One Truth Prevails

My favorite Anime series are the ones that came out of the 1990s, before CGI and shallow storylines consumed the industry. One of my favorite series that is still running today, has kept to its old roots with hand drawn work and classic 90s stylings. Detective Conan (or Case Closed as its known in the west) follows Kudo Shinichi, a 17 year old genius detective who learns too much about a mysterious crime syndicate. They force him to drink an experimental poison then they leave Shinichi for dead. But the poison doesn't kill him, instead it transforms him back to his 7 year old self. To keep his friends and family safe, he takes on the persona of Edogawa Conan and once again takes up solving cases.

With almost 70 Manga volumes, over 580 Anime episodes, 14 movies, and 2 live dramas - Detective Conan doesn't seem to have lost any steam with both the Manga and Anime still in production. With such a proliferation of episodes, you would think that Detective Conan would get stale and lose its popularity. While, character designs and storyline start to get a little similar, overall the show has continued to do well being ranked in the top 10 in popularity contests and winning excellence awards.

The thing that I enjoy most about Detective Conan is that the cases that Conan has to solve are all self contained in one or two episodes. You don't even have to watch the cases in order since there are only minor references to previous cases. While the gimmicks and tricks that are used to both commit and solve the crimes can get stale, the twists are fun and interesting enough to keep you guessing. Detective Conan also does quite well in the longer movie format, presenting more complicated cases not found in the 23 minute episodes. Classic 90s Anime at its height, great storytelling, fun characters, and solid whodunit cases make Detective Conan an Anime you can't miss.

Closing Down The Shop

It seems that one of my favorite industries has taken a big hit from the economic downturn that has befallen the world. CMX Manga (a subdivision of DC Comics) and Go Comi! have decided to close shop later this summer as a result of falling manga sales. While I haven't dealt too much with Go Comi!, I've enjoyed what CMX Manga was able to bring to the table. Overall, the quality of their work was one of the better in the manga world and I will definitely miss their unique line of manga. The smaller publishers haven't been the only ones affected as both Tokyopop and Viz have had to increase their prices. Tokyopop went as far to change the quality of their paper to something that resembles a recycled newspaper. This caused quite a commotion among avid readers and has since forced Tokyopop to return to a higher quality paper. Viz also made some drastic changes by laying off 40% of its employees and closing its New York City branch. Coupled with the fact that many Manga-ka have decided not to allow their works to be published in the west, I have to wonder what the future of the manga industry is going to look like in a few years.

Ghosts, And Demons, And Homunculi - Oh My!

It seems as of late, my Anime choices have been following a similar theme - Ghosts, Demons, and all other things that go bump in the night. I have never been a fan of horror, even the really light horror that is more about suspense than anything. The "BOO" factor is what scares me. When you know something is around the corner but you don't know what it is, then suddenly . . . a person appears behind you and scares the living daylights out of you. But I've found myself slowing starting to get into horror, nothing like Saw but more like Edgar Allan Poe. From books to games, comics to Anime - I've found myself slowing starting to like looking for the monster hiding inside the closet or under the bed.

Ghost Hunt was my first foray into Anime horror. Following the adventures of ghost hunting group of Shibuya Psychic Research Team as they try to solve and exorcise any unwanted spirits they come across. One thing I really enjoyed about Ghost Hunt is the various backgrounds of all the members of Shibuya. There's the leader, Naru, which uses a lot of high-tech equipment similar to TAPS from Syfy's Ghost Hunters series. You have a traditional Miko, an Onmyouji, a psychic, and a Catholic priest. All of the lore of the occult and the various ways to deal with them are thoroughly explored as each story arc (consisting of around 3-4 episodes) highlights one of the member's specific talents and skills. In all honesty, there are some scary story lines in this series, with one of them really hitting home for me since it closely resembles one of my worst reoccurring nightmares. Even with all the frights - the stories, characters, and action never get dull. With a high profile revealing of a certain character's latent powers at the end of the 26 episode series leaves you wanting more.

Going back to feudal Japan has never been so exciting now that oni are roaming everywhere and it's up to Masahiro, a newly trained Onmyouji and grandson of the greatest Onmyouji in all of Japan. I have always loved Anime set in feudal Japan but most of my Anime has always dealt with the Meiji Revolution. This is the first series that really showcases some of Japan's traditional religious beliefs as well as superstitions. Unlike Ghost Hunt, Shonen Onmyouji deals a lot of high-octane action with a lot of laughs as well. While there were no real scares in this series, it was well worth watching. If you want to be entertained while learning a bit of historic Japan, Shonen Onmyouji is definitely worth checking out.

Last but not least is Rental Magica which follows Astral, an agency that rents out mages to the public. These mages for hire come in all disciplines with a Celtic Witch, a Miko, a Onmyouji, a descendant of King Solomon, a ghost, and a guy with a really cool looking eye. While the list of characters might look a little familiar, Rental Magica definitely sets itself apart from Ghost Hunt and other series like it. The day time scenes are filled with Shojo styles (a classic love triangle going on), school, and everyday high school life. But once the sun sets, the members of Astral adorn their capes and robes to fight all the slimy things that appear when magic has gone awry. Rental Magica is the only series I haven't finished, with season two expected to hit in April. But with the jaw-dropping events that closed out season one, I can only expect to see a lot of magic monsters, glowing red eyes, and "hail mistletoe" as the series ramps up one of the more interesting story arcs I've seen in a while.

かいています

こんにちわ。

おす。

なにおしていさすか。

かいています。

I've always enjoyed learning new languages. From my five years of Spanish (which I'm still not very good at) to a quick stint with Latin, I have been taking languages courses for almost seven years straight. One language I've always been interested in learning is Japanese for a few reasons, the main reason is to be able to read all of those cancelled Manga that never made it to the States! Another reason is just out of shear necessity. With my family living in Japan for six years, we have acquired quite a few Japanese items and traditions. From almost eating rice with every meal and making Christmas Cakes to the wedding kimono that hangs in our hallway, we have integrated a lot of Japanese culture into our lifestyle. We even have a sign on our front door asking people to take off their shoes before entering and we often answer questions with "はい" instead of "yes". I finally decided to buy some material and learn the language after I spent three hours trying to translate a traditional Japanese recipe. Out of the different books I've picked up, I've been using two main resources in my adventure to learn Japanese.

We have all probably seen the TV ads for Rosetta Stone, they seem to show them every commercial break on every channel. I've always been curious about this program that promises fast results and is used by a lot of different businesses and agencies to teach a language quickly. Even with their stellar track record, I was still skeptical about Rosetta Stone considering that Japanese is one of the harder languages to learn. I was just going to buy the first program (there are three levels of Japanese in total, five levels just for Spanish) but I ended up being surprised by the whole set for my birthday. I've been going through the program for almost a straight month now and I'm almost done with the first level.

Let me say this, if you want to learn how to read and write Japanese, you're going to need some supplementary resources. Rosetta Stone focuses more on conversational Japanese rather than teaching all about grammar and those other important facets of a language. It's complete immersion, no translations or anything. They say a word or phrase in Japanese and then associate it with a picture. It works great for basic vocabulary but when trying to build phrases, it doesn't work quite as well. Main reason being that Japanese uses particles, which don't really exist in English. Another down fall of the program is its assumption that you can already read Japanese. There are three ways to write Japanese: Kanji (or Kanji with Furigana), Kana (Hiragana and Katakana), and Romaji. You can actually change the writing style of the lessons on the fly in Rosetta Stone which is helpful but the program itself has no teaching tools to help you learn all the symbols. Considering how difficult Japanese is, Rosetta Stone works surprisingly well. There are some lessons that make no sense (like the lesson on how to make things plural since there is no plural form in Japanese) and other lessons were taken from a cookie-cutter layout from another language. I definitely recommend it if you want a crash course in Japanese for a trip and want to be able to ask "where is the restroom". It's pricey though so you have to figure out which is worth more, time or money. Because Rosetta Stone does teach you the language at a surprisingly fast pace and even with this fast pace, it is still easy to learn and retain everything that is thrown at you. Once I'm finished with the full Japanese program, I'm considering picking up Spanish or another "Western:" language since I feel that Rosetta Stone is more conducive to western styles and might work a little better.

Since Rosetta Stone couldn't help me learn how to read and write the different styles of Japanese, I turned to another resource - The Manga University. Their series "Kanji de Manga" and "Kana de Manga" teach how to read and write the various Kanji and Kana in a unique way - through Manga. This technique makes it fun and enjoyable to learn and memorize what could be found as tedious in other materials. From stroke order to examples of words and definitions, they present all the information in an organized manner. Then to help cement what you have just learned, they give you a short Manga with dialogue. With around a month of going through the books, I can now fully read and write both sets of Kana. With just a week of studying Kanji de Manga, I already have around thirty Kanji memorized. I definitely recommend picking up the Kanji de Manga and Kana de Manga series (I believe there are 8 books in total) even if you just want to figure out what your Japanese candy wrapper says. They teach you the material in a fun and unique way that will surely keep you interested longer than traditional teaching books.

My goal is to have the knowledge of a "middle-schooler" in Japan by the time June rolls around. We'll see how it goes, with these two tools at my disposal as well as a variety of other resources, I'm excited to see how far I can get. Now, I just have to work on translating the rest of that recipe.

Gaa, Gaa, Gaa, Gundam!

ガーガーガー！！

"What is that sound?"

ガーーガーーガーー！！！

"Oh, no! I think it's getting closer!"

. . . . . . . . . .ドーン！！！！

"Look Out! It's a Gundam!"

For those of you not familiar with Manga or Japanese sound effects, ガーガーガー (gaa gaa gaa) is the common onomatopoeia used for robots. A sound that has been heard around the world, now that the 1/1 scale Gundam RX-78-2 statue has been completed on Odaiba Island. Yes, you read correctly, a 1/1 scale statue. That's 59 feet tall!!!

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Gundam franchise, the statue took an estimated four months to complete and position in Shiokaze Park. Although it was completed in June of this year, July 11th was its official unveiling and will be displayed until August 31st.

Gundam has been and always will be my favorite Anime series ever. First being introduced to it when I lived in Japan, watching its U.S. premier, and seeing the evolution of the series has been a fun adventure. From the 15th anniversary G-Gundam series to the 20th anniversary live-action G-Saviour - they keep making the anniversary celebrations bigger and bigger. While the Gundam series of late have lacked the great story-telling of the former series, I still hold this franchise to the highest of standards, now more literal than ever. Now, where can I buy one?

CLAMP + Tekken = Heaven

While sifting through all the gaming news that comes out over the course of a week, I couldn't help but stop and check out the article entitled "CLAMP Collaberates With Tekken 6 Team" . . . Uso! If you know what Manga is, I'm sure you've heard CLAMP mentioned before. The reigning queens of Manga, CLAMP is a four women manga-ka, known for such great titles as Cardcaptor Sakura, Chobits, X/1999, as well as their most recent hit Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE.

After reading the article and finding out that CLAMP was going to design some costumes for the next Tekken game, I was estatic. I have always loved CLAMP and their designs, I couldn't help but wonder how the rest of the gaming community would take this news though. I've known my share of video gamers that are Anime and Manga Otakus as well. There are also those gamers who absolutely hate Anime and Manga and anything associated with them. After reading the comments, it was definitely a mixed reaction. A lot of people mentioned that CLAMP is completely Shojo, that their works are geared towards girls and that Tekken didn't need any "pretty" and "girly" costumes.

It's true that a lot of their work can be catagorized as Shojo. CLAMP is known for their detailed and ostentacious designs that can be loud and a bit unrealistic. But isn't that what Tekken is all about too? Highly stylized fights with crazy characters who battle it out in all kinds of locales. Mix in a bit of fantasy clothing and it completely changes the look of Tekken. It's not like CLAMP is revamping the whole entire wardrobe, just designing a few set pieces for the biggest characters.

I'm definitely interested to see how everything turns out. Getting Japan's (and the world's) greatest Manga-ka to work on one of Japan's best selling fighting games, Tekken 6 might get the extra boost of publicity that they needed, after loosing momentum caused by the release delay. I do hope that this doesn't turn out to be a habit of CLAMP's though. I like seeing them exploring different media to showcase their work and expand into new territory but at the same time, I wish they would just focus on their current Manga series and finish them already! Plus, with CLAMP designing the characters for Code Geass, which was written and produced by another Manga-ka, I can't help but wonder if they are moving away from creating their own original works. Maybe their next project will be designing characters for the next Final Fantasy game.

FanimeCon 2009: Enter The Madtyger

Monday, 05.25.09
Location: 282 Almaden Blvd - San Jose, California
Time: 0700

We woke up early once again, got ready, and did a double check of the room to make sure we didn't leave anything behind. We ended up getting a trolley to take all the bags down since there were so many. After loading up and checking out, we hit the road for home.

Monday, 05.25.09
Location: Back home in Northern California
Time: 1402

We made great time and got home quickly. We didn't hit any traffic though we did see a lot of cop cars on the road pulling over speeding vacationers. We told our adventures to my father as we did a sort of "show and tell" of all the stuff we got. Our trip to FanimeCon 2009 was over and what was left was a huge pile of stuff to put away!

Thursday, 05.28.09
Location: Somewhere in Northern California
Time: 1421

It's been exactly a week since I left for my trip to San Jose and I still feel like I'm moving every time I sit down. I ended up sleeping in to around 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday after I got back. Ah, that was so nice. I still have one big bag to unpack and put away. With all the Anime that I picked up, I managed to fill another shelf of my media rack. Only two shelves left to fill in my third media rack and then I'll have to get another bookshelf or something. The clothes are another story. I ended up getting some plastic tubs to put my "summer" clothes in and store under my bed, that way I have more room for all the shirts that I picked up this trip.

Thursday, 05.28.09
Location: Somewhere in Northern California
Time: 1425

I finally got all the groceries put away as well. I haven't put any of the soda in the fridge yet but I'll do that soon . . . when I feel like it. I've already tried out the Japanese hot cakes, they taste exactly the same as American pancakes. I don't know what I was expecting, maybe I'll have to eat them Onomiyaki style to see a difference. My dog loved his new cow but he hasn't tried the beer yet. My father really liked his gifts too. And I'm not quite sure where my mother put all of her new clothes, but somehow they all fit in her closet.

Thursday, 05.28.09

Location: Somewhere in Northern California

Time: 1429

I'm not quite sure how much money I spent in total on this trip. I'd been saving for almost a year and a half and it was well worth it. Surprisingly enough I ended up with $1000 left over. With it, I was able to catch up on my PSN Add-Ons that I had been skipping on for the past several months as well as finishing up all my birthday/Christmas presents I had to buy for friends and family. I even had enough left over to pick up the Anime and Manga that I couldn't find at Fanime. I don't think I'll be going back next year, I can only handle every other year. But I look forward to 2011 and more adventures in the land of Otakudom. Maybe by then, I will have converted a few of my friends into Otakus and I can take them down with me. I guess I better start saving again!

FanimeCon 2009: Enter The Gizmodo

Sunday, 05.24.09
Location: 201 S Market St - San Jose, California
Time: 1022

Once again, my mother and I found ourselves at the Tech Museum trying to catch an IMAX show. This time though, we did get in. I love IMAX, it's amazing to see and San Jose has one of the best screens in the world. Why? Because unlike most IMAX screens, the one in the Tech Museum is a dome. The screen is so large that it literally covers all of your peripheral vision. We ended up watching two shows there. The first was all about space, narrated by the original Spock, it was a great visual presentation. The second was about the Grand Canyon and was just as impressive on the super uber big screen.

Sunday, 05.24.09

Location: 255 Almaden St - San Jose, California

Time: 1324

After the two shows, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and then walked back towards the convention center. We stopped to take a few shots of the Center for Performing Arts. In 2007 we were able to go inside and watch the premiere of Play! A Video Game Symphony. Both the building and the music were impressive.

Sunday, 05.24.09
Location: 150 W San Carlos St - San Jose, California
Time: 1509

When we got back to Fanime, I took a few more shots of the cosplayers that filled the front of the convention center. By this time though I was so sick and tired of seeing cat ears, pink hair, and giant swords that I kind of lost the enthusiasm that I had before. It didn't help that the dominatrix/bondage cosplayers had showed up either. Mixed with horrible B.O., I was getting tired of the convention.

Sunday, 05.24.09

Location: 150 W San Carlos St - San Jose, California

Time: 1534

After escaping the endless lines of "free hugs" people, I made my way to the dealers' room one last time. Determined to spend the remaining money, I picked up some more gashapon, plushies, and hats - which left me with one dollar left. I ended up buying a Starburst at the vending machine just to get rid of it. Once again, I had to pass the rows and rows of people offering free hugs to escape the convention and get back to the real world. As I ducked and dodged my way past throngs of people, I couldn't help but notice all the geeky 30 year old guys getting free hugs from all the cute girls . . . there is something really sad and wrong about all that.

Sunday, 05.24.09
Location: 695 N 5th St - San Jose, California
Time: 1724

We ate dinner at an Asian fast food joint called Happi House. It was great, rather than burgers and fries, they serve Teriyaki meat and veggies. Good stuff, nothing like traditional fast food. After dinner it was time to collapse back at the hotel. I don't know how many miles we walked during the entire weekend, but I'm sure it had to be a lot. After a couple of hours just relaxing, we staged all the bags so we could just take them out in the morning. It came out to 13 bags (including one huge duffel bag), not including all the luggage we had come down with. Tomorrow's trip to the car was going to be a long one.

FanimeCon 2009: Enter The Otaku

Saturday, 05.23.09
Location: 150 W San Carlos St - San Jose, California
Time: 0925

Saturday was going to be our biggest day at the convention. There was Anime to watch, the Artists' Alley would be in full swing, and I was going to spend the biggest amount of money at the dealers' room. first though was to watch some of the newest Anime to be released here in the States as well as check out what was currently airing in Japan. The first one we saw was Iria: Zeiram the Animation about a female bounty hunter trying to kill an unstoppable monster. Nice 80s style sci-fi, Anime at its best. Next we hit K-On, mostly on accident since we were a bit early for the Anime that I really wanted to see. K-On followed the high school lives of four girls trying to start a band club at school. There was the shy bass player, the fan service keyboard player, the ditsy guitarist, the bossy drummer, and the ex-goth/death metal singer as their advisor. It was very funny and very moe . . . very. The next Anime was the main event though - Valkyria Chronicles! Everything you'd expect from the show, great art, nice CGI action, and a story that was very close to the video game. I can't wait to see an official U.S. release on this one.

Saturday, 05.23.09

Location: 150 W San Carlos St - San Jose, California

Time: 1106

After eating an $11 muffin, we headed out to the dealers' room . . . where I'd be dropping some serious cash. My surveillance trip on Friday helped me find the best deals and limit my time searching for what I wanted. First stop was the Medial Blasters booth, the only actual distributor that showed up to Fanime, I love them! For one they are cheap, even cheaper than online stores. I also love how the guys there actually watch Anime and old school Anime at that. In addition to the two Voltron Anime I picked up on Friday - I also grabbed the complete set of GoLion (the uncut version of Voltron), the complete set of Tekkaman Blade, Ah! My Goddess season 1, the first three volumes of Moribito, the complete set of Iria, the complete set of Teknoman, and the complete set of Ramen Fighter Miki! Since I spent so much at one time, they threw in the live action Iria movie for free and said I was their best customer that day. After dropping off the box of Anime at the table my mother was at, I headed to one of the other dealers. There I picked up the complete set of Yu Yu Hakusho and the complete set of Yawara. All this shopping made me hungry, so off to Nihonmachi!

Saturday, 05.23.09
Location: 240 Jackson St - San Jose, California
Time: 1521

We hit Nijiya Market in JapanTown to pick up some groceries we had ordered the week before. A case of Ramune (a kind of soda), a case of Calipco (a kind of fruit soft drink), and some other snacks were what we picked up. After we ate an ice cream sandwich (you cannot beat Japanese ice cream!), we went over to Nikaku to try and find a Sukiyaki pot. We were able to find one for a reasonable price as well as some other items.

Saturday, 05.23.09

Location: 240 Jackson St - San Jose, California

Time: 1713

We stayed in Nihonmachi for dinner, eating at a sushi bar. It was great! We had donburi, it was amazing. I could eat that stuff every day and never get tired of it. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel to drop off the groceries and go back to FanimeCon. Once again, we seemed to have some bad timing, a local high school was having their prom at the hotel we were staying at. After circling the parking garage for 20 minutes (mind you the parking lot was a four story one) we finally found a place at the very top of the lot. As we unloaded the stuff and waited for all the high schoolers to load into the elevator, I snapped a quick shot of the Adobe building across the street from us. After all the work to just get into the hotel, we decided to call it a night.

FanimeCon 2009: Enter The Shopper

Friday 05.22.09
Location: 201 S Market St - San Jose, California
Time: 0931

The next morning we went over to the Tech Museum to see if we could catch an IMAX show. We ended up having bad timing since there was a school field trip there and all the shows were sold out. I was able to pick up a few gifts for my friends as well as a keychain for myself. Since we had some extra time before the dealers' room at the convention opened, we decided to hit the mall!

Friday 05.22.09
Location: 2855 Stevens Creek Blvd - San Jose, California
Time: 1020

The mall . . . over 250 stores on two floors. We were only supposed to spend about three hours there, ha! That was not the case. The first place we hit was Macy's to look for some clothes for my mother. We were able to get about a dozen things for her. Some shirts, pants, and full outfits. Next was down to Sanrio, the home of Hello Kitty stuff. I've been collecting that stuff since I lived in Japan and I love to keep adding to my collection. We probably went a little over board there since we came out with two full bags of stuff! After that it was over to SonyStyle . . . my version of heaven on earth. I spent about an hour in there even though I knew exactly what I wanted. A new video MP3 player as well as the new AC Adaptor for the PS3 controller/mic. We ate lunch at the food court, a Japanese place that I forget the name of. This time it was the noise level mixed with a soft spoken cashier and a dash of accent that ended with me ordering something completely different than what I wanted. It was still good though, Teriyaki chicken with white rice and grilled veggies.

Friday 05.22.09
Location: 2855 Stevens Creek Blvd - San Jose, California
Time: 1302

With our time up, we decided to skip some of the other plans we had and continued our excursion through the mall. We found a Coldwater Creek for my mother and bought a few more shirts there. On to the GAP to pick up some jeans and socks for me. Next a doggie boutique to get a prize for Monty. He would have been very upset if I didn't get him something. I came out with a squeaky cow toy and some doggie beer - and a wallet $32 lighter. After that it was up to Hot Topic to pick up a Power Rangers shirt for me and some other stuff. By this time, we had around 8 shopping bags so we called it quits and went back to the hotel.

Friday 05.22.09
Location: 150 W San Carlos St - San Jose, California
Time: 1629

After dropping off the goods from the mall at the hotel, we walked over to the convention center. By this time, the cosplayers were coming out in full force. With my trusty Sony Alpha-200 DSLR camera in hand, I sat my mother down at the dealers' room and headed to the cosplay gallery in front of the convention center. Having to dodge a few giant swords, guns, and a pair of demon wings - I made it in one piece, ready to take some crazy photos. Cosplayers from every Anime, video game, and movie you could think of were there. I saw at least 24 Narutos, 4 Solid Snakes, 2 Pikachus, 3 Spocks, 2 Jedi, and way too many people in chains. Also, the picture down below, the one with the purple hair is a guy . . . there were so many crossplayers, I wanted to scratch out my eyes towards the end of it! Not only that, I saw so many things I shouldn't have . . . people need to wear more clothes or at least test out if you can move around well enough without flashing people before hand.

Friday 05.22.09
Location: 150 W San Carlos St - San Jose, California
Time: 1658

Once I felt that I had enough pictures, or at least enough scary images burned into my brain, I headed into the convention center to the dealers' room . . . my true destination. I enjoy watching Anime, it's fun to see all the cosplayers, but for me shopping is the true goal of coming to Fanime. With cash to burn and empty bags to fill, I set out to find those golden gems hidden in the jungle that is the dealers' room. It is truly a battle of prices, wills, and love for something that makes up the vicious vibe of the dealers' room. I'm not exaggerating either, it is pure war there! Where the weak will come out empty handed and the strong will get all the good stuff. I was careful not to waste money on the common goods but to focus on the specialty items that are hard to find. Gashapon, rare plushies, and a few pins was what I ended up buying the first day the dealers' room was open. I also picked up my missing volumes of Voltron.

Friday 05.22.09
Location: 150 W San Carlos St - San Jose, California
Time: 1754

Next was the Artists' Alley . . . which I shouldn't have gone to. Since it was only the first day, a lot of people hadn't shown up yet. Coupled with some very pathetic looking artists all alone, once you make eye contact, the guilt of walking away without buying something is too much. I ended up buying a Lucky Star drawing, Syaoran bookmark, and a bag completely out of guilt.

Friday 05.22.09
Location: 3380 El Camino Real - Santa Clara, California
Time: 1823

After checking in to see how the table top gaming was going and dropping off the goods at the hotel, we headed out to dinner at our favorite place - Mongolian BBQ! Driving out to Santa Clara only took about ten minutes and we soon saw the restaurant. From the outside it looks like a dive, but it's actually some of the best Mongolian you can get in the San Jose area. Filling up on some great BBQ, we went back to the hotel to call it a night and prepare for the biggest day at the con!

FanimeCon 2009: Enter The Gamer

Thursday, 05.21.09
Location: Somewhere in Northern California
Time: 0532

I was abruptly awoken from my deep sleep with Kingdom of Rust blaring from my alarm clock. My laptop, PSP, DLSR camera, Cyber Shot camera, charger bag, messenger bag, and my suitcase were all already loaded into the car the night before. All that was left was for my mother and I to get into the car and start our six hour drive down to San Jose, California. Wiping the sleep from my eyes and humming Kingdom of Rust to myself, I got ready. Once I was fully awake, the excitement started to build. My destination was FanimeCon 2009 where the die hard Otaku, crazy Cosplayers, and fanboyish Gamers congregated for the largest Anime convention in Northern California. Spanning over Memorial Day weekend, roughly 20,000 attendees go to FanimeCon to watch Anime, spend 5 million dollars, and show off their insane cosplay skills. Unlike my trip to the 2007 convention, I was a seasoned congoer this time around. More money, more bags, and a schedule would help me make the most out of this trip. I was prepared and ready to attack FanimeCon 2009!

Thursday, 05.21.09
Location: Hwy 101 South - Santa Rosa, California
Time: 1011

Construction . . . I thought California is supposed to be in a budget crisis, yet everywhere we go there is new construction going on. Construction . . . construction means traffic . . . construction means I'm going to be staring at these cows for a while. *Sigh*

Thursday, 05.21.09
Location: Interstate 280 & Stevens Creek Blvd - San Jose, California
Time: 1227

Finally! We have reached San Jose! Stevens Creek Blvd, home to the Westfield Valley Fair Mall, Santana Row, and our first stop on this trip - the Men's Warehouse. The dress shirts and slacks that we picked up for my father on our last trip down to San Jose fit so well that decided to pick up a few more pair on this trip. After picking up that stuff, it was lunch time.

Thursday, 05.21.09
Location: 3158 Stevens Creek Blvd - San Jose, California
Time: 1255

Arby's! I spotted an Arby's when we were at the Men's Warehouse, so my mother and I decided to eat their for lunch. I haven't eaten at an Arby's since I was 12 so it was quite a throwback to see one. If you haven't been to one, their specialty is a great hot roast beef sandwich, which is what I ordered. But since my eyes are kind of bad, I ended up ordering the wrong number and instead of ordering a regular roast beef I ordered the triple sized one. It was good though, even though I couldn't eat it all.

Thursday, 05.21.09
Location: 282 Almaden Blvd - San Jose, California
Time: 1328

After enjoying a relaxing lunch, we checked into the Crowne Plaza Hotel and unloaded all of our luggage. Room 205 was a great room, six pillows to a bed, a computer desk, a widescreen TV, and a not so great view of the rooftop. The convention center was just across the street, the Tech Museum was behind it, and their were a few restaurants in walking distance. It was the perfect location to make our headquarters!

Thursday, 05.21.209
Location: 525 W Santa Clara St - San Jose, California
Time: 1400

After taking some time to unpack and relax a bit, we headed over to the Shark Tank. Though my beloved team's season is over, the store there stays open all year. Once inside, I was able to shop in peace since my mother and I were the only ones in the store. During game nights, they cram the maximum people they can into the store, 100 fans trying to get the items they want before the game starts. It becomes very hectic, especially when you are trying to find clothes in your size. Luckily, I didn't have any problems finding my size this time. I was able to pick up a teal hoodie, black sweatshirt, and a customized jersey!

Thursday, 05.21.209
Location: 1342 Naglee Ave - San Jose, California
Time: 1422

Next stop was the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum and Planetarium. Before entering the museum, we explored the outer gardens. Beautiful rose bushes, fountains, and a statue of Augustus Caesar decorated the gardens. Once inside, we explored the three areas the museum offered - Death, Life, and Royalty. The Death area was filled with models and artifacts from ancient tombs. The Life area had tools and weapons made of bronze and other materials. The Royalty area had jewelry and household items that only the richest men could own. A Sarcophagus and Canopic Jars were the highlights for me. At the gift store I picked up a keychain for myself, a magnet for my mother, and an Anubis statue for my father. Being a mortician himself, my father has a special connection to Anubis. Unfortunately, my father wasn't able to come on this trip so I hope that we'll be able to go back to the Rosicrucian on one of our annual hockey trips.

Thursday, 05.21.209
Location: 150 W San Carlos St - San Jose, California
Time: 1802

After returning to the hotel to drop off our souvenirs, we headed over to the McEnery Convention Center to register for FanimeCon 2009. Registration was supposed to have already started but poor planning seemed to put them behind schedule. As we crossed the street to the convention center, you could already see signs that the convention was about to start. Street banners hung from the street lights advertising the convention as well as a random cosplayer here and there. You could also find cars decorated with "Fanime or Bust" in the parking lots around downtown San Jose. After waiting in line for over an hour, we were finally able to register and receive our convention badges.

Thursday, 05.21.209
Location: 282 Almaden Blvd - San Jose, California
Time: 2001

Once registered we went back to the hotel to get dinner and then headed up to the room to get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow would be even busier as the convention got into the full swing of things and we'd need all the rest we could get.

Looking Back To The Future

With May just around the corner, I've been preparing for final exams, the summer months, and most of all my Memorial Day vacation. From May 21st through May 25th I will be in San Jose, California for the 2009 Fanime Convention. Anime, Manga, Cosplayers, J-pop, and everything else you can think of from the Land of the Rising Sun. I already have my list of Anime, Manga, and other items I'm hunting for myself and for some friends. I've also got a few plans to hit some museums, the mall, and other local attractions while I'm down there. This will be my second time going down to Fanime and my third Anime convention. I went down the first time in 2007, skipped 2008, and am excited to return again this year. So, as I gear up once again for all that fandomonium, I pulled out a few photos from my trip to Fanime 2007 and SacAnime 2007 to help me get into the vibe of things. This year's convention should be even better than that last one since I'm more experienced, better prepared, and have way more cash to spend :D I am looking forward to it!

Otaku Obsession Vs. Economic Recession

Everyone has been affected by this economic recession (I can't believe they are still calling it that) either through higher prices, higher taxes, and loss of jobs. Though my job isn't very secure, I have never really worried too much about the recession least of all be greatly affected by it . . . until now. I knew prices would go up as well as taxes, so I was prepared for the increase in expenditures but I was blindsided by the other areas this recession affected.

I was perusing a few Anime and Manga websites to read the daily news one day, when I came across some surprising information. Some of the biggest Anime and Manga distributors to the U.S. were cancelling some of their products. These are big name companies like Bandai, Funimation, Tokyopop, and Viz just to name a few. Some of the series that are being cancelled haven't even been seen stateside but others have already been partially released.

As a huge Otaku and a major collector, this news came as a shock to me. Especially considering that a few of my series were included in the chopping block list. This is also very disappointing news for me because it means that the popular series that make the most money will not be affected but some of the lesser great Anime and Manga series will never get the opportunity to be seen by the American populous. Series like Naruto especially come to mind. Don't get me wrong, Naruto has had some great moments but it also falls into the same rut as a lot of anime series do - filler episodes. The anime series is littered with them. And because of its popularity, other great series like Moribito and others are being thrown to the curb.

Though, not as serious as some of the other news coming out because of the recession, I was still stunned to see how many different areas this recession has affected. I'm curious to see how FanimeCon looks when I go down in May. When I went down in 2007 it was packed with people and filled with vendors. This year though, I think I will see a significant decrease in attendance by both sides of the Anime and Manga industry. Hopefully this trend won't last much longer but I am definitely going to be more careful about which Anime and Manga series I decide to buy.