Anime Diet

Or, Full Court Press: a meditation on what it means to be fan and press at a convention, and how you can never go back again once you’ve gotten your first press badge.

What congoing and convention coverage has meant to me. Contains unreleased photos and video.

  Remember that video? Well, according to the Anime News Network, Anime Expo is implementing significant changes to the way they handle lines. Here’s the details: The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation, the parent company of Anime Expo (AX), has announced that it has hired a third-party company to oversee registration starting in [...]

Halko Momoi, who we talked about in our con wrapup podcast regarding the notorious treatment she received at AX 2007, has posted a thank-you which seems to double as a retraction. She now thanks the staff for their hard work, and talks about how great the concert was. (See the ANN news item about this.) [...]

At AX, the industry claimed that fansubbed shows have been killing DVD sales. One of the points (thanks to Chibi Tokyo and other podcasts for reporting) was the fansubbed copies of certain shows can still be seen on Youtube even after these shows were licensed. Next, some of the points we have discussed here at [...]

And here are some extra footage that I didn’t have room to put in the main videos. More interviews, of course, as well as the UNCUT version of Masaki’s Hare Hare Yukai dance. Watch…if you dare. :)

Here we are, with the final entry of my AX Video Journal. This one details my second failed attempt to get Hirano Aya’s autograph, despite having gotten up at 4:30 AM and getting in line by 5:30. (She didn’t show up at all to the open autograph session.) I also have some cool footage of [...]

And the third day (Sunday) of my Anime Expo 2007 video journal is now up! This one is again in 2 parts, and they divide neatly. Part 1 is about my futile effort to get an SOS Brigade autograph, and the interesting people I met in line. The autograph line was already not supposed to [...]

I’ve been listening to some people complaining about the Japanese guests, thinking that it’s all their fault. Some have been saying that the rules such as no photos, no video recordings, and no sound recordings, sucked. Others have been saying that the AX staff screwed it all up. SO the 1 million dollar question, or [...]

Finally! Day 2 (Saturday)–aka SOS Brigade Invasion Day–is up. I’ve got some really colorful interviews in this one, including a rather…interesting Haruhi. You’ll see. :) Plus, I caught some of the technical glitches during the Geneon and ADV panels, which was a harbinger of things to come at this con. To keep the video under [...]

Ah, AX. Later this week, when we have our podcast we’ll be firing verbal gigaslaves (no, dragonslaves won’t do it), Lances of Longenesses, Buster Rifles, and anything you can think of at the most recent AX convention, which my fellow colleagues went. Actually, we’ll have an intelligent discussion about it while sipping the afternoon tea [...]

Here’s Aya-chan at a mini-concert/event singing Haruhi’s OP in Japan. Her beautiful and vulnerable self on display (or her closest mental breakdown)?     Here’s the downloadable version: Aya at a mini-event singing the OP Haruhi Suzumiya   How our hearts would break if she were to wilt.