Archive for the Events Category


Tokyo Tales and Random Utterings on Comiket

January 7th, 2008

“Man hath better thing to do than to eat drink and be merry.”

This was the quote on the menu of the “Rose and Crown Victorian Pub” in Akihabara. Look at it carefully. Notice the small, two-letter word missing that *completely* changes the meaning? It was on the basis of this misquote that we decided to not eat at the pub, since we had better things to do than eat, drink and be merry. Ultimately, we ended up at a Mos Burger, because I hadn’t ever had a chance to eat at one before.

This was the second day we were in Tokyo. (“We” being myself, my beloved wife, our friend and one of my best lackeys, Bruce. and the wife’s friend Barbara and her mother Linda.)

The first day, as I reported, we spent the day looking for the Comike catalog, and diving into 105 yen doujinshi bins.

The second day, we went back to Akihabara to shop and to see if we could find Bruce a catalog. We failed at the latter (as I suspected) but we shopped until we were exhausted. This is easier than it sounds because they keep the stores at a toasty 78 degrees. It exhausts one quickly.

After our Mos Burgers (I had the amusingly named “Spicy Mos Burger” knowing full well it wouldn’t really be anything like spicy, since I had just been in Mexico and Japan really doesn’t know what “spicy” means) we crawled home, too tired to appreciate the maid costumes and Goth-Loli walking by.

I have to say. I’ve come to a new appreciation of Gothic Lolita. While it really isn’t my taste, all those frills and fripperies, I think the people who wear it are on to something. It’s *like* cosplay, but isn’t. They can walk around the streets in it, carefree in their sense of self-worth and be different, while managing to be fashionable and not freakish all at once. It’s pretty much the win look for the young Japanese rebel. You don’t even need a gang to make you look less dumb and anyone walking next to you gets powerup points off your charm. I approve.

Anyway, here are some pictures I took and some things I jotted down that pretty much have nothing to do with the pictures. By the way – click on the pictures for larger versions. These are really small and hard to see.

On New Year’s Day, the first shrine we went to was the Toyokawa Inari Shrine. This was the wife’s request. She has collected a nice skulk of kitsune which are arranged decoratively around the house. I have no objection to them, being a dog person myself, and since she includes Gyuubimon when she feeds them, I think it’s swell.

The first two days we were there, Beat Takeshi was not on TV and we started to worry, but then after that, he was on every night. It’s just not TV in Tokyo if Beat Takeshi is not on. BTW, he sponsored an arts show that came on right before or after the Nodame Cantabile special, about real young musicians.

At Toyokawa, I saw this statue and was just moved to take a picture. After I caught up with everyone, we walked back a bit to it, where the wife pointed and said “that was my offering.” It was kind of interesting that of all of them, that was the one I took a picture of. I also put a yen piece in between the ears of one earless kitsune, who I had the whimsical notion of stealing, taking home and feeding.

This is Bruce, drinking sweet sake because it’s traditional. (If he reads that, he’ll laugh.) Afterwards, we headed for the Tokyo Tower area, as I reported previously, so I could make my hatsumode and we could have yakisoba at the Zojouji. We’ve done that three times, now – it’s a tradition. :-) Also, at Tokyo Tower, we shopped for souvenirs, had a pee and decided to try the much-advertised-on-the-subway McPork sandwich, because we could not imagine it being good. It wasn’t. :-)

I know you all think you know what Comiket is like, but really…you don’t unless you’ve been there. The first day nearly killed the wife, Bruce and I. We were there for less than four hours and we felt like we had dug ditches for 36. It wasn’t just that we were carrying alot. I was, but that wasn’t it. It was just brutal. There are a lot of people and your brain just isn’t used to the navigation necessary. It’s hard to watch where you’re going, look for stuff that interests you and keep an eye out for a particular table you’ve marked down. I came with a list, and because we had the Catalog a couple days early, we were able to add a few things to look for, but the sheer numbers of things to look at and the distances one has to walk nearly broke us. We bought what we wanted and fled. Seriously.

The day after New Year, we went to Asakusa, so I could make my offering to Kannon. I have never seen the Sensouji this crowded. They had moved the bronze incense brazier from the middle of the path – it’s this enormous thing that I didn’t think could be moved. People were getting to the top of the stairs, looking back and saying “sugoi” then taking pictures. I said “wow” and took a picture. Here it is. The path is crowded with people for about another half mile back.

On the second day of Comiket, Bruce and I went one way, while the wife and her friends went another. They left about halfway through the day, Bruce and I plugged our way around lines and took a beating for the team. We held up a lot better, but I had bought so much that my bag weighted about 35-40 pounds.

I literally could feel the moment when my arches fell. lol It was in the middle of the Marimite section. After we stood on line for this bag from UGO (and the stuff inside, of course, but really all I wanted was the bag….)

After we had consumed, we met up with Rica Takashima and Ivy, who was stunning as one of our translators at Yuricon 2005 in Tokyo. We jabbered for a while, Ivy left us, and we collected the wife. Bruce, wifey, Rica and I went out to dinner where we had okinomiyaki and monja. My favorite was the mentaiko and cheese monja, with the tuna and cheese okonomiyaki coming in a close second. The beef and scallion monja and the pork okonomiyaki were both good too, but the mentaiko and cheese one was my fave.

We could see Fuji-san from our room. Here is a day view. It was really a lot clearer than this picture makes it look. But all but the first day or so, we had “Kyou no Fuji-san.”

The third day of Comiket, the line to get in the place was about an hour long. Then we headed right for Atelier Miyabi, Fujieda Miyabi’s circle, expecting another hour long line. But we got through in about 20 minutes. The line for Russian Blue later in the day was longer. We probably went to fewer circles on day three, but had to range more widely to find them, so we crossed all of the east halls, twice and went around the west halls as well. After we were done, we decided to go back to Atelier Miyabi again and get a few more copies of the calendar for gifts. Amazingly, they had some left. Oh, and Iono-sama was selling them! It was so awesome, she had on “Blue” and was flanked by two maids. lol I really wish I was good at stealth photography. Where’s Tsutako when you need her? :-)

I cannot even begin to tell you how crowded the third day was. There was one intersection that was just a solid logjam of people. Bruce and I kept looking at each other and laughing, because we were so jammed in, that the only thing that got us through was the pressure of people from behind. The guy next to me got his hand jammed up uncomfortably against the guy in front of him, but I shifted a bit so he could extract it. He was all right, but looked a little pale. Probably because a foreign female asked if he was okay.

Twice I was bumped so hard I lost my balance. Once, the guy who I slammed into and I turned and apologized seriously at one another, because we hit each other *hard.* The second time I completely lost my footing and started to fall backwards, but was laughing about it. Bruce went to catch me, but I regained my footing just then, so my pride remained intact. We were so battered that day, I was surprised we didn’t come home with bruises. Thank heavens for winter clothing. There is NO way I’m doing a summer Comiket.

Here’s a sunset view. The sun set right behind the mountain every night, which made for breathtaking scenes that photo’ed poorly. Everytime I took a crappy shot, I could feel Tsutako glaring at me in spirit – again. :-)

We had gotten the special Toranoana ceramic cup for buying the catalog there, but we learned Bruce has a thing for cups (he picked up an adorable sake cup at Comiket, as we slogged through the east halls 4-6) so we gave it to him. He and I shared a Big Sight canned coffee set that depicted two girls arriving at BS looking normal, then one going all weird and freaky over a catgirl cosplay while the other looks disconcerted. I liked how they depicted girls doing that, and not otaku. (The cans now live in my work cubicle where they can make me laugh.) Speaking of which, there were way more women at all three days of Comiket than there were five years ago when I first went. Sure, they tend to stay in the BL sections, but almost every line I was on, there were at least some women….except, oddly Russian Blue. You’d think that more women would be in line for Hibiki Reine’s work.

Here’s my random “subway advertisement” photo. It’s for a temp agency, but for some reason, they thought the best representation of the skilled employees they could provide was a cute flan with strawberry sauce, a cherry and whipped cream. I spent the entire trip trying to figure out what went through the ad agency’s mind when they came up with it. Sorry it’s blurry – the train was moving when I took it.

On the last day full day we had in town, Bruce, the wife and I hit up Shibuya for Animate and Mandarake, then went out to Nakano where we had kaitenzushi, which included the best crab legs I’d ever eaten ever, and of course, we bought stuff. :-)

The last day they were in Tokyo, we took Barbara and Linda out for ramen, because that was pretty much the only Japanese food they wanted to try. We ended up at a Korean place, for various reasons, that served delicious, but blisteringly hot, ramen. I liked it, but wow.

Oh, oh – so, *finally* I saw Ayumi Hamasaki perform. And by god, she was one of the worst singers I have ever heard. She didn’t hit a single note of what was a really awful song. I hope she was just having an off night, because she was truly terrible. Her nails had horns. …??

And the last note I have here is this: on the way home from Comiket on day 3, Bruce and I were sitting next to a girl who was crushing on her sempai hugely and obviously. Sempai was a punky little blond number with lots of facial piercings, sunglasses and art school cool. The girl looked at sempai with huge eyes that devoured her, and touched her or something on her belt, her phone, etc, anytime she could. I was trying to not laugh out loud, when sempai was showing her how rough a callous on her hand was, asked kouhai to touch it – and then as kouhai stroked it for about two solid minutes, commenting the entire time how…rough…yes…very…rough.. it was. For pity’s sake, sempai, I hope you sleep with the girl.

There’s my disjointed account of stuff and some pictures. Sorry my internet access was down, so no day-by-day, but you know, mostly we just shopped. ^_^

I’ll start up reviewing again tomorrow, unless work flattens me. :-)





Events: Tales from the Floor of the NYAF

December 10th, 2007

Life on the floor of the Exhibitor’s Hall/Dealer’s Room is not like life anywhere else at a con. There’s a unique ebb and flow, not only of the attendees, but of the other exhibitors, staff, guests, and one’s own biorhythms. When you’re an exhibitor at an event, it feels like you’ve been there forever. Five minutes after you finish, it’s like it never happened. It’s all very surreal. ^_^ There’s a permanent impermanence of a show. Boxes explode into displays and sales items – shiny, colorful – then everything, including walls and floors, all get rolled up and packed away leaving nothing but some scraps to show that anything was ever there.

Imagine a desert. No water, food, life anywhere. Imagine one day, you drive into this desert and suddenly, a town is springing up. Buildings, businesses, schools – everything goes together almost instantly. And then people arrive. They attend classes at the school, buy food and drink from the restaurants suddenly in existence, clothes, toys, entertainment from the businesses, and then, two days later, it’s gone. Like “Burning Man” inside a big, black, glass box. With less fireworks. The desert returns, and only cellophane tumbleweeds cross your path.

I’ve been to and worked at renfaires, pagan encampments, anime cons, scifi cons, trade shows, and festivals all over the world and every time I am mesmerized by the magic of these temporary towns. It truly is magic. I love walking around as people set up and breakdown. The floor of an event is where a lot of deals are made and relationships are built. Of everything that happens at a con, it’s this part that I enjoy most. Meeting people, reconnecting with folks, developing ideas with peers.

The New York Anime Festival was not very big, especially as compared with New York Comic Con, but if you took all the non-manga/anime stuff out of NYCC, NYAF is basically what you have. I heard a rumored attendance of 8K and that seems in line with what I saw. (Although published reports later said 15K, which I can only believe if you counted every attendee day, dealers, guests, panelists, staff and Javits Center staff for all three days.) Reed definitely improved some key things since Comic Con – security was friendly, professionals were treated much better (at Comic Con, we were treated like criminals trying to sneak in) and in general, there was a much less overtly hostile atmosphere. Instead, the staff was pleasant and accommodating. Two things I would like to mention that needed some improvement. One, grouping like vendor with like is fine at, say, a Publisher’s Expo, but for folks who sell chotckes like key chains, it’s not so good. It doesn’t affect the artists or publishers so much (I don’t compete with Del Ray or Tokyopop, really) but for the figurine, manga, DVD and goods dealers, it’s a rotten setup. Most anime cons break those kinds of vendors up. Here they were all in one long row. Secondly, when the Exhibitor’s Hall closed, attendees were not swept out efficiently. They lingered for a long time, getting in the way of breaking down, and clustering on the floor where dollies and handcarts needed to get through. The event staff needs to get them out of the way faster and better. But those were really the only things I felt needed to be addressed. In every other way it was a vast improvement.

My good friends at Drama Queen were kind enough to let me have a piece of their table at which I sold some of our books. It was a better crowd than I thought it would be – and I have to give kudos to the DQ fans. They were not the squealing LFGs one expects. A few folks cross-bought Yaoi and Yuri and some who came for one at least looked at the other. A few folks simply said, “well, I’m more interested in whichever, but thanks.” It was all very pleasant and refreshing – a far cry from the days of “Ewww, Yuri.” Those days were up to about a year ago, so wow. DQ definitely drew a cut-above audience. And owner Tran and staffer Isabel are *fabulous.* If you’re interested in Yaoi, do give them a look. Their books are very well done and fun. I even read a few sitting there. I’ve reviewed their book Audition here, as well. It was pretty damn good.

It’s always lovely to see the regulars who visit when ALC has a table, and it was also nice to reconnect with a few folks I met recently at Yurisai. Kudos to them for being a cut-above, as well. When one young man walked up and shook my hand, said hello, said that Yurisai was his first con and that he loved it, and was now sharing this new love with a friend who had never been to a con, I thought, “This is the win.”  Yuri and Yaoi fans are definitely both maturing – we *can* all be human, if we just try. ^_^

Professionally, it’s always a blast to check up on folks you see at every con, chat with them about new projects and ideas, see where the industry is heading. Korean works are gearing up for being HUGE, I can tell you that. Next big thing? Yeah, I think so.

A lot of great folks stopped by the DQ booth. Some of the folks I owe thanks and hugs to are: May Young, freelance designer extraordinaire, who was a champ all weekend, translator Mari Morimoto (who was NYAF’s chief translator and they kept her hopping,) blogger Casey Brienza (aka Kethylia), Tran and Isabel from DQ, Tara, (wishing you the best of luck!) and blogger Brigid Alverson of mangablog. I also had a moment with Milton Griepp of ICv2, Protoculture Addict’s Claude Pelltier and PW’s Calvin Reid, just in case you think I didn’t talk to any men all weekend. LOL

On the industry side of the board it was my genuine pleasure to catch up with John and Masumi O’Donnell from CPM/Be Beautiful. They were all smiles and high energy and rarin’ to go, which thrilled me no end. The troubles they faced last year are yesterday’s news and they are looking forward to a bright future. We wish them the best of luck.

The folks at Media Blasters remain wonderful. I’m sitting here drinking chai brought over to our table by Johnathan and thinking of him happily. They’ve got a lot of irons in the fire, as always. And I also had a chance to talk to some folks from Tokyopop, which I always enjoy. The editor of the upcoming Kannazuki no Miko release and I had a nice chat about that. I was able to explain Kaishaku and their interest in a short list of fetishes. lol We also talked about Okazaki Mari and her never-really Yuri art, and Sakurazawa Erica, and josei in general. Now that I have an in, we’ll see what rumors news I’ll get first. ;-)

And of course, there were a bunch of cons and dealers that I get lots of love from and give the same to. :-) Looks like Anime Boston will be going onto the Yuricon schedule this year and I got to chat with a bunch of the AnimeNEXT folks as always. Love them. A special shout out of Yuri lovin’ to Bill from Anime Castle and Su from Sci-Fi Continuum. Buy stuff from them, because they are two of the coolest folks ever. And Amber and James from Ultimate Anime, too. ^_^  (The goal here is to butter them up until they send me to the Maiden’s Garden event next year to shop for Yuri doujinshi for them. lol)

It was a tremendous surprise and pleasure to meet Grace Hume, one of the contributing artists to Yuri Monogatari 5. I had no idea she was going to be there, and it was a complete thrill to add her to the list of Yuri Monogatari artists that I have met in person. Grace is the creator of “Emmeline’s Cruise,” one of the two stories in the collection that dealt with an older lesbian character. She even got to sign an autograph. :-D (D’oh! *I* forgot to get her autograph…what a nitwit I am….) Now we’re both stoked about her contributing to the next volume. ^_^

I don’t tend to go to industry panels, favoring the face to face method of “what’s the cool news?” of info gathering. :-) So here’s just a couple of quicky things you’re not getting from ANN yet because it’s all on the QT and so I will be secretive and vague – it’s more fun that way, anyway. ^_^

1) There’s a distant rumour that someone is looking into licensing a title of interest to Yuri fans. I won’t give anything away but, ahem, we may get those Jun and Nene dolls after all….

2) Keep your ears open for a new, very exciting event that will be coming up for 2009. I can’t tell you anything specific, but I can tell you that there has NEVER been anything like it in anime/manga events. (This is me smiling and nodding knowingly.) There’s a lot of enthusiam about it in the industry. You’ll be seeing info about it soon…? ^_^

3) And this so prelim it’s a thought exercise rather than rumor, but who knows how the world will spin, right? How would you all feel about a Mist manga collection in English? Who knows – it could happen. :-)

Well, that’s it from the floor of NYAF. Next event, Comiket, where I will support the Japanese economy by throwing money at it. ^_^





Event: ALC Publishing at New York Anime Festival, Comic Planet

December 3rd, 2007

ALC Publishing will be sharing Table 353 with our friends at Drama Queen on Saturday and Sunday, December 8 and 9 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City! Drop by for great deals on our Yuri Monogatari anthology!

Join Rica Takashima on Saturday, December 22, 2007 at Comic Planet, an original doujinshi show in Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan. For more information on Comic Planet, please visit their website!

ALC Publishing – where the girl always gets the girl





Events and Okazu News: MangaNEXT 2007 Report and Okazu in Spanish

October 8th, 2007

MangaNEXT was fun. I managed to get a second to chat with Jason Thompson, editor of The Manga Encyclopedia to which I contributed a very small amount of writing. And I hung out with friends, got my RDA of hugs. I definitely need to offer special super thanks to Adam, who minioned like a champ and was lovely and socially functional the entire time. Thanks Adam. It was really wonderful having you there. :-)

Because of the nature of such things, I was scheduled for a 10AM Fanfic Panel, so basically Adam and I blathered about fanfic while I ate my breakfast and some people watched. (What do people hope to learn in FF panels? Questions always seem to come in two kinds: 1) Externally validate my method/format/concepts/self-worth and; 2) How can I learn to deal with negative stuff? Neither has anything to do with writing. Here’s my advice to young writers – pay attention in English class and read alot. Then learn to not take yourself or your work seriously. That’s all I got for you, really.)

We hung out the bulk of the day in the Artist’s Alley with the cool, hip kids. Wish I could draw too. I always think how useful it would be when I feel too tired to deal with people to be able to semi-ignore them by drawing, like everyone else does. Because I’m a writer I’d have to have my computer to do that, and then I’d look like the two creepy guys across the aisle who *never* looked up once. Instead I just have to pretend to like people and, in this case, kids. The audience for MangaNEXT is significantly younger than I will sell to, so I get a lot of kids who want to touch and I have to shoo them away. Also, we had a bowl full of candy and if you bought something you got a piece or two. It seems to appeal to people. Dear guy who stood there whining about how you wanted candy but had no money. That was absolutely *pathetic.* For the buck you scrounged up, you could have gone to the Krauzer’s across the road and bought a bag of mints. I mean, really.

Here was an interesting thing that occurred: I was in the DR talking to a dealer, who shall remain nameless for the moment. He was all over me to invite him to the next Yuricon, because the guys from Media Blasters had been going on and on about how much fun they had and how not annoying the attendees were. And then he asked how we managed to have such a not-irritating crowd, when another con, which also runs and 18+ event, has such screaming mimis everywhere. Okay, so we keep talking and etc, etc. At the end, I point out that if he did come to our event, he couldn’t bring Yaoi paddles. Which confused and annoyed him, since they are a popular item. I told him what I feel they represent, which I think insulted him, too. Oh well.

The point of this story is, I was thinking about it and it occurred to me that that was the answer to his question.

We don’t have paddles at Yuricon and we don’t have the kind of people who want paddles. The reason, I think, the Yuricon crowd is a good one is that sexual and emotional immaturity is not only not encouraged – it’s pretty much against the rules. Sure, we’ll always have a smaller group because of that – but a much, much higher quality one. I feel pretty happy with that policy. (And it pleased the vendors who were glad to have less of the usual crap that goes along with selling at an event.)

The Yuri Panel had a nice crowd, but doing stand up comedy for 90 minutes is HARD. Next time you come to a panel – come with questions! It’s bloody exhausting for me to entertain you for so long. :-)

Thanks to Mari, James and Amber, Cindy, Jeanne, Brian, Chet(!) and, as I mentioned, Adam. You made the day great fun. Also to Rene, Shelley and Tom for giving me a chance to descend like the harpy I am and fly away again. :-) See you next year at MangaNEXT.

Next up: Some of the posts here are being translated into Spanish. If you are interested in either reading them or helping with the translation, please visit the CoYuHi. Many, many thanks to Laura-sama and the others for this humoungous undertaking! Para Okazu en Espanol visite por favor CoYuHi.

Final note: You may notice a work slowdown at Okazu over the next few weeks. If you look at the right-hand sidebar, you’ll see that I have already posted more this year on Okazu than I have for any other year *total.* I have been very, very busy with Yurisai and Yuri Monogatari and Okazu, and I need a rest. I’ll still be reviewing and posting, but not 4-5 times a week. Not at least for a little while.

Feel free to read back posts from the last 5+ years and see how my irrational and inconsistent opinions have moved as the whimsy has taken me – and remember, it’s just cartoons and comics, don’t take it so damn seriously! LOL





Yuricon & ALC Publishing at MangaNEXT

October 5th, 2007

Yuricon & ALC Publishing, in the usual form of me and my minion(s), will be making an appearance tomorrow, Saturday October 6 at MangaNEXT in Secaucus, NJ.

I and brilliant fanfic writer Adam Jones will be discussing Fanfiction at the unholy hour of 10AM in the Fanfiction Panel.

After that, we will be relaxing in the Artist’s Alley, where will not only have Yuri Monogatari 5 for sale, but also a nice selection of original and parody doujinshi, including some very awesome work by UKOZ, Sakuraike and Office Mono, Tadeno Eriko’s circle. All five artists are featured in Yuri Monogatari 5 and all are genuinely exceptional. (Or I wouldn’t have their doujinshi for sale, would I? lol)

At 5PM, join us for the Yuri Panel, where we will be discussing some of the good, bad and ugly (but mostly the good) Yuri manga available in English and Japanese!

MangaNEXT is the only manga-focused event in the US and it’s run by a terrific group of folks, so drop by and support them (and us!) See you there!