Anime Fans Online

I just got back from Dragon Con, and I’ve got some great stuff to share with you. It was a blast. This year was one of the better Dragon Cons I’ve been too. Lots of stuff I wanted to do, everyone was friendly and I am now a full on fan of Victor Mignogna. When I’m done with the reports from the con, I’m sure a lot of you will be fans of his as well. If you’re not Risembool Rangers already. Here’s a little taste of what’s coming.

Audio.

The recorder I bought worked pretty well. One of the panels was recorded in low quality though, so it my not be usable. I hope it is because it was great. I’ll do everything I can to clean it up so you can listen to it.

Pictures.

I’m sad to say that almost none of the pictures I took turned out well at all. I’m gonna have to break down and buy a decent camera. The one I have now is just too darn cheap to be of any real use. All of the indoor pictures are pretty bad. A couple of outdoor pics turned out ok, I just couldn’t seem to catch any anime cosplayers outside in the sunlight. I know they were there, it was just bad timing on my part. I should have just stayed outside and ambushed a few of ‘em. My ninja photography is weak.

I do know other people that were there, and I have permission to use their photos. So I’ll have to check Flickr and see if they have any good cosplay photos.

Anime track critique.

I’m also planning on writing up my thoughts on how the anime track was handled, with examples. I’ll give you the one sentence version now though.

The anime track staff did an amazing job with what they were given, but the higher ups tremendously underestimate the anime track’s popularity.

Voice actor profile.

After seeing him at Dragon Con, I have become a fan of Victor Mignogna. So I’m going to try to do a little bit of research and write up AnimeFansOnline’s first Voice actor profile, if anyone deserves to be first it’s him. Hopefully it’ll be an ongoing category. Feel free to suggest your favorites.

Contests!

Yep, I have stuff to give away. Some good stuff, and some great stuff. This time I’m going to ask you to tell me why you should win it.

• Two Fullmetal Alchemist DVDs autographed by Victor Mignogna, the English voice of Edward Elric.

I have 2 copies of the FMA movie Conqueror of Shambala to give away, both autographed. One is a standard DVD, the other is the special edition 2 disc set with lots of extras.

• One music CD by Victor Mignogna, also autographed.

After hearing one of his songs played at a Q&A, I had to buy the CD Metafiction. I also bought an extra so I can share it with the AnimeFansOnline readers.

Here’s a little info about how the contest will work. Check back later for full details on how to win and when the contest will start. To win the DVDs you’ll need to write about your favorite FMA episode or character. The one that I think is best will win the Special Edition DVD, and the runner up will win the normal version. So start thinking about your favorites and why you like ‘em. The winner of the CD will be randomly chosen from the entries received.

It looks like I’ve got lots of work to do. I just hope you enjoy the posts as much as I enjoyed Dragon Con.

Anime, Dragon Con, Anime Track, Critique, Victor Mignogna, Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist Movie, Conqueror of Shambala, Contest, Free Stuff

In honor of the Naruto Hundo, which I thoroughly enjoyed last weekend, I thought I’d post some AMVs featuring Naruto. Ok, it’s only partially because of the Hundo. My girlfriend was watching a bunch of AMVs on youtube and I saw some I really liked, so I got her to bookmark ‘em for me. Now you can get a glimpse of how awesome it is to be me with such a great girlfriend. Yay!

Ever wonder what it’s like to be a real ninja? Just watch this one and find out.

Probably the best video containing Sifl and Olly. That’s including The Sifl and Olly Show. Their take on what ninjas are like.

A great Naruto AMV made up of lots of very short snippets.

Cool song from a band who’s singer looks like Naruto, The Offspring.

Anime, AMV, Videos, Youtube, Fun Stuff, Naruto, The Offspring, Sifl and Olly, Ninjas, Real Ninjas

I’ll be going to Dragon Con again this year. Since I’m now writing for AFO I plan to see more of the anime programming so I can write up some articles.

I’ll try to take pictures of some of the great costumes. There are great costumes there. I’ve seen some amazing stuff at Dragon Con before.

If I can manage it, I’ll try to record some of the anime panels. I might even try my hand at posting a podcast of a couple of ‘em if I can. I believe recording is allowed, I’m not so sure about the podcasting part. If not, I’ll make sure to take some notes.

I’m posting about it now because it’s only 13 days away and I’d like to get some feedback on what you’d like to read about. I’ll be heading out on Friday the 31st, so if you have any suggestions please comment on this post or send me an e-mail before then. You can also use the contact form.

I’d really appreciate any ideas you might have on this. What portions of the convention do you want me to report on? Should I limit the photos to anime, manga and game costumes or would you like to see others as well?

Anime, Cosplay, Otaku, Conventions, Dragon Con, Fun Stuff, Opinion

Just a little reminder that the Naruto Hundo on Cartoon network is this weekend. All the episodes so far will be on, ending with the 100th episode.

I’m missing a few episodes trying to get an article written just for you. I hope your happy.

Anime, TV, Cartoon Network, Naruto, Naruto Marathon

Dragon Con is getting closer. I’m looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time. Why? I’m gonna dress up this year. Nothing elaborate like a Soul Reaper costume, just something fun.

It something a friend and I discussed at Dragon Con last year. We were having a drink and looking at some of the costumes. He had the idea to dress as Batman. I thought I’d go as Space Ghost. Not the full suit, just the cowl and power bands. Sounds like fun right?

Here’s why I’m dreading it. I decided to make the Space Ghost stuff myself, while he was smart enough to just order the mask and gloves. So now I need to make a cowl and power bands. I’ve got most of the stuff I think I’ll need. Just need to pick up a couple more things.

Stuff I have.

• Wonderflex.

I plan to make the cowl and power band structure with this. I want the cowl to have the right shape, instead of just a piece of fabric.

• 2 jumbo squirting flowers.

I’m going to try to make the power bands “work”.

Stuff I still need.

• Heat gun or iron.

I’ll need to heat up the wonderflex to work with it.

• Materials to make a form.

I’ll need to make a form for the wonderflex. I think I can use cardboard for the power bands. I’m gonna need a large styrofoam ball and some stuff for paper mache for the cowl form.

• Fabric.

I’m planning on covering the cowl with felt or another fabric. The wonderflex is just to give the top the right rounded shape.

• Paint.

I’ll need some red and yellow paint for the power bands.

So if you see Batman and Space Ghost hanging out together at Dragon Con, stop by and say hi.

Cosplay, Dragon Con, Dragon Con 2007, Batman, Space Ghost

I thought I’d share some of my favorite AMVs from Youtube with you today. I really should add a category for these. I’ve really been getting into ‘em lately.

Anime, Music, Videos, Anime Music Videos, AMV, YouTube, 7, list

I was looking through the news on AnimeNewsNetwork and a few articles caught my eye.

Episode 6 of Moetan pulled.

The episode “Hajimete no Date”, “The First Date” in English, will be replaced with a clip show. It will still be on the DVD however.

That peaked my curiosity. Why was it pulled? Something to do with the story? Was it a bit of animation that the production company refused to edit out? Was it to create a response like mine and drive up DVD sales?
If you know the answer, please leave a comment and let us know.

Free English manga on Popteen.com.

A Japanese teen magazine is posting free manga on their web site, translated into English no less. I read the first part. It’s not too bad. Very targeted to the magazine’s audience though, so unless you have a subscription to Seventeen or a similar magazine, Gal Samurai may not be for you. It’s about a very stylish young girl, who happens to be very good at martial arts.

Toei will open “All You Can Watch” anime buffet.

An anime subscription service from Toei Animation will start up on September 1st. It’s supposed to have 15 titles and over 1,000 episodes. Pretty good for under $15 a month.

If only they’d release an English version, that’d be sweeeeeeet. Is it just me or do the American distributors seem like they’re way behind the Japanese companies with things like this?

In other news…

IK Comics open for bidness.

Online comic distributor opens IKComics.com. You can preview comics then buy them. I’m not sure about their methods. Windows downloads are .exe files, programs in other words. Since the previews are just .jpg files, I can’t really tell you about their software.

On the upside, there are a few good points. The comics are priced about the same as traditional paper comics, though personally I think that’s kind of high for a digital comic that has no printing costs. Comics are rated either “All Ages” or “Mature”, so you know what’s what.

Some interesting sounding titles like Infiniteens and Wildseed.

Anime, News, Anime News, Moetan, Moetan Episode 6, Popteen, Popteen.com, Gal Samurai, Toei Animation, anime subscription, IK Comics, online comics, Infiniteens, Wildseed

I have a theory. The anime Big O is really Gigantor: The Next Generation. We don’t know for certain what Paradigm City was like before the memories were lost. All we know has come from confusing clues given by untrustworthy people.

The characters. Who’s who?

What do you think? Did little Jimmy grow up to be a Negotiator?

Anime, Theory, Humor, Big O, Big-O, Gigantor, Roger Smith, Jimmy Sparks, Timothy Wayneright, Dr. Bob Brilliant, Dan Dastun, Inspector Blooper, Norman Burg, Dick Strong, R. Dorothy Wayneright

Anime and games go hand in hand. There are anime that are based on games, and game based on anime. Not just dating sims and fighting games either. Last night I stumbled upon a simple little flash game. I wasted a lot of time playing with it. I don’t know if it’s based on an anime or not, but the graphics kinda make me think so.

Nanaca Crash.

The game is straight forward. You crash your bike into the guy standing there and send him flying. There are power ups or penalties if he bumps into anyone. It all depends who he bumps into. I spent quite a bit of time playing. here’s my best score.

Controls for the game are simple. Just click the screen when the arrow is at the angle you want and try to release it with as much power as possible. If you’ve played any golfing video games you’ll pick it up in no time. While he’s in the air you can click the screen for boosts.

Have fun, but try not to waste as much time as I did.

anime, games, flash, flash games, anime games, Nanaca Crash

I thought I’d do something fun today. So we’re gonna try something new. A caption post paying tribute to LOLCats such as the ones on icanhascheezburger. Just leave a comment with a caption for the photo. If it works out, we might do these more often. (^_^)

To get an idea for the kinds of captions, check out icanhascheezburger.com.

Today I’d like to talk about otaku accessories. You know, things that you start to acquire once you get into the fandom. The same way goths find themselves with a collection of mascara and black lace. I’m not talking about anime DVDs or books of manga. I’m talking about the other stuff. The boxes of pocky, the hats with ears, the pens, the sketchbooks and the Myth bags we keep all that stuff in.

Left holding the bag.

Some of the stuff is pretty useful. The bags for instance. Between my girlfriend and myself, we have a pretty good collection of bags. Myth bags especially, every time we go to Dragon Con we wind up buying at least a couple more. She tends to rotate hers, switching the stuff around and using different ones. I’m still using the first one I bought. A mega-bag that says “Anime- Crack is cheaper”.

“Would you do it for a Scooby Snack?” - Velma Dinkly.

I suppose you could say that the snacks are useful too. It’s always a good idea to carry some with you when at a convention. After walking to all those panels, events and shopping in the dealers room you get hungry. Sometimes the panel schedule means you don’t have time to stop for lunch, unless you want to miss something. A box of pocky or some gummies can really help you wait until there’s a break.

“The pen is mightier than the sword, and considerably easier to write with.” - Marty Feldman

I mentioned fan art in a previous post. That’s where my pens come from. I like to draw and seeing all the comic and manga artists talking about the tools of their trade, I had to get a set of Microns. They are very good pens, too good for me. I find myself using the same old stuff and saving them for “something good”. I didn’t get any of the really good sketchbooks though. Mostly for the same reason, I just don’t think I draw well enough to bother. I do like those pens though.

Catgirls a go go .

The hats with ears. This one kind of confuses me. Yeah they’re cute. Yeah I can see where they come from in the anime and manga. I’m just not sure what the appeal is. I admit, I’ve even crocheted a few of ‘em. The first couple didn’t turn out too well, I can’t follow a pattern and have to figure things out on my own. I don’t wear them, but if I see them online at one of the anime stores I want to buy them. That makes no sense, even to me.

That’s the kind of stuff I’ve collected as an otaku. What about you? Is there anything you find yourself buying because of your love of anime or manga?

anime, manga, otaku, accessories, otaku accessories, bags, messenger bags, Myth Bags, Mythwear, Mythwear Bags, pocky, pens, Micron pens, ear hat, hats with ears

There comes a time in every anime or manga fan’s life when they decide to try doing some fan art. I’ve drawn quite a bit myself. It was mostly Marvel characters for me when I was younger. Unless you’re already pretty darn good at drawing, you might need some tips. There are lots of tutorials on the net.

YouTube is a good place to find information on visual mediums such as drawing and painting. There are lot’s of drawing tutorials on youtube. I’m not saying these are the best ones, but they’re pretty good.

If you liked those, click the links and check out some more tutorials. There’s some good stuff on youtube along with the crap.

anime, manga, drawing, draw anime, draw manga, tutorial, drawing tutorial, fan art, how to, how to draw, videos, drawing video, youtube, youtube videos

Thanks to AnimeNewsNetwork I found something cool to share with you. Thanks to Google I can share it in English, I hope.

I wish I could show you a picture, but from what I can make out on the site they don’t want anyone using the pictures. The Gundam action figure pictured to the right is the same model. The Gundam RX-78-2.

What makes this new one so different? It’s made of wood. It’s is one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a while. It’s beautiful. It’s hard to imagine the work that goes into making something like that.

To see pictures, head over to LaLaBit Market. For our readers who don’t know Japanese, try this Google translation of LaLaBit Market.

Anime, Bandai, LaLaBit Market, Fun Stuff, Gundam, Gundam RX-78-2, model, Gunpla, toys, action figure, wooden toys,

Vote for your favorite type of anime.
It’s fun and it could help me figure out what to write about. So pick your favorite kind of anime and cast your vote.

anime, poll, anime poll, Shojo, Shonen, Seinen, Josei, Kodomo, Mecha, Magical Girl, Harem, Ecchi, Hentai, opinion, fun stuff

I was playing with the anime generators at Seventh Sanctum and I just had to share it. They’re like most generators on the net. Hit a button and get some fun results. A couple of ‘em have some settings you can define, and most of them let you choose how many results you want.

After playing with a few of them I’m convinced that you could make an anime with these tools. Use the story generators to get the basic outlines. Move on to the character generators to populate the world. Then use the others to fill in the details, like special attacks. Instant anime, or at least a few good laughs.

Here are a few of my favorites from my time playing with them.

Anime Fanboy Fantasy Fulfiller

• The oversexed jiggly half-alien catgirl demon hunter whose clothes never seem to stay on!
• The robot half-alien succubus mercenary!
• The virginal half-alien vampire who will do anything for chocolate!

Anime Title Generator

• Armageddon Nurse
• Elfin Universes
• Handsome Lady
• Justice Neko Princess
• Carnival Spell
• Complete Joke Mode
• Crusader Maid
• Death Crisis
• Power Idol
• Thief Bride

Magical Girl Title Generator

• Devil Finder Angel “Name”
• Emperess Sailor “Name”

There are tons more anime generators there. Check ‘em out. They’re a blast.

anime generators, Seventh Sanctum, generators, anime, Instant anime, Fanboy Fantasy, catgirl, Magical Girl