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    Dealers' Room Follies [Anime Boston2008]

    posted @ 4/01/2008 07:34:00 PM by Pandalicious
    From the creators of As the school bus turns and The Real World Outland comes....

    For all those who are new to the convention world I have one piece of advice for you. MAKE LOTS OF MONEY! I do not say this because you need money for food and your hotel room and your registration. I say this with one place in mind, and that [ladies and gentlemen] is the dealers room.

    This room is LARGE and IN CHARGE. It is glittered in rows of merchants selling anime, manga, memorabilia, collectables and things that may relate to the japanese culture but not exactly on anime tip [if you know what I mean] However as excited as Pandalicious was to throw herself into the massive human ocean that was the Dealers Room, she was overcome with confusion and fear. Why? you might ask yourself would our beloved Panda would be confused about and for once... Panda sought out order.

    This year the Dealers' room had no real structure to it. Anime DvDs were being sold next to some Catgirl Loli costume table that was paralell to a hentai table. In all honesty [not that i'm never honest about all things anime related] DvD sellers should be with DvD sellers, Manga sellers w/ Manga sellers...Costumes with Costumes and etc [you get the idea] This uncontrolled room made me feel as a buyer that I would walk out with barely anything. [I did buy a cat tail, ears, bell collar and the anime Paranoia Agent [which i will review in the next coming show!]

    Maybe next time Anime Boston will better organize the room that avid anime loves through away money on product. We shall see.

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    I Just Lost 'The Game'

    posted @ 3/25/2008 04:24:00 PM by MagicMystic
    As Panda noted, the lines at AB were made of Epic Fail this year. On the plus side, when you get 10,000 people sitting around in a corridor for 7-9 hours they come up with interesting ways to amuse themselves.

    Corridor antics included such things as 'The Game'. The rules of TG aren't unfamiliar to me, but I've never seen it played on such a scale before. TG is one part Pink Elephants one part Fight Club. Playing TG is simple, breaking into the game, not so much. When you hear people hollering down the corridors or across the Artists Alley "I lost The Game!" your first instinct is to ask "What game?" In that moment they have you and they have won. The first rule of TG, don't talk about TG. This leads to many, many people asking what it is and very few people willing to explain it. The second rule is don't think about TG. The moment you think about TG you've lost TG and have to shout out your loss. As an element of mind control, once you mention TG everyone in hearing distance will automatically start thinking about it and will also lose and have to shout out that they lost as well. It's quite a bit like giant radioactive brain spam-mail that automatically forwards itself to everyone in your contacts list.

    As always there was lots and lots of bad singing in the hallways as well. The common favorites were Still Alive from Portal and I Know a Song (That Gets on Everybody's Nerves) because they were both included in the AMV finalists this year. A confused few forgot the song that gets on everybody's nerves and instead sang the song that never ends. Other serenades included, Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny (started by yours truly), various theme songs and the ever popular PIRATE! NINJA! and MARCO! POLO! chants.

    Every time a P/N chant would flare up I'd calmly bide my time until everything had settled down a bit and then would holler SHINIGAMI! at the top of my lungs. It's very important to me that I always have the last word. Other random 'hall'erings included SO I HEER U LIEK MUDKIPS! and OVER NINE THOUSAND!

    So despite the lines having OVER NINE THOUSAND! people in them, AB2K8 reaffirmed my belief that if you get that many (it was actually over 9 thousand) dorks, geeks, nerds and socially unacceptable misfits together you're gonna have fun. Even if you're just waiting in line.


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    The Great Wait 2008 [Anime Boston Style]

    posted @ 3/23/2008 07:32:00 AM by Pandalicious
    At the beginning there was a convention line....

    Howdy from Anime Boston 2008 and first let me just say that this year even though like always the crew enjoyed the festivities that some of us [and by us I mean me] turned off the overly excited fangirl perception and really wanted to look at it from the eyes of a professional.

    This year...even though as members of the press MagicMystic and I do get the priviledge to jump lines so we can cover a plethora of things for out audiences' pleasure. However for those who cannot do this, they are subjected to the line. Now I know what you all are thinking.. "So What?" or "There are lines at all conventions what makes this any different?" Well I will tell you. For all the years I've attended AB...the lines were not nearly this long. Each line had a designated ETBP [Estimated Time for Badge Pickup] as I walked around a notice that the normal excited buzz that usually befalls the halls of the Hynes Convention Center. What I did see was...misery...despair...and a lot of people who were probably cursing their shoe choice....[poor things]

    On Friday the registration lines opened at 7am and closed at 10pm. The average wait time in the line for preregistration was approximately 4 to 5 hours. So say roughly if a person traveling cross states arrived at the Hynes at 5pm on the nose had a slim chance to get their badge [and thats only if they prereged!] Unlike those of us who are in the habit of buying our place at any AB early enough to save up for the allotment that follows [getting hotel room, buying parts to a last minute costume, having money not only to buy things in the ever awaited dealers room, but to also eat. for the weekend..there are those "One dayers" who come for one day and desire to register that day be in and be out....

    [FAT CHANCE THIS YEAR KIDDOS!]

    The ETBP for that was sever to eight hours! [You know what that means!] A person who didn't register online who have to have gotten there extremely early to have gotten their badges. If that wasn't enough to sour the first day...the fact that the new system that registration was on was faulty...printers stopped working..it was complete utter madness. Madness did befall the con goers this year.

    I have never run a convention before, and I would never actually want to because I know for the fact that I'm a charasmatic leader and people can and do follow me at times doesn't mean that I know how to effectively do it?! But the consensus thought of some suggestions to make things run smoother next year.

    A) Send out printed badges to the congoers as soon as they register! [If it is lost they can notifiy the right con official and have another one resent.
    OR
    B) Have the badges printed already and have stations with people kind of like an index [adhering to the handle the con goers wants to go by] This would give the con goer a little more responsibility.

    The fun stuff about the line stuff was still the same... many of us made line friends and even a little bit more than that. However the newest saving grace to the line was the Tape Line Quotes. [Yes that is what I said!] In the actual room where you could see the registration tables they marked the floor with tape [this is common] However due to the massive...MASSIVE prolonged wait...people did what they do best...MARK SHIT UP [namely the tape previously mentioned] Things that were most common were statements like "That nice man just tickled me" or "The cake is a lie" Some took the liberty of jotting down the time it was at each corner. There was even some pluggage for fellow site owners [ESH.MOBI and ELECTRICSISTAHOOD.COM made their appearances there...and YES I wrote them] Which I'm sure raises the question of...WHY THE FUCK DID YOU STAND IN THE LINE!

    My answer is this...
    Even if I'm now press...I am first and foremost a con goer. The Line Wait is a rite of passage and I enjoy that. That is why!

    The sad thing about this whole slip up is many people missed out on the big event of the evening which was the Cerulean Ball.[Which started at 5:30pm] From the buzz at the line at roughly 6pm the Ball was at capacity already so there was no point in worrying then. If I was to guesstimate the percentage of people who didn't get their badges was probably 50%

    Saturdays lines were a lot more controlled and organized but that doesn't excuse the miss of the first day. Many would agree to that so I'm sticking with it!

    SHOUT OUT TO THE HARDCORE ANIME LOVERS WHO MADE IT THROUGH THE GREAT WAIT 08!
    lets hope that next year isn't "THE NEVERENDING LINE 09' -_-

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    Touching isn't allowed. >.>

    posted @ 2/20/2008 06:30:00 PM by Monkey Doo
    Katsucon has come an gone and let me tell you, it was quite an experience. It happened to be my first Con, and that made everything even crazier. I'll get into more details later, for now I'll give you the short summary of the drunken escapades.

    When I was on the way there, I really didn't have any idea what to expect. My first impression was in no way disappointing, skimpy women in cosplay outfits! It was like a dream come true. >.> There was just a little problem, mainly the prison sentence involved. Fear not though dear readers, I found hentai based on all of it when I got home. =D

    Most of the first night wa just like hanging out with friends, friends that you only know about half of what they are saying. I did manage to get the biggest Chipotle burrito though. It exploded like a pimple, oozing its guacamole upon the world. then came the drinking! Too be honest the first night was kind of hazy. I played a board game with a bunch of people and it involved cars. It was called Top gear, based off of the show I have never heard of before. Can anyone tell me if it is any good?

    The next day was a blast! I got to meet webcomic artists like the Applegeeks guys,the OotS dude and even my favorite artist (Jamie from Angry Zen Master and Erfworld.) I also got to play drunken patty cake. Strangely, I am a lot better at it drunk, I didn't even have to look. I got to see a panel called The Iron Artist (which I will talk about later) and then we went to the cosplay (which will have more talking about too). From here it gets kinda jumbled.... I went to the rave, in my drunken stupor I wandered out into the hotel. I ended up with a group of swingers and we went and saw some hentai. Hentai is actually really funny when you are drunk and in a group of 150 people.

    But enough about my experiences there, stay tuned Space Cowboy for more on the con itself! If you wanna share con experiences or even plan something fun at the next area con (I wanna go to them all!) send an e-mail to monkeydoo@electricsistahood.com or catch me on aim at Monkeydooinc.



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    New Podcast Day: Episode 70

    posted @ 10/14/2007 10:09:00 PM by Ninjasistah
    Being Monday and all, we have a new episode of the podcast for you, and this one is a sister-sister episode people.

    In this episode of the podcast Pandalicious brings up the anime/manga series Claymore to talk about recurring themes in popular anime series today with NinJaSistah. Then NinJa picks up the M1KT to give you the 411 on game announcements and playable demos available at this year's E For All Expo Oh yeah, then she rants about the damn expo.

    It's a passionate conversation at times, with a few of the tangents that you've come to expect from ESH podcasts. Here is the list of rejected podcast titles so you have an idea of what's in this episode:

    • This Isn't Like That
    • Seeper Eloot Half-Demon Bitches With Big Swords
    • Panda Turns On Her Inner Censor In The Nick of Time
    • Ghost Wad's A Completely Different Game
    • It's The 15-Hour Plane Ride Keeping NinJaSistah Away From The Tokyo Game Show
    • Games Dont' Make People Fat, Soylent Green Does
    • and
    • Claymores" The Ultimate Butter Spreader


    We're all that, and a bag of sour cream and onion chips. Tune into Episode 70: We Use Scare Quotes, And It's Not Even Halloween!

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    In My Day Chess Pieces Were Black and White

    posted @ 5/09/2007 01:56:00 AM by MagicMystic
    My favorite event all weekend, and the one I look forward to most is the Anime Cosplay Chess Game. The only thing I get more excited about is the AMV Contest, but that's not really a single event as there are multiple times to view and vote on the videos.


    This years Cosplay Chess game didn't disappoint. The theme was Angst vs. Sugar, but the choices for pieces was a little off. Many of the characters chosen for each team didn't really fit my image of Angsty or Sugary, but I wasn't in charge so there was nothing I could do. I also didn't really like the way that each royal court (the King and Queen with their pawns) were all from the same anime. Instead of Angst vs. Sugar this game was more FMA vs Ouran.

    *Team Sugar*'s captain and chess player was Sailor Moon, and #Team Angst# was headed by Sephiroth himself. I decided that rather than reporting a list of every move anyone made, I simplified my blow by blow and will only be telling you about the interesting parts.. and it got interesting before it even started.

    So here are our teams:



    Due to the ban on Pirate hunting at AB Cap'n Jack was not eligible to play in the Anime Cosplay Chess Game, that and the fact that he isn't an anime character. So, Sasuke volunteered to take his place. This is an especially eyebrow raising thing, because it would make Sasuke one of the members of Sugar rather than Angst. Just last year he also volunteered to switch from Team Shounen to Team Shoujo. Methinks perhaps Sasuke has something to tell the rest of the class, 'course first he has to admit it to himself. Remember kids "It's OK to be gay", in all meanings of the term. It seems that Sasuke is both a happy little fucker under that emo guise and apparently also just one of the girls. "YAY! WAY TO BE GAY, SASUKE!" I love rhyming. (^__^)



    Poor Aerith didn't have a chance and Kadaj killed her off first thing. Apparently those Jenova boys really have a problem with her flower growing sugary ways. A newly depressed Cloud came and took her body off the board. ::SIGH:: and he'd just gotten over her first death.

    Yuna promptly gets sugary revenge by teaming up with Rikku and Paine to take out Winry.

    Now the chess game got a little sidetracked here as Renji, Urihara and Ichigo started running up and down the aisles fighting hollows that only those of us with spiritual powers could see.. Yeah, I totally saw the hollows, they weren't swinging wildly at thin air or anything.

    The game progressed as Sano killed Chii and Count D killed Sango. Sango's death was particularly poignant as Kohaku came running out and dealt the death blow by decapitation before D got to it. That's sibling love right there folks, but don't worry he'll regret it later when he regains his memory.. again.

    Greed and Envy burst onto the scene disrupting the game once again. Angst King Mustang and his Pawn Ed were ready to take them on, but the Chimera waved them aside declaring that they had come only for Angst Queen Hawkeye. Pain ensued and Hawkeye thoroughly whipped the Chimera boys. Pistol whipped.. OUCH!

    Meanwhile Tifa poisoned Count D's tea with sweet and low. The poor sugar addict hit the ground writhing in pain, and probably withdrawal. Sugar Bishop Hughes took out Neji with one whack of the photo album upside the head, his Byakugan didn't see that one coming, and Mugen took down Hughes and ripped up his pictures of Alicia. Angst King Mustang faced off with Yuna. Unfortunately for him , Mustang was under strict orders not to use his fire powers as they violated the Hynes Convention Center's fire code. So instead he summoned Scar to blow up Yuna's head. Paine and Rikku had to drag Yuna back to the ship as they'd forgotten to stock up on phoenix downs before the game. Rather than leaving the stage, Scar decided to stick around and play Emcee for a while.



    Having apparently learned some of Orochimaru's darker skills, Sasuke summoned Al's dead body to attack Ed, and the alchemist went down without much fight, unable to fight back against his brother. A deeply saddened Hohenheim of Light came and brought the boys back home to rest with their mother.

    Pawn Kadaj created a commotion as he reached the far side of the board and tried to evolve himself into Sephiroth. Cloud supplied the other players with ammunition of Pocky with which they pelted Sephiroth off the stage. Instead Kadaj had to settle for being Queened. All Hail Angst Queen Kadaj! (still not as funny as Rose Bride Sasuke.)At this point Aizen-taicho had gotten sick of listening to Scar emcee and he took over the mic. Just at the perfect time too, because who could better narrate a fight between Rukia and Yoruichi. Rukia, unable to defeat former captain Yoruichi on her own called for backup from Ichigo. Without even drawing Zangetsu, Ichigo decked Yoruichi and took her down.

    In an immediate turn of fate, Angst Queen Hawkeye summoned her newly whipped chimera Greed and Envy to take Rukia down. However, as Rukia so elequently states "You can't kill me, nobody dies in Bleach." So, instead, she is escorted off of the board.

    Kauru calls upon Kenshin to kill Presea, K (the official chess emcee) manages to bribe Aizen-taicho to give up the mic in exchange for a brand new Wii and Sano kills Sora. Misa Misa calls upon Light to kill Kadaj with his Deathnote, but it causes a bit of trouble when Watari and L show up to investigate.

    When Kyouya attacks Tifa, Reno shows up to rescue her, but they are both taken down by the elite Ootori private army. Beware the rich kids and their personal armies. The Ouran action hour continues as Nekozawa kills Haruhi. Sugar King Tamaki desperately tries to save her, but he is restrained by his own teammates and the rules, so he sits and cries forlornly on his square instead. Tamaki is further distressed when Riku kills Hunny and Hawkeye kills Kyouya. With the whole Host Club consecutively defeated Tamaki calls out Sephiroth to duel, but can do nothing but cry on his square when he is ignored.

    Misa Misa defeats Ni Jianyi and is then taken down by Angst Queen Hawkeye. Misa Misa desperately calls for Light's help, but he just shrugs and leaves her to her fate. Hawkeye then goes on to kill Sakura, despite the summoning of the "Clow Card Meowth"... don't ask. There's something cruel about a military sharp shooter taking down a teen idol and a 4th grader.

    Riku, Mustang, Renji and Hawkeye all have a part in checkmating Tamaki, and the game proceeds to the Quick Fire Elimination Round.. or excuse me the Quick WATER Elimination Round, forgot about the fire code thing.



    Everything goes quickly as Riku beats Nekozawa, Lacus beats Riku with her singing.. Sasuke beats Lacus, Mugen gets Sasuke, Renji defeats Mugen, Sano defeats Renji, Kenshin beats Sano for Kauru and Mustang and Hawkeye defeat Kenshin. ##ANGST WINS##

    But wait... King Tamaki comes back and seduces Hawkeye, causing Mustang to take off the skirt part of his uniform and wield it like a whip, Sephiroth kills Usagi and then Tamaki invites Mustang to be a Host and tempts him with all the women on the Sugar team. Mustang immediately surrenders and in a surprise turn around **SUGAR WINS**


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