First let's talk about the line situation. When I got there everyone was grouped into two sections: pre-registered people and those needing to register. On top of that there wasn't even a separate line for the press. However since it was only a three-minute wait there was no reason to complain, and from the look of things there wasn't anyone complaining about the line. Once I got my pass and dropped my things off at the hotel I met up with fellow B3 member Shades Blackflame and just chatted a bit about what we wanted to do at the convention.

One of the big problems with Anime Boston 2010 was the lack of any outstanding panels. With the exception of the "Vampires Don't Sparkle" event there wasn't really anything that was that attention-drawing. On top of that some of the panels were moved around so much that I basically missed all of the ones I was really looking forward to. All the music-based panels were either pushed back/moved forward half an hour (which made me miss half the panel), or at a time frame that overlapped with another meeting or event.

Overlapping didn't happen just once at the event. Two of the events that I had been gunning for since last year's Anime Boston were the Hentai Dubbings and the Hentai AMV Contest. (Sue me, they're funny as hell!) Unfortunately the AMV Contest went on during the second half of the Hentai Dubbings, so I opted to miss the actual Dubbing part in order to watch the AMVs with Sio-chan and some other acquaintances (and considering the lack in quality of the AMVs, I definitely made the wrong decision).

However despite these flaws there were some bright spots in the event, especially in regards to the concerts. Boston's own Video Game Orchestra put on a stellar performance (which will be reviewed sometime this week either here or on the B3 site), and the surprise guest in the end of the concert was a nice touch to a great finish. GaGaalinG frontwoman MyM put on an emotional show that featured her band's hits and a newer song, and I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed the J-POP idol opener Reni Mimura (even though she and MyM are two polar opposites in the Japanese music world). The interviews with MyM, J. Michael Tatum and Dick Tripwire went great (which can be heard later on this week on a special B3 bonus Podcast episode), and the panel discussion with Nobuo Uematsu was a lot more relaxed than I thought it would be. (I mean, he wrote some of the best video game music of all-time. Who wouldn't be nervous in a room with him?!)

I missed the first hour of the Anime Boston Masquerade due to the Uematsu interview, but I was pleased with how entertaining the rest of the show was; from the SNL parody "Vash's World" to "How I Met Your Butler" the Masquerade had very little disappointments. However I am surprised that Ninja Tetris did not make an appearance at the event, as they have for the past few years. Perhaps they had trouble trying to top last year's Pac-Man in Portal bit. I also caught a bit of the Whose Line Is It Anway-inspired Anime Unscripted event, and after watching some of the voice actors come up with routines off the bat I am surprised that they don't get many non-anime gigs.

Even Cosplay Chess was a bit more entertaining than last year's show. Granted the plotline of time-traveling anime characters wasn't as original as last year's "Who Killed Sailor Moon?" side-story line, but the fights on the chessboard itself were highly entertaining. I especially loved it near the end when Alucard killed everyone on the board so he and Dracula could battle one-on-one with each other. I also enjoyed the impromptu dance sequences before the events, which were not just fun to watch but also to join in the silliness.

A huge round of applause needs to be given to the staff and crew of Anime Boston 2010. This was the first time the convention took over the entire Hynes Convention Center, and with some of the chaos going on around the halls and lines the staff managed to keep everyone together with little to no problems. On a personal level I need to give a huge thanks to Jamison the Press Liaison. Not only did he make sure my interviews went smoothly, but when something happened in regards to them he was very apologetic (even though he really didn't need to be, since things happen beyond his and the staff's controls). Whoever heads AB should seriously consider giving this man a promotion for his hard work.

Having said all this, I can honest say that Anime Boston 2010 was, well, mediocre at best. Sure the Main Events, concerts and interviews were great, but in regards to the panels there was nothing remotely spectacular. On top of that there needs to be some changes before Anime Boston 2011, and here are five of my ideas:

1. Remove the floor seats in the Main Events Hall: At PAX East it was standing-room only, and there weren't any complaints. On top of that it'd make it easier for con-goers to dance, jump and just plain have fun without feeling forced to sit in place for the entire event.
2. Get some bigger-named anime-related guests: Not since the pillows came to Anime Boston in 2008 has there really been a well-known anime-related guest at the convention. Why not try to get a seiyuu like Aya Hirano or Rie Kugimiya, or maybe a musician or rock band like GACKT or Asian Kung-Fu Generation? AB2010's guests seemed more game-based, and whether or not it was to compete PAX East may be up to one's interpretation.
3. Bring back Kaiju Big Battel: do giant monsters battling in a faux Boston landspace sound like a lot of fun? I thought so, too.
4. Press Room: not just for me, but for everyone else there that has to cover the event for their website, TV channel and Podcast program. It's a lot more comfortable than having to fork over $20 a night at your hotel to gain Internet access, and it helps to report on events when they are fresh in one's mind.
5. Every time some yells "MARCO!" they should be hit in the face with a pie: not sure if that'll help the con itself, but it would bring joy to the staff.

So with that, I conclude this wrap-up of Anime Boston 2010, but do check in within the next few days on both the ESH & B3 sites for interviews and reviews from some of the people and events of AB2010.

There is a real sense of community on the show floor now that people are flowing freely through the expo floor and testing out some of the games on hand. Things like Split Second Microsoft's latest Xbox Live enable play-thing GameRoom and even the latest Splinter Cell title is available to get hand-sy with. A few folks have taken me up on the "sign my tongue offer" which has been fun, and there was even a good game of beach ball going on in the Merch Merch line that was fun.

As I write this, I have attended a couple of panels and really enjoyed both of them. Both informative in their own way, the one I found to be the most informative and fun was the panel, Puppet Masters - The not so Invisible Hands of Video Game PR. The panelists included were Arne Meyer [Naughty Dog], Aram Jabbari [Atlus], Stephanie Tinsley Schopp [Tinsley PR], and Chris Paladino [Promethium Marketing] with Charles Husemann [Gaming Nexus] moderating and I have to say it was one of the first panels I have attended at a convention where I actually wished the panelists were allotted more time.

The focus of the panel was to share a little insight into the world of video game industry PR processes from some of the people on the front lines. From how the PR plan for the industry has changed and is changing to include more non-traditional media sources [enthusiast media, bloggers, community builders] to what kind of relationships PR outlets look for or try to avoid. It is a tight line walked by those charged with getting the product they represent out in the world and in front of as many people possible with limited resources and definitive results for their efforts. [We all know the feeling of having to account for our actions and results to somebody.] But what intrigued me the most was the response to the panel even by the panelists themselves.

Every question that was asked [by the both the moderator and audience members] was answered very frankly and with a refreshing amount of humor. I walked away from the panel with the feeling that I had a little bit better understanding of how video game PR works, how to make it work for me, and that I really want to drink more with these people.

There is no other big gamer convention on the East Coast.

Before you get up in my grill, lets look at that last statement again: "There is no other big gamer convention on the East Coast. I love Dragon*con, and hope to go one day, but Dragon*con is a Sci-Fi con and while there is a lot of overlap between the gaming community and Sci-Fi community Dragon*Con does not by design cater to the gaming community. At this point you might be thinking, "Hey NinJa, what about VGXpo? It's on the East Coast." I would say you are right, VGXpo is on the East Coast (Philly baby, how you doin?) and over the last few years has definitely grown in attendance, but I'm not sure that it meets the "big" requirement in that I doubt anyone outside the Pennsylvania area who is not in the business of video games is aware of the conference, and that bites into the overall success of your con.

I heard that gear change in your thought processes (especially since mine moved as well) to the New York Comic-Con, but again, the name alone says it all. Like Sci-Fi, there is a great area of audience overlap between Comic lovers and gamers (Cassandra Cain BatGirl FTW!!) and I doubt that there is anyone on the planet that has not at least heard of Comic-Con but it's focus has shifted a bit in the last few years and is now more about comic books that are being release as feature-length films and the main comic content with some sprinklings of video games.

You have to be big in the sense of brand awareness (not necessarily square footage), at your core really be geared towards video games and the gaming community and PAX definitely does that.

After all this thinkernation stuff I was left with one question: with the gaming industry so large and still profitable through the recession, why is the East Coast just now getting a big game convention? I'm sure the Penny Arcade folks are not the first group to ever think it could be done, but why has no one else brought a big gamer con to New York, or Boston, or even Washington, D.C.? It just makes me wonder. In any event (he, he, I made a pun-ny) I am glad that there looks to be a very successful and long-term big gamer-con on the East Coast that I can visit to get the community and content exposure I love as the trips to LA ain't cheap y'all.

That's enough of that. The snow has stopped, and I'm off to get my badge to start tracking down friends and meet some new gamers. Make sure to follow me on Twitter as well as the official event hashtag (#PAX).

It has begun.

Once more, the ladies run this thang and it's funny as hell.

Pandalicious kicks the show off with her impressions of the XBLive community game 1 vs. 100 game and then Milk and NinJa chime in with some comic-con stuff which leads us down the path to COSplay. In case you didn't know, all roads lead to COSplay... and Zelda. Milk chairs the topic of Twilight Princess and adds the fun of Majora's Mask multiplayer.

We let the COSplay get the best of us, but NinJaSistah ends the tangent line by bringing it back to gaming and talking a bit about the upcoming NXE updates due to hit the Xbox dashboard this August, including the upcoming Avatar Marketplace and Netflix Parties. This podcast is chock full of awesome folks, so sit back and enjoy it!

It's coffee and funcakes time again, so kick back and enjoy Electric Sista Hood podcast 156: Drinking Helps Unity - And It's Also Where Babies Come From

Sans MagicMystic yet again, the sistah's stick to the gaming topic covering both the new and upcoming starting with Panda's take on the game Project Origin and Ninja sharing some of what she was able to take away from the assorted E3 coverage.

From talking about the survival horror game genre to specific experiences with titles like Manhunt and Silent Hill to the thriller-chiller types including the "I don't think NinJa is ever going to finish it" BioShock game. Ninja talks God of War 3, Animal Crossing: City Folk, Star Wars: Clone Wars, Portal 2, and Oneechanbura.

It's another one of our lively podcast episodes people, here are some of the titles we decided not to use to name it:

• Don't. Stop. Waitin' Fer RockBand 2, Yeah
• Who? Guess Who?
• Don't Sell Your Soul For Tic-Tacs
• The New Animal Crossing Lets Me Be Mii
• Kratos Makes Ninja's Gamer Boner Hard
• Kratos Was A Red-Headed Step Child
• Panda's Birthday Is Another 11 1/2 Months Away
• Killing Me Softly with Her Sword
• We Will. We Will...Flock Ewe
• Videogame Word of the Year: Booty
• E3 Didn't Want Me? Well, They're Not Invited to My Place Either
• We Have Nothing To Fear But the Sequel to Fear Itself
• This Guy's Full of Beans, and That Is a Bad Thing
• Don't Ever Attend a Zmbie Reunion
• and finally
• Brain Exlax, I Like that

If that hasn't told you everything you need to know about this week's podcast, then saddle up and give a listen to ESH podcast episode 106: Did I giggle That Outside Loud?

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!