Welcome to the official convention gathering blog for theOtaku.com. This is a place where theOtaku.com members can read con press releases, make plans and discuss the conventions we are attending.
Current Conventions:
Sakura-Con's programming can be found here.
Only one more sleep until the con'! I'll probably already be on the road by the time everyone reads this, but just for fun if anyone's too anxious to sleep right away . . .
What are you looking forward to for this year?
Who or whose panels do you want to see? Hoping for any autographs?
Are you cosplaying as anyone this year?
Have you had any troubles getting ready for the con'?
For myself, I'm looking forward to plenty this year. Our theOtaku.com meet-up is going to be amazing, and I can't wait to take a bunch of pictures and video of everyone, as well as get a chance to record with the podcasters. I'm also excited to learn the ropes of doing press work with Gail and taking advantage of all the perks that entails. Other than that, I'm looking forward to the Masquerade Ball, the Ali Project Concert, and just getting out of town for another anime convention.
Of all the people and panels, I'm most looking forward to seeing Brina Palencia (who voiced Maho in "Beck" as well as directed the ADR recording for "School Rumble"); it will probably make my convention if she can sign my "Beck" DVD box, too! I was also hoping to go to Ocean Studio's panel, but sadly they had to cancel this time around (it's very busy over there right now, I was told).
I will most certainly be cosplaying! I'll be Sing from "Kung Fu Hustle" on day 1, Nathan Drake from "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune" on day 2, and (of course) Nagakura Shinpachi of the Shinsengumi from "Peacemaker Kurogane" on day 3.
I'll tell you all about my con troubles on Saturday - plenty to talk about, no doubt.
So how about you guys?
With that said, I wish you all a safe journey, a fun weekend, and four boxes of Pocky (I promise, four boxes should be enough). See you in Seattle!
In theOtaku.com's Official Anime and Gaming Convention Schedule we have an exciting list of great conventions taking place all over the world. Some are hopefully right around the corner while others are on the other side of the planet. If you aren't finding a convention in your area don't worry! Just check back next month for the next collection of conventions!
April 4-6, 2008: I-Con- Stony Brook, New York
April 4-6, 2008: Anime Detour- Bloomington, Minnesota
April 4-6, 2008: Supanove Pop Culture Expo- Brisbane, Australia
April 5-6, 2008: FreeCon- Tallahassee, Florida
April 5, 2008: Chibi Fest- Las Vegas, Nevada
April 11-13, 2008: Anime Punch- Columbus, Ohio
April 11-13, 2008: Tekkoshocon- Green Tree, Pennsylvania
April 11-13, 2008: J-Junk- Groß-Gerau, Germany
April 11-13, 2008: UBCon- Buffalo, New York
April 12, 2008: O-Conn- Helotes, Texas
April 13, 2008: Castle Point Anime Convention- Hoboken, New Jersey
April 12-13, 2008: Game Anime Manga Experience- Paris, France
April 18-20, 2008: New York Comic Con- New York, New York
April 18-20, 2008: No Brand Con- Eau Claire, Wisconsin
April 18-20, 2008: Kawaii-Kon- Honolulu, Hawaii
April 19, 2008: Anime Fannatiku- St. George, Utah
April 19-20, 2008: Armageddon Expo Wellington- Wellington, New Zealand
April 19-20, 2008: SakuraCon- Budapest, Hungary
April 20, 2008: Shinboku Con- Elyria, Ohio
April 25-27, 2008: Middle Tennessee Anime Convention- Nashville, Tennessee
April 25-28, 2008: Costume-Con- San Jose, California
April 26, 2008: Tora-Con- Rochester, New York
April 26, 2008: Shukuya-Con- Clearwater, Florida
April 26-27, 2008: Armageddon Expo Christchurch- Christchurch, New Zealand
April 26-27, 2008: Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo- Calgary, Alberta, Canada
If you are involved with an upcoming anime or gaming related convention please feel free to contact Gail to have your convention added to the list. Be sure to include the con name, date and URL to the convention website. Thanks!
Attendance:
Just for sake of completion, the confirmed theOtaku.com members that will be at Sakura-Con are:
As well, we have a mostly confirmed list of theOtaku.com's staff and partners:
And finally... this in no way takes into account the friends we'll all bring (who shall then be coerced into getting accounts at theOtaku.com be forever thankful that they have such wonderful friends in the first place!).
Dang, this meet is going to kick all kinds of ass...
Activities:
Aside from the general gathering, talking and photo-taking, we currently have two planned activities: a draw/lottery for free swag, and a podcast recording.
What else would you guys like to do? If there's something specific you'd like to do at the meet-up, we'd love to know!
So far Miss Anonymous - the generous soul she is - has offered to pick up some snacks and stuff for us (I'll try to help you out with that if I can!), so we can eat a bit together. As well, Shinobi ANBU has already requested a kendo lesson from the podcasters. Whether we can actually do any of this stuff or not is besides the point; we just wanna know if you guys have any ideas.
The convention's only five sleeps away! If there's anything you wanna add, now's the time to do it!
I'm very pleased to announce that the 2nd Annual theOtaku.com Sakura-Con Meet-Up is out of beta and has gone gold! If you or anyone you know is heading to the Washington State Trade and Convention Center next weekend, we cordially invite you to our gathering!
Members who come to the meet-up will get to enjoy:
Bring your friends, they too will get a crack at some free stuff! And if anyone has any questions, by all means ask them in the comments below - I promise, we're all keeping close tabs on this World.
This is going to be a ton of fun. We hope to see you all there!
