Don't forget, Small Press Fest Denver is tomorrow.  Go check it out and support your local artists/authors/creatives.

The Professional Gamer - September 14, 2015

I'm back now from NDK, and, as you may have read here, I had a great time.  That being sad, what did I find to do with the time that I had for the remainder of the week.  I did manage to spend Labor Day at home, and therefore, got to enjoy my free time a lot.

Reading: In the whole week, I read about 5 pages of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon.  I only have a few weeks left of my intense running program (training for a half-marathon), and then I should have my lunch time free for reading again.

Playing: Almost all of my video game time this week was spent going through my StreetPass on Nintendo 3DS.  Nan Desu Kan is a great place to meet people because there is a huge crossover between anime fans and Nintendo fans.

Watching: On Monday, I binge watched all of the episodes of My Love Story!! that were available on Hulu (which is a few weeks behind the CrunchyRoll release schedule).  I love the show so much, primarily because Takeo and Yamato are such huge dorks and don't know what to do with themselves.  This is another case of "not your typical shoujo" and I strongly recommend it.  I also found out the Food Network changed out the collection of Good Eats episodes that area available on Netflix streaming, and have been watching those too.

That's all that I've got for this week

NDK Attendance Reaches New Record

NDK has let me know the estimated attendance for 2015, and it is a dozy. The registration department's best guess is 9,200 people. That is 1,700 more then the previous years attendance cap! Here is to the continued growth of our favorite anime convention.

NDK 2015 - Photos from the Floor

One thing that you can always count on from NDK is lots of great costumes, and this year is no different. Here are the shots I took from the floor, including some posted by Jim earlier. There is more to come though as I still need to go through the Costume Contest. Look forward to that coming soon.

You can find the full gallery here as well.

NDK 2015 - Day 3

The Nan Desu Kan organizers have certainly done a great job in their first year at this new hotel.  Generally speaking, lines seemed to be more manageable, walking around was easier, and the hotel facilities were well laid out and well maintained.  We would all like to thank the NDK Staff and Board of Directors for putting on another great convention.  As usual, Sunday is the slowest day for me at Nan Desu Kan.  I had an opportunity to interview Taliesin Jaffe, so you can look forward to that audio in the next few days.

So you want to run an Anime Convention? with Kevin McKeever

I attended Kevin's panel about how to start an anime convention.  He started out the panel with a big reality check.  "So you want to run an anime convention?  Why?"  Kevin went on to discuss some bad reasons for trying to run your own convention: 1) revenge, 2) hopes for easy money, 3) wanting to run the masquerade.  Basically, if any three of those are your primary reason for starting a convention, it is not likely to work out and you should probably give up before you lose a lot of money.  He then discussed some of the realities of starting a convention.  There is a lot of work that has to happen before a convention can start.  It is like taking on a second, full-time, un-paid job.  Eighteen months is the bare minimum to put together a small convention, at an out of the way chain hotel, with only a couple of invited guests.  The cost for this small convention would be about $50,000 and the convention would not likely be able to make that back in the first year.  And the convention is only likely to take off if there is a demand in the market for it.  It is also necessary to for some type of corporation (either for-profit or non-profit) to run the convention.  In order to best decide which type of incorporation, the prospective convention head needs legal advice.  On top of all this, many cities have at least one anime convention, and many also have a Comic-Con.  So it can be hard for a small, new convention to get a foothold in many markets.

That's all that I have for the weekend.  For those of you who were able to attend NDK, I hope that you were able to have as much fun as I did.  And for those who weren't able to go the convention, I hope you have enjoyed my photos and reporting.  Goodbye Nan Desu Kan, we'll see you again next year.

The Professional Gamer - September 7, 2015

This weekend, I am attending Nan Desu Kan.  Some of the coverage should have already hit the front page at this point.  However, I'm writing this at a point when the convention has only just begun.  That being the case, let's talk about my week so far.

Reading:  After many weeks of not finding the time, I finally finished another volume of Pretty Guardian: Sailor Moon.  That leaves me with only 3 volumes left in the entire series.  And, as I've previously discussed, I think the Dark Moon arc marks the point where the story finally has some good pacing and character development.

Watching: My lovely wife Crystal has convinced me to sit down and watch a few episodes of My Love Story, and now I'm hooked.  I suppose that this is only fair since I've hooked her into Welcome to Night Vale.  But, My Love Story is a great, unconventional shojou romance.  I've only watched a few episodes so far, and will therefore withhold my complete review for now.  For now, it is a fun romance, and definitely on my A-list for this year.

Playing: Unfortunately, the busy convention schedule this week did not leave me any time for games.  And, I will likely spend most of Labor Day catching up on my chores that I am neglecting this weekend.  Such is life.

That's all I have for this week.  If you haven't already, check out our coverage of Nan Desu Kan.  Have a great week, and game on!

NDK - 2015 Day 2

I've had a great second day here at Nan Desu Kan 2015.  Per usual, I started out the day finalizing my interview questions, and then went down to the open areas of the hotel in order to spot some cosplay and costumes.  Everyone has done such a great job with their costumes this year, and it has made the people watching into such a fun activity.

Aniplex Industry Panel

Aniplex again had a panel at NDK, and discussed a lot of their recent and upcoming releases.  Their list of anime currently available on disc included Fate Stay Night, Aldnoah Zero, Persona 4 Golden Animation, Irregular at Magic High School, and Expelled from Paradise.  Current streaming content includes Durarara X2, Charlotte, Classroom Crisis, Wagnaria, and God Eater.  Upcoming releases announced are largely later volumes of the series above, plus Sword Art Online and Tsuki Monogatari.  Aniplex will produce an English dub of Your Lie in April with Patrick Seitz as the director.

Funimation Industry Panel

Funimation has certainly been busy this season, with over 20 simulcast running during the summer season.  Michiko and Hatchin is now available on their S.A.V.E. line, so if you have put off purchasing it, now would be a good time.  Series now available for purchase include Hyperdimension Neptunia, Fairy Tail Part 16, Ben-to, D-Frag, One Piece Season 7 Part 1, and .hack//GU Trilogy.  I'm interested in Ping Pong the Animation, a series by director Maasaki Yuasa, whose previous work includes Tatami Galaxy and the "Food Chain" episode of Adventure Time.  The movie 009 Re:Cyborg will be a retelling of the classic Cyborg 009.  There also seems to be a theme of young women encountering down on their luck gods and spirits with series such as Noragami and Inori Kon Kon,  Funimation will re-release Fullmetal Alchemist on Blu-Ray with a very fancy collectors edition on September 15.  Season 2 of Space Dandy and Tokyo Ghoul will follow shortly after on September 22.  Finally, Mamoru Hosado's latest film, The Boy and The Beast is slated for a theatrical release in 2016.  Hosado's previous works include Summer Wars and Wolf Children, and I am therefore extremely excited to see this new movie.

The Ultimate Hellsing: Ultimate Panel

Jonathan Klein (series producer) and Teliesin Jaffe (series ADR director) discussed the ins and outs of 15 years of work on the Hellsing series, including both the original TV series and the more recent OVA.  Most of the panel was presented as a series of annecdotes relating the various challenges that the English language adaptation faced, such as us of Arucado versus Alucard for the main character, casting difficulties (people still complain about the British cast's "fake" accents), and some of the work they did to beef up the Ultimate series soundtrack from the original stereo mix to a full 5.1 mix (they added some cannon noise to Alucard's guns to give them more oomph).  Some say that suffering is necessary for art, but I feel Klein and Jaffe may have been dished more than their fair share.

Funimation Dimension W

Dimension W is a manga series that has been running in Japan since 2012 and currently has 8 volumes published.  In the panel, Funimation Conventions Manager Tara McKinney announced that Funimation will be on the committee that produces an anime series based on the Manga.  In Dimension W, humanity in the near future has found a solution to our current energy crisis by creating "Coils" that are capable of tapping energy from another dimension.  The main characters are Mira, an android, and Kyoma, a detective who is also somewhat of a Luddite.  Production stills and the trailer show some very promising animation with a mix of 3D CGI and 2D work.  As part of the panel, we were able to speak with series producer Uchiro Matsaka via Skype.  The series is currently in production and will begin simulcasting in January 2016.

I also interview Dr. Alisa Freedman today.  Look for podcast audio to be available in the near future.  And I am about to head to the Kevin McKeever's "War Stories from the Convention" panel.  But, since that is an 18+ panel, I doubt there will be anything that I can share with you.  Have a great night, and game on!