The view of the exhibitor hall from the glamorous Press Room. Too bad the wi-fi didn’t work for me. But the view and the coffee were nice.
DMP panel (they requested no pictures, their request is my command)
I got a late start on Thursday so I only wandered around a little before the DMP industry panel. It was fascinating and if you really want a fan tour of Japan, I think Japan Pop Travel is the only way to fly. They announced three new releases from Kazuma Kodaka: “Border,” (which is, I think, her newest work)”Kusatta Kyoushi no Houteishiki” (I’m looking forward to what that wacky title will translate into), and the much loved and very missed “Kizuna.” “Kusatta Kyoushi no Houteishiki” and “Kizuna” will be realized in two per volume omnibuses, which makes the fans very happy because five issues are more likely to be released than ten. DMP also got “Finder” and will be releasing from the very beginning with some additions (color insert) and some corrections from the mangaka. Emanga has increased rentals from 3 to 7 days and now sells gift cards for $15 and $20 if you want to give one to someone as a, y’know, gift. Gia at Anime News Network takes faster notes than I do; she has the full scoop.
Friday was a longer day. I spent most of it in the exhibitor hall, which was easier to navigate this year.
I dropped by Manga Factory, a new company, which was founded and being run by former Auroa employees. I spoke to Mikako Ogata, one of the principals of the LLC along with Rod Sampson and André Tsurukome, and she told me the focus will be on digital publishing and production services to foreign and domestic publishers.
Artist Alley
Other than Digital Manga, I didn’t find any book publishers in the exhibitor hall to amuse me, so I spent more time in Artist Alley than I usually do. This year is was in the main hall and there was more room to move around in. I stopped and talked to three artists there:
Beckyfan
The Secret of Grave Robber
http://beckyfandesign.blogspot.com/2010/04/secret-of-grave-robber.html
Recent Art Center graduate
Focused on concept and character design
Did Anime Expo in 2007
Doodle Crew
Corinna/Osaka on left and Mimi on the right.
As you can see, they were having a good convention in artist alley. They said was a little bit of drama in the beginning because the artists can’t use wheeled carts to set up in artist alley. I know attendees can’t use wheeled carts, but I didn’t know this applied to artists. Corinna, aka Osaka, hurt her back dragging their stuff in, which is a shame because I can testify that it’s a long con when your back hurts. It was Corinna’s first as a vendor, but she has attended for a few years just to have a good time. This was Mimi’s first Anime Expo ever. Here’s her book, which I thought was great:
The Day Everyone Became Gay Except Ryuk
By Mimi Alves
Frank Hong
He’s attending Sheridan Collage for animation in Toronto Canada. This is his second Anime Expo, his first was last year. He said one of the best things about doing the show is meeting other artists there.
Cosplay:
I stopped to talk to Ashton Larson, who is also known as My2Wings, and managed to look great even while squinting into the sun.
My2Wings as Haruhi Suzumiya
I didn’t know who Haruhi Suzumiya was, but once I looked her up, I was even more impressed.
As always, there were lots of pretty girls in pretty dresses:
And whatever these are:
I only saw one L in the whole place.
I don’t know what the big cosplay character(s) was this year. Of course I’m so out of touch, I wouldn’t recognize it if it bit me on the ass.
But I’m always glad to see our local small and mobile entrepreneurs getting some business.
And Spiderman:
Yeah, well, it was entertaining.
More photos. Yay!