New York Anime Festival

A few days ago, I said the New York Anime Festival would be announcing its first 2008 guest this week. Well, not wasting any time, I'm very pleased to announce this guest -- mc chris -- today. mc chris calls his music "rap for dorks," but his blend of hip hop beats and lyrics paying tribute to anything and everything a geek could love really has to be heard to be appreciated. And, hey, you can do just at mcchris.com.

(Also, mc chris is a veteran of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. Working at Adult Swim for five years, he provided the voice of MC Pee Pants in the Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Hesh on Sealab 2021, and various voices in The Brak Show.)

I'm very happy to announce mc chris's participation in the New York Anime Festival and chose specifically to lead off this year's guest list with him. mc chris isn't from Japan. He doesn't voice anyone in Ultimate Mop Daisuke DX. Instead, he's at NYAF because -- while not directly connected to anime -- he's a big part of anime fan culture in the USA. The New York Anime Festival definitely has anime at its center, but just as New York Comic Con isn't just about comic books, I really want to make the New York Anime Festival a showcase and celebration of everything that's a part of anime culture and anime fandom culture is both the US and Japan.

mc chris's concert begins at 8:30 PM on Friday, September 26 in the New York Anime Festival's Main Theater. He will be signing autographs from 3-4 PM on Friday and 11 AM-12 PM on Sunday in the Autograph Room. mc chris is holding a Q&A with fans from 4-5 PM on Saturday in the Anime Culture Panel Room. To attend mc chris's concert, you'll need a separate mc chris ticket priced at $10. Convention tickets and mc chris concert tickets are both available now at newyorkanimefestival.com.

In summation, you (and by you I mean all the fans who've e-mailed me since last April asking for him) like mc chris, I do, too, his music -- an amalgam of anime, fantasy, sci-fi, and video game themes -- is pretty frakking awesome, and it's even more frakking awesome that he's coming to NYAF.

It's 1 AM here in New York City. Today -- well technically yesterday -- was filled with preparing for my buddy Ed Stemkowski's birthday. By preparing, I of course mean buying him a Gundam toy, buying myself a Macross toy, buying my girlfriend a Wii game, and then almost buying $100 worth of Gurren Lagann books at Kinokuniya. I'll be heading to bed in a bit -- after Doctor Who -- and I hope I get enough rest because I've got a big day ahead of me.

1) I've got to buy those Gurren Lagann books.

2) I've got to meet up with Corinne Orr.

3) I've got to announce the first NYAF 2008 Guest.

Didn't I just announce the first guest with item number two? Nope.

The New York Anime Festival, VIZ Pictures, and Fathom Events are very pleased to offer two pairs of free tickets to a special May 21st screening of the Death Note live-action film in New York City! The screening takes place at 7:30 PM at the Union Square Stadium 14 (850 Broadway).

What do you need to do to enter to win? Simply e-mail me – ptataraATreedexpo.com – with your name, e-mail address, and mailing address before 12 PM EST on Monday. The e-mail's subject line must be "I Want Death Note Tickets". I'll randomly be selecting two winners, and each will receive a pair of free tickets to the event.

Death Note will be playing for two nights only in NYC and, if you want to order tickets to be sure you see it on the big screen, you can do that right now at deathnotefilms.com.

If you're unfamiliar with the world of Death Note, it's the story of ace student Light Yagami and his Death Note, a notebook dropped by a death god into the human world. Any human whose name is written in the Death Note dies, and Light vows to use this power to create the perfect world. When authorities, though, realize the number of criminals dropping dead, they send the legendary detective L to investigate these killings. Both Light and L believe themselves to be on the side of justice, and the two must match wits to determine the fate of the Death Note and the fate of the world.

Get me that e-mail by noon on Monday!

How about next week?

New York Comic Con is over and the New York Anime Festival is still months away. So, how are you supposed to spend all your time? Dunno, but I do know how you should spend your Friday night. Love Mode - Japan Beat at the Knitting Factory.

Love Mode, organized by Karaterice, is a concert series blending traditional Japanese music with contemporary elements like pop and jazz, and the latest Love Mode concert begins at 7:30 PM this Friday at the Knitting Factory (74 Leonard Street) in New York City.

The event features J-Pop duo Zan, NYC-based Japanese group Love Etc., and the Okinawan pop, folk, and festival musical experience HAPPYFUNSMILE.

HAPPYFUNSMILE performed at the New York Anime Festival last December and I'll admit I'm a big fan. If you saw HAPPYFUNSMILE at NYAF, I invite you to the Knitting Factory this Friday to see them again. If you missed HAPPYFUNSMILE in December, I still invite you to take them in this Friday along with Love Etc. and Zan.

Doors open at 6:30 and tickets are $10.

I hope to see you there!

Ahoy! Spring has finally come to New York City, and with it the blossoming of thousands of cherry blossoms. Now, at the highest of cherry blossom season, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden proudly presents their 27th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival -- Sakura Matsuri!

Sakura Matsuri takes place this Saturday and Sunday across the full expanse of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden -- with performances, exhibits, and workshops going on from 10 AM to 6 PM both days. Samurai drama troupe Samurai Sword Soul (who performed at NYAF 07) will be at Sakura Matsuri, too, and they're just the start of a schedule that includes taiko drummers, koto recitals, and even some guests who've come all the way from Japan.

I'll be there wandering about with a backpack full of NYAF goodies, and if you come to Sakura Matsuri all cosplayed up, odds are you'll walk away with some Anime Festival chopsticks.

Learn all about Sakura Matsuri right here...

http://www.bbg.org/exp/cherries/sakura.html

I hope to see you there!

NYAF 2008 tickets are now online! Head over to newyorkanimefestival.com to order your tickets now and be done in time for tonight's all-new Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica! Once you've picked up your NYAF tickets, come on back and let me know your guesses on the final Cylon. My money's on Starbuck, but is she too obvious?

New York Comic Con 2008 just wrapped, and this means it's time to get back into the New York Anime Festival. First up? A new newyorkanimefestival.com! We've taken our favorite elements from last year's site, added what we learned from suggestions and research, and also thrown in a few things we wanted to do just because.

We're taking a similar approach to this year's New York Anime Festival, too. We know what worked in '07 and what didn't. We're building off of the best aspects of last year's NYAF, including what's been recommended from both exhibitors and attendees, and also taking some risks that probably won't pay off but will be a lot of fun along the way.

The 2008 New York Anime Festival takes place September 26-28, dates that are right now pretty far away. As such, as you click through the site, you'll find a number of Coming Soon pages, but because "right now" will very quickly become yesterday, last week, and last month, you'll be seeing these Coming Soon pages replaced with information, announcements, and out-of-focus photos sooner than you think.

We're serious about the out-of-focus photo bit, too. One of the sections already online is NYAF's Downloads page. We've got the essentials -- banners, avatars, wallpapers, and logos -- online, but we're working on expanding the area to include some photo galleries, MP3s, and admittedly-ugly sketches. None of this stuff is critical to either an anime fan or an anime convention, but they're things that make us feel good making them and hopefully make you feel look taking a look.

You know you can't wait for the Random Photo of Office Furniture of the Week.

And, if you have anything you'd like to contribute, we're listening. The New York Anime Festival team is also the New York Comic Con team, meaning we had all been scrambling to make sure this year's Comic Con -- April 18-20 -- didn't explode, implode, catch on fire, or generally suck. Come April 21st, though, we entered into NYAF mode. No, wait, come April 21st, we were asleep. Come April 22nd, we hit NYAF mode.

So, throughout the lead up to New York Comic Con, we were listening, plotting, and planning, and now with NYCC over, like Vampire Hunter D springing upon a Noble, we're launching into action. Was the D reference kinda forced? Probably was. Why's it there? Don't know. Maybe it's a hint. Or maybe I just like Vampire Hunter D.

And with these words I encourage you to come, play, and explore at the new newyorkanimefestival.com!

New York Comic Con was a blast and a big success. Of course, it's over now, and what's on the horizon? The New York Anime Festival. NYAF is just five months away, and there's a lot we've got to do. What's the first thing? How about tickets? Expect to see tickets online soon.

How soon? Before the new episode of Doctor Who on SCI FI tonight.

This is a test of the NYAF Broadcasting System.