As you all probably already know, I am planning to go to Anime Expo 2009 this year on July 2 to 5. I got my hotel booked from July 1 to 5 so I took 2 days of from work (July 2nd and 3rd) for AX09. Honestly, I am really excited as it is happening last than one month. Knowing that Anime Expo is the biggest anime convention in North America and I will be there for 4 days, I am utterly pumped. My trip to Anime Expo 2009 in LA this year is even more worth it that it already is with list of well-known Japanese Guest of Honours. Since most of them are usually announced nearing the convention time due to their schedule so there may be some additional Japanese guest of honours after this post is written.

(more…)

My apology for the late post coverage for Anime North 2009 as I was tired after I got back from Anime North 2009 on Sunday and it took me sometimes to organize photos and upload them. Another year with another great convention here at Anime North 2009 and this year was somewhat different since my girlfriend came with me on Saturday so I was having a blast more than usual. It was her first anime convention ever and she was shock to see so many people at the convention (who would not ? ^^). Similar to previous year, I went to all three days and my target was only one which is cosplayers. As you may already, I am really picky on which cosplayers I take some pictures of and of course, the cuter they are, the better ^^. Without further ado, here comes my coverage for Anime North 2009.

(more…)

For this month of April, to promote reading and celebrate City of Toronto’s 175th Anniversary , City of Toronto and Toronto Public Library are collaborating a showcase called Keep Toronto Reading 2009. Many free events, performances and discussions are available at library branches and participating partners.

(more…)

Another small anime convention here in Toronto to warm us up before the big Anime North on May. The event is similar to DTAC (December Toronto Anime Con) that I attended back on December last year. More pictures below ^^.

(more…)

Anime Expo finally has its online pre-registration available at their website. You can read more about it here. Through their online pre-registration , you can buy 4-day ticket for $50 and get a free main event ticket on which I chose the Morning Musume concert if you book a hotel room through their system.

When I booked mine, only Westin Bonaventure hotel was available and the rates was US$145 per night for staying from July 2nd to July 5th. They also required US$165 deposit ^^;;. You would not be able to book the hotel directly as I already tried. When I called one of the hotels nearby LA convention centre, I was redirected to group sales manager who then proceeded to tell me that she couldn’t book me a room and I had to wait until AX had their online reservation up and running.

Max occupancy of the room is 4 person so if any fellow comrades is planning to come and does not have a place to stay yet, I am willing to share (save me some $$$ for figures lol).

Dear Saku,

I apologize if you already recieved this message, but we are urgently trying to get more people to attend this free event.

The Japan Foundation, Toronto in cooperation with The Digital Value Lab at Ryerson University are pleased to present a seminar called “Anime and Contemporary Japanese Society”. The seminar will introduce the audience to Japanese Society today through multi-disciplinary perspectives (Including design, Akihabara, Otaku and Anime).  At the conclusion there will be a Q + A and response from the discussant, Dr. Eric Cazdyn of University of Toronto. The seminar takes place on Wednesday March 4^th, 2009 6:00 pm at Ryerson University, George Vari Engineering & Computing Centre ENG103 on 245 Church Street.

POST-CRITICAL ANIME: Observations on its ‘Identity’ within contemporary Japan by Jaqueline Berndt, Associate Professor of Art and Media Studies at Yokohama National University.

OTAKU CULTURE: Personality, space and city of anime fans by Kaichiro Morikawa, Associate Professor of Contemporary Culture at Meiji University.

DISCUSSANT - Dr. Eric Cazdyn, Professor of Comparative Literature and East Asian Studies at University of Toronto

We would truly appreciate it if you could help to promote this seminar by letting your members and colleagues know about it. Please find attached a PDF of the flyer and also more details of the event below. You can also check the Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=131119670062&ref=nf

If you or anyone has questions about the seminar, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you again for your cooperation, and we look forward to seeing you at the seminar.

Warm regards,

Nobi Nakamura

The Japan Foundation, Toronto

I already RSVPed since the topic peeks my interest greatly ^^ and it should be interesting to hear what they are going to talk about.

 Loading ...

Local anime community in Guelph took an extra effort to bring anime convention to their town. Travelling to Toronto for an anime convention can be a pain and a lot of hassles especially if you don’t have a car . Not to mention cost of accomodation can be pretty steep for those who are tight on budget and especially since majority of con goers are still in highschool. Obviously, you would rather spend all your money on merchandise instead of accommodation, right ? ^^

 Loading ...

(more…)

The meet up that we had on Friday was fun and awesome. I got to meet up GNDynames (finally XD) and some new otaku. It would be nice if ETERNAL was there too but that’s ok, we just need to find a way to drag ETERNAL out of his room next time ^^

(more…)

Image via Gelbooru.

Another Toronto Otaku Meet-up will be held next week Friday and this time, there will be more people. At the time I am writting this post, there are already 23 confirmed guests compare to 7 people for the first meet ^^;;. Next week event will be held at Thee Asian Kitchen which is located on here.

Details are as follows (copied and pasted directly from facebook ):

ACG NA’s Otaku Representative Rin is hosting an Otaku Meet on Feb 20th. The party is a fun chance to meet other otakus or fans of anime, comics and games or people who share the same interest as you. It’s also a great chance to make new friends and learn new stuff of the anime culture and the Japan culture. The meet is to bring together people with similar interest and just have fun and talk about anime, comics, and gaming.

Participants can expect of the following:
- $26 all inclusive all you can eat buffet style food and non-alcoholic drinks
- Optional bowling starts at 10pm $5 per game/ per person + $3 for shoes rental. The bowling price may vary for how many games you want to play. (Pay upon entry)
- Fun chats of anime, comic and gaming.
- Lucky Draws!

Limited seats:
- Seating is limited to a maximum 40 people.
- In order to ensure no double booking will occur, this page is the ONLY place you can reserve yourself a seat.
- One MUST provide accurate RSVP to ensure seating.

* The number of people will help us decide on future meets and locations. This also helps on us to decide if we will hold another meet in the future.

** COSPLAY IS OKAY for this event, but absolutely no weapons of any kind!

***Reserved under ACG NA.

This is an open invitation so if you can make it, please RSVP on the facebook event page.

Image via Moe Imouto

This year, I am planning to attend Anime Expo 2009 from July 2 to 5 at Los Angeles Convention Centre so if anyone is going there, lets meet up ^^. This would be my first AX convention 2009 and I have been wanting to go there since forever. I was always hesitant to go to US since I have to go across the border, however, something happened in my life recently which totally washed all my worries and started planning to go to AX. It would be another separate blog post next week so look forward to it.

(more…)