New York Comic Con: An Incomplete Con Report Because I Will Probably Forget Most Things

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I went to my first New York Comic Con this past weekend. I normally prefer less city and commute-based conventions, but it was still a pleasant experience over all.

I’ll avoid the hanging out with friends talk, but I’ll just say I hung out with various friends and it was good times for all.

I saw the Lucky Star dub. Some voices were weaker than others, and Wendy Lee still sounds like Wendy Lee, but they tried very hard with this dub. I think the dialogue sounded a lot more natural than I was expecting, which was a big plus. Kogami Akira felt pretty spot on, Shiraishi Minoru not so much, and the pronunciation of Shiraishi was a little painful. Overall though, not a bad dub at all.

I got to meet the fine folks over at Ninja Consultant Podcast and got to be interviewed, which was a great experience. We talked about various topics, including but not limited to Ogiue. Keep up with their podcast, and you might just get to hear how incomprehensible I am when I speak. By the way, I’m a 35 year old balding man and my name is Gerald Rathkolb.

I saw Freedom. In unrelated news, I sure do want some Nissin Cup Noodles. I also attended Grant Morrison panels, and though I’m not really a huge fan of his work (just because I don’t read much of his work), his scottish talkings about made both panels very entertaining. Oh yeah, Seven Soldiers was awesome so I guess I am a Grant Morrison fan after all. I also attended a Tokyopop panel, and there as I watched the slides come on screen, I realized just how much Tokyopop gears towards shoujo and bl now. I feel like it snuck up on me without me realizing it, and now it’s too late.

I attended the Giant Robot Rumble panel, where I got to explain what an Absolute Terror Field actually is, as well as correcting the people who thought one robot was Aphrodai A when it was actually Dianan X. Thanks to this, I was considered a nerd even among nerds. Yes, I am that pathetic. PS Steve Yun please make me a judge next time. Sadly I had to leave early, so if someone can tell me who won, that’d be great.

By the way, Optimus Prime does not lose to Roy Focker/Fokker, at least not for the reasons given. Saying that Roy’s in a plane and Optimus’s mobility is limited is not an argument when Optimus REGULARLY FIGHTS ROBOTS WHO TRANSFORM INTO FIGHTER JETS.

I actually did not buy all that much, which is okay by me. I bought an autographed copy of David Lloyd (artist of V for Vendetta)’s new book, Kickback. The artwork is really up my alley. I took one look at it, and I was sold. The other thing I bought was a 20 minute backrub. It was actually worth it because it helped me take on the 90 minute TM Revolution concert.

And oh boy what a concert it was. TM Revolution has incredible stage presence, and his singing is solid. The most prominent feature of that concert though was the screaming. The loud, fangirl (and boy) screaming, which I partook in on a number of occasions. He covered all of the SEED songs and Heart of Sword, and a few others. By the way, my ears are still feeling the effects of that concert.

I was sitting behind TM Revolution’s Japanese fan club. Before the concert started, and as fans waved signs and hooped and hollered and asked TMR to marry them, I asked the Japanese fan club girls what they thought of America.

Needless to say, they were impressed.

Holy Crap: Super Robot Wars Z

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The series being included!

New series in italics, awesometacular joygasms in bold.

Overman King Gainer
The Big O
The Big O Second Season
Zambot 3
Daitarn 3
Xabungle
Z Gundam
Gundam: Char’s Counterattack
Gundam X
Turn A Gundam
Gundam SEED Destiny
Mazinger Z
Great Mazinger
Getter Robo G
Grendizer
God Sigma
Aquarion
Eureka Seven
Orguss
Gravion
Gravion Zwei
Baldios

Seriously this is like…holy crap. Words can’t describe it.

Ninja Consultants, TM Revolution

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Whooooooo.

The race against time in importing japanese manga

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If I go to a Japanese bookstore and the book is actually physically there, then it costs less than asking the bookstore to import it from Japan.

This isn’t unexpected or surprising, but it makes me think that with any given manga series I’m going to have to keep an eye out on Japanese releases so I can buy the volumes without any extra shipping fees.

A tricky thing, this timing.

Exciting New York Comic Con Panels

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…which ones are they?

Seriously, I’m not sure where I’m going. The plan at this point is to wander from panel to panel like a No(r)mad.

Though I do recommend seeing the showing of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. I’ve seen it once already so I’m probably not gonna do a repeat, but it’s a movie everyone should really watch.

Inazuma Initial Impressions, Spring 2008

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Soul Eater:

Seems decent enough. I like the art style though some of the continuity between scenes seems a little off. The thing that stands out most to me is that the main heroine’s voice actor is very inexperienced, and according to Anime News Network she has no other roles. If I do continue to watch, it might just be to see how she progresses as a voice actor throughout the series.

Macross Frontier:

Looks like they’re trying to make this anniversary count. It’s said that every Macross show is purposely designed with a different theme and feel in mind, and though the first episodes draw some parallels to earlier Macross anime, it’ll be interesting to see what happens.

Kyouran Kazoku Nikki:

Brash, arrogant loli catgirl for a primary heroine. Yeah… I’m not sure if I’ll be sticking with this one.

Misleading Shojo Beat Cover Blurbs Annoy Me

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This happens fairly often, but one instance in particular that I remember comes from a recent issue.

On the cover, it mentioned something like “Top 10 Shojo Manga,” and I thought, hey, this sounds neat. It seems like they’re going to rate the top 10 shoujo manga of all time or something. Are they going to base it on popularity in America? Popularity in Japan? There are a number of small differences after all (the popularity of Fruits Basket, for example). I opened it to check just how they were going to approach this topic.

I could not find anything close to what they claimed. I don’t even remember what exactly it said, but it was certainly not what the cover claimed. It seemed to just cover whatever it is that they were showing in the magazine already, with maybe some blurbs about anime or live-action adaptations.

I hoped to find some opinions on titles in the shoujo hall of fame. I got nothing in return. Bleh.

Genshiken Karaoke in Akihabara

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Or should I say, “Genchoken.”

To celebrate the Genchoken CD release (Genchoken being the bi-weekly radio show which accompanied the broadcast of Genshiken 2), otaku will be able to briefly live, Genshiken style, at Karaoke Pasela in Akihabara.

There, customers will have access to a karaoke room with a Genshiken-themed decor and sing to their hearts’ content. And to make it as authentic as possible, the only songs allowed will be from things that exist in Genshiken, e.g. Kujibiki Unbalance and Ramen Angel Pretty Menma. They will also be playing the actual Genchoken CD as well.

To top it all off, if you’ve bought the Genchoken CD and you sing Kujian/Menma songs in the Genshiken room, then you can enter a drawing to win some autographed swag from the cast of Genshiken.

Existence of specific Ogiue-themed merchandise unknown at this time.

Oh, blind purchasing how I missed you and your devilish ways

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I was at Kinokuniya today, and decided that while I’m there I should totally buy something. This presented a problem, as there are plenty of manga there I’d like to pick up, but I’d be worried about getting locked into a very long series (Otokojuku), or fear of spoiling an anime I’m already watching (Shugo Chara!) or might get more episodes at some point (Bamboo Blade).

So my policy was to buy volume 1 of something I had no idea about. Something I wouldn’t recognize off the bat or have any preconceived notions of. Not easy, when you spend a good portion of your day reading, watching, or reading about the stuff.

In the end I decided to pick up what appears to be a seinen manga called “La Sommelière” and it appears to be about a female bartender. You know, as opposed to a just plain Bartender. I haven’t read through all of it, but you can expect a review at some point.

In any case, I’m pretty glad with my purchase as it fulfilled my desire to give a new series a chance, so that I don’t come at it with any preconceived notions or feel I’m retreading any old ground.

(It also means that I have no idea how long the series is supposed to be, so I don’t feel bad about not buying much more of it.)

The True Appeal of Izumi Konata

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Konata is a surprisingly good character. There’s something very endearing about her and for a long time (since I finished watching Lucky Star), I wasn’t quite sure what it was, but now I know.

I’ve heard from numerous people that they think Konata’s popularity is because she has the same tastes as and acts like a male otaku. That’s not necessarily off the mark, but it’s a little too simplistic. The actual appeal of Konata is not simply that she’s an otaku, but that she’s an otaku who’s not afraid to show that side of herself in public.

I think there’s a fear within everyone (but particularly relevant to dorks) that if they reveal too much of themselves that people will think less of them. They will either believe they cannot make any friends, or that their friends will stop being so friendly. Konata stands in the face of all that. Where most of dvd-and-figure-buying comrades falter, Konata is able to confidently declare to her “commoner” friends that yes, she loves Haruhi, yes, she goes to Comic Market, and yes, she is indeed an otaku.

Combined with some of Konata’s more poignant scenes, such as the Hirano Aya concert or some of her conversations with her dad, Konata shows that she’s not just an impossible ideal for otaku, but that it’s possible to both feel weak and strong at the same time.

Konata, one might say, is the opposite of Ogiue. However, unlike, say, Kohsaka from Genshiken, Konata doesn’t appear to be too perfect. Sure, she’s athletic, sure she’s friendly and outspoken, but in the end she is still genuine to her own interests, still has her own doubts and insecurities, and really isn’t that much different from the otaku from which she is derived.