New York Anime Festival

Our friends at Kinokuniya host a number of anime-themed events, including a J-Pop Holiday Party coming up on December 19th. Perhaps the good guys at Forbidden Planet took notice, as Forbidden Planet is hosting a special anime event of their own on December 20th. Titled "AniFusion NYC", it's being held from 2-5 PM at Forbidden City (212 Avenue A, New York, NY 1009, between 13th and 14th), just a few blocks from the Forbidden Planet store.



AniFusion NYC will be hosted by cosplay performance artist Mario Bueno and otaku stand-up comedian Uncle Yo. Guests include Patrick W. Galbraith, author of “The Otaku Encyclopedia”, and musical performers Emi and Promise.



The whole day wraps up with a cosplay competition, with the first place winner taking home a $75 Forbidden Planet gift card, the 2nd Place winner being awarded a $25.00 Forbidden Planet gift card, and the 3rd Place winner getting a copy of “The Otaku Encyclopedia”.



To enter the cosplay contest, you must pre-register at anifusion_register@fpnyc.com, including your name, age, and costume.



To attend AniFusion NYC in general, there's a $3 charge at the door that includes a free soft drink, a 15% off coupon for Forbidden Planet, and a 15% off coupon for Forbidden City.



AniFusion NYC is presented by Forbidden Planet Kodansha, Mario Bueno, Forbidden City, and MIE Inc.

Kinokuniya Bookstore (1073 Ave of the Americas) has got one heck of a holiday gift for you. A free trip to Japan. From now until December 19th, Kinokuniya Bookstore in NYC and American Airlines are raffling off one trip from anywhere in the continental USA to Tokyo. How do you enter? Just visit Kinokuniya Bookstore in Bryant Park to sign up.



The winner will be revealed at 5 PM on the 19th as part of the Kinokuniya and Samurai Beat Radio “J-Pop Christmas”. Begnning at 1 PM on the 19th, Samurai Beat Radio will be playing a selection of the top-rated J-Pop songs as picked by Tokyo FM. Fans will be able to vote for their favorites, with their picks broadcast on samuraibeatradio.com. And, as I just said, the J-Pop Christmas will come to a close with the drawing of the free trip to Tokyo… as well as a number of other prizes.



Any small print? The top prize is a single round trip coach class airfare to Japan, valid until August 31st, 2010. You don’t need to be present on the 19th to win, so enter any time you’re at Kinokuniya from now until then.



Also, when you hit up Kinokuniya, be sure to check out their Domo Christmas Tree. Oh yes, I said Domo Christmas Tree. Curious? Well, now you gotta go to Kinokuniya to get a glimpse for yourself!

Hot pots are the quintessential Japanese comfort food: simple, fast, and easy to prepare. Many Americans, though, have almost no point of reference for Japanese food beyond the local sushi bar, so cooking this cuisine can sometimes seem exotic and intimidating. Enter Japan Society along with chef Tadashi Ono of Matsuri restaurant and food journalist Harris Salat, the authors of Japanese Hot Pots: Comforting One-Pot Meals.



Ono-san and Salat are coming to Japan Society on December 8 to introduce and demystify the Japanese communal eating tradition for American home cooks with belly-warming dishes from all corners of Japan – with a presentation that includes both a book signing and food tasting. Want to learn more? Visit http://www.japansociety.org/event_detail?eid=64f6f3be



The event kicks off Tuesday, December 8 at 6:30 PM. Tickets are $18 for the general public and $15 for Japan Society members, seniors, and students. Japan Society is located at 333 East 47th Street, New York, NY.



Thanks to Shoshana for the tip!

Earlier this year, the New York Anime Festival started the Yume Cosplay Prize -- a contest which awards two cosplayers a dream vacation to Tokyo, Japan. Yaya Han and Anna Raper won the first Yume Cosplay Prize (and will be traveling to the Tokyo Anime Fair in the Spring). Next year's Yume Cosplay Prize will be given out in the 2010 New York Anime Festival, but you don't need to wait until next Fall to enter.



See, NYAF and the Yume Cosplay Prize are working with conventions throughout the USA to hold regionals, with every regional winner winning a trip to NYC and guaranteed place in the NYAF Yume Cosplay Prize Masquerade. (You can find all the details at www.yumecosplay.com.) And, the South East regional for the 2010 Yume Cosplay Prize was just held at Anime USA this past weekend in Virginia.



Who took home the prize? Tiffany Tezna (white wings) and Cassandra May (metal wings). Tiffany and Cassandra call themselves the Cosplay Cupcakes, and they'll be bringing their brand of sugar-coated costumes to NYAF 2010 as they compete for a trip to Japan!

The grotesque underbelly of Japan's kawaii culture... That got your attention? Good, because that's the theme of an upcoming event at NYC's Japan Society. From December 3-5, Japan Society will present the world premiere of its commission to Bessie Award-winning American choreographer Jeremy Wade.



Titled "there is no end to more", the dance will take a playful and cynical look at Japanese kawaii culture -- from the infantile fluff of Hello Kitty to teenage doe-eyed love portrayed in anime -- exploring its ubiquitous influence on the world today using a bold and violent juxtaposition of movement, text, and animation.



Wade, who is based in Berlin, directs "there is no end to more", which features actor/dancer Jared Gradinger in collaboration with Brooklyn-based Japanese manga artist/illustrator Hiroki Otsuka, Berlin-based video artist Veith Michel, and musician Brendan Dougherty. The set was designed by architects Katja Mitte and Henning Ströh and text co­written by Wade and visual artist/writer Marcos Rosales.



"there is no end to more" will be preformed December 3-5 at Japan Society (333 East 47th Street)...



Thursday, December 3, 7:30 PM

Friday, December 4, 7:30 PM — Post-Performance Discussion

Saturday, December 5, 7:30 PM



Tickets are $20 (or $15 for Japan Society members). For tickets and to learn more, visit http://www.japansociety.org/event_detail?eid=6aa0bf5.

Japanese Rock Band ZAMZA is releasing their first US CD -- Manga Rock -- and to celebrate, the band will be performing a special CD release show at The Studio at Webster Hall (125 East 11th Street, New York, NY 10003) on Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 7:00 PM.

Bass player "Banshee Aliouxce" (Yoshihito Onda) and drummer "Kohta" (Kohta Igarashi) originally hail from the band Judy and Mary. Guitarist “Hiroki” (Hiroki Ito) and vocalist “Zinc White” (Jinsei Tsuji) are from the band Echoes. Zinc is also a well-respected movie director and an award-winning novelist.

Tickets for the show are $12 in advance, $15 at the door. The show is for those 19 and up. Please visit: www.websterhall.com/thestudio to purchase tickets. For more information on ZAMZA, visit www.myspace.com/zamzaus or www.zamza.us.

Saints be praised, Hikaru Utada is singing in NYC! Utada -- the Queen of Japanese Pop -- is launching a US and UK tour in 2010, with one of her stops in New York City! Utada will be performing on February 8, 2010 at The Fillmore at Irving Plaza. The show starts at 8 PM, is for ages 16 and up, and tickets go on sale November 13 at 12 PM EST right here…

http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/414781



Here are the full tour dates of Utada's "In The Flesh" Tour…



Honolulu, HI @ Pipeline Cafe / 01.15

Seattle, WA @ The Showbox / 01.21

San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore / 01.24

Las Vegas, NV @ House Of Blues / 01.30

Chicago, IL @ House Of Blues / 02.02

Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club / 02.05

New York City, NY @ Irving Plaza / 02.08

London, England @ O2 Academy Islington / 02.12



So, skip lunch tomorrow and camp out for tickets. Please note, though, Programming Director Peter Tatara is kinda a big Hikki fan, and if you get tickets and he doesn't, he will hurt you.

Boom Boom Satellites need no introduction, do they? Their music is on the Appleseed and Vexille soundtracks, they've played with Moby, their fans include Oliver Stone and Luc Besson, and on November 24, they're coming to NYC! Our friends at Superglorious are hosting an incredible -- and free -- night of music featuring Boom Boom Satellites, and all you need to do to go is sign up.



RSVP for the Boom Boom Satellites by clicking right here…



http://www.superglorious.com/boom-boom-satellites-at-santos



Boom Boom Satellites will headline a night of music at Santos Party House (96 Lafayette Street), also including Me You Us Them and DJs Hipstarr and Hotline. Doors open at 7 PM, and the music starts at 8. You must be 18 or older to attend.



The Boom Boom Satellites Santos Party House show is going to be an awesome experience and one of the reasons why NYC is the place to be -- and all credit has to go to our friends at Superglorious. We've worked with them for NYAF 08 and 09, and we're already planning some secret stuff for 2010. We're big supporters of all that they do, and after you sign up for your Boom Boom Satellites tickets, be sure to follow @superglorious on Twitter, too!

Have you made your weekend plans? If not, our friends at SuperGlorious are taking over Santos Party House on Saturday for a night of music featuring...



The Heiz, Dinowalrus, and Exit Clov.



The show is Saturday, November 7. Doors open at 7 PM, the show starts at 7:30, and tickets run $8. Santos Party House is at 96 Lafayette Street in NYC. For more, visit superglorious.com.



The Heiz come all the way from Japan, and this is their first US tour, so let's give them a big welcome!

Some exciting news for you all. In celebration of their scheduled three-night performance at New York City's Blender Theater at Gramercy and upcoming DVD release -- Average Blasphemy -- Dir En Grey will be making a special public appearance at Kinokuniya Bookstore on Tuesday, November 10th.



Hosted by The Lady Miz Diva Velez of TheDivaReview.com, Dir En Grey will take part in a live interview discussing the band's history and their All Visible Things Tour as well as play clips from their Average Blasphemy DVD. An autograph signing will follow. The Kinokuniya Dir En Grey interview and autograph signing begins at 8 PM on Tuesday, November 10th in Kinokuniya Bookstore at 1073 Avenue of the Americas.



The event is free; however, it is limited to 200 fans. If you'd like to go, visit TheDivaReview.com. All tickets to the interview and signing will be distributed online.

Think Halloween is over? Think again. From Friday, November 13 to Sunday, November 15, our friends at the Paley Center in NYC are hosting a selection of fangtastic screenings and events. Paley’s vampire weekend events are free to Paley Center members and $10 for non-members. Here’s the menu…



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Friday Screenings, 2:00 to 4:30 pm



Buffy the Vampire Slayer Reunion (2008) - The cast and creative team of Buffy the Vampire Slayer reunite to discuss the groundbreaking series. With Sarah Michelle Gellar and Joss Whedon.



Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horrors (1922) - The German Expressionist silent vampire classic -- on the big screen!



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Saturday Screenings, 12:00 to 2:30 pm



Angel (2001) - Angel’s actors, writers, and producers on everybody’s favorite brooding Irish bloodsucker. With David Boreanaz and Joss Whedon.



True Blood (2009) - The cast and creators of television’s hottest vampire series take you behind the scenes of steamy Bon Temps. With Alan Ball, Anna Paquin, and Stephen Moyer.



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Saturday Event, 2:30 to 4:00 pm



TV Vampire(s)Takedown - Our panel of expert fans will debate the relative merits of different vampires across media in an appropriately spirited and irreverent fashion. Special attention will be paid to the rankings of TV vamps determined by the Paley Center's TV Vampire Poll (Spike won!). Come argue for your vamp of choice. Trivia, special gifts, and a bloody good time for all!



Panels: Angel Cohn, Senior Editor, Television Without Pity, Sammy Buck, Blogger, tvland.com, Chelsea Doyle, Freelance Writer, Starpulse.com , and Jim Pierson, Author/Producer, Dark Shadows DVD releases. Moderator: Ken Tucker, Editor-at-Large, Entertainment Weekly



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Special Saturday Screening, 4:30 pm



Robsessed - We are thrilled to present an exclusive screening of Robsessed, Revolver Entertainment’s inside look at the rabid fan following of Twilight star Robert Pattinson. Thrust into the limelight after being cast as Twilight’s haunted vampire Edward Cullen, Rob Pattinson’s celebrity trajectory illustrates just how loyal a following vampires can inspire.



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Sunday Screenings, 2:00 to 4:30 pm



Dark Shadows (2001) - Dark Shadows alumni reunited to discuss the classic series. With Alexandra Moltke and creator Dan Curtis.



Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary (2002) - Guy Maddin’s visionary ballet based on the Dracula myth.



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Want more details? Want tickets? Click here…



http://www.paleycenter.org/dark-shadows-at-twilight-a-paley-center-vampire-weekend



Note, though, that apart from the TV Vampire(s)Takedown, all of the Paley Center events are screenings. While there’ll be a live panel at TV Vampire(s)Takedown, all the panelists and all the celebrities in the other panels are pre-recorded. They’re screenings of vampire-centric talks that have preciously taken place at the Paley Center. They’re awesome, but don’t go expecting Joss to be in the room.

Halloween's technically October 31st, but that's not stopping our friends at Japan Society from hosting a creepy, kooky, spooky event at Kinokuniya Bookstore on November 1! Japan Society will be taking over Kinokuniya's second floor from 2 to 4 PM on November 1 for a session of Kamishibai Storytelling. From Japan Society...



Mystical creatures of Japan such as oni, kappa and tengu are introduced through kamishibai (Paper Theater) storytelling around the time of Halloween. Participants will hear Japanese folktales featuring ghosts and otherworldly creatures in English and Japanese, accompanied by song and dance. Popular anime ghost characters of Japan will be also introduced. Afterward, they will create their own masks of the folktale characters featured in the stories.



Japan Society recommends the event for children from 3-10 years old, but it's open to all. And it's free to all, too!



Kinokuniya is at 1073 Avenue of the Americas in NYC. For more, visit…



http://www.japansociety.org/event_detail?eid=4adfa4c5

Local band -- and friend of show -- HAPPYFUNSMILE plays an amalgam of Japanese street music, festival beats, and folk songs that's uniquely NYC -- and you've got two chances to see them this week.



HAPPYFUNSMILE will be performing a free show on October 30 at Forbidden City (just a few blocks from Forbidden Planet) in NYC. Taking place at 9 PM at 212 Avenue A (between 13th and 14th Streets), this is the band's annual Halloween gig. In other words, cosplay is encouraged! For more, visit…



http://www.mediumatlarge.net/2009/10/happyfunsmile-at-forbidden-city.html



Then, just a few nights later, the first J-Summit New York Halloween Party is taking place. On Sunday, November 1 at Webster Hall, it'll feature Uzuhi, Lilac, Gurigula, Kossan, Fuse, Ebina Kenichi, 10tecomai, DJ Frost, DJ AKi, DJ Yoshiki, and HAPPYFUNSMILE. Alone Together NYC will present a NY Meets Japan Fashion Show and Costume Contest, and there'll be a trip to Japan given away as part of the night. Doors open at 3 PM, and it's $25 at the door. Webster Hall is at 125 East 11th St. For more, visit…



http://www.mediumatlarge.net/2009/10/j-summit-new-york-halloween-party.html



NYAF isn't organizing either of the above activities, but they're events we want you -- as a New York Anime Fan -- to know about.

Remember the New York Anime Festival? Come on, think back. It was only a month ago. We kicked it off with a Pre-Party at Dave & Buster’s in Times Square. What was the highlight of the party? The cake. The Charm City Cakes Del Rey Manga 5th Anniversary Green-Tea Flavored With Ginger Icing Cake. How’d we cut it? That’s right. A katana from the good guys at Dragonsong Forge.



Here’s the cake…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hExEeqV_ViA



Here’s the cutting…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9xft3E-OzA



And, now, the circle is complete, as the Dragonsong Force katana has been delivered to the awesome dudes at Charm City Cakes…

http://twitpic.com/ndnyn



Sorry, Geof.

I love New York. I love the people, the places, and events, the opportunities, and the food. And I love when it all intersects. Like this weekend at the first ever NYC Dumpling Festival -- taking place October 24 in Sara D. Roosevelt Park off East Houston Street in Manhattan.

From 12 PM to 5 PM in Chinatown, the event will feature cookbook signings with Chefs Wai Hon Chu (co-author of The Dumpling: A Seasonal Guide) and Jaden Hair (author of The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook: 101 Asian Recipes Simple Enough for Tonight's Dinner), an East Village dumpling tour, dumpling making classes, family games, and a dumpling eating contest. Guests and attendees will also be able to taste and experience dumplings from around the world with offerings such as gnocchi (Italy), tamale (Mexico), palitaw (Philippines), kuih koci (Malaysia), idli (India), bao (China), and pierogi (Poland).

All proceeds from the NYC Dumpling Festival will benefit the Food Bank For New York City. (And a big thanks for C.B. Cebulski for the tip!)

Don't forget that Sunday, October 18 is Osamu Tezuka Day at Kinokuniya Bookstore in NYC! The full schedule is nyanimefest.com. Swing on by 1073 Ave of the Americas starting at noon to meet up with NYAF, Vertical, Abrams, and Samurai Beat Radio as we all celebrate Osamu Tezuka and our favorite Tezuka characters.



And, yes, there will be giveaways. Rumor has it, there'll be boxes of manga and DVDs from this year's New York Anime Festival.

NYAF has the joy of announcing that Anime USA in Arlington, Virginia will serve as a preliminary for the 2010 New York Anime Festival's Yume Cosplay Prize. The winners of this year’s Anime USA Masquerade will take home a trip to New York City and a guaranteed spot in the 2010 NYAF's Yume Cosplay Prize Finals -- with the winners of the Finals winning a week-long trip to Japan.



Anime USA takes place November 20-22 this year at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia. Guests include Steve Blum, Michael Sinterniklaas, Leah Clark, and J. Michael Tatum. This year's New York Anime Festival took place September 25-27 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. Guests included Yoshiyuki Tomino, Yui Makino, Kyle Hebert, and Monica Rial. At this year's NYAF, cosplayers Yaya Han and Anna Raper won the first ever Yume Cosplay Prize at NYAF's Masquerade. Ms. Han and Ms. Raper will be traveling to Tokyo, Japan next Spring and attending the Tokyo International Anime Fair, their trip provided by the New York Anime Festival.



The winners of this year's Anime USA Masquerade will compete in next year's New York Anime Festival Yume Cosplay Prize Masquerade for a chance at winning a trip to Tokyo, Japan in 2011. To compete in the Anime USA Yume Cosplay Prize Preliminaries, cosplayers:



1) Must be available to attend Anime USA in 2009 and the New York Anime Festival in 2010

2) Must be 18 years of age

3) Must be citizens or legal residents of the USA

4) Must be available to participate in Anime USA promotional activities

5) Must enter in teams of two, or if entering in a team of more than two, select two members to head on to NYC



Winners of the Anime USA Yume Cosplay Prize Preliminaries receive:



1) Free roundtrip transportation for two from Virginia to New York City

2) Free accommodations for two at a NYAF official convention hotel in New York City

3) Free passes for two to the 2010 New York Anime Festival

4) A guaranteed place in the 2010 Yume Cosplay Masquerade Finals



For more information on the Anime USA Masquerade, please visit animeusa.org. For more information on the Yume Cosplay Masquerade, visit newyorkanimefestival.com. Additional conventions interested in hosting Regional Preliminaries for the 2010 Yume Cosplay Prize should contact New York Anime Festival Programming Director Peter Tatara (ptatara@reedexpo.com).

The first J-Summit New York Halloween Party is taking place Sunday, November 1 at Webster Hall. NYAF isn't organzing the event, but we're happy to spread the word.

Uzuhi, Lilac, Gurigula, HappyFunSmile, Kossan, Fuse, Ebina Kenichi, 10tecomai, DJ Frost, DJ AKi, and DJ Yoshiki will be performing. Alone Together NYC will present a NY Meets Japan Fashion Show and Halloween Contest.

Doors open at 3 PM. $25 at the door.

Webster Hall is at 125 East 11th St.

This weekend is Meet The Breeds (meetthebreeds.com) in the Javits Center in NYC. A dog and pet show open to the public, it's organized by the American Kennel Club, and it'll feature "160 dog breeds and 41 cat breeds", and you know I've already got my ticket. Expect updates live from the show floor, including a complete abuse of my BlackBerry's camera over, over at www.mediumatlarge.net as we search for the cutest kitten of them all. And, if you're in NYC, love dogs or cats -- or have kids -- come on out to Meet the Breeds, too! PS: Yes, this entire post is serious.

Tokyo No Records (tokyonorecords.com) have two new albums they’re putting out this season, and our friends at Superglorious are putting together a fun soiree to showcase the new tunes. Join ‘em on Wednesday, October 14th upstairs at The Bowery Electric at 9 PM for the Tokyo No Records release party. The DJs for the night include Captain Heartlock, Eric Eiffel, and Hayden Honey. The Heiz will also be in attendance so you can say hello to them before they go on their US tour.



Bowery Electric is located at 327 Bowery (bet. 2nd and 3rd St.) Must be 21 and over (with ID).