MangaNEXT

October 29-31

MangaNEXT made its triumphant return this year after skipping out on 2009.  While it seemed much smaller than its previous 2008 incarnation, the attendance was still a pretty good size from what we were told by the convention staff.

With all smaller conventions you get to meet and talk to more people.  During that time we even picked up another writer, Chris Coll, to help us cover panels.  And of course we immediately put him to work doing just that!

Here’s Chris’s first report for conpics:

Friday

The first panel for the day was “80s Manga for the Current Manga Reader,” run by an acquaintance: Chris “Cimi” Cimarusti.  Cimi talked about manga that came out in the 80s that many of the younger crowd (born in the 90s) overlooked because those titles are “old.” Cimi’s passion for the subject showed through.

Mari Morimoto, a manga translator, was also in attendance.  She joined in by sharing her knowledge of manga that Cimi did not mention or had not read.  Cimi was humbled to have her come to the panel , as was I. She’s a prominent figure in the world of English manga. And for some reason there was a heckler in the crowd who was interrupting the panel.  For such a small event, a heckler seemed totally out of place.

At night, I attended Mari Morimoto’s panel “History of Manga in the U.S.” She explained how the U.S. manga industry kicked off, as well as how she got her start. The best part of the night was after this panel “ended.” There wasn’t another panel in that room for two hours, so Mari Morimoto hung out to talk to the audience. We chatted about old manga, I asked about how to get into translating, and then we spent about an hour discussing “Naruto.” It was a more amazing experience than I can put into words. As someone who wants to get into the manga business, specifically translating , this was a dream come true.

And now for the rest of our report on MangaNEXT:

Saturday

Saturday we attended a few panels. Erin Finnegan, author of the “Shelf Life” column on Anime News Network, gave 50 manga recommendations in 45 minutes (that was also the name of the panel).  They had some time left over at the end of the panel, so the audience was given the chance to recommend manga to their peers.

Not eveything ran so smoothly, however. Some morning events like the “Anime Dating Game” were canceled and the Uhuzi concert was massively delayed.

“Super Art Fight” was interesting. For those not familiar with this panel, two artists “fought” on paper while being given instructions on the fly. The “Cosplay Cabaret” and “Akihabara Cosplay Runway Show” were kind of disappointing, though. Not because of the people who came up to perform, but more because of the way the show was promoted. It didn’t seem like many people knew what it was about.

At night we saw the guests from Fakku, who explained their experiences running their website.

Sunday

Sunday had even less to do.  We attended  “Documenting Fandom. ”  This panel was run by two area photographers: Anna and Keith. They showed the audience what they’ve done over the years in photography.

“Visiting Japan as a Manga Fan” was a panel run by Mari Morimoto. She gave a brief tour of some of the manga hotspots in Japan and where all the major bookshops are.

Our last panel of the day was “Japanese Manga Publishers,” run by Vertical’s Ed Chavez.  It taught the audience about some of the major publishers in Japan. This was especially interesting because Chavez not only spoke about manga publishers but also some of Japan’s major book publishers (who may or may not have published manga at one time).

Overall

MangaNEXT wasn’t as good as it could have been.  The manga programming in the smaller rooms was well done.  However, the larger room events were late or canceled for no apparent reason.  It just didn’t seem very organized in that respect.  I heard grumblings from some of the attendees that they really didn’t like what was going on.  Hopefully by AnimeNEXT’s 10th anniversary in 2011 they’ll be able to work out all the staffing issues and have a great con.

And now the end of the year wrap-up:

For the fall there weren’t a lot of events like at the end of 2009.   Events like Rutger’s Mokucon weren’t able to be held again or moved to the spring, such as in the case of Zenkaikon. 2010 left with a whimper and 2011 ramped up with a bang.

February 12

New York Anime Festival started its promotions at Kinokuniya book store.  They held a Valentine’s Day event.  Several groups showed up to promote themselves.  They had some shoe design contest going on in the background as well.  It was an interesting mix of people, promoters and vistiors.

A whirlwind of events will unfold in the spring.  Next, we’ll be at Katsucon.

Here is a list of upcoming events that are close to the NY/NJ/PA Tristate area:

Katsucon 17 (National Harbor, VA)

SpringfestNY (Brooklyn, NY)

Zenkaikon (King of Prussia, PA)

I-Con (Stonybrook, NY)

Anime Boston (Boston, MA)

Brooklyn Botanical Garden’s  Sakura Matsuri (Brooklyn, NY)

Japan Day (NY, NY)

Steampunk’s Worlds Fair (NJ)

(And sorry for being so late on the updates!)