Con Report: New York Anime Festival 2008 (now with pictures!)

New York Anime Festival 2008
September 26-28, 2008
Jacob Javits Center
New York City, NY, USA

Photo Gallery - at last!

Walking down 34th St., you would never have guessed what was going on at the nearby Jacob Javits Center on a rainy day in late September. Sure, maybe there are a couple people with weird leather jackets on, but you expect such things from the greatest city in the world. Take a walk inside the Javits Center, though, and everything changes. Inside of this fantastic world, presumably normal people shed their skins, and the mundane world of the city streets comes alive with the boundless passion of anime fandom. As I stood on the escalator moving down into the heart of the New York Anime Festival 2008 Dealer's Room, I felt like I was on the threshold of an entirely different world.

The New York Anime Festival is far from my first convention, but it is surely the first one that really made me say, "Wow!" That was last year, and I definitely got the same impression in 2008 when I once again beheld the spectacle that is the blue-carpeted Dealer's Room at NYAF. At the front of the hall was Bandai Entertainment's gargantuan screen showing previews for their newest shows. Not to be outdone, FUNimation had an equally large (albeit more shop-like) booth, which focused much more on actually buying DVDs and talking with sales reps. The rest of the room was coated with dealers selling everything from brand new DVDs to retro VHS's, from replica swords to Legos. The Artist's Alley was along the right wall and in the back corner.

Unfortunately, I wasn't as free to attend panels as I was last year. With press badge in hand, I was forced (by my own boundless ambition?!) to run from industry panel to industry panel, only shirking my duties once so I could visit Otaku USA Magazine - a panel run by Erin Finnegan and Jeff Kight that ended up being very informative, regardless of the lack of Patrick Macias. The industry panels often held little of interest, but there were a couple gems hidden among the reiterations of existing licenses. As always, the rest of the "press gang" helped spice up some otherwise boring panels, so of course I'd like to give some shoutouts to Deb Aoki, Erin Finnegan, Gia Manry, Brad "Dick McVengeance" Rice, and of course "Kurono K," who's not really press but we'll let him off the hook this once.

As is to be expected from the wonderful people running the convention, everything went perfectly smoothly in terms of my being press. My badge was quickly approved, as was my interview request, and a press-only computer was provided for on-site blogging without the $70 Wi-Fi fee. I did have a problem with some faulty power outlets during my interview, but it all worked out in the end. Special thanks to Peter Tatara and Kim Mueller for all of their helpful work in setting up my press access and interview (and of course for being really friendly people).

Still, the actual way that the convention hall was set up was noticeably less intuitive than last year. Whereas last year the Festival used the back of the Dealer's Room for a huge stage, this year that back area was unused, and instead there were two different stages for different activities. Closed into what were essentially two panel rooms was the "Anime News Network Theater" (yes, they sponsored NYAF), hidden behind walls where few were likely to find it by accident. Outside of those doors was the hallway that lead between all of the panel rooms, and dead center in this hall NYAF had placed a large stage where musical performances and other events would be held. Believe me, when our very own Uncle Yo was performing, it was frustratingly difficult to move past the stage and get to a panel room.

The two stages represent two very different - and very wrong - ways to make your stage/theater: one is too central, and one is too hidden. Exacerbating the above problems, the Festival also closed one of the Dealer's Room entrances, meaning that there was only one way in and one way out. Luckily, everything was nicely compartmentalized so that events were in one hall, the Dealer's Room was in another, and con-staff rooms were on the outer periphery, making finding my way around the huge area a little bit easier.

I hung out with the usual folks (as well as some new ones) over the course of the weekend, including Brad, Gia, Scott, Kurono K, Stephen Walker, Deb Aoki, DJ Ranma and Kuro Usagi, Erin and Noah, and of course our very own Karl Custer, who kindly allowed me to use his Artist's Alley booth as my base of operations.

Even with some of its navigational problems, the New York Anime Festival is a downright great convention. Peter Tatara and his crew of awesome convention organizers constructed a show that not only featured amazing guests (Yoshitaka Amano, Hideyuki Kikuchi, and Rie Tanaka) and a great location (NYC baby!), but also attracted pretty much everybody who's anybody in anime journalism in the New York-New Jersey area. If you are an anime fan living reasonably close to New York City, you have absolutely no reason to pass up New York Anime Festival 2009.

Read more about New York Anime Festival 2008

• Ani-Gamers Podcast #006 - Tony Oliver, Kyle Hebert, Steve Blum Interview
• Big Apple Anime Explosion: Anime Comes Back to NYC
• NYAF08 Coverage

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NYAF08 recap: let there be swag!

Holy crap man, d'you see that pile of swag? That's what I picked up at the New York Anime Festival 2008. Some of it was free, some of it was purchased, and not all of it is awesome. In case you're interested, I did in fact forget to include They Were Eleven in there. (Thanks to Sci-Fi Continuum, with their awesome $10 retro DVDs) Check out all of the posts from the Festival below.

Bandai/FUNimation panel reports

Vertical, Inc. panel report

Media Blasters/Del Rey/ANN panel reports [EDIT 2]

Yen Press panel report

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NYAF08: Yen Press panel report

Yen Press, creators of the popular startup manga magazine Yen+, provided a panel much in the same vein as Del Rey's panel a day before. The beginning of the panel consisted of Rich Johnson bantering with Japanator reader Chris (a.k.a. KuronoK), a pastime which would become central to the panel. As is the case with Del Rey, bloggers like me LOVE Yen Press. Their informal, exciting, and funny panel started with a quick recap of the status of the Haruhi Suzumiya manga, which releases in three weeks. The light novels will release in April, and a sneak preview of them is in the back of the manga. Of course, there were a few (some might call it a giant box of) copies of the manga that Rich had happened to bring with him, so we would be winning them as prizes for answering questions.

Soon after that, Rich and his cohorts Kurt, Juon, Tania, and Abby went right into Yen's list of new titles. I've listed them below:

• Hero Tales, written by Huang Jin Zhou and drawn by Hiromu Arakawa (FMA) - October 2009
• Spice and Wolf light novels by Isuna Hasekura - December 2009
• 13th Boy by SangUen Lee - June 2009
• Welcome to Wakaba-Soh by Chako Abeno (Sola) - June 2009
• Sugarholic by GooGoo Gong - June 2009

After that, the entire panel was composed of Rich asking questions, and giving copies of the Haruhi manga to those who got them right (or to random people who made a comment he liked). Chris had to wait more than half the panel for a copy from Rich, who took a sick (and hilarious) pleasure in depriving the boy. Eventually nearly everyone in the room who wanted one - including Chris - was given a copy, and Brad Rice even got the box that held them! Overall, the panel was a lot of fun, and the news was given in a refreshingly concise style, making it easy on bloggers like me.

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NYAF08: Media Blasters/Del Rey/ANN panel reports [EDIT 2]

Surprisingly, Saturday at the New York Anime Festival was not as hectic as Friday was. With more panel time during the day and hence more time between panels, it was much easier for my bloggers-in-crime (Brad, Gia, Scott) and I to get from panel to panel and still have time for, you know, food and actually enjoying ourselves.

Media Blasters

Joe Chagan and Merideth Mulroney from Media Blasters began their panel with two points; points which would become the center of their entire message:

• We're still in business!
• We have an announcement, but our boss won't let us tell you.

Other than that, the two friendly representatives opened themselves up for questions, giving surprisingly candid and telling answers that you can only get from Media Blasters and their unique marketing style. First off, on Media Blasters' solvency in the dangerous climate of today's anime market, Merideth reminded us that the company is "holding our own because we're feisty." The "big announcement" was hinted at being something involving a new title (i.e. NOT retro) that will make you go "holy crap, THAT ONE?"

When asked about a Blu-ray release for MB's remaster of Berserk, Merideth reminded us that regardless of high-def quality, "16mm is 16mm." She also clarified that the main reason for Seirei no Moribito's DVD release delay is that she still doesn't have all of the original artwork for the show after six months of waiting. Finally, the reps also plugged MB's new online card game Alteil (preview coming soon), and let us know that the company is/was interested in picking up Cream Lemon, Turn A Gundam, and Black Lagoon.

Media Blasters denies any plans for a unified anime channel with other companies due to the immense costs of running a television channel. They also say that a burn-on-demand plan will not work for a small company like Media Blasters until someone else makes a system that they can adapt for their own needs.

Del Rey

Unlike AnimeNEXT, at this Del Rey panel the company was up a proverbial creek without a not-so-proverbial Dallas Middaugh. Del Rey's charismatic Associate Publisher was unable to come to the convention due to previous engagements (i.e. his honeymoon), so standing in for him was the equally (if not more) charismatic Ali T. Kokmen. Del Rey, friend of the press, gave us the new announcements rapid-fire at the beginning of the panel, without all of that annoying suspense of other industry panels.

• Del Rey is teaming up with Cartoon Network, bringing Ben10 and Bakugan film comics and light novels to stores. Cue Bakugan trailer with terrrrrible theme music. "Fight for what's right before it's gone! This is Bakugan!"
• The first Bakugan film comic is in December 2008, and the second is in March 2009. An original manga is coming in Summer 2009.
• Ben10 is getting the first film comic release in April 2009, with the original manga in November of 2009.
• Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture in Fall 2009 - It's about cute bacteria. And it's apparently educational. AWO complained that it wasn't licensed. TAKE THAT!
• Tsubasa Character Guide 2 in Summer 2009 - Yeah, it's another one. It covers volumes 8-14.
• Amefurashi in July 2009 - From the creator of Haridama: Magic Cram School and Venus vs. Virus, it looks alright.
• Maid War Chronicles in May 2009 - The illustrator is from Mao-chan. It's about fighting maids. You know you want it.

Most of the rest of the panel was spent answering questions and throwing squishy gavels at the audience to promote Del Rey's new Phoenix Wright manga license. Trust me, you had to be there for some of Ali's lines. Why is Del Rey so gosh darn awesome asks Japanator reader KuronoK? "Diet and exercise." We love you Del Rey.

Anime News Network

[EDIT: Gia let me know during Podtoid-san today that this was previously announced. Oops!] Quite ironically, there was also some news out of the center of anime news themselves, Anime News Network, during their (self-)celebratory 10th Anniversary panel. Namely, the web site, which has already pursued some mode of video presence on the web, will now be working to license new series from Japan and provide them online. There will be free, low-quality videos streaming on the web site, and $3 high-quality (presumably DRM-free) episodes, in a pricing scheme suspiciously similar to that of asian media site CrunchyRoll.

The only shows that will be on the service as of right now are three Media Blasters titles: Girls High, Kite Liberator, and Ramen Fighter Miki. While I'll admit my personal skepticism on their ability to pull this off, New Media Director and Founder Justin Sevakis says, regarding release dates, "simultaneous is our goal." Subbing before the show comes out? I think that requires a bit more leverage than ANN has over Japanese companies. Maybe I'm wrong.

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NYAF08: Vertical, Inc. panel report

When I tell you about a manga company that starts with the letter V, I'm sure your mind will jump to a certain Naruto-carrying, Shonen Jump-ing publisher by the name of Viz. It seems like that mindset was in full force at the New York Anime Festival, where the showing for a panel run by Vertical, Inc. was dwarfed by every single other industry panel of the day.

The panel, run by Marketing Manager Stephen Vrattos and Editorial Director/Executive Vice President Ioannis Mentzas of Vertical, consisted nearly exclusively of old information. Even so, the guys didn't miss a chance to promote Black Jack, their newest manga from the gilded archives of Osamu Tezuka.

At the very beginning of the panel they announced a mini-contest, wherein everyone in the room gave their name for a chance to win a copy of volume one of Vertical's new special edition "Diamond Hardcover Edition" of Black Jack. On that note, the only new announcement made at the panel was that the second volume of this limited-print three volume series will be the Japanese story "The One That Remains."

The rest of the panel mostly involved Stephen and Ioannis going over Vertical's new manga, fiction, and non-fiction titles, including the cutesy series The Complete Aranzi Hour, some dark horror stuff (Biogenesis, The Summer of the Ubume), historical fiction (The Blade of the Courtesans), and a range of non-fiction (Sayonara, Mr. Fatty! A Geek's Diet Memoir, North Korea Kidnapped My Daughter).

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NYAF08: Bandai/FUNimation panel reports

Today, on the first day of the New York Anime Festival, two of the American anime industry's biggest heavyweights, Bandai Entertainment and FUNimation, controlled a single panel room for a whopping three hours. Uncle Yo and I tag-teamed on the panels to get all of the big announcements.

Bandai Entertainment

The representatives from Bandai Entertainment and their Honneamise line (formerly Bandai Visual) started their panel with what they called an "un-announcement": Sola and True Tears, originally slated to be released by Honneamise, have, in fact, been cancelled. Then they spent around forty-five minutes discussing their new titles, including Code Geass R2 (on Adult Swim in October), Gurren Lagann, Gundam 00, Ghost Slayers (Ayashi), and Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence.

Bandai manga will be releasing the Gurren Lagann manga series as a companion to the very popular anime title. Honneamise also announced (arguably) their biggest license yet: Akira. It will be rereleased under the Honneamise line for 49.98 on Blu-ray with 24bit Japanese audio and the English dub included in the Geneon release.

The final announcement came from Bandai Entertainment, who let us know that THEY would be releasing Sola and True Tears under their Anime Legends label. No price or release date was given.

Honneamise plans to release anime simultaneously in the US and Japan with lower US prices. When I asked Honneamise’s rep, Loy Fruel about the possibility this creates for "reverse importation" of American DVDs to Japan, he seemed unconcerned. "If it happens, it happens. We just want Americans not to import from Japan."

FUNimation

(Karl "Uncle Yo" Custer compiled the information for this panel)

While FUNimation has a lot to discuss thanks to their sweeping acquisition of former ADV and Geneon titles, there was very little new information to be had. The representative Adam Sheehan obviously talked about Hellsing Ultimate, Negima, Claymore, Ouran High School Host Club, and even some Dragonball Z (I know, right?). Darker than Black opened up the panel, with an energetic trailer featuring Yoko Kanno's prominent musical talents in center stage.

The biggest announcement of the panel was FUNimation's license of the Japanese Mushi-shi live action movie. On another note, Adam also hinted that Ouran might be available at AnimeUSA before it’s street date. After opening up the floor to questions, Sheehan finally moved on to a whole separate panel regarding the FUNimation Channel.

FUNimation Channel

Continuing with his very candid style, Sheehan went into details of the channel's growing penetration into American television. His main point was that anime fans should be bothering their local cable companies to add the FUNimation Channel, even going to such lengths as requesting that people make threats like, "If you don't add the FUNimation Channel, I'll drown your dog." He also briefly discussed that Video-On-Demand services, currently only on Verizon FiOs, will soon be coming to other providers, like Comcast.

Sheehan also announced some brand new titles to the channel, including Burst Angel, Jyu-oh-sei, Black Blood Brothers, Solty Rei, and Negima!? (season 2). Of course, an entire series of Powerpoint slides was dedicated to the announcement of Ouran High School Host Club on the FUNimation Channel. There is "no date yet" for the show's premiere, but Sheehan estimates it to be sometime this fall.

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Big Apple Anime Explosion: Anime Comes Back to NYC

Years ago, New York City, touted for its multiculturalism, was as much an anime wasteland as any other city, with anime-related activities few and far between. Recently, though, the city has seen an explosion of anime events unlike any other, driven by movie theaters, comic shops, bookstores, and conventions. Last weekend, I tried to get my own perspective on this "Big Apple Anime Explosion."

To begin my mini-tour of the "new" New York City anime fandom, I stopped by the IFC Theater on the Avenue of the Americas (6th Ave.). Here, my friends and I sat down for a packed showing of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. Playing alongside independent films from all around the world, TGWLTT drew crowds of all different ages and genders. Not only that, but it also drew in viewers who were most surely not otaku. (For the unintiated, otaku means anime fan) One little girl, a casual fan of Hayao Miyazaki's films, said the movie was "awesome," while her mother lavished similar praise.

Next, we took a trip down 6th Avenue to the new Kinokuniya. This huge Japanese bookstore is hidden across from Bryant Park. Unfortunately, it has very little window space compared to its previously glamorous position in the center of Rockefeller Center. Reed Expositions, organizers of the New York Anime Festival later this month, were holding a special release event for the Death Note live-action movie at the store, a part of their ongoing series of events at Kinokuniya.

Filling the hallways of this rather spacious store were what must have been at least 200 teenage and adult Death Note fans, decked out in cosplay and anime paraphernalia. Standing in that sea of people, it was hard not to notice that the landscape of anime in New York City was beginning to change. The "greatest city in the world" just might be coming into its own within this Japanese world of ours.

To get a better idea of how this Big Apple Anime Explosion is panning out, I spoke with John Fuller, Store Manager at Kinokuniya, and Peter Tatara, Conference Manager for the New York Anime Festival and organizer of the Death Note event.

Kinokuniya has been around since the 1970's, and yet Mr. Fuller feels that they have not exactly been driving the explosion. Instead they were "dragged into it kicking and screaming" by overwhelming consumer demand. The store also seemed to pick just the right spot in New York City's little anime world, not altogether intentionally. "This is where a lot of things were already beginning to happen," explains Fuller, regarding nearby comicbook stores and Asian cafes. Not only that, but Kinokuniya is "on 6th Avenue...across from Bryant Park...right here in the middle of everything!" That's a helpful thing for a store leading the revolution of a medium.

Even more pivotal to the Big Apple Anime Explosion is New York Anime Festival's Conference Manager, Peter Tatara (pictured at right). This longtime anime fan cut his otaku teeth on Vampire Hunter D, and since has dedicated himself to bringing anime to as many fans as possible. When the Big Apple Anime Fest sputtered out three years ago and New York Comic Con started up two years later, Peter and his associates knew they had to bring a new convention to anime fans in the area - the New York Anime Festival (NYAF).

"All of these events at Kinokuniya are part of [NYAF]," explains Peter. "The Anime Festival is three days a year, but I don't want to say 'see you next year.' I want to make an event every month or two months for fans to get together." While the New York Anime Festival has been the most prominent leader in the Anime Explosion, Peter says that this newfound interest "just sort of happened because of groups like New York Anime Festival, ImaginAsian, and Kinokuniya having anime on our minds and feeding off of each other."

Mr. Tatara has never heard of any other conventions trying a revolutionary system like this, but he feels that "now is a time when everyone is realizing that anime is a gateway to Japanese culture. I'd love to see other cons do this." When asked about anime's growing mainstream penetration, Mr. Tatara noted "stuff like Death Note, Bleach, Naruto, and Pokemon that have entered the mainstream mind. It's great to see 200 people showing up for a Death Note day!"

The New York Anime Festival isn't the only convention working to expand anime's popularity in the New York City area. AnimeNEXT recently spun off MangaNEXT, so that now the New Jersey convention maintains a year-round presence. Coupled with NYAF's plans, Kinokuniya's courting of American otaku, and anime/manga expansion at theaters and comicbook shops like IFC and Midtown Comics, New York anime fans have a lot of activities open to them on any given weekend.

To help speed along the growing explosion, Tatara and Reed Exhibitions are in the process of launching NewYorkAnimeFans.com, a comprehensive year-round calendar documenting all of those anime events in New York City. Nevertheless, according to Peter this explosion isn't just about large groups bringing anime into the limelight. "What's most important for anime right now is having a passion. That's what links Kinokuniya to the New York Anime Festival to the fans. It's something we're all passionate about."

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