While studying at Waseda University, Yoko Kanno made her first debut as a member of “Tetsu 100%” which was released from CBS Sony. After the group split up, she became a composer/arranger for commercials, animation, movies, games and TV series. Known as a great master of animation music, her best works include Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Cowboy Bepop, MACROSS Frontier, Genesis of Aquarion, and The Vision of Escaflowne. She has also written and produced songs for artists such as SMAP, May’n, YUKI, Miki Imai, Maaya Sakamoto, Kyoko Koizumi, Crystal Kay, T.M Revolution, Shione Yukawa, Chitose Hajime, YOSHIKA, ORIGA and more.

Her recent performances include in 2008 the “Galaxy Tour” for MACROSS Frontier as well as in 2009 for the “YOKO KANNO SEATBELTS / Chojiku Tanabata Sonic” event of which both were sold out almost immediately.

For the recently released movie Petal Dance which came out in April 2013, she wrote a piano soundtrack which she performs herself. The piano score will be released from her own label PIANO. In summer 2013, she plans to release a score of “Song of departure, which is A Cappella Arrangements for Male Voices.”

Otakon 2013 will be held August 9­11 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD.

ABOUT OTAKON AND OTAKORP, INC.: Now entering its twentieth year, Otakon is an annual celebration of Japanese and East Asian popular culture, and also one of the largest gatherings of fans in the United States. Otakon celebrates popular culture as a gateway to deeper understanding of Asian culture, and has grown along with the enthusiasm for anime, manga, video games, and music from the Far East. Since 1999, Otakon has been held in Baltimore, Maryland; currently, Otakon is one of Baltimore’s few large, city­wide events, drawing over 32,000 people for three days each year (for a paid attendance of over 89,000 turnstile attendees). Otakon is a membership based convention sponsored by Otakorp, Inc., a Pennsylvania­based, 501(c)3 educational non­profit whose mission is to promote the appreciation of Asian culture, primarily through its media and entertainment. Otakorp, Inc. is directed by an all­volunteer, unpaid staff – we are run by fans, for fans.

Voltaire added:

Voltaire says that if all of the Ponies of Doom sell out within one month’s time, he will write a song about Dischord from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic!!! So, tell all of your friends! Let’s make this happen!

You can order the Pony of Doom plush at http://voltaire.net/store.

Saturday:

Opening Ceremonies

9:00AM: Auditorium – Join us as the con staff welcomes everyone to the fourth JayCon.

Con Drama

11:00AM: Hoover 215 – Join us as we screen the full-length feature of Con Drama. Join us after the movie for a panel and a sneak peak of Con Drama 2. Con Drama DVD will be on sale in the dealers room.

Costume Contest

4:30PM – Auditorium – The Vidgle team is pleased to be hosting and judging the Costume Contest at JayCon! Join us as cosplayers come on stage to show and talk about their cosplay.

The Asterplace Concert

7:00PM: KAV – We are pleased to be introducing The Asterplace, a Tokyo Melodic Core / Japanese Anime Rock Band from Tokyo Japan, based in New York City.

Worst Pick Up Line Ever (18+)

9:00PM: Hoover 213 – We’ve been there or have done that. Picking up someone that always go in the wrong direction. In this 18+ panel, the  Vidgle crew discusses their hilarious experiences they have both in the real  world and at cons.

Sunday

Con Goer: Behind the Scenes

9:00AM: Hoover 215 – Join us as we talk about behind the scene moments that never aired on Con Goer.

Cosplay Chess

11:30AM: M&M – We will be hosting the cosplay chess at JayCon! Which cosplay will be marked king for JayCon 4?

Closing Ceremonies

3:00PM: Auditorium – And we will be staying till to the very end of JayCon. Join us as we say goodbye to another JayCon year!

You can see the entire JayCon schedule on their website here.

Her passion for the culture led her to pursue a voice-acting career in the industry. After several years of training and practice, her breakout role came at last, as Azusa Nakano of K-On!. Although a newcomer to the industry, Christine has since earned several leading roles including Haruka in Oblivion Island, Filia in the 2D Fighter, Skullgirls, the titular character of Squid Girl in Squid Girl, and most recently Madoka Kaname from Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

Christine joins Lauren Landa and Sarah Williams to present Madoka Magica at Otakon.

Palmiotti is one of the most prolific creators in comics today. In addition to his writing work at DC, which includes All-Star Western, Ame-Comi Girls, and the recently-announced Batwing, Palmiotti’s recent work includes the writing the video game Injustice: Gods Among Us for NetherRealm Studios and Warner Bros. Interactive, and the Image Comics series Creator Owned Heroes.

Now entering its twentieth year, Otakon is an annual celebration of Japanese and East Asian popular culture, and also one of the largest gatherings of fans in the United States. Otakon celebrates popular culture as a gateway to deeper understanding of Asian culture, and has grown along with the enthusiasm for anime, manga, video games, and music from the Far East. Since 1999, Otakon has been held in Baltimore, Maryland; currently, Otakon is one of Baltimore’s few large, city-wide events, drawing over 32,000 people for three days each year (for a paid attendance of over 90,000 turnstile attendees).
Otakon is a membership based convention sponsored by Otakorp, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based, 501(c)3 educational non-profit whose mission is to promote the appreciation of Asian culture, primarily through its media and entertainment. Otakorp, Inc. is directed by an all-volunteer, unpaid staff – we are run by fans, for fans.

Michele Knotz is a known voice actor in the English version of “Pokémon,” for  her role as Jesse from Team Rocket. Her other roles include Snivy, Woobat, Minccino, Klink, Klang, Klinklang, Petilil and their evolutions. Before season 14, Michele voiced May, Nurse Joy, the Pokédex, Piplup, Manaphy, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Chimecho, Beautifly, Masquerain, Dustox, Cacnea, and many others. She also voiced Misty for the Pokémon 10th Anniversary Special, “The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon.” In the Pokémon Special, “Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate” she voiced Chikorita. Other anime roles include Hajime Yagi in “The World of Narue,” Takako Kawashima in “Shootfighter Tekken,” Matsumoto and various additional characters in “To Heart,” Razali, Cindy, Greta, and The Fairy in “The Third,” Ogiue Chika in “Genshiken,” Koyuki Asagiri in “Kujibiki Unbalance,” Chou’un Shiryuu in “Ikki Tousen,” Tomoe and Airi in “Queen’s Blade,” and Potaru Tanaka and Inumi in “Magical Witch Punie-Chan.”  As far as video games go, Michele has voiced the Pokémon Trainer, Squirtle and various other Pokémon for the Nintendo Wii’s: “Super Smash Bros. Brawl,” Piplup and many others in “PokéPark Wii – Pikachu’s Great Adventure,” Snivy, Piplup and many others in “PokéPark 2 Wonders Beyond,” various characters in “Heathcliff the Fast and the Furriest,” Alisa Bosconovitch and Roll in Capcom’s “Street Fighter X Tekken,” and Grace in “Castle Dracula.” But Michele doesn’t just work on anime and video games. She’s also a script adapter for various dubbing projects and lends her voice to many other types of work. To see all of Michele’s credits, pictures, and listen to her voice demos, check out her web site!

Additional guests at JayCon 2013 include The Asterplace, Interrobang Studio’s Kevin Bolk, Duane Johnson, and Vidgle.

Now in its fourth year, JayCon will be held April 6 – 7, 2013 at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, PA. More information of JayCon can be found here.

From TwitchTwitch Productions about the event:

TwitchTwitch Productions does it again this Summer 2012 with the Macabre Faire Film Festival. We are lining up some new and underground Horror/Sci-Fi movie releases that you may not have seen for this Festival on June 22, 23, & 24, 2012. The official theme for this one is: Silver Screen Terrors meet the Roaring 20′s. That’s right! Prepare to bump into Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, Wolf Man, Dracula or some one like Sweeney Todd while mingling with others dressed in their Zoot Suits, Wing Tipped Shoes & Flappers for a Summer Weekend. There will be music to compliment the atmosphere. Come on out and play.

Macabre Faire Film Festival will have vendors, music to dance the night away, food, drinks, guests, characters, movies, a pool party (weather permitting) and more.

Some have asked, “What is the Macabre Faire”? Well, we can tell you we ARE NOT a horror convention nor a renaissance faire nor a steampunk gathering or even a witch festival but instead a little taste of all the above but this time with a taste of the 1920′s. Something for everyone with a bigger emphasis on being a great PARTY. We ask that ALL attendees after 8p on Friday and Saturday be of 18 yrs of age+. NO EXCEPTIONS!

Otakon Vegas Convention Chair Victor Albisharat says that, “Otakon Vegas is a new event that will allow us to further our mission. We’re nearing the capacity of our home in Baltimore; the next logical step would be to expand. As well, we wanted to create a smaller and more intimate setting where we can try out new things. With that in mind, we’re working on some exciting new events and formats that might not lend itself to our larger event in Baltimore.”

Hotel room reservations are now available and event registration will open in the next few months.

For more information, keep an eye on our facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/otakonvegas or go to our website at http://www.otakonvegas.com.

ABOUT OTAKON VEGAS AND OTAKORP, INC.: Otakon Vegas is the first annual celebration of Japanese and East Asian popular culture presented by Otakorp in Las Vegas, Nevada. Otakon Vegas celebrates popular culture as a gateway to deeper understanding of Asian culture. Otakon Vegas is a ticket based convention sponsored by Otakorp, Inc., a Pennsylvania­based 501(c)3 educational non­profit whose mission is to promote the appreciation of Asian culture, primarily through its media and entertainment. Otakorp, Inc. is directed by an all­volunteer, unpaid staff – we are run by fans, for fans.

Today, we are please to announce the Vidgle Audio Podcast, a new podcast feed containing the audio channels from several video episodes we air on our website.

The Vidgle Audio Podcast is now available in the iTunes Store, you can click here to subscribe.

Since we are still adding the podcast to podcast directories, you can manually subscribe to us by using the URL “http://audio.feed.vidgle.tv” (without quotation marks).

Baltimore, MD (January 30, 2012) – Otakon is pleased to highlight the “Year of Awesome” by welcoming back musician T.M.Revolution for a special Saturday concert at Otakon 2013. He returns ten years after debuting to American audiences in 2003.

T.M. Revolution

T.M.R. was the first major Japanese rock/pop performance at Otakon. The success of that show demonstrated that Japanese acts could find an audience in America by leveraging the fanbase for anime. T.M.R.’s american debut helped bring Otakon to the attention of the Japanese music industry and helped stimulate interest in bringing J-pop and J-rock acts to the US.

Jim Vowles, Otakon’s Director of Guests and Industry stated, “T.M.R.’s show in 2003 was a game-changer for us and for the whole world of anime conventions. His enthusiastic performance was a massive success, and T.M.R. himself was fantastic with his fans. It was new territory for all of us and we’ve looked forward to his eventual return for ages.”

Ten years later, such concerts have become almost a requirement for conventions of any size, and draw a dedicated audience of their own. While Otakon has continued to showcase major J- rock acts such as L’Arc~en~Ciel, JAM Project, and X-Japan, it has also brought an increasingly diverse range of musical performers, such as shamisen performers the Yoshida Brothers.

Takanori Nishikawa, born in 1970 in Shiga prefecture, made his debut as T.M.Revolution (T.M.R.) in May 1996, with the single “Dokusai –monopolize-”. Since then, he has established a reputation as a singer with ear-catching tunes combined with intriguing and irresistible live performances. Many singles have been picked up as themes of major anime and games including Mobile Suit Gundam and Sengoku BASARA.

Since his debut, T.M.R. has built a global fan base and reputation mainly among anime fans. He has performed at major anime conventions in the US, such as OTAKON 2003 where local audiences were dazzled by his dynamic performance. These activities led to the release of his albums worldwide.

T.M.R. launched his 10th anniversary project in 2005 in which he released the single “vestige” in August 2005, hitting #1 on Oricon chart. He also released a self-cover album “UNDER:COVER” (all songs requested by fans) in January 2006. In June of that same year, he released a CD and a DVD, both entitled “1000000000000”(pronounced billion) featuring all singles and music videos he had previously released. This proved immensely popular and also hit #1 on the Oricon charts.

Crispin Freeman

Crispin Freeman is a voice actor, director and script adaptor who’s been portraying characters in animation and video games since 1997.  He’s worked on a myriad of anime shows including Hellsing, Naruto, Ghost in the Shell, The Big O, Final Fantasy: Advent Children, Wolf’s Rain, Witch Hunter Robin, Chobits, Blood+, Last Exile, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Slayers, The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Durarara  as well as in Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle and Ponyo.

In the world of video games he’s played Superman, Iron Man, Dr. Manhattan, Legolas, as well as Will Turner from Pirates of the Caribbean. He plays the Male Wizard in Diablo III, Helios the Sun God in God of War III and both Breakdown and Grimlock in Transformers: War for Cybertron. He’s been in such high profile Japanese games as Xenosaga, Final Fantasy, White Knight Chronicles and Metal Gear Solid.

In American animation, he’s voiced characters in the Spectacular Spider-man series where he played Electro as well as the show Wolverine and The X-men where he played Multiple Man. He’s currently playing Speedy and Red Arrow in the DC animated series Young Justice.

Otakon 2013 will be held August 9-11 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD.

ABOUT OTAKON AND OTAKORP, INC.: Now entering its twentieth year, Otakon is an annual celebration of Japanese and East Asian popular culture, and also one of the largest gatherings of fans in the United States. Otakon celebrates popular culture as a gateway to deeper understanding of Asian culture, and has grown along with the enthusiasm for anime, manga, video games, and music from the Far East. Since 1999, Otakon has been held in Baltimore, Maryland; currently, Otakon is one of Baltimore’s few large, city-wide events, drawing over 32,000 people for three days each year (for a paid attendance of over 90,000 turnstile attendees). Otakon is a membership based convention sponsored by Otakorp, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based, 501(c)3 educational non-profit whose mission is to promote the appreciation of Asian culture, primarily through its media and entertainment. Otakorp, Inc. is directed by an all-volunteer, unpaid staff – we are run by fans, for fans.

For more information about Otakorp, Inc., see http://www.otakon.com/otakorp/index.asp
For more information and the latest news on Otakon 2013, see http://www.otakon.com/

###

Masao Maruyama

The founder and former creative director of Madhouse Studios, Masao Maruyama has had a hand in the Japanese animation industry for forty years. Maruyama was born in 1941 in the Miyagi Prefecture. After graduation from Hosei University, he went to work for Mushi Production. He later went on to help produce Unico, based on a story by Osamu Tezuka, of Astro Boy fame. In 1972, Maruyama had a direct handin the establishment of the burgeoning new animation studio Madhouse and led the team as a creative producer for many years.

Over the next three decades, Maruyama would oversee countless television, OAV, and theatrical releases, all noted for a high level of production quality. He would also develop a reputation for finding and nurturing talented directors; under his guidance, talents like Satoshi Kon and Atsuko Ishizuka have flourished. Maruyama has also engaged with overseas partners quite often, working with the Wachowskis on the Animatrix project, and overseeing anime takes on classic American comic book characters.

In 2011, Maruyama left Madhouse and formed MAPPA (Maruyama Animation Produce Project Association). MAPPA allows him greater creative freedom to pursue projects that may be less obviously commercial. The studio’s first major project was the critically acclaimed Kids on the Slope, which reunited many of the creative team behind Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo. He continues to consult with Madhouse on various projects.

Currently Vic recently played the lead in the new Pokemon movie, as well as roles in G4’s Wolverine and Iron Man series, and the original Mass Effect movie. He is currently playing roles in Tiger & Bunny, Digimon, Nura, Lagrange and several other series. Vic has also voiced roles in a large number of video games including Soul Calibur, Disgaea, Dynasty Warriors, Persona III, Sonic Colours, DBZ, Bleach, FMA and more.

But even longer than his voice acting, Vic has been a professional music composer / singer / producer who has written and produced hundreds of pieces for TV, radio and CD. He sings the themes for shows like One Piece & DBGT, and has produced several CDs of his own original music, all available on iTunes.

Finally, in addition to anime and music, Vic has a degree in film and is deeply involved as an actor and director in several web series like “Nuka Break”, “Starship Farragut”, and is executive producing a brand new TOS based series “Star Trek Continues”. Vic works regularly writing, producing and directing video and film productions of all kinds.

Otakon 2013 will be held August 9-11 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD.

ABOUT OTAKON AND OTAKORP, INC.: Now entering its twentieth year, Otakon is an annual celebration of Japanese and East Asian popular culture, and also one of the largest gatherings of fans in the United States. Otakon celebrates popular culture as a gateway to deeper understanding of Asian culture, and has grown along with the enthusiasm for anime, manga, video games, and music from the Far East. Since 1999, Otakon has been held in Baltimore, Maryland; currently, Otakon is one of Baltimore’s few large, city-wide events, drawing over 32,000 people for three days each year (for a paid attendance of over 90,000 turnstile attendees).
Otakon is a membership based convention sponsored by Otakorp, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based, 501(c)3 educational non-profit whose mission is to promote the appreciation of Asian culture, primarily through its media and entertainment. Otakorp, Inc. is directed by an all-volunteer, unpaid staff – we are run by fans, for fans.

For more information about Otakorp, Inc., see http://www.otakon.com/otakorp/index.asp
For more information and the latest news on Otakon 2013, see http://www.otakon.com/

###

Baltimore, MD (January 1, 2013) – We are pleased to welcome back voice actor Maile Flanagan for Otakon 20.

MaileFlanagan won an Emmy in 2006 and was nominated in 2007 for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks. She voices the lead in the hit anime show NARUTO, and has done over 400 episodes, 5 movies and 35 video games for the series. Other animation work includes the Oscar winning film Rango, Ice Age 3, Fish Hooks, Back at the Barnyard, Kung Foo Magoo, Tom and Jerry, Final Fantasy 13, and many more pilots, shows, and upcoming projects. Currently you can catch her recurring as the mean principal on Lab Rats on Disney XD and in a recurring role on Shameless on Showtime.

Film and Media Guest Announcements:
Amanda Tapping – Samantha Carter from Stargate SG-1 and Helen Magnus from Sanctuary
Kristin Bauer – True Blood’s Pam and Once Upon a Time’s Maleficent
Sam Witwer – Aidan Waite on Being Human, Davis Bloome/Doomsday on Smallville, and Darth Maul on Star Wars: Clone Wars

Comic Book Guest Announcements:
J. Michael Straczynski – Creator of Babylon 5, writer on Amazing Spider-man, Fantastic Four, Teen Titans, Superman, and more.
Mike Mignola – Creator of Hellboy, BPRD, and artist on many other works.
Greg Capullo – Comic artist and penciller known for his current run on Batman, plus Spawn, X-Force, and Quasar.
Neal Adams – Revered comic artist who’s helped define imagery for Superman, Batman, Green Arrow, X-Man, and many more.
Ethan Van Sciver – Artist known for his work on The Flash, Green Lantern, Firestorm, and Superman/Batman.
Brett Booth – Artist on Teen Titans and Backlash, plus Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter.

Anime Guest Announcements:
Vic Mignoga – Prolific anime voice actor best known as the voice of Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist.
Tara Platt – Voice actress from Naruto, Bleach, Halo, and Saints Row
Yuri Lowenthal – Voice actor from Ben 10, Naruto, Mass Effect, and Prince of Persia.

Author Guest Announcements:
Andrew Hussie – MS Paint Adventures and Homestuck creator

A open letter, by the Con President is quoted below.

Dear Member,

I regret to inform you that I-CON 32 planned for March 21st, 22nd and 23rd of 2013 has been postponed.

The factors leading to this decision include financial difficulties, challenges in moving a convention our size, and most notably repercussions of Hurricane Sandy and the nor’easter that followed shortly after.

The I-CON 32 team and the board consulted extensively on this matter, evaluating financial options, private funding, and substantial cuts to the convention itself. These options presented huge changes to the fabric of the convention – diminishing the experience, as well as leaving the organization financially insolvent for an I-CON 33. Ultimately this lead to the decision to postpone I-CON 32.

Any funds collected for member registration or dealers will be refunded as quickly as possible. This includes funds collected at I-CON 31, as well as any since that point. Should you wish to opt out of a refund and make a donation to ICON Science Fiction, Inc., you can let us know by emailing us at president@iconsf.org. ICON Science Fiction, Inc. plans to continue our work towards our mission of education and outreach, including our scholarship program for 2013.

We will ensure that anyone who has supported us to this point is made aware of any new developments with the convention.

While I-CON 32 has been postponed, and no dates are currently on the table, I assure you that the team here is working hard to rebuild I-CON the convention. Our team moves forward with great resolve and heavy hearts.

Thank you,
Vince Collura
President
ICON Science Fiction, Inc

“It’s such an honor to be a part of this esteemed event which is enjoyed by hundreds of millions around the world,” said Yoshiki. “Composing this music was a journey that involved creating numerous versions in order to arrive at just the right sound to capture the unique combination of glamour and edginess that makes the Golden Globe Awards so entertaining. I’m very proud of the result and am thrilled that Warner Music has chosen to make it available around the world.”

Yoshiki recorded the theme, which opens the show and is used at other key moments during the broadcast, in his native Japan. He played many of the instruments himself before adding a full string orchestra.

“To have world-renowned musician Yoshiki compose the theme song for the Golden Globes is an honor for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and we are delighted that the single is now being released worldwide,” said HFPA President Dr. Aida Takla-O’Reilly. “Our international organization recognizes the most accomplished entertainers in film, television and music, and Yoshiki certainly fits right in among our honorees,”

All profits from the iTunes sales of the single will be donated to charities chosen by the HFPA.

The 70th Annual Golden Globe® Awards will air LIVE coast-to-coast on NBC on Sunday, January 13, 2013, with the pre-show from 4:00-5:00p.m. (PST)/7:00-8:00 p.m. (EST), and main telecast from 5:00-8:00 p.m. (PST)/8:00-11:00 p.m. (EST) from the Beverly Hilton Hotel with hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. The Golden Globe Awards will be seen in more than 192 countries worldwide and is one of the few awards ceremonies that span both television and motion picture achievements. The special will be produced by dick clark productions in association with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Dr. Aida Takla-O’Reilly is president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Allen Shapiro, CEO of dick clark productions, Orly Adelson, president of dick clark productions and Barry Adelman, EVP of Television at dick clark productions will executive-produce the special. Bob Bardo is the executive in charge of production.

About Yoshiki
Yoshiki, one of Asia’s most influential music artists and biggest rock icons, is a songwriter, drummer and classically-trained pianist. His rock group X Japan has sold 30 million singles and albums combined and filled the 55,000-seat Toyko Dome a record 18 times. Now the band’s popularity is spreading throughout the world, having recently completed a sold-out World Tour, performing in North America, Europe, Latin America, and South East Asia. In 1999, Yoshiki composed a piano concerto that he performed with a 77-piece orchestra to celebrate the tenth year of the Emperor of Japan’s reign. In 2005, Yoshiki composed the theme song and conducted the Super World Orchestra at the opening ceremony of the World Expo. Previously, Yoshiki also recorded a classical album co-produced and arranged by acclaimed Beatles producer

Sir George Martin and performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Beyond music, Yoshiki has his own Visa Card and MasterCard issued by one of the largest Japanese banks. Recently, the legendary Stan Lee created a Super Hero based on him, and he was the first person for whom a Hello Kitty product line was named (“Yoshikitty”). In 2010, he launched the non-profit organization Yoshiki Foundation America (http://www.yoshikifoundationamerica.org), which continues to donate to various charitable organizations, including supporting Japanese Earthquake victims.
Follow Yoshiki on http://www.twitter.com/yoshikiofficial, http://www.yoshiki.net and http://www.xjapanmusic.com.

About the Hollywood Foreign Press Association:
Founded in the 1940s during World War II, the HFPA was originally comprised of a handful of LA based overseas journalists who sought to bridge the international community with Hollywood, and to provide distraction from the hardships of war through film. Sixty-eight years later, members of the HFPA represent 55 countries with a combined readership of 250 million in some of the world’s most respected publications. Each year, the organization holds the third most watched awards show on television, the Golden Globe Awards, which have enabled the organization to donate more than $12 million to entertainment related charities and scholarship programs. For more information, please visit www.goldenglobes.org, and follow us on Twitter (@goldenglobes), Instagram (@goldenglobes / #goldenglobes), and Facebook (www.facebook.com/goldenglobes) for exclusive celebrity videos and up to the minute Golden Globes news!

About dick clark productions, inc.:
Founded in 1957, dick clark productions, inc. (dcp) is a leading independent producer of television programming. dcp produces perennial hits such as the “American Music Awards,” “Golden Globe Awards,” “Academy of Country Music Awards,” and “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest.” dcp also produces popular weekly television programming, including “So You Think You Can Dance,” and owns and maintains one of the world’s most unique and extensive entertainment libraries, which includes more than 30 years of “American Bandstand” footage. For additional information about dcp, please visit www.dickclarkproductions.com.

About Warner Music
With its broad roster of new stars and legendary artists, Warner Music Group is home to a collection of the best-known record labels in the music industry including Asylum, Atlantic, Cordless, East West, Elektra, Nonesuch, Reprise, Rhino, Roadrunner, Rykodisc, Sire, Warner Bros. and Word, as well as Warner/Chappell Music, one of the world’s leading music publishers, with a catalog of more than one million copyrights worldwide.

# # #

Usually known for its non-stop gaming and concerts, the upcoming 11th annual MAGFest will also be hosting both live and silent charity auctions, as well as a brand new event: Table Flipping For Charity. MAGFest provides the table, cutlery, cups, beverages, and more, and you provide the rage. The more you donate, the more stuff you get to flip over. Never before have violent outbursts been so productive to society!

Silent auctions will be running throughout the entire weekend, and a live auction will be held on Sunday afternoon (January 6th). Dozens of rare and signed gaming items will be up for auction, including several one-of-a-kind items such as a signed printer’s proof sheet from Final Fantasy: Distant Worlds, as well as a mint condition vinyl soundtrack to Beverly Hills Cop 2, signed by Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu’s band Earthbound Papas (formerly The Black Mages).

Dozens of companies and people have contributed to the list of items to be auctioned, including:

• Konami
• Gearbox Studios
• Firaxis Games
• Activision
• Volition
• Jonathan Coulton
• Paul & Storm
• Reddit
• Valve
• And many many more…

MAGFest hopes to raise even more money this year than all years previous, so read about our charity activities at http://magfest.org/charityauction, and join the festivities this January 3-6 in National Harbor, Maryland!

About MAGFest:
MAGFest, The Music And Gaming Festival, is an annual event in the Washington D.C./Virginia/Maryland area dedicated to the celebration of video games and video game music. Each year, MAGFest offers 24-hour console, arcade, and PC game rooms, over twelve live video game cover bands, chiptunes, a vendors area, and guest speakers from the video game industry and fan scene. It also features a “JamSpace” available to all attendees for impromptu music performances. Numerous other events are scheduled each day. The 11th annual MAGFest, or MAGFest 11 for short, is scheduled for January 3-6 2013. For more details regarding MAGFest, contact Nick Marinelli, MAGFest press and public relations director, press@magfest.org.

Usually known for its non-stop gaming and concerts, the upcoming 11th annual MAGFest will also be the debut year for Games on Film, and will take place January 3^rd -6^th, 2013, right next to Washington, D.C.. Over a dozen features will be screened, including full length feature films, web series, and sneak peeks at new attractions on the horizon.

In addition to the screenings, there will also be Q&A with the film creators, discussion on topics related to the films, as well as both tabletop and video game tournaments to coincide with the film screenings. You can check out our official teaser trailer and press release flyer

.

The full line up for MAGFest 11′s Games on Film is:

• Minecraft: The Story of Mojang (A MAGFest Exclusive!)
• Beyond the Game (World Premiere!)
• Ecstacy of Order: The Tetris Masters
• Get Lamp
• Going Cardboard
• Indie Game: The Movie
• More than a Game
• Machinima Expo
• Journey Quest 2
• Mario Warfare
• Standard Action
• Video Game Theater
• Sneak Peek – Arcade: A Documentary
• Sneak Peek – Inside the Dragon’s Lair
• Sneak Peek – The Space Invaders
• Sneak Peek – Zach Cooper’s Epic Speed Run

About MAGFest:
MAGFest, The Music And Gaming Festival, is an annual event in the Washington D.C./Virginia/Maryland area dedicated to the celebration of video games and video game music. Each year, MAGFest offers 24-hour console, arcade, and PC game rooms, over twelve live video game cover bands, chiptunes, a vendors area, and guest speakers from the video game industry and fan scene. It also features a “JamSpace” available to all attendees for impromptu music performances. Numerous other events are scheduled each day. The 11th annual MAGFest, or MAGFest 11 for short, is scheduled for January 3-6 2013. For more details regarding MAGFest, contact Nick Marinelli, MAGFest press and public relations director,press@magfest.org.

Bringing friends to your room is where the drama starts.

From the people who brought the successful web series “Con Goer,” comes a new comedy about what most con-goers go through with friends at a con, drama.

Tony (Anthony Zaragoza) has been traveling to conventions of anime, sci-fi, fantasy, and gaming for years. For DerpyCon 2012, Tony invited his friends Chris (Jeff Delisle), “Nekochan” (Megan Halvorsen) and Jason (Matt Schwam). But when Chris invited a new con-goer, Angelina (Candice Morreale), will she be able to get along with “Nekochan?” Will Chris be able to win the cosplay skits with Nekochan and Angelina? Will the five be able to sleep in a king size bed without any drama?

DVD includes the full length feature with special features!

Region code free : NTSC : 43 min : Stereo : Anamorphic Widescreen

Summer BronyCon 2012

Probably one of the smallest conventions I’ve been to in a long time, BronyCon was an entirely new experience for me. We stuffed the car and headed to the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, NJ for two days of sheer Brony overload. Being the borderline hipster that I am, I cosplayed a little old school as Firefly, rumored to be Lauren Faust’s favorite original Pony and the inspiration behind the current Rainbow Dash. I was really excited at just how many people actually recognized me for the character!

All that aside, BronyCon is a massive dealer’s hall. And Bronies are willing to spend their money on tons of merchandise. There were panels, and some really awesome guests, including Tara Strong, John De Lancie, and even Lauren Faust herself! (Being the huge Star Trek and Charmed fan that I am, I was more than excited to meet John De Lancie.)

The Charity auction raised $8000 for Child’s Play, which is definitely nothing to scoff at. One item, a limited edition poster signed by all the season one voice actors and Lauren Faust, went for $4050 alone, more than 50% of the total money raised.

There was a major dance Saturday night inside with several bands, complete with a laser light show on the ceiling and some of the voice actors joining in on the fun. It was followed by an impromptu unofficial one outside with some Vinyl Scratch cosplayers pumping the tunes on their own mini boom boxes.

Pony puns prevailed with all the big events taking place in “Mane Hall” and smaller events as well as a streaming video overflow in “Tail Hall”, complete with cute mane and tail signs. The Traveling Pony Museum was also there with loads of pony art and memorabilia, both official and fan made, on display for everyone to gander at.

Pony Puns Everywhere!

I was a little disappointed at the cosplay photoshoots, as they seemed very much like an assembly line of getting all the people cosplaying certain characters into a mashed up group and snapping a bunch of pictures. There was no real time to play out cute poses and other things that make photoshoots fun. And Sunday morning was disturbed by one of the lights in the convention center catching fire and forcing a mass evacuation of everyone in the building. Thankfully, no one was hurt, and the convention carried on, extending a bit past their originally scheduled hours to make sure no one lost too much time enjoying all Bronycon had to offer. After the Doubletree fire at AnimeNEXT, I seem to be attracting disasters at conventions!

All that aside, I had a surprisingly good time. With a little Fluttershy dub-step, “Chugga-chugga chugga-chugga woo woo!” I’m off to more conventions and fun. I’m hoping, despite next year’s timing being so close to Otakon, that I’ll be able to go again.

Star of Vidgle’s debut feature film “Con Drama” and on air talent for “Con Goer” Megan Halvorsen is featured in the magazine all about the steampunk culture in New Jersey. Jeff Mach, creator of The Steampunk Worlds Faire, is interviewed by the magazine. Also featured is a familiar face, or should I say familiar green dreads if you are a regular Con Goer fan, Jose Puertes is also interviewed in the article.

For those of you who do not live in New Jersey and would like to read the article, you can get it online at

http://njsections.travidia.com/SS/Page.aspx?sstarg=&facing=false&secid=125932&pagenum=34

Jenthony will be launching an actual DerpyCon website, www.derpycon.com, next month.

The Geek Creation Show | August 2-4, 2013 | The Sheraton of Parsippany, New Jersey

Geek culture is on the rise. Geekdom is on the rise. And geek creativity and innovation is changing the world.

The Geek Creation Show is the first large-scale trade show for geeky creators, and a terrific playground of wonders for people who love geeky things. On the business to business side, we’re here to help professionals who’d like to source nerdtastic products – for retail buyers, for decorators and designers, for wedding and event planners, museums, etailers, and myriad other industries. On the consumer side, the show is open to the public, who can see and play with and enjoy and purchase the most amazing array of geeky goods this side of cyberspace.

And we’re not just hoping to help geek businesses succeed and give geeky people a spectacular playground, though those are both an integral part of our mission. We’re also putting our own money where our mouth is – the profits from the Geek Creation Show itself go towards supporting a great nonprofit: The Tesla Science Center, AKA “The Tesla Museum“.

Exhibitor spaces now available! Sponsorships now available! Speak to Jeff Mach if you have questions or press inquiries, or would like to become a sponsor!

The Geek Creation Show is a production of Jeff Mach Events, creators of the world’s largest ticketed Steampunk event, The Steampunk World’s Fair; the genre-bending Wicked Winter Renaissance Faire and The Time Traveler’s Resort & Museum; New York City’s Steampunk Anachronism; and several other geeky shows.

Multiverse: Joy and Laughter

It’s time to celebrate being alive. It’s time to bring some cheer to people who’ve just been through one hell of a storm. It’s time to raise a little money for some of those people.

And it’s time to laugh!

We are an informal gathering of unusual people, for good times, socializing, and entertainment. We’re a lot of fun!

Multiverse moves to its new location and time – the third Thursday of every month at the Radisson of Piscataway. Admission is $13 for an entertainment-only ticket, or $18 for admission with either dinner or two drinks from the bar.

Our headliners are the amazing funny and unique band A Halo Called Fred (www.AHaloCalledFred.com). Check out their website to see this unique, tupperwear-playing band! Or see them on Youtube – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNjoPL4jixE, say.

We’ve also confirmed a performance by Dr. Dubious Lie, a rare solo acoustic version of his terrifyingly hilarious http://www.myspace.com/velocitators!

Most of the profits will be donated to charity! Trying to figure out the best way to help storm victims.

Multiverse starts at 6pm and goes till 11:30pm

Vidgle’s Anthony, Alicia, Candice and Jeff will be hosting the event!

It will be held in Panels 3 (Madison B) on Friday at 11:30PM. We hope you can join us!

There were many changes to the con this year, most dramatically the elimination of the title Anime Festival after a two year trial merge. The anime track still boasted a star studded list to match the comic set as well as panels to please any Japanime fan. However, the decision to utilize a single hall for all panels was a tricky one. The pro is that the comic and anime attendee could plan to hit both tracks easily. The con is that fans of both tracks were sharing a single hall. The Javits is big enough to hold both egos…perhaps. ^^;

Thursday, October 11

Though panels have already began on Thursday, Thursday is my dedicated shopping day. By the look of the line for the Exhibit hall, I’m not the only one with that idea. It opened at 3pm and for us shoppers, the con finally began.

The Jmanga booth was showcasing their newest plan, Jmanga7. While Jmanga allows fans to purchase whole volumes of manga, Jmanga7 allows for free access to chapters of manga after signing up. Newer chapters would appear later after some time. For a fee to premium members, newer chapters will be available as soon as they’re released. Marketing VP Robert Newman noted that the Jmanga7 reader is about the same as Jmanga with only slight differences. I would have to note the differences later on. Of course, there is also the newly released Android app.

I walked through the independent publishing area where I was pulled into a conversation with the writer for ‘Censor’, a publication for girls by girls. The photos were unique and vibrant while the written pieces were honest, real with comedic elements at times. Definitely worth a look.

Near the front walkway, I spotted lifesized Chun Li Hello Kitty…surrounded by fans. I truly wished my camera hadn’t run out of batteries since I would love to take a pic of her. There were also the 4 ninja turtles since they were promoting the new cartoon.

Interestingly, the front walkway connecting the two wings is decorated as a sewer, advertising the same new Ninja Turtles series. What an ingenious idea! Turning a simple walkway into an awesome ad. Unfortunate that the back walkway didn’t get the same treatment and looks a bit plain in comparison.

Friday, October 12

Like before, autograph tickets for major guests are given out in the morning. Unlike previous years though, we got to wait in the queue Hall C so fans weren’t cold in the early morning. Also, with the con doors opening at 7am, it prevented others from waiting over night just for a ticket.

I joined the masses at 7:30am. Of course, by then the Amano Yoshitaka-sensei line was already very long. I managed to obtain an Asakawa Yu autograph ticket for the con’s sole Japanese seiyuu.

I retreated to the Press room to iron out what I will be doing during the day. When the Exhibit Hall finally opened at 10am, I went to grab some more pics which I couldn’t get the day before.

Aniplex of America

My first panel of the day was Aniplex. (Interestingly, Aniplex was the first panel of the con last year as well. Tradition perhaps?) Hosted by Marketing, E.J. Rivera, we heard about the latest releases by one of the largest distribution companies in Japan (American branch of course.)

a short stop

After the panel, I stopped by the Jmanga booth again in the Exhibit hall.

more panels please!

NYCC welcomes back Amano Yoshitaka-sensei, genius artist of Final Fantasy and Vampire Hunter D fame. It truly was a pleasure to hear the inspiring words of the man who gives forms to the ethereal and spirit. *bows*

I went down the hall to the Asakawa Yu-san panel which was also in a packed room. Interestingly, the moderator for the panel was none other than the dancing Stormtropper of Japan, Danny Choo.

autograph break

After the panel, I crossed over to Hall E where the signing was taking place for Asakawa Yu. Despite the large number of people who got the tickets and Asakawa-san being the voice of Luka, a Vocaloid…I was surprised at the low turnout. It gave everyone an opportunity to take pics with her and say a few hours though. I was already near the front so I was waved in quickly. She signed my shikishi and I told her that I was looking forward to more of her singing.

Bryce signed my Vampire Knight manga pic as the voice of Hanabusa Aidou. I mentioned that I was looking forward to seeing the dub version of Blue Exorcist that evening.

Known for blending humor into everything and anything, Jmanga introduced famed mangaka, Ishiguro Masakazu-sensei, the creator for Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru and Jmanga’s newest release Present for Me. Editor for Shonen-gahosa, Ohno Masahiro-sensei was also in attendance.

more about josei

My first panel on Saturday started at 11am, so I actually got to sleep in. A rarity during convention days. ^^; My first panel of the day was with Anno Moyoco-sensei. It was an honor to meet her, having read Happy Mania via Tokyopop all those years ago. Hosted by Ed Chavez of Vertical Inc., the panel could even be an intro to josei and hopefully a start of a new wave of the genre in the West.

exploring the rest of the con

a blast of color

Initially, the staff was not allowing anyone to join the line if they didn’t have the autograph ticket given out that morning. Thankfully, they opened the line soon after that silly announcement. A staff walked about writing fans’ name in katakana on an index card. Anno-sensei had a board with the Sakuran artwork on it which she personalized. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a shikishi but made out of thicker paper. Slightly thicker, but still bendable. Anno-sensei also chose a bookmark for the fans which I graciously accepted.

A company based on digital releases, Jmanga had a steady stream of licenses throughout the year. With the next stage of releases in Jmanga7, the Japanese publishing companies hope to bridge the gap of chapters between Japan and the West. Go Jmanga!

last autograph

I took a quick look around the Exhibit hall before my first panel.

My first panel of the day was with Viz Media with it’s anime, manga, digital and dub channel releases. There is always something to keep us entertained.

Transform!

Sunday is Kids Day at the con and like the years before, kids get in free while parents need a badge. The number of kids running around in their future Halloween costumes is interesting enough, but my favorite has to be this one. I finally found the famous Transformer kid from last year. Last year, he was Optimus Prime, this year he was Bumblebee. I believe the most adorable choice ever. He must be so tired, standing up and lying down at the calls of the crowd. I asked his father if he knew about his son being an internet sensation. Another fan piped up beside me saying the same thing. The father said that he had no idea. We insist that he go on youtube to look it up. ^_^ I only heard about the kid last year, but never saw him in action. I’m glad to be able to finally see him for myself.

I headed back to the Dealer’s room for some last minute browsing as well as cosplay pics.

This year’s NYCC has been one of massive change. I feel that the lack of a cosplay masquerade was big loss. However, even without the NYAF title, the anime track was varied enough as evidenced by the number of panels I managed to hit and the panels I was unable to go to. Though there weren’t any major anime movie screenings held this year, the comic track had a few big ones to make up for it. The guest list was extensive as usual and I truly enjoyed the plethora of subjects and humor the mangaka, seiyuu and producers could conjure up.

The final count of attendees increased once again to the attendance cap of 116,000 people. Construction at the Javits is completed with the promise of more space next year. Many an anime fan has mentioned skipping this con due to the disappearance of NYAF from the title. But I can assure them that the disappearance is only in name. Though the comic track is still prominent, there is enough to do, enough to see, enough to be entertained. Of course, having your friends around is always fun.

Awaiting next year’s dates!

Since it’s an anime panel, the fans were asked to keep their questions anime related. They quickly added that the highly anticipated Black Rock Shooter game is still being worked on. Yay! ^_^ No news on The Witch and the Hundred Knights since there are some issues in Japan. We’re still waiting on that too….

They show a dither video of the releases the company has done in their 2.5 years reign as an anime company. With series like Kimi ni Todoke, House of Five Leaves, Occult Academy, Arakawa Under the Bridge and others, NIS has really showcased themselves as a company that doesn’t limit themselves to a particular genre or style. Their releases are definitely extraordinary.

Besides a releasing company, NIS America has their own online store so fans can purchase from them directly. For certain titles, they would also include a bonus item that can be received if bought directly from them and coupled with free shipping, it’s something to keep in mind.

Phillips highlight some of their events and contests on Facebook for series like Cavestory 3-D and Occult Academy. Of course, announcements will be placed on the Facebook page and Twitter as well. Phillips also release news items on the ‘Prinny Bomb Newsletter’ which is sent out via e-mail periodically. (About 1-3 a week. Is that considered spam? ^_^) Interestingly, any items that are originally out of print may be dug up and placed on the store site. Of course, their availability will be announced via the newsletter for the fastest fan to purchase.

Chen announced some of the products that they have currently. The trailer was shown for anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day which is a BD and dvd set of 11 episodes, including clean ending, Japanese CMs and trailers and a 36 page artbook. It’s an emotionally charged series about a girl who comes back from the dead to bring her friends together. Chen warns the fans that stock is currently low (though a few more will come out at the end of October.)

The Bunny Drop trailer was beautifully sweet. A heartwarming series about an unmarried man who adopts his grandfather’s illegitimate daughter, a young girl. A surprising duo as they learned to live together as a family and never be without each other. *happy sigh* Another 11 episode series plus 4 extra episodes in a BD and dvd set with clean openings and endings with a 28 page artbook.

With the warning of the sexual humor content involved with the next trailer, Ghastly Prince Enma Burning Up was shown. Nagai Go-sensei of Cutey Honey fame did a remake of his own series, Dororon Enma-kun from the 1970′s. Over the top humor, sexual innuendos and obscure references from the 70′s, the 12 episode series on BD and dvd with clean opening and ending as well as a 36 page artbook. Oh, and a cucumber stress ball with a funny face on it. XD Yes, cucumber.

Recent release! I’m biased, but my fav trailer was the next one with Natsume’s Book of Friends. Chen: Discretion advis-no this one is okay. *audience laughed* A sweet story about a young boy who can see spirits and receives a book of spirit contracts from his late grandmother. And a fat cat. lol 26 episodes on 4 dvd discs with clean openings and endings with a 32 page artbook. The set includes season 1 and 2 with NIS America expecting to release season 3 and 4.

Viewer discretion advised…for a different reason then Enma. ^^; The highly anticipated series, Umineko: When they Cry trailer was shown. Vol 1 and 2 will be released at the same time in December 2012 in a BD set. There is a total of 26 episodes, clean opening and endings and artbooks. While Higurashi was considered a horror, Umineko is a suspense thriller/mystery with a mixture of fantasy and reality.

Producer Hiraoka introduced NIS America as a company. Although they don’t release dubs, there truly is alot of attention and detail placed on their releases. Their artbooks reflect the series. Each one presents details that grant viewers new appreciation and understanding. Hiraoka-san notes that fans can look at the artbook before or after watching the series. They make sure that no spoilers appear in the artbooks.

For the selection process, NIS America has a mission statement of ‘Anti-Fanservice’. They hope to differentiate themselves from other companies. Interesting to note, that some of the background pictures chosen for their slides are of highly endowed females. “It’s my own personal preference.” *audience laughs* NIS America license series that are story-driven, comedic, but not necessarily series that have both elements.

Chen went into the localization and the subtitling approaches to a series. They broke the down to subtitling categories of Westernization, Literal Approach and translation of meanings. To illustrate, each of them were shown via video clips. It was interesting to see them utilize these approaches in writing the scripts for the series, even if the explanation was difficult to follow. I give props to them for attempting to explain it to us on a sunday afternoon. ^^;

Something we don’t see very often are the steps that the company takes in localizing a series. For NIS America we have the company:

1. Read original works (comic or novel or game)
2. Watch the anime (w/script that voice actors use)
3. Translator translates text
4. Editor edits text
5. Company-wide screening process
6. One more proofread

Time for the new announcement! NIS America will be releasing Ground Control to Psychoelectric Girl, 13 episodes on BD and dvd, clean opening and endings, Japanese CMs, 36 page artbook and will be released in January 2013.

They raffled off a few prices. Prizes include 4 House of Five Leaves posters from Japan, Toradora standard edition vol. 1, Hyperdimension Neptunia MK2 for PS3, Mugen Souls nendroids, Natsume’s Book of Friends premium edition and Ano Hana goods from Japan: a beach ball, beach wrap and a blanket.

Short Q&A:

Q: Any news about Disgea 5 game?
A: We don’t have any news at this pan.

Q: You licensed House of Five Leaves even as Funimation has the streaming rights. Any chance you’ll be licensing Tatami Galaxy or other series like that [from another company]?
Hiraoka: We always have the possibility, but we haven’t decided on that particular title yet. We’re always searching for any possible series. It doesn’t matter which company has the streaming rights.

Q: I’m part of an anime club. Where do you get permission to screen anime?
Ryan: You can ask request directly through me. If you need the official screeners from us or if you have your own copies, I can just give you the paperwork to sign.

Q: Are majority of your titles on Crunchyroll?
A: We don’t have a contract with Crunchyroll. If it is on Crunchyroll, than it just happens to be on Crunchyroll. If we like a title, we’ll pick it up regardless if it is on Crunchyroll or not.

Q: Are you considering having a title you’ve released before as a dub? For example: Enma which is already sold out, would you consider a re-release by adding a dub to it?
Hiraoka: It is very difficult. We have to check on what we’ve we sold. We have to sell 5 times as much for a dubbed version. So far, there is not title that convinced us for a dub version.

Q: Since much of the jokes in Katanagatari are historical based, what were you problems you faced while localizing it?
A: The person who localized it is not here today, so we couldn’t tell you the nuts and bolts of what he ran into. From what we saw when we reviewed it as a company-wide process, everyone worked very well. I wouldn’t say he glossed over anything. The way he did it was that he did it at face value and everything is explained in the glossary in the artbook. If you watch it, everything makes sense completely. If you want more information of the significance and the history, its in the glossary.

In simulcast belated news, Viz is streaming Kfrom Studio GoHands of Mardock Scramble fame. Available on both the Viz site and Hulu with new episodes every thursday. It is about a simple highschool boy caught in an epic fight between the seven kings in futuristic Japan. The boy, not quite so simple may have committed a crime he doesn’t remember. The animation is awesome, the music even more so.

For anime releases, Bleach anime boxset 15 will be released on 12/11/12 for $49.95. It will include ep. 218-229 on 3 dvds and include production art and omake clips. The first 13 episodes of Inuyasha: The Final Act will be released on 11/20/12 for $44.82 with the second half next year. It will be a simultaneous BD and dvd release on 2 discs. The dub trailer for the series was shown, a wonderful intro clip that throws us back into the series. Another simultaneous BD and dvd release is of Naruto Shippuden Movie 3: The Will of Fire will be on 10/23/12 for $19.98. A super short teaser for the movie was shown. A special trailer featuring clips from all three Berserk movies was shown. The first movie, Berserk The Golden Age Arc 1: The Egg of the King will be released on 11/27/12 for $19.98. Another movie, Bleach: Hell Verse will be released on 12/4/12 for $19.98. Both the BD and dvd will include production art, illustrations and movie trailers.

Viz is having a special celebration for the 10th Anniversary for the Naruto anime. Already over 500 episodes, the site will feature some giveaways as well as have special downloadable wallpaper and merchandise.

David Eick of publishing took over to make the print announcements beginning with Loveless vol. 9 by Kouga Yun-sensei is available now and the first 2-in-1 omnibus edition will be released soon (if not already by this post. ^_^) Neon Genesis Evangelion vol. 13 by Sadamoto Yoshiyuki-sensei will have a worldwide simultaneous release on 11/2/12 with the first 3-in-1 omnibus edition out on 11/13/12.

The omnibus editions of 3-in-1 are $14.99. More omnibuses released in 2013 include the original Dragon Ball series by Toriyama Akira-sensei and D. Gray Man by Hoshino Katsura-sensei.

Viz’s novel imprint, Haikasoru will be releasing ‘Belka, Why Don’t You Bark?’ by Furukawa Hideo-sensei on 10/16/12 for $25.99 hardcover as well as “10 Billion Days & 100 Billion Nights’ by Mitsuse Ryu-sensei on 11/20/12 for $14.99 paperback. Already announced in Otakon, ‘Street Fighter x Sanrio World View’ with sticker book will be released on 11/13/2012.

Graphic novel, ‘Monsuno’ vol. 1 will be released in spring of next year for $7.99. The Ugly Doll comics will be released in July of next year. There will be 4 volumes at 80 pages each.

New licenses! I totally cheered when Pepita came on. Full title, Pepita: Takehito Inoue Meets Gaudi is a travelogue that Inoue-sensei created for his trip through Spain. It will be released on 4/16/2013 for $24.99 hardcover. Sunny by Matsumoto Taiyo-sensei will be released in spring or summer 2013. Matsumoto-sensei is the Eisner award winner of Tekkonkinkreet. The fans cheered as the Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration manga appeared on the screen. By Watsuki Nobuhiro-sensei, it will be released in spring or summer of 2013. The series is also released in Shonen Jump Alpha, Viz’s new manga platform.

Another new Shonen Jump series, Barrage by Horikoshi Kouhei-sensei will be released in March 2013. What is NYCC 2012 without Tiger and Bunny releases? The first volume by Sukoikibara Mizuki-sensei being released on 4/9/13 as well as the anthology drawn by various mangaka being released in August 2013. *audience cheers*

Digital releases are now going to be out at the same time as print releases! For those that are over 18 years of age will be granted access to many new series. (I’m seriously surprised to see Nana as one of the choices. Definitely a more mature title, the sexual content for that series isn’t that high and it’s marketed as a shoujo in Japan by Shueisha.) I’m definitely excited for Cain Saga by Yuki Kaori-sensei.

Some titles to not that will be released digitally before they’re released in print is Bleach vol. 53, Blue Exorcist vol. 8 and Psyren vol. 7…all for $4.99. Others that are $4.99 is Bakuman vol. 15, Bleach vol. 48, Hikaru no Go vol. 16, Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan vol. 11, A Devil & Her Love Song vol. 5 and Dawn of the Arcana vol. 6.

Released now is Kimi ni Todoke vol. 14, Bokurano: Ours vol. 1 and Kekkaishi vol. 34 with Neon Genesis Evangelion vol. 1, Godchild vol. 5 and Hot Gimmick VizBig edition 2 ($8.99) coming out the following week (now by the time of this release.) The week of 10/23 will feature Dr. Slump vol. 12, Prince of Tennis vol. 17 and Honey and Clover vol. 10 with Hikaru no Go vol. 18, HunterxHunter vol. 21, Shamen King vol. 13, Highschool Debut vol. 12, Sand Chronicles vol. 10 (final volume) and Natsume’s Book of Friends vol. 12 for the week of Halloween.

Barrage vol. 2 will be out on 11/2/12 with a free preview. The vizmanga app is currently available for iOS and Android. For the con only, if fans show they have the app on their phones, they’ll be given a free Halloween Bleach poster.

Eric Eberhardt, the Marketing Manager introduced Shonen Jump Alpha (which was announced at Otakon) their newest platform for digital manga. For $25.99 a year, fans are given a digital magazine. Like the printed Shonen Jump magazines, there will be interviews, freebies (physical Yu-Gi-Oh cards,) oneshot manga specials and of course manga that are released in Japanese Shonen Jump weekly. They will be released weekly with new series always being added from Japan.

For NYCC, there is a physical, printed Shonen Jump yearbook which is a beautifully colored page book filled with specials and oneshots by the plethora of mangaka featured in Shonen Jump, including a rare collaboration with Toriyama Akira-sensei and Katsura Masakazu-sensei for Sachie-chan Good!!. Continuation of the series will be in Shonen Jump Alpha.

For fans who want to try out the app, there is a free Shonen Jump starter pack which has a mixture of manga chapters that range from the newest with Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration chap. 1 to something older like Blue Exorcist chap 166. “For fans who want to just dive in, jump into the story. Whatever story that interests you.”

For subscribers, ‘New Manga every Monday’ will grant fans simultaneous releases with Japan. Not now, but will be very soon. Eberhardt encourage fans to follow Viz on twitter where they will announce new series added as well as the exact date for the simultaneous release.

Another con-only gift is a stamp rally. Including adding the app and doing other things, fans will be given a Shonen Jump bag. Otherwise, there is always the free Shonen Jump yearbook for everyone who visits the booth. ^-^ For subscribers, there will be another edition of yearbook along with the next Yu-Gi-Oh card.

They closed the panel with raffles. They gave out the Street FighterxSanrio sticker book, the Halloween Bleach poster, two Blue Exorcist posters (with sexy Yukio and Rin ^_^), a Nana tote bag, two Shonen Jump bags and a few Neon Alley t-shirts.

I asked them about whether or not they’ll be licensing any of the shonen monthly series, especially Kuroko no Basket. They said that they have no plans in mind for that unfortunately…at least for the time being.

Katsura: Good afternoon! My name is Katsura. I’m very happy to be here.

Tamura Kazuhiko-san was introduced next as producer at Sunrise, Mobile Fighter G Gundam, Gundam Unicorn and initial planning of Tiger and Bunny.

Tamura: Thank you! I’m Tamura from Sunrise! I came from Tokyo!
Lopez: I came from San Francisco. *audience laughed*
Tamura: What the heck?!?

Lopez went straight into the Q&A with accompanying powerpoint slides…which I’m sure they prepared beforehand. The visuals were a nice touch and I can see why there was a no-photo policy. Perhaps Katsura-sensei is one of those ‘shy mangakas’. ^_^ lol Throughout the panel though, the interactions between Katsura-sensei and Tamura-san refuted that argument.

Q: With working on the show like Tiger and Bunny, where do you start? Do you start with the concept? Or do you start with the face?
Tamura: Usually you start with the face right?
Katsura: Shut up! *audience laughs* I actually did want to start with the face because I wanted to get a good grasp on it. But, then I ended up making a very rough sketch of the outline of each character and filled in all the details after that. Is that good? Or do you want to know more? *fans call for more* When I first saw the assignment, I was given a very vague concept. They said, ‘They’re 8 heroes. Can you design 8 heroes for us?’ Then it took a very long to figure them out.
Tamura: I think the project really started with your work. But then we started on the script and setting.
Lopez: You didn’t start with the foot?
Katsura: No.

Q: Tiger and Bunny has already achieved great success in the US as you can see from this audience. *fans cheer* What do you think it is with Tiger and Bunny that can reach such a wide audience?
Tamura: Actually we got inspiration from the US dramas or tv series. That is how we started the project. The staff got together and we wanted to create a series that would appeal to the entire world. We wanted to go for a simultaneous release in order to be really popular. I feel that it was really a success since so many people are here at the panel and we feel that our plan worked.
Katsura: Hey, you’re really tripping over your words!

Q: Please provide us with an example of where you draw inspiration in art and in manga?
Katsura: Recently I started to become an old man, so mind is more feeble and I don’t absorb as I used to. But when I was younger, everything around me, whether it was film or tv, anything that came by will give me new energy to draw.
Lopez: I think we can tell just how youthful you are by your designs for Tiger and Bunny.
Katsura: Oh…thank you! *audience laughs*
Lopez: My new friend!

Q: Is there any character in Tiger and Bunny that you’re continuing to work on?
Katsura: When I was asked to work on this project, I was only asked to do the character designs so I was able to focus all my attention and all my concentration on it. I in my own head, I thought that I have perfected each and every character. In terms of existing characters, there are none that I want to change. I feel that they are just right as they are. In terms of my own manga, there are tons of stuff that I want to go back and redo.
Tamura: But I think all characters in the story can all be main characters.
Katsura: Thank you very much!
Lopez: For Tiger and Bunny, it is impossible to improve on perfection.
Katsura: Yes! *interpreter corrects him* No! *audience laughs*

Q: Movie 2 and season 2, is there anything you can tell us?
Tamura: The second movie, The Rising is going to come out next autumn. *audience applauds* The story will involve what happens after episode 25. *audience applauds* I really want to depict what happens to Kotetsu and Barnaby after what happened in season 1. I want to concentrate more on the relationship. Of course I want to include the other characters too. Please look forward to it! *audience cheers* As to what happens after the movie, there is nothing on paper. I’m very sorry. *fans awwwws* If you could let us know how much you want season 2… *audience applauds loudly* …then we would want to work on it. Thank you so much!
Katsura: But I might not work on it! *pause* Joke, it’s a joke!
Tamura: But without you, we can’t start Tiger and Bunny season 2! *audience applauds*

Q: Can you share a story with us while on the production of Tiger and Bunny?
Tamura: Something funny? Alot of the staff of Tiger and Bunny are what you would call the superstars of the anime industry. All of them have different emotions or love towards Tiger and Bunny. The animation is a collaboration of so many staff members. We many different opinions of the staff, ‘I want to do this!’ ‘No, I want to do this!’ We had alot of battles, but because of that, we had a really good product at the end. So I think it was the passion that hyped up the anime, so I really want to thank the staff that was involved. *audience applauds*
Katsura: The whole butting heads thing, I never got to experience that! I was trapped in my own little office, drawing away on my own. I never knew about that.
Tamura: You have to remember that you’re the top batter. Katsura: What do you mean I’m the leadoff batter?
Lopez: For the baseball fans! *audience applauds*

Q: When you have staff members arguing about content and the way the story should go, do you just tell them what to do?
Tamura: I don’t have the power like Sky High. *audience laughs* All I can do is bow, apologize and figure things out.
Katsura: What about saying ‘Let’s enjoy!’
Tamura: Joshua looks like Keith [Goodman]! I’m sorry if I talk to you like I’m talking to Keith. *audience laughs*
Katsura: Dude, you’re sweating up a storm! *audience laughs* You must be very nervous right?
Tamura: There are so many people, I’m not used to so many people, so I am nervous. *audience applauds*
Lopez: We all here for you, Tamura-san!

Q: Is there any tip that you would like to give to any aspiring artists in the crowd?
Katsura: Mmmm…eh…ma….. Just keep drawing! *audience laughs* At some point, you’ll eventually see the light.
Tamura: I think how you perceive the bone structure of the sides of the face is very important.
Katsura: Please don’t keep on talking about this or we’re going to be here until morning! *audience applauds loudly* To put it simply. Or do you want to hear more?
Lopez: Just keep drawing, guys. Keep at it! Just don’t copy his work. *audience laughs*
Tamura: When designing, it’s the silhouette of the character that is really important.
Katsura: Oh yeah? I guess. *audience laughs* If you want to say it that way, in the case of Tiger and Bunny, I wanted to keep things really easy in that you can tell by just looking at the shadow or the outline, which character you are seeing in the scene.

Q: Are there any background info on the Tiger and Bunny characters that you would like to share?
Katsura: In terms of when I was designing Lunatic, *audience cheers* the info that I got from Sunrise was that Lunatic and Kotetsu was actually a team way back in the day. At that point, his next ability was actually to create or manipulate memory. When Kotetsu saw Yuri turn more and more to the darkside, he tried to save his friend. That was where the handprint came from. When I first designed Yuri, he had a handprint on his forehead and not just on his suit. Then on his suit in the end, I really didn’t want it to look that obviously like a hand. My original attention was that for those fans who were really watching closely can say ‘Wait a second, are those 5 fingers?’ Then when I handed the designs to the production team, they actually took it and ran with it. And the first lines that was spoken by another character to him was, ‘Yo man, you look like you have a glove on your face! You claw face!’ When I saw that, I went, ‘Oh damn!’ *audience laughs* That was the most memorable thing for me. But I have to say, I like Lunatic out of all the Tiger and Bunny characters.

Q: As a hero or villain?
Katsura: I like both heroes and villains.
Lopez: Couldn’t have one without the other.
Katsura: Exactly.

Q: If you were a Next, what kind of powers would you have?
Katsura: Me first?
Tamura: Yeah older people go first right?
Katsura: Well, I did say I was older and I am an old man! *audience laughs* This old man will start! *audience applauds*
Tamura: So you think you’re Barnaby?!? Oh how gross!
Katsura: Originally, I want to say Sky High because I want to fly around like him. But than I watched him and realized that he is not flying: he is floating! I was a little disappointed.
Tamura: I want to depict the idea of the jetpack in this character, so that’s why it came out like that.
Katsura: Yeah? Let me think of one more. Origami maybe? *audience cheers*
Tamura: Who do you want to copy?
Katsura: Not who I want to be, but I want to hide like in the background.
Tamura: Me? Maverick. He is bad isn’t he?
Katsura: Evil!
Tamura: I wanted to change everyone’s memory and do as I wish.
Katsura: Criminal!
Tamura: I want to change memories!
Katsura: That’s fine, you can rewrite my memory and say ‘goodbye’ to Tiger and Bunny! Since I’m no longer with the project, you will have to start from zero again.
Tamura: It’s a joke! Sumimasendeshita!
Katsura: That’s a very bad joke.

Q: Which character do you relate with the most?
Katsura: I will say Nathan actually. *audience cheers* Not that way you think! *audience laughs* What I mean is that in Tiger and Bunny, people always go to Nathan for advice. This guy next to me always comes to me for advice. So I’m like a therapist. ‘Good boy, good boy!’
Tamura: Actually, you’re not like Nathan, you’re more like Blue Rose. *audience laughs*
Katsura: Why?
Tamura: Sensei is tsundere. *audience laughs*
Katsura: Speak for yourself! Don’t speak for me and put words in my mouth!
Tamura: Me? I am just like Nathan.
Katsura: What?!?
Tamura: Nathan’s job is connecting people. So we work as a team, in the world of anime, we connect people. There are alot of scary people out there like Katsura-sensei, so we bring them together. So I’m just like Nathan. I want women and men to all just get along.
Katsura: I’m the one who listens to you complain about all these things! I’m super big Nathan! *audience applauds*

Q: Tiger and Bunny has really cool clothes and really cool hair. Have you found yourself trying to keep up with the clothing and style of the times?
Katsura: I try to keep up with the times. *interpreter restates questions* Oh….
Tamura: I think you’re really up with the fashion. The accessories you have on are really cool. Sensei, you’re really fashionable. I think you’re fashionable sense is reflected in the characters. Like the wrinkles on the clothing.
Katsura: Are you trying to make up for all the bad comments you made earlier?
Tamura: I think the way he draws the clothes is very realistic. I think the way he is very particular about his fashion reflects in the clothing of his characters.
Katsura: Oh yeah? Thanks! I used to dress similar to Kotetsu. And I also had the rosary bead bracelet. But since I’m so popular now and people recognize me as well as the character, I feel like I can no longer afford to wear it in public. *audience awwws* I designed him! I don’t people to get the wrong idea that I’m trying to dress like my character. *audience laughs* So I change to a knit cap instead.
Lopez: Can you hold your hand up? *Katsura-sensei holds his hands up* Now everyone tomorrow will have a watch and rosary bead. *audience laughs*

Q: If you have any free time at Sunrise from working on all the shows that you do, what do you do?
Tamura: It is my fantasy but if I have the opportunity, I want to do a Tiger and Bunny spinoff of Lunatic as a Dark Knight. *audience cheers*
Katsura: But Batman does not kill people!
Tamura: I’m not trying to create a Batman story.
Katsura: But you just said you were!
Tamura: Afterwards, I would like to explore the background of Dragon Kid before she became a hero. *audience cheers* Or Agnes’ daily life. Or the busy highschool days of Blue Rose. I have so many spinoff stories that I could make. *audience applauds*
Lopez: So when you’re NOT working….
Tamura: For the past, I’ve only been thinking about Tiger and Bunny but on my days off-which is something I do everyday anyway-I walk my dog. *projector reveals picture said pet*
Katsura: That’s actually your dog?
Tamura: Mine! He is 10 years old. *audience awwws* He is Ash.
Katsura: Ash as in after you cremate something?
Tamura: Ash as in gray. He is grayish which is why I named him ash. I’m sorry, that was completely irrelevant.

A hint to what was coming next was pretty big when they asked, “In Tiger and Bunny which character can you draw the fastest? Prove it!” We all cheered as they handed paper to him. Katsura-sensei first asked, “Who do you all like?” but was overwhelmed by the shouts of the crowd. “Okay, I will just draw who I want to draw.” *audience laughs* They polled the crowd on favorite main characters as we waited.

Katsura: I might have made a mistake, but do you want to see it?

The screen revealed…Batman. o.O

Tamura: Can you please do it for real?

As we waited, they polled us on supporting characters as Katsura-sensei drew…Goku. *audience laughs* There were some audience questions as Katsura-sensei tries once again to draw something related to the panel we’re all in.

Tamura: Please do it right this time sensei!

The questions were taken from the index cards that the audience filled out. It’s also the way that the raffled prizes were done at the end.

Q: Why was there a time limit on Tiger’s powers?
Tamura: If he was invincible and his powers lasted forever, than it wouldn’t be fun…will it? I rather it be more fun as a story and plot to have a time limit. I’m sorry.

Tamura: Hurry up, Katsura-sensei!
Katsura: Shut up!

Q: I love Keith Goodman so I want to know more about him! Any top secret info about him?
Tamura: Keith Goodman? What would you like to know? His hobby? Is to take walks. He is a typical dense guy. I think that it is a character personality that is forgivable because it’s him. If we have the opportunity, we want to develope him more. Oh, looks like sensei is done! Then sensei….

I love it when Tamura said “Sensei, stand uppu shite”…which is a mix of Japanese and English. ^.^ Katsura-sensei responded, “Here we go!” It was a beautiful drawing of Kotetsu. (Then a person tried to rush the stage to get the drawing. Of course, the fan was withheld thankfully.)

Katsura: I forgot his pocket.

We all don’t mind. It was an honor to see a master at work. *bows* Lopez announced that the dub of Tiger and Bunny can be watched on Neon Alley.

Katsura: Can we watch this in Japan too?
Lopez: *pause* I’ll give you a copy. Not yet, but we’ll get it I promise. I’ll send you my copy and my autograph.

Viz has a special: downloading the app on PS3, you can get a week free. Tiger and Bunny merchandise is out including shirts, figures and keychains.

Time for giveaways! They gave out several shirts of various designs. Coincidentally, some fans in the front row modeled the designs. “They were not planned I promise!” They raffled off the artwork, including more that Katsura-sensei drew as the raffle was taking place. (I believe Kotetsu was one of them. ^.^)

I must say I love the comedic stylings of Katsura-sensei and Tamura-san. They played off each other so well, it is no wonder their series are so great. I would love to see the interactions of the other staff as well…butting heads and all.

Jmanga itself was conceived by the Japanese Digital Comics Association, a collaboration by 40 manga publishers like Kadokawa, Shodensha including BL publishers like Libre. The goal is to get out as much as manga as possible to as many people as possible around the world. Jmanga has over 500 volumes available for around $4.99 a volume, worldwide for certain series.

Newman asked for titles the audience has read from the site. When a fan called Sunken Rock, he pointed out Ohno Masahiro-san as the editor. Of course, at Soremachi, Ishiguro Masakazu-sensei greeted the crowd.

The newest service is Jmanga7 which has 40 series available for free or $5.99 a month. The ’7′ alludes to 7 days in a week which means that it will be updated everyday. The premium price of $5.99 allows readers to get the latest chapters. However, the free service will receive access after some time. Newman gave a fan who said ‘Nana’ or ’7′ the loudest one year free premium membership.

The new Manga app for Android grants users access to both Jmanga and Jmanga7 titles. Though there won’t be a Blackberry app, an iOS app will be available soon. They are aware of the issues involved with the Android app and are fixing the errors.

New manga licenses! Jmanga will be releasing titles from Kodansha including Codebreaker with the anime streaming on Crunchyroll, Pastel, Princess Resurrection, Pumpkin Scissors, School Rumble and The Yagyu Ninja Scrolls. Jmanga announced to the cheers for the fans that they’ll be finishing these titles, especially since some were released in print and never seen through to completion.

Other Kodansha titles that will be released soon is My Heavenly Hockey Club by Morinaga Ai-sensei, Gakuen Prince by Yuzuki Jun-sensei, Fairy Navigator Runa by Kikuta Michiyo-sensei and Ikeda Miyoko-sensei and Yozakura Quartet by Yasuda Suzuhito-sensei. From Shodensha, they will be releasing on both Jmanga and Jmanga7, Cousin by Ikuemi Ryo-sensei and a josei title, If you Wanna Destroy the World by Fujiwara Kaoru. From Shueisha, we have Pride by Ichijo Yukari-sensei and Crazy For You by Shiina Karuho-sensei. Both series has a special sale for both vol 1 and 2 for $5.98.

Newest announcement (Newman got the okay from Shueisha just friday night, NY time,) My Sweet Dragon by Sakaki Yuuka-sensei and Yasuko and Kenji by Aruko-sensei will be released by Jmanga. Of course, being that there is so many titles that are available (and not enough time,) some covers were presented to tease the fans. Of course, my eyes were drawn instantly to the BL titles. XD Special mention to Elemental Gelade, Neko Ramen and of course Present for Me by Ishiguro-sensei.

“Ishiguro-sensei yomitai!” The complete series dvd for Soremachi was given out to a fan who said ‘Mitai!’ or ‘I want to see!’ the loudest. The signing for Ishiguro-sensei will take place half an hour after the panel so fans were encouraged to attend.

Submissions already closed, but the Manga Translation Battle is a competition for aspiring manga translators to try their hand at unreleased works such as Chocolate Cosmos by Shueisha. Sponsored by the Digital Comic Association and Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs, the winner will receive a trip to Japan with the runner ups receiving Ipads. Final selections will be voted on by the fans. The chapters will be available for free on the facebook page. Details will be facebook and twitter.

More giveaways! Newman gave out 2 drama cds for Soremachi. Than we turned to the Q&A portion of the panel.

Q: When Jmanga first began, Junjou Romantica was shown but never released. When will it be released?
A: Some titles that are on Jmanga were there for information only. The title in question is from Kadokawa and they put it up there to get people aware of it and become interested in it. When I get e-mails about people want to read titles like that, I pass it on to Kadokawa. I will do my best to get it, but I can’t make any promises.


Q: Do they retranslate titles that had a print release before?
A: It depends on the licensing situation. Code Breaker that will be released is the same as from Delrey. But obviously, only two volumes was published so volume 3 on is purely from Jmanga.


Q: Jmanga mostly announced josei and shoujo titles. Is that reflective of their goal?
A: The point is to get out as many manga titles as possible. Both shoujo and josei are underserved outside of Japan. We aren’t setting out just to release those, we have any genre you can think of on Jmanga.com and we’ll continue to get out as much manga as possible.


Q: What were the Libre titles that you were showing us?
A: Please come see us afterwards.


Q: Are there going to be any seinen titles in their label?
A: Someone mentioned Sunken Rock earlier. There are many seinen titles by Shonen Gahosha on the site.


Q: Any chance you can get Chihayafuru?
A: Yes, that is a good title. You should all e-mail me asking for that title.


Q: What made you start Jmanga?
A: The intial concept for Jmanga started several years ago from Digital Comic Association of Japan. It’s a group of publishers that are passionate about getting manga out to overseas audience, outside of Japan. There is an absurd amount of manga released in Japan and a tiny sliver of it gets published overseas. A big reason for that is the cost of translation, printing and distribution. With Jmanga, we have to do the translation cost, but we don’t have to do the distribution cost. So we can put out alot more manga. So the reason why Jmanga exist is because the publishers love you. *audience applauds*


Q: Do you have a contract with Libra?
A: Libre? Jmanga.com is where the publishers directly release their manga. And you can read it legally.


Q: Will you be doing print releases?
A: We’re interested, but we’re just looking for other platforms. We would love to have physical copies. I work with a digital site, but I love having books on my shelves. We’re interested in the possibility but we don’t have anything concrete that we’re pursuing right now.


Q: Any plans to save anymore Tokyopop titles?
A: We already have titles that used to be released by Tokyopop. One that comes to mind is Your and My Secret by Morinaga Ai-sensei. We also have Neko Ramen which was also originally by Tokyopop. Alot of publishers are really hoping that fans of these titles can continue reading them and Jmanga.com is where you do it. *audience applauds* If there are specific titles that you are interested in, send me an e-mail and I’ll do my best to get it.


Q: Do you have any titles by Kadokawa Shoten?
A: We don’t have titles by Kadokawa Shoten, though we have alot of information from Kadokawa.


Q: Differences between Jmanga and other manga websites?
A: Do you love manga and the people who create the manga? When you read manga from sites like onemanga, it does nothing for the people publishing it, the people who create it, the artists. When you read manga from Jmanga.com, you’re directly supporting the publishers and creators who make the content. By supporting them, you allow the creators to create more content. The more you support, the more there is to read. *audience applauds*

Again, the ANN reader giveaway for a Nexus7 was attempted to no avail. Instead, Newman asked all the ANN readers to step to the front…and have a dance off. Someone found the little gift of a granola bar with ‘JManga Loves You’ written on it. Newman: I hope you’re hungry, because you got a granola bar! lol She was given a Nexus7. Hotori of course vacated the panel before the end. Newman: If you find her at the booth, you can get an autograph by Ishiguro-sensei!

The panel ended at 5pm with the Ishiguro-sensei signing at 5:30pm.

Anno-sensei writes for the josei demographic, manga for young women as opposed to young girls. Though there is a long history of josei in Japan-about 35-40 years-there isn’t that big of a presense in the US. Not to say that there aren’t that many josei fans in the US, just that the market doesn’t release alot of manga for young women. Only a few companies have titles of that demographic including the currently defuct CPM and Tokyopop. That is changing with the growing popularity of mangaka like Anno-sensei and Yazawa Ai-sensei (Paradise Kiss). Vertical had just announced the day before that they will be releasing another josei title, Helter Skelter by Okazaki Kyoko-sensei and of course, there is Yen Press releasing more from Mori Kaoru-sensei (Emma.)

Ed Chavez of Vertical Inc. opened the panel by introducing Anno Moyoco-sensei.

Anno: Thank you so much for today, I’m delighted to be here.

Anno-sensei started her career over 20 years ago. Besides titles like Sakuran she also worked on shoujo titles like, Jelly Beans, Flowers and Bees and Sugar Sugar Rune. She has written for wide demographics, including her currently running Hataraki Man and Ochibisan. Of course, the gateway josei series for many include Happy Mania which was released by Tokyopop in the early 2000. Anno-sensei celebrated her 20th anniversary as a mangaka in 2009.

Chavez began with his own Q&A.

Q: What is your inspiration to become a mangaka?
A: When I was 10 years, I decided to become a mangaka.

Q: Was there a particular artist that you were inspired by?
A: I always loved manga. My mother’s brother, my uncle was a mangaka and we lived in the same house. I was influenced by him as well.

Q: Being around a fellow mangaka, you were introduced very early on on the difficulties of being a mangaka.
A: I learned how to speak with editors and how to appease them.

Q: You debuted in your teens?
A: Actually I was bringing work to editors when I was 15. I debuted when I was 17.

Q: Things have changed since then as artists. What is the experience like initially?
A: I was in highschool when I debuted. I actually wrote about the boyfriend I was dating at that time. I didn’t think it was going to be published so I was very surprised.

Q: Did you want to debut as a shoujo artist? Since I wasn’t sure if was for Kodansha or Nakayoshi.
A: No, that wasn’t my intention. When I was a child, I like Hakusensha, Hana to Yume. I wanted to write manga like Yamagishi Ryoko-sensei.
Chavez: Yamagishi Ryoko was one of the original 49ers [born in 1949, revolutionalized shoujo manga], one of the mothers of shoujo manga. She introduced flowery characters. Perhaps she also started doing catgirls as well? Has fantasy in her stories, very close relationship to Hakusensha and Lala.

Q: That is very curious since Anno-sensei’s works don’t often focus on fantasy. Hakusensha’s works are very fantastical, fanciful. Why the directional change?
A: I originally want to write fantasy and historical, but I don’t know history and I couldn’t figure it out. So I wanted to write something that I could write about which became teenage romance.

Q: We’ve seen alot of teenage romance in the states. We get alot of shoujo and shonen titles. How did you get to start writing manga for young women? What led to Happy Mania?
A: Shoujo manga didn’t click for me. Sometimes the main character would like a boy, and she wouldn’t think about him. And out of nowhere he would say, “I like you too.” There were all these things that happened that didn’t feel realistic. People didn’t get turned down, they didn’t get dumped. I kept thinking that that wasn’t how it works. All the shoujo manga I have read was about how relationships reach the point where two admit their feelings for each other, but they don’t write about what happens afterwards. They didn’t write about how ‘I like this person but I don’t understand him,’ or ‘We have sex, but it’s not working out.’

Q: Was this something evident in women’s manga in the 90′s? Was this something she felt she needed to share?
A: Even in the mid-90′s, I wasn’t seeing much shoujo manga or manga for women that dealt with these issues. There were manga for grown up women, but for some reason in those manga, when the girl breaks up with their boyfriend, it’s because another guy said they liked you. I said that’s not realistic!
Chavez: Happy Mania has alot of these themes, trouble with their romance, very complicated yet straightforward character.

Q: Strong female characters is very prominent in her works. Fashion and style is also a bit part of her stories.
A: It’s not necessarily that I’m interested in drawing fashion, when I create a character, I want to be sure that she is accurate. She is true to her character. If I draw a character that is not fashionable at all, her clothes will show who she is. But Japanese girls are usually fashionable, so when I’m drawing Japanese girls, I sometimes draw that they are stylish. If I draw someone who is not interested in fashion at all, I make sure to draw clothes that reflect that.
Chavez: In Flowers and Bees, there is a focus on the only outside, but also on the personality. They’re approachable and attractive as well.
A: Actually, I drew that manga for Young magazine which has an audience of junior high and highschool boys. What they’re very interested in is how to be popular with girls. I really wanted to tell that ‘What you’re doing is half right…and half wrong.’
Chavez: Reading that, I found the consistency. I feel like ‘I should take some notes here.’ Even though I was at my 20s at that time. *audience laughs*

Q: Some shoujo and josei artists stick to a certain demographic. You have written a number of titles for male audiences. When planning to create a title for guys, do you approach your work differently? I know you focus on characters alot. Is there a difference in your stylistic approach?
A: There are differences in the story. Especially for a male audience, I make sure not to have too many inner monologues. I don’t have too many thought proceses. For men, they tend to find these things tedious. *audience laughs*

Q: Is some of that tedium expressed at all in Hataraki Man?
A: For Hataraki Man, there are also alot of female readers. I think the audience is half and half. I know that male readers don’t often like to read about the internal workings of the characters’ mind, but with Hataraki Man, I knew that in a Japanese workplace that there are sometimes critical women who work hard and are perceived as too serious. I wanted to write a female character and express the inner working of her mind so that male readers would find interesting.
Chavez: I think it proved to be quite successful since it’s received so much recognition and not just in Japan. I think we all would like to see it in English someday. *audience applauds* It’s a Vertical office favorite.
A: It’s very popular in publishing companies.
Chavez: *laughs* Yeah, I wonder why. For those of you who don’t know, it is about a publishing company, journalism and the like. People who work in similar fields are very attracted to the book.

Q: What is your experience been so far in NY? What would like to do in the remainder of your time here?
A: I haven’t been to a bar yet.
Chavez: We’ll try to fix that. *audience laughs*

Q: Any titles of your own works that you like to see in English? Any titles you would like to recommend to editors like myself? One that would be good for American audiences….
A: Something that was on the screen before is Jelly Beans which is a fashion one, Love Master X and I would love for my American readers to read Ochibisan.

Q: The interesting thing to note about Ochibisan is that the graphic novel is both in English and in Japanese. Who was behind that decision?
A: Because I didn’t have enough pages.
Chavez: *laughs* A perfectly fine reason. I have some ideas about Ochibisan so we’ll talk about that later.

On that obscure note, it makes me wonder if Vertical will be releasing Ochibisan as a Japanese and English title? I want it! ^_^ Chavez opened the floor for questions.

Q: How does Anno-sensei feel about her series being adapted to animation and live action drama?
A: I expressed something that could only be expressed in that form. When someone creates an anime based on that, in a way I don’t it is totally related to me. I enjoy it visually.

Q: What is your typical schedule? Your typical workday?
A: It depends on the mangaka. For me when I’m working, I would work for about 10 hours days. 5 hours in the morning, 5 hours in the afternoon with an hour for a break. When I am really busy and working on a deadline, I work for 36 hours in a row.
Chavez: There have been some translation of mangaka’s work schedule online. It can be a really brutal business. They might not have alot of free time.
A: Yeah, I can’t recommend it. *audience laughs*

Q: How long did it take to develop your own style? Which artist inspired your characters?
A: I was inspired by professional mangaka. It took about 5 years to develope my own style and characters. One person I was influenced by is Okazaki Kyoko-sensei, whom I worked for.
Chavez: As mentioned before, Vertical will be releasing Okazaki’s Helter Skelther next summer. Vertical is trying to establish a growing platform for manga for women, with Anno-sensei, Yazawa Ai-sensei.

Q: You mentioned that josei is not that well represented in the West, what do you think is the limitations of that?
A: I can’t really think of an answer.

Q: Your first submission was about a relationship with an ex-boyfriend. Do you have any other works that are of people that you know?
A: Of course, for Happy Mania I had 5 pretty messed up friends. *audience laughs* After I wrote that, for some reason, they weren’t my friends anymore.
Chavez: I thought that those characters were lovable.
A: Of course, some of that were my own experiences.

Q: What is the significance behind your self portrait of the baby?
A: Sometimes I say something that is very aggressive. I thought if I drew myself as a baby, they’ll forgive me. *audience laughs*

Q: Will you be producing a sequel to Sakuran?
A: Not released yet, but I’ve written several stories that continue after Sakuran. Eventually, I hope to print them as manga. *audience applauds*
Chavez: Sakuran was just released this past summer and it already received several accolades. It was ‘Best Graphic Novel’ for Book Expo America. This year, it was also nominated as ‘Best Graphic Novel to Look Forward To’ at San Diego Comic Con.

Q: What materials do you use to color your pages with and draw your manga with?
A: I use Copics, which are oil based magic markers for Sakuran.
Chavez: So if you want to replicate what she has done, go buy some and practice, practice, practice. For 36 hours straight. *audience laughs*

Q: For Sakuran, were you focusing on historical accuracy or something that might appeal for modern viewers?
A: The kimono styles are based on historical data, but the patterns are based on patterns that I have liked.

Q: What is your research process for Sakuran?
A: Before I worked on Sakuran, I didn’t have that much knowledge on the Edo period. Once I decided to write it, my husband found this book in a used bookstore. It was published about 40 years ago and it was basically poems, some written jokingly, but poems about customers who have gone to these teahouses. Completely different from the historical text. Very real, very grounded and I was inspired by it.

Q: *asked the question several times since the horse head was in the way* *finally removed the head* Since your husband is Anno Hideaki, has he ever bounced off ideas with you in the past? Any ideas that you have incorporated?
A: I actually started Sakuran because my husband said, ‘Why don’t you just write something that you want to write?’

Q: Any titles or artists in the josei demographic that you want to recommend to publish?
A: A friend but, Itou Risa-sensei.
Chavez: If anyone picked up a copy of Chi’s Sweet Home, she is very close friends with Konami Kanata-sensei. There is actually an additional manga in one of the volumes of Chi’s Sweet Home. She does alot of gag manga.

Q: You’re such an inspiration to me as an artist. How are you with drawing boys?
A: I think everyone has a part of them like a boy. You need to call upon that part.

Q: What would recommend to mainstream American women to be intorduced to josei manga?
A: Read. *audience laughs* Hataraki Man and Love Master X. For Sakuran, if you take it as a story, it’s a historic story set in a world of prostitution. But there is another way to read it. There is a subtext to it. It is about manga artists, star mangaka and manga artists that are not stars.

Q: Did the ex-boyfriend read the very first story that you penned?
A: I think he did. When I wrote Happy Mania later, he called me and asked, ‘Is that me?’ *audience laughs*

Q: Is it hard to keep the story entertaining for male readers?
A: For male readers, if I have a story that is too romantic, than they’ll dismiss it as a romantic comedy. So even though I write about romance, I balance it so that it’s not so serious.

Q: You have a few series like Happy Mania and Sakuran which have characters that can aggravate as much as they can entertain. How can you have a flawed heroine and not have the readers give up on the characters?
A: Actually, I wanted to write Happy Mania and create a character that you would go, ‘What are you doing?!?’ Because it would be interesting to have that kind of character. But than I have her friend who is very together and they create a balance.

Chavez confirmed that the 100 autograph tickets in the morning have been distributed, but he encouraged fans to still show up at the signing in the case the line is opened. There is of course the second signing tomorrow.

Q: Was it hard for you voice the character?
A: Voicing Rin has alot of challenges. He is all over the place. He shows every emotion possible. When he gets angry, he gets really angry. Capturing that sort of anger is difficult, but it’s a fun challenge.

Q: Excluding your bias for Rin, who is your favorite character?
A: I really like *unintelligible*.

Q: Have you read the manga?
A: No, but I really want to.

Q: What is it like to do this voice? Do you feel more of his character?
A: Do I have more Rin in me? Maybe it brought more of those kind of emotions out of me. They were always there.

Q: What went through your mind while voicing these lines?
A: Tons of stuff. Its not thoughts, but it’s all sorts of things.

The next question was a pic request from a fan. She confessed “I have never known you as a voice actor. Not only do you have a cute voice, you’re cute too!” *audience laughs*

Q: I have difficulty differentiating between the voices. Did you voice anyone else in the series? You and Mephisto sound kind of familiar.
A: That’s very funny. I did not play any other characters in the show. I’ve been told before that I sound like Darrell. We were in Durarara!! together and he is Amaimon. I’ve been told that I sound like Sam and he is Mephisto, but no, we’re different. If you talk to them, you’ll notice that we have difference voices. It’s funny that we sound like.

Q: How did you get into voice acting?
A: My dad is a voice actor. I used to go in and watch him work. He used to do alot of Power Rangers. I used to go to the studio and there were all these rubber suits there, all those monsters. I used to just love to go in and watch him work. One day, they needed a kid voice and I was 8 years old. My dad just said “Oh, he is a voice actor! Go in there!” I jumped in and it was awesome and it was fun.
Fan: Do you have to know someone to get in?
A: Well, it definitely helps to know someone. I think you got to really love it, have fun and be passionate about it.

Q: What are the difficulties between translating between languages, especially the expressions and intonations? How do you deal with that as a voice actor?
A: It is difficult since sometimes what the Japanese voice actors does, does not always make sense in the show in English. I have a team in the studio. There is someone who translates while we’re working. She makes sure that everything is close enough to the Japanese and makes sense in English as well.

Q: What is your favorite line as Masaomi [Durarara!!]
A: My favorite line? You know it’s the boobie. “Live by the boobie, die by the boobie.”

Q: If you couldn’t be a voice actor, what would you have been doing? What would have aspired to do?
A: I am a 4th degree black belt in martial arts in Tang Soo Do. I’m also a kick boxer and a boxer. I really seriously thought about that as a profession. I still teach kickboxing and boxing and train professional fighters. I will probably be doing that.

Q: Did you see the anime before working on it or were you watching it for the first time when you started?
A: Actually, I watched the Japanese version before I started recording for it. It’s an awesome show. This is the first time I’ve seen my work and the work of the other English actors. I thought they did a great job. *audience applauds*

A fan asked Papenbrook to sign his death note to which the crowd groaned.

Q: Was there any lines that was difficult to get through because you were cracking up?
A: Yes, I really hope they release the outtakes, because there were some really ridiculous outtakes. You will just have to wait and see.

They raffled off some the Blue Exorcist theater posters. I love the ones of Rin and Yukio, especially the clear poster. ^_^ The two main prizes of the evening was the Blue Exorcist handtowel with the chibi versions of the characters on it…and the Rin figure that you can only win from the UFO machines.

Papenbrook: Definitely check the show out at Neon Alley and check the rest of the episodes. This is an amazing anime, you don’t want to miss it. It’s very cool!

For the Aniplex facebook site, Rivera took a clip of the crowd screaming Blue Exorcist!!! ^.^

Marketing VP Robert Newman opened the panel by greeting the crowd. They handed out the special clearfiles of Soredemo Machi wa Mwatteiru aka. And Yet the Town Moves that Ishiguro-sensei designed for NYCC. A quick runthrough of Jmanga was given. Its a site supported by 40 major Japanese publishing companies and the goal is to get manga and manga culture out to as many people as possible. Working closely with the publishers, editors and artists, manga can be published digitally, granting fans access to series that otherwise wouldn’t see a print release anytime soon. Their presence at NYCC is a thank you to fans and supporters of Jmanga…also to present their special guests, mangaka, Ishiguro Masakazu-sensei and his editor, Ohno Masahiro-san (whom Newman describes as shy. *Ohno-san hides his face in shyness*)

There were some major giveaways…that would help alot if people could use their phones. Such a smart idea: present a phone number and the first person who gets through the number at the giveaway time can receive the prize. Alas, since we’re in the lower floor and the Javits totally hates cellphones as the majority of us couldn’t use our phones. So we had a danceoff later on instead.

Besides the danceoff (held later,) Newman taught us a bit of Japanese…and to give away prizes. He gave away two dvds for Soremachi to people who shouted ‘Mitai!’ or ‘I want to see!’ the loudest. With the calls of ‘Hoshii!’ or ‘I want it!’, two iphone covers were given.

Mangaka Ishiguro-sensei is known for his distinct character designs and detailed backgrounds. I find that he is also known for his comedic storytelling style that is reflective in all of the works that he do, regardless of the genre or subject matter, one of the most unique being his mixture of horror and comedy.

Soremachi is about a highschool girl, Arashiyama Hotori who is working as a maid in a coffee shop turned maid cafe. The story surrounds the mishaps that Hotori and her friends gets into, mostly comedic, funny and touching at times. The situations can surprise you with the usual mixture of love, jokes and a bit of the mysterious with spirits…which suits Hotori just fine since she has a perchance for mystery. Jmanga released up to volume 9 thus far with the promise of vol. 10 not far away. Sentai Filmworks released the complete dvd with the 12 episodes.

Another release by Jmanga is the highly anticipated Present for Me, a collection of short one-shots by Ishiguro-sensei with a sci-fi, dramatic and comedic twist.

Ishiguro-sensei was asked to draw, but unfortunately, the setting of the light wasn’t the best. Everything was bathed in a yellow glow due to the light above the stage…and we couldn’t see anything until Ishiguro-sensei lifted the paper towards the projector. (Newman: Can anyone shoot out that light? *audience laughs*) The fans were very patient as Ishiguro-sensei graciously worked with the settings around him. To the thrill of the crowd, he drew Futaba Kon-senpai from Soremachi. The fans were asked to say ‘Kawaii!’ to win this rare prize. Much shouting and jumping later, Ishiguro-sensei wrote the winner’s name onto the piece as well as his own before giving it it him.

Newman began the Q&A with his own questions:

Q: Why did you become a mangaka?
Ishiguro: I really love manga and the only way I could go, is to become a mangaka. When all my friends who graduated highschool were entering companies, I felt that it was time for me to do something about being a mangaka. At that time, I submitted something to Kodansha and it got printed.

Q: How did you get your inspiration?
Ishiguro: The things that I see in everyday life, I see something interesting and I wonder what it would be like to be in manga so I draw it. I draw my manga in the bath. *audience laughs* In the bath with the water up to my chest, I have my board and put my paper on top of it to draw. I dropped my pen into the bath before, but never the paper.
Fan: How long does it take for you to draw in the bath?
Ishiguro: About two hours.

Q: How do you get inspiration for your characters in SoreMachi?
Ishiguro: I mainly get them from people I meet in everyday life, and bits and pieces end up into the characters.

Q: Do you have any particular strong feelings or emotions towards SoreMachi when it comes to editing it?
Ohno: One of the reasons I enjoy editing SoreMachi is that Ishiguro-sensei appears to be a shy guy, but once you get to know him, he is a really open and talkative guy. I hope that the audience will also get to know him [Ishiguro-sensei] more.

The floor opened for questions from the fans.

Q: You mentioned that you like to draw in the bath, is there any bath you like to go into usually? Personal? Public? *audience laughs*
Ishiguro: Personally, I like to take baths in my home. When looking for places to live, I always check to make sure that it is a proper bath…for drawing. *audience laughs*

Q: Have you considered editing Soremachi in a bath? *audience laughs*
Ohno: It is a great idea, I’ll consider it. On several occasions though, we had meetings in saunas.

Q: Over the years, Shonen-gahosha had a healthy relationship with American publishers: with Trigun, Hellsing. How do you nurture a relationship with North America?
Ohno: Generally speaking, the content that we create is for Japanese audiences: they’re created in Japan for with them in mind. I’m interested in seeing manga created for a foreign audience. I’m interested in seeing new works from new artists. If anyone wants to send things to Jamanga.com, they’ll take a look at it.

Q: Soremachi is long, but it’s still a collection of short stories and Present for Me are also short stories. Do you have plans for a longer series?
Ishiguro: I’m always interested in creating a long series. Early on, I ended up working on short stories in place of other artists who couldn’t get in their work on time. When I was doing that, I realized that I had a knack for doing short stories. I have a story that I would like to do, but I can’t do it until Soremachi is no longer serialized.

To switch things up a bit, Newman gave out vol. 10 to the one who shouts ‘Yomitai!’ or ‘I want to read!’ the loudest. Than back to our usual Q&A….

Q: Since each mangaka usually has a story behind their self portrait, what is the story behind yours?
Ohno: I approve of this question. *audience laughs*
Ishiguro: When I was in highschool, there was a tv show on NHK. It used to an English tv series for ‘Sherlock Holmes’. I really liked one of the characters so I drew it over and over again. Slowly, it became the blue character which was myself.

Q: When you were little, which was your favorite manga?
Ishiguro: I grew up reading Fujio Fujiko-sensei manga [(Doraemon)] and it has a great influence on me.

Q: What aspect of Shinbo Akiyuki’s directing style appealed to him for Soremachi?
Ishiguro: I really enjoyed the director Shinbo’s work. When we started the animation work for Soremachi, I told him to just do what he wants. I’m personally very happy with it.
Ohno: We were talking with Shinbo [about Hurricane Polymer?], we hit it off really well, we went out drinking and than we decided to do the anime. But Ishiguro-sensei can’t drink. *audience laughs*

Any questions that fans wanted to ask Ishiguro-sensei are able to e-mail their questions to info@jmanga.com.

The crowd exploded during the closing giveaway…especially for the Nexus7. It was disappointing that the ANN/JManga giveaway couldn’t really be held since none of the ANN readers who signed up appeared. At least none of the names which were read out. Much of the winners were chosen by screaming, jumping and all in Newman’s line of view. Of course, I just took pics.) BTW, the dance off was hilarious since Hotori, one of the Jmanga staff cosplayers stood in the midst holding the Hotori figurine above her head…while the fans danced around her (without music.)

With that hilarious end, the panel closed. Those who received the prize could have Ishiguro-sensei sign them after the panel.

The panel is unique on several levels. One is that the host is Danny Choo, a celebrity in his own right. He spoke British English very quickly and it was hard to follow him at times. His Japanese is fluent of course but thankfully was at a normal pace. Asakawa Yu actually spoke English quite fluently as well which made the panel go by faster covering many more subject areas. Her energy was amazing! Internet and tv personality, Choo really knew how to get the fans cheering and excited. He had us calling out Asakawa-san’s name to get her onto the stage. But before that came the ‘rules’. “All those folks with cameras out, you can continue to take photos. But if you’re going to use the flash, please turn the flash to face yourself…. *audience laughs* So turn the flash off, otherwise you will knock out Asakawa-san.”

Asakawa: Wow! Thank you for coming! *in Japanese* I’m so happy!
Choo: I tell you a secret. At first I was told to come here to translate. But then I was told that Asakawa-san is a native speaker of English.
Asakawa: *laughing* No!
Choo: But you’re learning English, is that right? And you tweet in English. How long have you been learning English?
Asakawa: How long? I quit actually. *audience laughs*

Choo: So you arrived in NY yesterday right?
Asakawa: Yesterday in the am.
Choo: What time did you get in?
Asakawa: At 11.
Choo: I actually knew this. Well, when you got in, you first had lunch, than you had rehearsal. Is it your first time in NY?
Asakawa: Yes, my first time.
Choo: What do you think of NY so far?
Asakawa: Everything is big! Buildings and advertisements. So bright. Times square… *in Japanese* …you use too much electricity! *audience laughs8
Choo: Since in Japan, we had an earthquake awhile ago and Japan is very much in electricity saving mode. So you went to Times Square.
Asakawa: Yes, I just went through.
Choo: So what other plans do you have while in NY?
Asakawa: I have no idea! Where? What?
Choo: Where should she go? *audience calls out places*
Asakawa: Your house?!?
Choo: Anyplace you want to go? I watched some American movies. So NY is like where the heroes are, lots of aliens. So is there anyplace that you particular see?
Asakawa: Hmmm…really no ideas.
Choo: How about the Empire State Building? *Asakawa-san nods* I’ll make you go there after this panel. *to the audience* Who wants to go with her? *audience hands go up*
Asakawa: Thank you!

Choo: It is the first time I met you. I’ve heard lots of good things about you.
Asakawa: Good things?
Choo: Yes, all good things. You are a voice actress. How long have you been doing voice acting?
Asakawa: 15 or 16 years…so I’m tired of it. *audience laughs*
Choo: How did you start?
Asakawa: One day I was watching tv and the topic was about voice actors and voice acting. And I decided to do that. ‘I could do it!’ I went to a school and there, I studied.
Choo: How long did you go to the school?
Asakawa: Two or three years. I skipped my lessons many times. *audience laughs* Actually, maybe for one year….
Choo: So you went for a few years, but only one year of classes?
Asakawa: *laughs* Full….
Choo: I know why. This is because you were studying very hard in your own time. Is that correct?
Asakawa: *thinking about it* Mmmm… *nods* *audience laughs*

Choo: I think that by everyone’s faces here, everyone wants to be a voice actor or voice actress. I want to be a voice actor.
Asakawa: Oh really?
Choo: I’ve been practicing all the time, voice training. I think I can only do one character. That is…Gollum from ‘Lord of the Rings’. *audience laughs*
Asakawa: Do it!
Choo: *Gollum voice* My precious! They stole it from me! Those nasty hobbits! *audience cheers*
Asakawa: There is my agent over there, why don’t you ask her?
Choo: So, I do that everyday on the trains. *audience laughs* What sort of things do these folks, budding voice actors have to do to become a voice actors?
Asakawa: The key point is ‘acting’.
Choo: Acting. Did you practice that by lying to people? *audience laughs* That is the best way to act.
Asakawa: Voice acting. *in Japanese*
Choo: So you have to lie people and than you can become a voice actor.
Asakawa: Lying? No way…. In voice acting, acting anime-ish voices is not so important. Acting and good luck and powerful agency.

Choo: So we’re just talking about your agency. Your manager is just sitting right over there. What is her name?
Asakawa: Ayaka.
Choo: Ayaka-san! *waves* *audience applauds* So you might want to give Ayaka-san your name card as you’re heading out. And you might want to follow her.

Choo: When you’re practicing your voice, you must get so many lines to remember. How do you remember the lines?
Asakawa: During recording we have a script.
Choo: Do you practice at home?
Asakawa: At home.
Choo: I hear that at home, you have be careful. Because when you’re practicing too loudly, the neighbors might hear.
Asakawa: *laughs* Yes, my friend was practicing her lines at home at night, she screamed, ‘Help me, my grandfather is killing me!’ *audience laughs* The neighbor called the police. So we have to be very careful, so we use a towel over the mouth.

Choo: So you played many characters and roles in your career. Are there any particular character that stand out in your mind during your career?
Asakawa: Luka? *points* My favorite project is Rider from Fate/Stay Night. It is a very small part. Recently, I don’t know if you know of it, but Anastasia from Brave 10, it is one of my favorite characters.
Choo: Why are you fond of these characters?
Asakawa: Rider is very impressive to me. She wears a purple dress, is very sexy and has a mask. And she has a very sad background.
Choo: So you like sad people?
Asakawa: Yes. *audience laughs*
Choo: So And she is very sexy.
Asakawa: Sexy…yeah. *gestures for large bosoms*
Choo: With big boobs. Who likes big boobs? *pause* They’re just shy.

Choo: Since you speak native English….
Asakawa: Do you really consider me ‘native’?
Choo: Yes, when she meets others who ask her, ‘Do you speak native English,’ she always say, *in Japanese* ‘Do you understand what native means?’ You can say that when you go to the agency for your voice acting auction and they’ll be very impressed. *to Asakawa* Have you done any native English roles?
Asakawa: No, but I’ve done English text narration as Luka. Since I’m not a native speaker, it’s very tough for me.

Choo: When did you do the recording for Luka’s voice? Awhile ago?
Asakawa: I forgot, 5? 3? Maybe 3 or 4.
Choo: Was it a few days or a few hours?
Asakawa: One recording was three or four hours for three days. The Japanese script is not so much but the English script is really like this. *holding fingers over 2 inches apart* So it was hard.
Choo: Now that you have done the voice for a vocaloid. What is the difference between doing the voice for a vocaloid and an anime character.
Asakawa: For an anime character, we have to act. For Luka, I just provide my own voice for her. I didn’t have to act. I just had to read a script.
Choo: *to the audience* Did you learn of Luka through music? Figures? *takes a poll*
Fan: Through your website!
Choo: Oh, really!
Fan: NicoNico douga.
Choo: So when you see Luka singing, because it’s your voice, but it’s other people making the lyrics from your voice, how did you feel?
Asakawa: That feeling is very strange. I didn’t do anything for the song. But many people listen to that. Very strange. It’s me, but it’s not me. *in Japanese* Even though when I’m asleep, Luka continues to sing. When I’m doing a recording for an anime title, I would like Luka to come and do it so I could take a day off. *audience laughs* I just get money!

Choo: I would like to listen to Luka’s music and see the visual of Luka singing. *to the audience* Do we just happen to have one ready on a computer over there with the man standing by? Do we? Shall we listen to it?

There were calls of yes as the lyrics for the song, ‘Just be Friends’ was handed to the audience. The video was a clip from ‘Mikunopolis’ with Luka appearing holographically on stage to a crowd of concert attendees.

Choo: The song is ‘Just be Friends’ and we just happen to have the lyrics. This is actually a test for all of you who want to be a voice actor. The manager is over there and she’ll be coming around. The person who sings very well will be receive a contract and be the next vocaloid.

Asakawa sang along to the video. “It is the first time for me!” She did a few of the hand motions to the delight of the fans.

Asakawa: When I saw the video for the first, I was very worried about Japan. People were waving penlights for just a screen!
Choo: Have you met Luka before?
Asakawa: Uh…yeah! But singing with Luka, this was the first time.
Choo: So I met Miku, Rin and Ren for the first time last year at AnimeExpo. There was the concert, ‘Mikunopolis’. Who was there? *a few hands came up* Who would like to see them back there again? *audience cheers*
Fans: Take my money!
Choo: So do you have any other plans for Luka or any other vocaloids?
Asakawa: No. Maybe Luka will get angry if I become another vocaloid.

Choo: You have been a voice actress for many years now. Is there anything else that you would like to do? Like acting on a big screen? Anything else in your career?
Asakawa: One of the things I would love to do is coming to more conventions in the US. I also have a webshow, Otaku Versus Zero and I like to report on events around the world. I want to report back on the differences in the events and culture.
Choo: ‘Just Be Friends’ is made by Dixie Flatline. Is he a friend of yours?
Asakawa: No! *audience laughs*

The floor was open to questions from the fans. Choo set the ground rules again. “You can’t ask about bank details or addresses.”

Q: How is your recording of the pen voice banks with Cryton going? Miku has 6 extra voice banks, ‘pop’, ‘vivid’ etc….
Asakawa: If I does some, would you buy them? *audience agrees* Miku is pretty popular and Luka is not so popular. So maybe if she [Asakawa] did some, no one would buy them.
Choo: Is that true?
Fan: That is a bunch of lies!
Choo: Are we allowed to do a Miku vs. Vocaloid poll? Are we allowed?
Asakawa: I heard from Crypton that we’re going to do something very big with Luka next year. I’m not allowed to give any details but please follow my blog and my twitter.

Q: What is your general impression of the other characters in Fate/Stay Night while interacting with Rider? Was her opinion from before she got the part or while during the recording?
Asakawa: Rider is the most beautiful of the characters and that her master was stupid. By the end, Rider is the most beautiful.

Q: When you’re doing the voice work at home, do you have a recording studio?
Asakawa: No, I don’t. People may think that voice actors have louds of cash but they don’t. They go to a recording studio.
Fan: It may be interesting for you to know that that in America, alot of American voice actors actually record from home.

That is a common assumption in the US since recording equipment can be bought easily and material can just be sent via skype and e-mail. It is true but only up to a point. Due to the nature of dubbing work which is recording with individuals, the option of at home dubs can be made…with certain equipment in place. Most people create demo tapes at home but still record in a studio in the US. Japanese seiyuu work in a different setting since anime voices requires the cast to be at the studio at the same time, recording the scene together.

Asakawa: In Japan’s voice acting industry, its generally favored to see people struggle. *audience laughs* So they have this thing where they try to get the actors or actresses to be at the same place, at the same time. When you’re at the bottom, they like to see you struggle your way up.

Q: Luka’s vocal range is much lower than the other vocaloids. Is that very different from your vocal range?
Asakawa: Luka certainly does have a mature voice. One of the reasons was that there was a demand to have a vocaloid who doesn’t have a high pitched voice. I do feel that if I had a high pitched voice, I would be more popular. *audience disagrees* Japanese people like high pitched voices.
Choo: Do you like high pitched voices? *audience agrees* But you like low pitched voices too? *audience agrees*
Asakawa: Thank you!

Q: Knowing how prominent Vocaloid is in Japan, how are you taking the response in the US?
Asakawa: I’m very surprised that a DTM [Desktop Music] software package can cross borders and go overseas. Especially when the characters have very little personality. I’m surprised that this phenomenon can so popular outside of Japan.

Q: What is your opinion of people pairing different vocaloids together? *audience groans*
Asakawa: Ehhhhh?!? *laughs* Luka is the best so there is no need for others. *audience applauds*

Q: Do you consider yourself a good singer in comparison to Luka? Do you shy away in the shower or do you belt it out?
Asakawa: It is completely different. I will sing like this, *sings a smoothly line from ‘Just Be Friends’*. Luka sings like *sings same line as Luka* just a bit higher and in a artificial voice. It is completely different.
Choo: Given the nature of the software, she doesn’t really consider that it is herself singing. *reinstates the question* Do you like to sing?
Asakawa: I like to sing and I want to do more songs as well. I come out and see fans from around the world. One day, I would like to do a mini-concert. *audience cheers*

Q: Out of all the vocaloids, besides Luka who is your favorite?
Asakawa: Besides Luka, it’s not from Crypton, but Gakupo. Luka has pink hair and he has purple hair and they match very well. From Crypton, I like Rin. Rin is cute.

Q: Do you own any Luke merchandise?
Asakawa: I do! I have Luka Nendroids, cellphone straps….
Choo: Is your bedroom like a Luka shrine? Someone from Crypton offers her loads of things as well.

Q: Is there any chance that we can get any concerts like that here? *audience cheers* But I’m from Miami…. *audience objects*
Asakawa: All these concerts are not in my control. If I do release concert overseas, I want to come along as well. Maybe I’ll consider to go to Miami.

Q: If you were familiar with people who cover vocaloid songs on youtube? What are you opinion on them?
Asakawa: I am familiar with the videos. They are all so good at singing, they make me feel very nervous.
Choo: Do you make those videos?
Fan: I do, but I’m not extremely popular. I’m just kinda popular.

Q: Do you play any type of musical games like Pop’n Music, Project Diva?
Asakawa: I’m not good at rhythm games. I have the taiko controller.
Choo: When the PS Vita first came out, there was a game called Gravity Daze.
Asakawa: I play it.
Choo: So you have a PS Vita. What other game consoles do you have?
Asakawa: PS3, PS2, Wii, xbox.
Choo: You’re quite a gamer.
Asakawa: I like the Resident Evil series. I prefer Leon. He is the main character for RE4, he is my prince charming. *happy sigh*
Choo: When you’re playing, do you make him turn to face you and then you leave the controller there? *audience laughs*
Asakawa: Yeah…before I take control.
Fan: You look like Ada! You look pretty like Ada!
Asakawa: Yay…but Ada is my rival.

Choo: We have one guy that said we have 5 min. and a lady that saids 10 min. So I think that mean we have 20 min. left, is that right? *audience laughs*

Fan: Welcome to NY…especially on my birthday. *audience applauds*
Asakawa: What is your name? Nia? Why don’t we sing happy birthday to Nia? *everyone sings*
Q: When you’re working on Vocaloid or voicing anime characters, do you work by yourself in the booth or with others?
Asakawa: For tv animation or animation, we work together. For video games, we work separately.

Q: What is your first impression of Luka?
Asakawa: Usually I can get a document of the character before recording. But for Luka, there was no document of the character. They came up with the visual after the recording. After the recording, Cryton came up with a character design based on the voice.
Choo: Is there any similarities between Luka and yourself?
Asakawa: Voice? Hair? Beautiful? Okay? More more! The breasts? *laughs*

Choo blames the ‘chucking out time’ to the staff in the orange shirts and evil eyes. lol Asakawa-san gave her farewell remarks.

Asakawa: Thank you so much for coming. I love you all! Otsukaresama! I’m so glad to be here at NY Comic Con. I have a signing session at 5pm. If you have ticket for it, you can see me again. *audience cheers*

Asakawa-san ends with a picture of the crowd for her twitter.

Amano: What should I say? New York is wonderful. [I love New York.] *fans cheers* I haven’t been back in NY for a long time. I want to see everyone and be around everyone. That’s all I have to say. *laughs* One of the reasons I’m here is that I have a new project, Deva Zan which is being released by Dark Horse next year. When you have the chance, please check it out. *audience applauds* I don’t have that much to talk about. *audience laughs* I draw pictures so talking isn’t really one of my strong points. I prefer you look at my artworks. *audience laughs*

Translator: Up until this point, majority of his work has been focused in art. You might have heard of Vampire Hunter D, also very independent, obscure and relatively unknown game called Final Fantasy.

Amano: One of the things is that I constantly get credit ofr Final Fantasy and Vampire Hunter D, but those are works by lots of people, groups of people. Now Deva Zan, I got into the world of writing. Not only the art, the story is written myself. I feel more responsible for the outcome. Like if Final Fantasy failed, its fine, *audience laughs* but this is all mine. This has been something I’m been mulling in the back of my head for some time now. I wanted to have put it out and publish it somewhere. I have alot of these projects, but Deva Zan is the one that came first into fruition.

I was here in 2008, [I'm sure many people were here for that as well] and I feel there were alot more people here than there was back than. I was here with Kikuchi [Hideyuki-sensei], the creator of Vampire Hunter D. I believe Vampire Hunter D turns 30 next year, he has working on it all along and he is faced with some serious deadlines. It’s unfortunate that he couldn’t be here.

New York is a special place for me. It is where all my ideas come to me.

Translator: I don’t know if you knew this, but he used to live in Manhattan, flying between Japan and here a decade or so ago. Some of his projects came out when he was in NY. Hero, I don’t know if you’re familiar with that came out in NY. Deva Zan, a part of it takes place in NY. He thought of it when he was here. NY Salad, an obscure title about fairy vegetables or vegetables which are fairies and at night they animate. Also, the much talked about, Tako Man which is an octopus who is a super hero. He is ready to go, but we’re just waiting for the cards to line up. So NY is just this wellspring of inspiration for him.

Amano: Sou desu. *audience laughs*

Q: You said that [painter], Gustav Klimt was a big inspiration for you?
A: It’s too simple to say that he is an inspiration or that I’m influenced by him. But I really liked him in my twenties.

Q: How did your cameo in ‘New Rose Hotel’ [1998] the movie came about?
A: I didn’t know what I was getting into. At that time, my picture was in the New Yorker or something and they said, “Let’s get this guy.” I got a call out of the blue and that was that. *audience laughs*

Q: Do you have a favorite project or piece that you’ve done?
A: There isn’t a piece that I particularly dislike.

The fan also asked for an autograph, but the staff refused her. The crowd was denying her as well since it would be unfair for her to receive a signing out of turn from the 100 who waited that morning. Though I didn’t see through the heads, I believe that Amano-sensei waved at a D cosplayer who had the mouthpiece in his palm. The same fan may have been the one to speak next. He mentions having one of his older artbooks of Final Fantasy which ultimately gave him the inspiration of becoming an artist.

Amano: Give your best. This is a work of a lifetime. It is something that can take your life with it, so good luck! *audience laughs*

Q: I’m also inspired by you to be an artist. Can you share a bit about your process as an artist?
A: It’s a pretty difficult question…to describe the process. One of the things is having an image in your mind, inspired you to start drawing and carry it down to the one. Keep drawing until you follow through to the end is part of the process. Describing the process itself is kind of a difficult abstract question. There are very particular questions about art here.

Q: Can you talk a little of the depictions of androgyny in your work? Characters like D or Final Fantasy characters?
A: It is not really set up to be an androgynous character. I draw in my mind what I think is beautiful or attractive characters and that is what comes out. There isn’t a standard that I must draw androgynous characters. Just like with mountains, or the sky or anything else that is beautiful. There is not gender to it. Perhaps the pictures of people are the same way. It’s just the subject of what you view as beauty. Just as a mountain is genderless.
Translator: I consider Vampire Hunter D as the original bishounen so I agree with that one.
A: When you’re drawing, when you think something is beautiful, just draw what you think is beautiful as you imagine it. I just encourage you to draw without holding yourself to any limitations.

Q: I remember dragging my parents to see your exhibition at New York’s Puck building some 15 years ago. They were completely blown away. That was amazing. How did you get involved in the Final Fantasy series?
A: Thank you! That Puck Building exhibition in 1997, ['Think Like Amano'] was my first exhibition in America so it was really big for me. I wanted to do something that was representative of New York. Games as they were 25 years ago is different from what they are now. I wasn’t dealing with the game aspect at that time. I just saw a bunch of impassioned, talented video game staff. Young people who I thought would be really cool to work with and that is how it started. From a publishing perspective, there is some trepidation about an established artist being taken seriously when working with a video game. But now looking back on it, its Final Fantasy. There is a nice confluence about what he wanted to do and what the game was about. Had it been about baseball or something else, it must’ve been different.

Q: I know that you created pieces for literary works like Tales of Genji. I would love to hear about the interactions with creating the art and the actual text. Where is your favorite place in NY?
A: There are already pictures of Tales of Genji. I didn’t have a concept of how things looked back than so the clothes that they’re wearing and the kimono that they’re wearing in Tales of Genji isn’t real. I made them all up. [It's all BS, I guess?] *audience laughs* Don’t think that that’s what they were wearing so many years ago. It was very solemn back than, you had to dress a certain way and had to your hair a certain way in Japan. Nowadays, people can dress the way you want, wear your hair the way you want. I would like to think that even back that, there is even more freedom for what you could wear. History is just an interpretation of people so why shouldn’t I interpret it the way I want? If there are so many different ways to wearing the hair or clothes, why shouldn’t I interpret it my way. Even if it is real, it worked out well in the end for Tales of Genji. I want to head back to Chelsea. There are alot of galleries there so I want to back there.

Q: Growing up, Final Fantasy was such a huge inspiration to me. I had notebooks where I just drew the characters in class. Growing up, what did you like to draw? Who were your biggest influences? What did you like?
A: I was influenced by the animation that I could see at that time. There was alot of movies in my teens, ‘Snow White’ and ‘Bambi’. I really like American comics. I read ‘Superman’ and ‘Batman’. Since we’re at a comic convention, it feels strange that I’m up here talking. I feel like I should be in the crowd. *audience laughs*

Q: The concept art for Final Fantasy has been one of my iconic art in video games. What mediums to draw from while drawing Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy XII? IV was more nightly, VI was post-apocalyptic and XII was like an ancient world with modern aspects.
A: There is no direction for me. When asked about the themes for IV, V, VI and XII, I just get to add on to what I get the first time. I try to do something different each time so I draw a bunch and what I have is what it becomes.

Q: Who created the concept of the moggle and the chocobo? You or the company?
A: I don’t actually remember. *audience laughs*

What I love most of all is that they set up the projector on the tables which indicates that the artist will draw. The first piece he drew was a moggle with a NY badge. He also drew D and followed it up with Ken from Gatchaman. The last two pieces was Zidane from Final Fantasy IX and the famous Terra from Final Fantasy VI. The art pieces are not up for raffle but entered into the charity auction held at NYCC.

Various trailers were played to introduce series that is currently available, starting with Blue Exorcist. The entire series is currently available in 4 volumes as a subtitle only release. Each volume has 6-7 episodes, the Ura-Ex shorts, double sided poster, O-sleeve cover and reversible dvd covers. For dubfans, the English trailer was shown with a short casttalk vid with Byrce Papenbrook and Johnny Yong Bosch, the VAs of ‘the twins’, Rin and Yukio. The series starting in September is one the newest addtions to Neon Alley, an all dubchannel for the PS3. The rest of the VAs include:

Christine Marie Cabanos as Shiemi
Kyle Hebert as Bon
Sam Regal as Mephisto
Darrel Guilbeau as Amaimon
Wendee Lee as Shura
Brian Beacock as Shima
Patrick Seitz as Igor Neuhaus
Kira Buckland as Izumo

Bryce Papenbrook came on stage and was asked to do a line from Blue Exorcist. “I don’t give a damn. I’m not a demon nor a human anymore. My only choice now is to move on. I’m going to become an exorcist!” The crowd cheered at the ferocity of his delivery. At the heels of this plug, the crowd cheered for his voice as Kida Masaomi from Durarara!!. “She totally wants me. The chick with the glasses has a crush on me. But she’s afraid of all the danger and risk a guy like me brings to the table.” “Live by the boobie, die by the boobie.” *audience laughs* Papenbrook’s autograph signing was plugged for this afternoon (not that the fans need anymore reminders.) Tonight’s screening of Blue Exorcist will feature episodes 3 and 5 followed by a Q&A with Papenbrook along with more prizes from Japan, including posters and a handtowel from Japan. “Whatever you do with this, is your own business.” *audience laughs*

Papenbrook vacated the stage as Rivera continues with trailers of series available now on dvd. The ‘magical girl’ series Madoka Magica dub trailer was shown. The entire series is currently available in three different versions: dvd, BD and limited edition sets. The LE set includes both the BD and dvd, the OST, an exclusive 24 page booklet, two double sided posters, postcards all in a collector’s box. The latest edition is volume three pictured below with a shiny cover. The booklet includes interviews with the creators.

To the laughter of the crowd, the next series was introduced to “have a lot of fate…and alot of zeroes.” The subtitled Fate/Zero trailer was shown. The first season BD boxset is currently available. The set includes 5 BDs, 2 bonus cds, exclusive artwork by character designer, Takeuchi Takashi-sensei, deluxe digipack, translation booklet and a character design booklet. A super short clip of season 2 trailer was shown with info that the BD boxset is also available. The entire series available on Crunchyroll and Hulu. Also available in the US is the Japanese single of the opening song, ‘Oath Sign’ by LiSA. Other albums from the singer include ‘Lover “S”mile’ cd and BD combo edition, regular ‘Lover “S”mile’ cd and ‘Letters to U’ mini album and newest, ‘Crossing Field’, the opening for Sword Art Online.

Back by popular demand, Oreimo aka. My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute was re-released with a complete dvd set. The trailer was shown to the laughter of the crowd. Oreimo tells of a typical, normal highschooler, Kyousuke finds out that his super smart and popular little sister, Kirino is an eroge otaku, a fan of adult computer games. Not only is he has to deal with this relevation, his sister wants to introduce him into this world…. The dvd set includes 16 episodes (12 tv with 4 ovas,) double sided dvd cover, O-sleeve packaging, a double sided poster with textless OP and ED.

For fans of Durarara!!, there is the jazzy series which started it all, Baccano!. The BD set includes the Japanese and English audio, 13 tv episodes, 3 specials and package art by Enami Katsumi, the illustrator for the novel. Rivera followed it up with the Durarara!! trailer. The BD set will be available on 10/30/2012 as a LE BD lunchbox. The series include 5 BD of 24 episodes, 2 OVAs, double sided poster and a booklet.

Back by popular demand, Kara no Kyoukai aka. Garden of Sinners will be released as a LE dvd set on 11/20/2012. The set includes 8 movies on 8 dvds, digipacks in a deluxe box, a 36 page booklet including an image gallery, key visuals, theatrical posters, 14 postcards illustrated by both Takeuchi Takashi-sensei and Tomonori Sudo-sensei.

Released on 11/20/2012 is Bakemonogatari as a ‘vibrant’ LE BD set. It includes 6 BDs for 15 episodes, dual subtitle streams (one including on-screen text), character audio commentary and a 36 page booklet which includes character designs. Series streaming now on Crunchyroll and Hulu.

Special announcements time! Aniplex will be bringing two movies to the US (already by the time this is posted,) with the first two movies of Madoka Magica, ‘Part 1: Beginnings’ and ‘Part 2: Eternal’. The movies will be shown in NY in 10/20-10/22. A special trailer for the movie was shown with the special theme song, ‘Luminous’ by ClariS.

New licenses! The Sword Art Online trailer was shown with cheers from the audience. New for this fall anime season, another series with a Shakespearean twist, Zetsuen no Tempest aka. Blast of Tempest trailer was shown next. Both series are currently streaming on Crunchyroll and Hulu with new episodes every saturday. To the laughter of the crowd, Rivera revealed a long synopsis of the series on the powerpoint. Not bothering to read it, he announced that the summary can be found at the Aniplex news site for the series. Truly the series is convoluted, distressing and amusing at the same time. Very much like the Shakespearean tragedies this series draws it’s inspiration from. An anime take on ‘Arabian Nights’, Magi will be on Crunchyroll and Hulu every wednesday. It is good to see AniplexUSA license new series so quickly…even at the start of the season.

A short Q&A:

Q: Since you’re re-releasing the Garden of Sinners on dvd, will there be another BD release? Will you include the new movie?
A: We’re concentrating more the dvd release currently. Once the dvd is sold out, we’ll take that [BD] into consideration. We’re not sure about the new movie.

Q: Will the audio commentary in Bakemonogatari be subtitled? What about Nisemonogatari [will be it released as well?]
A: Yes, the audio commentary will be subtitled. Right now, Nisemono is only available streaming.

Q: Concerning Garden of Sinners, was there a reason why you couldn’t include the OSTs? European companies were able to get the soundtracks.
A: It was part of the negotiations. There were some things that we can and can’t do.

Q: For the Durarara!! BD and dvd boxset, will there be a sole dvd set release as well?
A: The lunchbox set is only a BD set. The only dvd release we have right now is the series on 3 dvds. [There is no boxset for the dvd.]

Q: Are you making any plans to release Idolmaster?
A: It was produced by Aniplex Japan, but it is also part of Bandai. Right now, there are no news on that.

Q: For Sword Art Online, are there any dates for the releases?
A: We just got the license so definitely check out the website for the latest info.

Q: For Fate/Zero, there are a bunch of specials on there that wasn’t subtitled. Is there somewhere we can get the subtitles streaming?
A: Fate/Zero is an import from Japan. Whatever we get is what they put into it. Sorry about that.

Q: Concerning Garden of Sinners, will there be a picture ova, will that be on the dvd?
A: Yes, the eighth episode is included.

Q: Did you license ‘Mikunopolis’?
A: We did license ‘Mikunopolis’ in Los Angeles [convention]. It is coming soon so check the website. We’ll post up the information as we get it.

Q: Will the Durarara!! lunchbox keep my lunch warm? *audience laughs*
A: Or cold. It is pretty much your typical tin lunchbox.

Q: Will be there a dvd release for Fate/Zero?
A: Once the BD releases sell out, we’ll consider a dvd release.

Q: For Aniplex titles that are released in Japan, what is the best way for us to let you know which titles we would like to see released by Aniplex USA?
A: Post on our Facebook or contact us by e-mail. If you buy our products, there is a feedback card. We read those feedbacks.

Rivera started the raffle with posters from Japan: three from Fate/Zero, a Sword Art Online poster, an autographed poster from LiSA and two Madoka Magica movie posters with one of them from the theater (which can be lit from behind.)

MAGFest 11 will celebrate the 10th anniversary with our best music lineup yet!
On January 3rd -6th, 2013, almost 40 music acts will take part in the festivities and put on the greatest show in the world, featuring music from your favorite video games taken to unimaginable places.

The stage is set, and MAGFest 11 will be the biggest MAGFest to date. The concerts will take place in a unique double stage setting which allows for concerts around the clock over the 4 days of the festival, and with over 10 new debuts, return of fan favorites and true video game legends in attendance, you can be sure that once again, MAGFest is an experience not to be missed!

The full line up for MAGFest XI is:

Special Guests:
Yuzo Koshiro (DJ performance)
Kinuyo Yamashita (Solo piano performance)

Main Stage:
ARMCANNON
Bit Brigade
BrentalFloss and The Cartridge Family
The Megas
Metroid Metal
The OneUps
Powerglove
The Protomen
Random Aka Mega Ran
Rare Candy
Those Who Fight
Video Game Orchestra
Second Stage:

Arc Impulse
Descendants of Erdrick
Dwelling of Duels Live
Fighting in the Streets
Knight of the Round
Lords of Thunder
My Parents Favorite Music
On Being Human
OverClocked University
Professor Shyguy
Super Guitar Bros
Triforce Quartet
The World Is Square
The X-Hunters

Chiptunes:
BRIGHT PRIMATE
Cheap Dinosaurs
Crashfaster
Danimal Cannon
D&D Sluggers
Inverse Phase
Kris Keyser
Jake ‘Virt’ Kaufman
DJs:
Benjamin Briggs
bLiNd
DJ Cutman

(Visuals will be suplied by Batsly Adams, Invaderbacca, NO CARRIER, and Pixelseed)

About MAGFest:
MAGFest, The Music And Gaming Festival, is an annual event in the Washington D.C./Virginia/Maryland area dedicated to the celebration of video games and video game music. Each year, MAGFest offers 24-hour console, arcade, and PC game rooms, over twelve live video game cover bands, chiptunes, a vendors area, and guest speakers from the video game industry and fan scene. It also features a “JamSpace” available to all attendees for impromptu music performances. Numerous other events are scheduled each day. The 11th annual MAGFest, or MAGFest 11 for short, is scheduled for January 3-6 2013. For more details regarding MAGFest, contact Nick Marinelli, MAGFest press and public relations director, press@magfest.org.

###

Master Roshi enjoys the lovely view of two demon-like ladies.

This year’s Guests of Honor included Mr Toshihiro Fukuoka of Vocaloid fame. He’s an experienced magazine editor and radio host, working as Chief Executive Director of Weekly ASCII magazine and Chief Editor of Tokyo Kawaii Magazine. He is the director and producer of MIKUNOPOLIS 2011, a concert by 3D CG idol star, Hatsune Miku, that was hosted in Los Angeles.

Also in attendance was Z8, also known as Z-Ann, creator of the Dark Fantasy theme of GRAMM, a designer label by h.NAOTO brand. Z8 attended Tokyo Mode Gakuen, a fashion vocational school, and now works with h.NAOTO at S-inc. She also debuted their Tokyo Collection brand.

AnimeNEXT also brought back Satsuki, a Visual-Kei vocalist formerly of the band Rentrer En Soi, for a second appearance. Satsuki went solo in 2009 with six singles and a mini album. He’s also focusing on developing an acting career in movies and theatre. He can now be found on iTunes.

The main musical guest this year, with a concert, was the all-girl super group Berryz Kobo, from the pop recording artists collective known as Hello! Project. With seven albums and twenty-seven singles, Berryz Kobo has been in the top 10 of Oricon, the Japanese version of the U.S. Billboard Charts, and have sold out the Saitama Super Arena (20,000 people!). You can hear their song, “Shining Power”, as the ending theme for the anime, Inazuma Eleven. As international stars, they made their U.S. debut performance at Sakura-Con in April of 2011, and AnimeNEXT was lucky enough to secure their second U.S. show.

Other guests included Kyle Hebert, known for Dragonball Z, Michele Knotz, known for Pokémon, Leah Clark, from Fullmetal Alchemist, and Kara Edwards, who was in Yu Yu Hakusho. They also had the Vice President of Marketing for Robotech.com, Kevin McKeever, as well as Kevin Bolk, artist from Interrobang Studios. C.R.A.Z.Y.O.T.A.K.U., Dave Lister, Dani O’Brien and Bill Ellis of All New Issues, and Chipocrite also joined the roster of amazing guests to see.

Events and attractions included Karaoke, the dance party, an AMV contest and a manga library. If you didn’t feel up to leaving your room, and you happened to have been lucky enough to snag one in the Doubletree, you could catch streaming anime on the hotel television through the whole weekend. Hall contests and a masquerade were offered for those cosplay buffs who like to win prizes, and there was tons of gaming. The Holiday Inn was loaded up with table top gaming, card gaming, video gaming and even a room dedicated to Rock Band. Like to LARP? They had that, too, all weekend, on the second floor of the Doubletree. The con also ran several game shows throughout the weekend, such as Iron Cosplay, the Match Game, Cosplay Dating Game and Anime Jeopardy. Chess geek? They had that, too, with humans, in cosplay, fighting each other. How awesome is that?

This young lady created an entire wearable dress out gaming cards.

Remember that dunk tank? Well, what better way to raise money for Child’s Play charity than to let people throw things at a target and dunk various AnimeNEXT staffers and even guests! After running around in the heat all day to panels and events, the water probably felt good. Squishy in the shoes, but cooler than the warm air for sure.

The weather aside (it did sprinkle for a little bit, but no drenching downpour to deter traveling between buildings), traffic flow was new to this writer. I attended AnimeNEXT last in 2010. That year, the main doors to the convention center and the hotels got a little crowded and difficult to squeeze through as the convention crowd grew during the course of the event. This year, they did something neat. To accomodate the massive Dealer’s Hall and Artist Alley, you had to exit the building and come back in one of the side doors of the convention center. It was a little weird to think about at first, and, as you stood at the exit inside the hall, staring longingly at the merchandise mere inches out of reach thanks to a staffer with an ‘exit only’ sign, you probably felt a little annoyed that you had to find another way in. However, after doing it once or twice, it actually made the flow through the Dealer’s Hall much easier to deal with. No lines, no crazy narrow aisle to walk down between the Main Events Stage curtains and the temporary walls of the Dealer’s Hall. Just a smooth walk around the building to the other door and you were in. Yeah, it was hot out, but you didn’t have to wait to get in. This blogger gives it a thumbs up.

This was also my first time staying in one of the conventional hotel blocks. Previously, by the time I was able to book a room, the hotels would inevitably be sold out or out of my price range, and I’d end up at the Courtyard down the street. Not a bad place, but quite the walk in that heat, and I usually ended up driving if my costume was too hot (sweating under a wig is so itchy!). Sadly, I didn’t have the time to use the pool facilities indoor or out at the Doubletree, but I did get woken up by a fire alarm at 4:30 am, and evacuated the hotel with my roommates. Oh dear! All was well thanks to the local fire department, and we lost one elevator for the last day of the convention, but, with a good number of the convention attendees at the dance party, there were only a few issues with anxiety and asthma. I did later see an ambulance at the convention center, as our hotel room had a perfect view of its roof and parking lot, but I never did find out what it had been about.

Overall, the convention was a good experience, and despite some doubts when my original rooming plans fell through, I’m glad I had the opportunity to attend the convention again, and I’d definitely consider going back again next year.

- Megan

“L3g3nds” takes otaku music to a whole new level with familiar teen anthems like “Imaginary Boys” and “Sakura,” as well as thoughtful, introspective ballads like “My Life Is An RPG” and “The Song Of Time.” The album is available for purchase on the LeetStreet Boys website as well as iTunes and other digital music stores. The price for mail-order albums is $13.37 including shipping, because the band thinks it’s a really “l33t” (1337) value and has a sense of humor!

About LeetStreet Boys
LeetStreet Boys is an anime otaku band created by singer/composer Matt Myers and producer Ryan “Frogs” McCormack. The band gained international attention in 2008 with their breakout single and music video “Yuri The Only One,” followed by the release of three albums: “LeetStreet Boys,” “Otaku Hearts” and most recently “L3g3nds.” Widely credited as one of the first Western anime bands to gain significant worldwide attention, LeetStreet Boys is renowned for the unique mix of romance, humor, and epicness that marks its extensive repertoire of catchy, heartfelt songs.

Buy “L3g3nds” CD through the LeetStreet Boys website store!
Buy “L3g3nds” digital copy on iTunes.

Here are the skits line up:

• Opium War Take 2 (9:08)
• Fan Girl Away! (12:15)
• Pokémon: The Next Generation (17:10)
• Hello (26:18)
• Poppi Po (30:00)
• The Boys (34:23)

Some con goer’s may remember a site called “A Fan’s View,” run by Kevin Lillard. It was a website with convention reports and photos from 1998 to when the site closed in 2009. Earlier today, we got word from his Facebook account that he is now homeless. Earlier today he posted:

When you live in your car in an abandoned parking lot along a major interstate highway, you see interesting traffic from time to time. Around 8 a.m., eastbound sirens announced the approach of police traffic,led by a plain white box van with a large door on the left side, followed closely by an armed personnel carrier. It took a moment before I recognized the two vehicles, which I had seen on the streets during my now-ended career a s a reporter for the Indianapolis Star. I saw those same two vehicles downtown a couple of years ago when covering a so-called bomb threat involving a man who had left a backpack next to what was then the police department’s downtown district headquarters. The white box van carries the police department’s tactical robot so the small convoy must have been headed to a SWAT call out.

I’m in he same position of life as the street person whose backpack led to that fuss of years ago. Out of work and out of money, I’ve been living in my car for the last month, spending days at a nearby library, sending out mostly ignored online job applications. Already there’s no money to buy food and the last things to eat were some peanuts from a vending machine at the Anderson newspaper where I had my last job interview. I spent my last change to make a 50-cent call at a pay phone hoping to speak to a recruiter and reached only voice mail. The car where I’ve been living started running out of fuel on the way to the library and I barely got there. With no money there will be no fuel and no way to go from place to place. Even if there is another job offer there will be no way to get there,with no money and no fuel. Unless there’s some sort of miracle,this is the end of any hopes I had. All of the prayers have been answered with messages of failure. This is where we have learned what God really wants.

Darrel Guilbeau is a Los Angeles based actor who began voice acting in 2004. He has voiced the lead roles of Mikado in Durarara!!, Gainer Sanga in Overman King Gainer and Ichitaka Seto in I”s and I”s Pure. Other popular roles include Sousuke Kawara in Samurai Champloo, Osamu in Paranoia Agent, Satoshi Hojo in When they Cry, Hikari in The Melody of Oblivion, Kouji in Buso Renkin, Tandor in Moribito – Guardian of the Spirit, Shinya Yanagasawa in The Prince of Tennis, and as Sejuro in Zoids Genesis. He has also lent his voice to such anime as Kekkashi, Bleach, Boys Be…, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion & R2, Cyborg 009, DearS, Ghost in the Shell: SAC 2nd Gig, GunxSword, Kamichu!, Koi Kaze, Rumiko Takahasi Anthology, Space Pirate Captain Herlock, and Stellvia.

In the video game world, Darrel is best known for voicing Layle in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, The Crystal Bearers, Viewtiful Joe in Marvel VS Capcom 3 & Ultimate MVC3. He has also voiced Wylfred in Valkyrie Profile:Covenant of the Plume, the Main Ceptor in Culdcept Saga, Taishi Ci in Dynasty Warriors 6 & Strikeforce, Nagamasa Azai/Mitsuhide Akechi in Warriors Orochi 1 & 2, Lekius in Dawn of Mana, Werman/Duran in Avalon Code, Shu in Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow as well as various voices in Radiata Stories, Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song, Legendary and Turning Point:Fall of Liberty.

He has also done voiceovers for live action films, including Red Water with Lou Diamond Phillips, Witless Protection with Larry the Cable Guy, Bam Bam & Celeste with Margaret Cho, and the Korean hit comedy Attack the Gas Station.

As an actor, he has had roles on stage, screen, TV, and in commercials. Most notably in Windtalkers directed by John Woo, Alias with Jennifer Garner, The Comeback with Lisa Kudrow, Victorious on Nickelodeon, Gene Simmons Family Jewels, You Snooze You Lose with Jamie Farr, Saved By the Bell, Lauderdale, Silent Night Deadly Night Part 2, and Murder in Law to name a few.

“L3g3nds” Track list:

01: L3g3nds (Instrumental)
02: Sakura
03: Booth Babe
04: Imaginary Boys
05: My Life Is An RPG
06: Final Boss
07: OtakuRave
08: Harajuku Girl
09: Hikikomori
10: Worlds Apart
11: The Song Of Time

LeetSteet Boys is going to perform a live “release party” show at Another Anime Con on October 20th, playing selections from “L3g3nds” for the first time and selling physical copies of the CD. We hope to see you there! Then, the following Tuesday 10/23/12 we will make the album available for sale worldwide including mail-order albums, iTunes and other digital stores. Get stoked!

LeetStreet Boys is the official music performance heard on Vidgle’s series “Con Goer.”

The Anachronism showcases genre-bending Steampunk musical artists in a welcoming environment; The Goblin Market’s actors mingle with the crowd and sell their eerie wares to all and sundry.

We are put on by the world’s largest ticketed Steampunk event -www.SteampunkWorldsFair.com, coming May 17-19th to Piscataway, New Jersey.

Our events are open to anyone who enjoys spectacular dark music and Halloween times – regardless of whether you’re Goth, Steampunk, geeky, or what-have-you. We’re queer-friendly, trans-firendly, Pagan-friendly, but most of all, we try to be just plain friendly!

In addition to our welcoming atmosphere, unique absinthe cocktails, and good times, we have a half-dozen headlining performers – any one of whom could cost as much as our mere $15 admission (that is, $15 in advance, $20 at door). We try hard to be, not just a spectacular event, but an unbeatable value. In addition to longtime favorite Voltaire, we are the debut NYC show for Unwoman, all the way from Chicago! And much more – see below!

About our headliners:

Unwoman (www.unwoman.com) has performed with Amanda Palmer, Rasputina, Abney Park, and the inimitable Voltaire; see her incredible solo performance live, in an untimate setting!

Vourteque (http://soundcloud.com/steampunk-chicago-djs/vourteque-track-1) is a DJ-performer whose sets have pioneered Steampunk dancing.

Voltaire (www.voltaire.net) is the clown prince of just about everything. He’s taking time out from working on his latest album, BiTreksual, to come and drink our bar dry.

Psyche Corporation(www.psychecorporation.com) is like 180-proof absinthe mixed with candy; a spectacular voice, enthralling storytelling songs, and the ability to wear scarves in a provocative manner.

The Goblin Market (www.facebook.com/TheGoblinMarket) is a place where the unreal bleeds into the everyday; it’s an interactive atmospheric show which wanders through the club all through the night.

The Anachronism will be held on October 14 at Club Element in New York City’s Lower East Side.

More details at www.TheAnachronismNYC.com!

The Anachronism is a production of the world’s largest Steampunk event,www.SteampunkWorldsFair.com, which is also putting on the very unorthodoxwww.TimeTravelersResort.com this year! Do give us a look – you might like what we do!

The election results are:
President: Andrew Earnhardt
Vice-President: Jen Piro
Corresponding Secretary: Victor Albisharat
Recording Secretary: Marvin Vinluan
Treasurer: John Gluth
Comptroller: Matt Smiechowski

Members at Large:
Dallas Odom
Ina Wang
Maggie DeLauney
Jim Vowles
Terry Chu
John Nadzam
Scott Argenziano

For the 20 th  year, Terry Chu has accepted the appointment as Con Chair.

The Board consists of several President Emeritus and/or Con Chairs – John Nadzam, Terry Chu, Jim Vowles, Matt Smiechowski, and Scott Argenziano.

Otakon 2013 will be held August 9-11 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD.

To watch episodes, click here.

And the best part hasn’t come yet, Vidgle Mobile is presented to you “free,” thats right, its free!

How do you access Vidgle on your device? It’s very simple, just launch your web browser and go to “www.vidgle.com” (without quotation marks) and now you are on the mobile site! Feel free to bookmark us on your first visit!

What can I do on Vidgle Mobile?

You can watch all of our episodes without using a computer! And soon, you will be able to check out the Con Goer blog on the mobile site!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a wireless website?
Some websites are now specially formatted to display their content on mobile
phones. Because sites we use on the computer are more complicated structure,
mobile sites are built with simplicity so it can be easily viewed on portable
devices.

What is a web-enabled mobile phone?
A web-enabled mobile
phone is a phone that has a built-in web browser and the capability to connect
to wireless websites either over a mobile carrier or a wireless internet (Wi-Fi)
connection.

How do I know if my mobile phone is web-enabled?
Please check with your mobile phone manufacturer to see if your mobile phone can
access wireless websites. Web-enabled simply means the phone has the built-in
capability of accessing the web. You will also need an Internet access plan from
your carrier to use this wireless website. Product compatible with all WAP
enabled handsets.

Is there a charge to access our wireless website?
You can access our wireless website for FREE!
Additional monthly charges may apply depending on your data plan. Please check
with your carrier for package rates and transport charges. Standard or other
charges may apply. Appropriate charges will be billed on the customer’s wireless
phone bill. By going to our mobile site, you are
accepting all terms and conditions.

What is a data plan?
A data plan, provided by your mobile phone carrier, allows you to browse the web
via your handheld device.

Can I access the wireless website from anywhere?
Access is limited to the coverage area of your carrier.

I’ve accessed the wireless website, but I’m having
problems, such as pages not loading, or loading slowly.
Check to see if you can access other wireless websites. If not, you may be out
of the area covered by your carrier. If you can access other sites, there may be
a temporary problem with the site. Wait a few minutes and then try again.

When I don’t put the ‘www’ URL into my phone, nothing happens.
Some mobile phones don’t accept redirects. If you have a phone like this,
insert "www" before the website address. For example: www.vidgle.com
points to our mobile site without any redirects.

What is the video format on Vidgle Mobile?
Vidgle mobile uses 3GP video formats throughout the mobile website. This allows quick downloads through wireless carriers and can playback with most mobile devices. The video format is more compressed and has a smaller file size compared to the podcast version that is used on our desktop/computer version.

What is the file size of the videos?
All videos on Vidgle Mobile links to a 3GP video file which has a smaller, compressed video format. For example, a 15 minute episode is 9 megabytes which the podcast version (on your computer) is 100 megabytes.

My phone is asking to save or open when I select “Watch Now.” Which one should I choose?
It is best to select Open and let the video download as you watch.

Recent Episodes

• Yoko Kanno to debut “PIANO ME” concert at Otakon 2013
• Con Goer – Another Anime Convention 2012 – Out and About – Saturday
• Con Goer – Another Anime Convention 2012 – Out and About – Friday
• Con Goer – Intervention 2012 – Out and About – Wrap Up
• Con Goer – Intervention 2012 – Out and About – Sunday
• Con Goer – Intervention 2012 – Out and About – Saturday
• Con Goer – Intervention 2012 – Out and About – Friday
• Con Goer – JayCon 2013 – Features – Costume Contest
• Con Goer – Baltimore Comic Con 2012 – Out and About – Wrap Up

Upcoming Conventions

NULL

This site “http://www.vidgle.com" is owned by Jenthony Enterprises, Inc.., and is part of the Jenthony Enterprises, Inc. family of companies which includes other quality company brands such as Internet radio stations, magazines & publishing, print wear design, and software publishing (collectively referred to hereinafter as “we” or “this site”). This statement informs you of Jenthony Enterprises, Inc.’s practices with respect to the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information. Personal information is information that allows us to contact you (such as e-mail address, home address, or telephone number) or other information that, when linked to your name or contact information, allows us to personalize your visit to our site by providing you with information that suits your interests.


Jenthony Enterprises, Inc. (collectively referred to hereinafter as “company”) is the owner of this website and retains all ownership rights to the information collected at this site. Company reserves the right to change, modify, add, or remove provisions of this Privacy Statement. Any changes to this Statement will be posted here, and we encourage you to check back from time to time.

Personalization

Although you may use many features of this site without completing a registration or sign up form, visitors who do register and/or sign up for special services may have access to additional features of the site and are more likely to receive information suited to their interests. For example, a registered user is eligible for additional services provided by this website such as listener clubs and personalized content. Our registration and special services sign up forms may ask you for contact information (like name or email address) and demographic information (like zip code or age). You must provide the information in order to receive the benefits of registration or of the special service.

We may use the contact information that you give us to better tailor your website experience to your interests, and to send you information about company and its services as well as promotional material on behalf of some of our partners. We use other information that you provide to us to show you content in which you may be interested and to display the content according to your preferences. We will also share this information within the company family in order to enhance your experience on this and other company websites.

In addition, we may share this information with advertisers or other third parties that are not part of the company family on an aggregate or other basis that does not disclose your identity or contact information.


Online Surveys/Contests

From time to time, we may conduct online surveys and contests. These ask you for contact information (like name or email address) and demographic information (like zip code or age). We may use this contact information from our surveys and contests to provide you with information about our company and promotional material on behalf of some of our partners, and to contact you when necessary.


Supplemental Information

To enhance Vidgle’s ability to tailor this site to your preferences, we may combine information that you provide us on registration and other online sign up forms with other information about you that we may obtain. We do not share that information with any other party.


Public Forums

This site may make available chat rooms, forums, message boards, and news groups. Please remember that any information that you disclose in these areas becomes public information and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information.


IP Address

We may use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server, to administer our website, to help identify you and your shopping cart, and to gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. We do not link IP addresses to personal information.


Cookies

This Company site may use a standard technology called a “cookie” to collect information about how you use the site. Cookies reside on your computer, and help our website to recognize your computer’s browser as a previous visitor. This information allows us to customize delivery of information. For example, our site may use cookies to save and remember registration information or preferences that you may have set while you were browsing the site, to keep track of your shopping cart, to ensure you don’t see the same ad repeatedly, to deliver content specific to your interests, and to save your password so you don’t have to re-enter it each time you visit our site. We use cookies only to gather information as indicated in this policy.

In addition, on occasion our site may also set a “session cookie” which cookie helps us administer the site. A session cookie expires when you close your browser, and does not retain any information about you after it expires.

We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you.

Log Files

We may use IP addresses to administer the site, to analyze trends, track users’ webpage movements, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use.

Banning

We may ban a user if abuse, breach of our visitor agreement or unauthorized activity is detected in our system log.

Children’s Personal Information



Consistent with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act:

∑ This site does NOT collect, use, or disclose personal information (including online contact information) of children under the age of 13.


∑ In the event that a child under the age of 13 attempts to register on our site, we will NOT accept the registration and will delete information received from the child.


∑ In the event that a child posts personal information in a public forum such as a chat room, we will attempt to delete that information once we become aware of it.


Security of Your Personal Information

Company employs reasonable security measures consistent with standard industry practice, for information collected through this website. We believe that we have adequate security measures in place in our physical facilities to protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information that we collect on our website. We also use internal protections to limit access to users’ personal information to only those employees who need the information to perform a specific job.


Legal Process

You should be aware that company may be required to disclose your personal information to the government or third parties under certain circumstances, such as in court or regulatory proceedings.


Links

This site may contain links to other sites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of these websites. You should check the Privacy Statement of the website sponsor when linking to other sites.

Contacting the Website

If you have any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of this site, or your dealings with this website, you can contact the Vidgle Group.


This Jenthony Enterprises, Inc. website is governed by and operated in accordance with the laws of the United States of America and is intended for the enjoyment of residents of the United States.
Jenthony Enterprises, Inc. makes no representation that this website is governed by or operated in accordance with the laws of other nations. By using this site, visitors from outside of the United States acknowledge that this site is subject to U.S. law and waive any claims that may arise under their own national laws.

Welcome to Vidgle, a
Jenthony Enterprises, Inc. company. Please read this visitor agreement; by using this service, you accept its terms.

The Web is an evolving medium; we may change the terms of this agreement from time to time. By continuing to use the service after we post any such changes, you accept this agreement, as modified.

Vidgle respects the privacy of our users. Please take a few minutes to review our privacy policy.

We invite you to send in your questions or comments about Vidgle , or to bring to our attention any material you believe to be inaccurate. Please send such comments, including a copy of any material you wish to discuss, to the attention of the Agreement Manager.

If you are an owner of intellectual property who believes your intellectual property has been improperly posted or distributed via one of our Web sites, please notify us by sending e-mail to our Agreement Manager.

The material that appears on Vidgle is for informational and entertainment purposes only. It is illegal to download any video, image or text and upload it to another webserver or service. Despite our efforts to provide useful and accurate information, errors may appear from time to time. Before you act on information you’ve found on our site, you should confirm any facts that are important to your decision. Vidgle is not responsible for, and cannot guarantee the performance of, goods and services provided by our advertisers or others to whose sites we link. A link to another Web site does not constitute an endorsement of that site (nor of any product, service or other material offered on that site) by Vidgle,
Jenthony Enterprises, Inc. or its licensors.

Although we make Vidgle freely accessible, we don’t intend to give up our rights, or anyone else’s rights, to the materials appearing on the service. The materials available through Vidgle are the property of Vidgle,
Jenthony Enterprises, Inc. or its licensors, and are protected by copyright, trademark and other intellectual property laws. You are free to display and print for your personal, non-commercial use information you receive through Vidgle. But you may not otherwise reproduce any of the materials without the prior written consent of the owner. You may not distribute copies of materials found on Vidgle in any form (including by e-mail or other electronic means), without prior written permission from the owner. Of course, you’re free to encourage others to access the information themselves on Vidgle and to tell them how to find it. Requests for permission to reproduce or distribute materials found on Vidgle

should be sent by e-mail to:
Agreement Manager.

We welcome links to our service. You are free to establish a hypertext link to this site so long as the link does not state or imply any sponsorship of your site by Vidgle or
Jenthony Enterprises, Inc..

No Framing. Without the prior written permission of Vidgle, you may not frame any of the content of Vidgle, or incorporate into another Web site or other service any intellectual property ofVidgle,
Jenthony Enterprises, Inc., or any of their licensors. Requests for permission to frame our content may be sent to the Agreement Manager either by e-mail, or at the address above.

Vidgle reserves the right to ban a user’s IP address. A user can be banned if there is evidence of abuse or not agreeing to this visitor agreement.