night (song #3). This is on tape. She really CAN sing, too.

11:42 AM; More guests. She’s asking to stand up to do rock-paper-scissors. this is for prizes, including cds. I lose round 1.

11:44 AM: Panel over. I didn’t get any questions in. But I do have good footage from the front row.

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(If the video isn’t available yet, please wait a few minutes for it to go up. Youtube is still processing it as of this time.)

Here’s day 1 of our New York Anime Festival video diary! This one includes a few clips from the Funimation panel, some of the stranger and more interesting sights in the dealer room and the hallway, and of course 4 interviews with fans.

This is but a prelude, however, to the footage from Days 2 and 3–coming as soon as tonight. We’ve got exclusive Rie Tanaka footage, the Anime Blogger panel, and other exclusives which helped to make this, footagewise, one of the best cons we’ve attended. Stay tuned!

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Sept 28. New York City, NY, USA – It was reported that on their way leaving NYAF (New York Anime Festival) for the day, some Americans of anime fandom, were attacked by a group of backpack-ninjas armed with paper fans, black feathers and kitchen knives (which turned out to be plastic).

The innocent fans were in great shock as fat men dressed in black ninja suits, thick-rimmed glasses and backpacks “jumped out of nowhere,” and demanded footages of Rie Tanaka, a famous female Japanese voice-over (or seiyuu in the anime fandom), their press badges and VIP passes.

The fans, both males and females, refused to handover their exclusive items. At that point, the assailants apparently became frustrated and pulled out their deadly weapons of Ninjitsu trade, and started attacking the fans with paper fans.

“We though it was a very, very, very bad attempt at cosplaying that went out of hand,” said one fan who wished to be anonymous. “But they actually started swinging.”

Some of the fans fell back into their Karate Kid poses and tried to fight back with piercing screams ala Bruce Lee, to which the other fans groaned and held their forehead as they retreated from the scene.

One group of 3 female fans and 2 male fans assembled themselves and according to one eye witness, “started doing the Haruhi dance in hopes to confuse their assailants”, to which one of the assailants yelled out in heavy Japanese-accented English: “Wrong Seiyuu! Wrong Seiyuu! You no fan! You no fan!”

The police reported that nobody received serious injuries and they’re currently working around the clock and investigating the identities of the assailants, or “Otaku Ninjas”, as some witnesses have called them.

For follow up reports please click here.

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2:42 PM: still gathering. I see fellow bloggers sitting across from me, they are liveblogging too. I wonder who they are? The camera is all set up and ready.

2:45 PM: a Darker than Black preview trailer is playing now.

2:46 PM: Adam Sheehan starts speaking. Commends fans for “honesty” (ie, “death threats” over DBZ). :)

2:48 PM: “The State of the Anime Industry: DON’T PANIC!” Well, Funimation can say that. :)

2:49 PM: Everyone, not just anime, has had problems with DVD market. Plus Blu-Ray and downloads. Funimation wants to move toward downloads more.

2:52 PM: packaging changes, number of episodes of discs to change.

2:53 PM: Majority of people present are first or second-time congoers!

2:55 PM: Youtube and Funimation partnership: Full episodes of Mushishi, Kiddy Grade, Slayers, and others.

2:57 PM: Hulu.com–subbed episodes of Mushi-shi, Basilisk, Kiddy Grade, etc.

2:58 PM: Paid downloads on funimation.com.

2:59 PM: Funimation Channel to Go (Mobile), for $4.99/month. Gunslinger Girl and Moon Phase, plus Galaxy Railways free

3:01 PM; Funimation’s Podcast. Random unicorns?

3:02 PM: Samurai 7, Vexille in Blu Ray soon.

3:03 PM: Funimation finishes Shuffle!. Includes 1 pair of GOD panties. (Right….only 5000 panties to be produced)

3:04 PM: Tsubasa S2 finished now.

3:06 PM: “Marathon Play” for DBZ season box cuts out OPs, EDs in between episodes

3:07 PM: Black Lagoon, 2nd Barrage (Geneon rescue). S1 to be released soon. LE tin box can hold all discs of S2.

3:10 PM: Hellsing Ultimate (Geneon rescue): Vol 1-4, 2 LEs

3:11 PM: Devil May Cry. “Death, guns, and awesome sauce.”

3:13 PM: Ghost Hunt 1-13. Trailer playing.

3:16 PM: Jyu-oh-sei trailer.

3:18 PM; Negima!? OVA “It’s Akamatsu, what do you expect?” Well, fan-service….lots of it in the trailer.

3:19 PM: Claymore Vol 1. Available Oct 14th. 6 volume release. Trailer. “Berserk with hot chicks.”

3:22 PM: Ouran Host Club. “Screaming, awwing, squeeing…” Oct 28th, Jan 6th for parts 1 and 2 of the whole series. To be sold early at Anime USA (in DC). I don’t like the dub voice for Tamaki. Haruhi sounds about what I imagined though.

3:25 PM: Afro Samurai Resurrection (to many cheers. “Show us some violence now!” I saw the trailer at Comic Con at the Afro Samurai panel.

3:28 PM: Darker than Black, Vol. 1 (Nov 25th). Trailer line: “The world is faced with atonement?” eh?

3:32 PM: NEW LICENSE: Mushi-shi live action movie. Available 2009.

3:33 PM: Q&A. That’s it for me.

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Here’s the schedule breakdown for our NYAF coverage this weekend.

Friday

• 1:30 PM–2:30 PM: Bandai Industry Panel (??): I will try to go, by this one is in jeopardy because the bus may arrive late and I may not be able to get to the convention center on time. Hopefully I will at least catch some licensing announcements.
• 2:45 PM–3:45 PM: Funimation Industry Panel: the new masters of the US anime industry say they have licensed even more stuff. Let’s find out.
• 8:30 PM–10:00 PM: MC Chris Concert: MC Chris is one of those ‘nerdcore’ rappers who raps about geeky subjects, and is a guest of honor here. Not entirely anime related, I know, but I’m going since my VIP ticket gets me in for free to it.

Saturday

• 12:30 PM–1:30 PM: Anime Blogger Panel: for me, personally, this is going to be the highlight of the con. I will be the one with a cameraman and a tripod, and I plan to shoot the entire panel in HD!
• 4:00 PM–6:00 PM: AMV Contest: it’s for the comedy videos, of course. I may leave early, though, so I can go to the
• 7:00 PM–10:00 PM: Masquerade: of course. And since I get to skip lines I hope to get a good seat and therefore good shots this time!

Sunday

• 11:00 AM–12:00 PM: Rie Tanaka Panel: Ray and I have prepared questions we’ll try to ask Tanaka-san at the panel. Let’s see if any footage is allowed.
• 12:30 PM-1:30 PM: Rie Tanaka Signing: The main reason Ray paid me to get that VIP ticket! Again, we’ll see what’s allowed to be signed and whether I can get a picture in at least, like I did with Shokotan.

That’s the plan. Of course, cons being cons, timing and events are subject to change. I may go to more or less events depending on time.

See you there!

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Hey two of 'em

Yeah fun fighting

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