I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a wonderful time with friends, family, or just relaxing for a day. Enjoy the holiday weekend and I will have a new post next week.
I am excited to announce my attendance and confirmation for hosting a panel at the Queen City Anime Convention this year. The convention runs from August 23-26, 2018 at the Hilton University Place. My panel will take place on Sunday, August 26th at 2 p.m. You can pre-register for the convention on their website before August 1. This event is a great opportunity to experience an anime convention for the first time. I am excited for the cosplay contest, video game room, and other panel presentations. Send me an email if you would like to meetup over the weekend or plan to stop by the panel.
I recently attended Heroes Convention (June 15-17, 2018) held annually in Charlotte, NC. The event attracts many comic book and web comic fans from across the region. There is a large variety of artists, vendors, and writers manning booths. While the main theme of the convention is tied to comic book heroes, there was an abundance of art, merchandise, and cosplayers related to Japanese anime. The front half of the convention center hall was dedicated to vendors selling a wide assortment of merchandise including clothing, figurines, comics, key chains, etc. For every booth catering to the super hero fanatic, there was another with a variety of anime-themed wall scrolls, trinkets, and other items. I recognized a handful from previous Japanese conventions around the state of North Carolina. Get Some Game (a hobby shop I frequent in Charlotte, NC) had a booth selling everything from Harry Potter wands to Mobile Suit Gundam models. The owners are great people and I stopped by to say hi and see what they were selling. As I walked further through the area to the artist alleys, I passed by a number of people cosplaying as characters from Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z, and even Samus from Metroid. It was surprising to see people dressed as anime characters at a convention better known for comic enthusiasts. Toward the rear of the hall, I visited my friend John Hartness, writer and creator of the Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter series. While speaking with John, I noticed a booth nearby with anime pictures. The artist had some amazing original Dragon Ball Z fan art. He was selling drawings of Frieza and the Ginyu Force to a customer. While many people attend this convention to meet and purchase artwork from artists in the comics community, there was a noticeable amount of anime-inspired pieces also for sale. I high encourage anyone interested in super heroes, anime, fantasy novels, and even Star Wars to visit Heroes Convention at the Charlotte Convention Center June 14-16, 2019. You will not be disappointed with the quality of original art, books, merchandise, and panels offered. The amount of highly skilled artists and creators attending Heroes Convention was truly impressive.
June 2018 celebrates the one year anniversary of my last trip to Japan as well as the creation of this website. I visited Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, and Tokyo with my fiance (Ashley) and her mother in June 2017. My fiance's mother was living in Iwakuni, Japan at the time and meet us in Osaka to start the trip. I cannot recommend getting off a 13 hour plane and then taking a train ride from Tokyo to Osaka in the same day. We had a wonderful trip, new experiences, and learned much about each other. Traveling with others and traveling solo can create completely different experiences. As a male, it can be quite challenging sharing a bedroom and bathroom with two females for over a week. I wrote a journal chronicling our journey (as I also did on my first trip) and sent daily emails out to friends and family. The positive feedback I received from readers is what inspired me to share my knowledge and experiences with others. Moving forward into the next year of writing, I will expand topics by touching more on what Japanese culture means to me. Starting in July, I plan to go deeper into the emotional connections with Japanese culture and how it has continuously inspired me since 2004. I hope you continue to join me on this adventure as we cross into the second half of the year. |
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