Ani-Gamers: Video Games

Happy 2013: It's a Whole New Year We Live In

Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 14:10:22 -0500

It's been nearly a year since January 8, 2012, when, after an unofficial four-month hiatus, I announced Ani-Gamers' reboot for the new year. In that time, we've done quite a lot, and I just want to take a moment to say how much fun I had this year.

In 2012, we published 26 reviews, starting with my take on Lychee Light Club and finishing up on Ink's Secret Santa Review of Shiki. Speaking of Secret Santa, we got back in the ring for our third year of Anime Secret Santa, presented by our good friends at the Reverse Thieves anime blog, and briefly competed in the massive AniBlog Tourney (congrats to Metanorn for their close win in the final round). Our bloggers appeared on a number of podcasts, from Anime World Order to The Speakeasy to Anime 3000 to The Ninja Consultant Podcast, and we covered five conventions — Genericon, Anime Boston, Zenkaikon, AnimeNEXT, and Otakon. We also started a fruitful partnership with Crunchyroll News, cross-posting their news and our reviews to bring our audiences closer together. Meanwhile, both Ink and I started writing reviews and features for Otaku USA Magazine! Back at home, we started two new columns — Ink's Drunken Otaku and Phillip's The Trap Door — and continued publishing the monthly Snapshots that we started in 2010.

Most recently, we summed up our favorite anime, manga (well, not really, since none made the list), and video game titles of the year in a "Best of 2012" list, which I've taken the liberty of compiling below (in order of publication, not ranking). You should totally check all of these out:

Saki Episode of Side A (David Estrella)
Fez (Ink)
Fairy Tail (Phillip)
Space Brothers (Ink)
FTL (Evan Minto)
Nisemonogatari (David)
Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine (Phillip)
Kids on the Slope (Evan)

Looking back, I have to say that 2012 was an awesome year for Ani-Gamers. We got off on the right foot with our reboot last January, and we've rocketed forward all year with more and more anime, manga, and video game coverage than ever before. For filling this blog with amazing writing week in and week out, and for inspiring me to not only check out more anime, manga, and games, but also improve my own writing, I want to thank my staff. Ink, your timely edits provided great insight when my posts needed a little tweaking, and your intricate, analytical posts forced me to think about anime, manga, and games in ways I otherwise wouldn't. David, your sharp wit and frank critical perspective made me laugh every time I read one of your posts. Phillip, your detailed look at anime from years past in The Trap Door introduced me to lots of "new old stuff," so I have you to blame for a constantly growing must-watch list! I'd also like to thank Charles Dunbar for his guest review of Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2, and remind our readers that we are always open to both new contributors and guest posts.

Of course, not everything went perfectly this year — the podcast has gone out pretty sporadically and we still don't get many comments on our posts — but with luck we'll be able to improve on that stuff for this year. At least on the commenting front … well, let's just say I know you guys are reading the posts (I've got Feedburner and Google Analytics statistics, y'know), and I want to see you talking back in 2013. We really appreciate hearing your opinions on the stuff we talk about here, so drop in and let us know what you think every now and then!

That's it for me. Thank you so much for reading Ani-Gamers! I hope you'll stick around for what's sure to be another great year!

Happy 2013: It's a Whole New Year We Live In was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on January 3, 2013 at 2:10 PM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.

Anime Secret Santa 2013: Three (Un)wise Men

Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 20:26:44 -0500

EDIT: Added links back to the Reverse Thieves site.

It's that time of year again. Time for lights and trees and an unceasing parade of the same irritating songs you've been hearing every December for your whole life. Also, uh, spending time with family and other nice things.

But before I get into all the typical Christmas-y stuff, let me remind you that we're anime fans here at Ani-Gamers, and that means the most important aspect of the Holiday Season is — obviously — getting gifts in the form of Japanese cartoons. To that end, the Reverse Thieves have made a twice-checked list of anime bloggers and matched us up in another year of Anime Secret Santa. It's simple: each blogger gets assigned another blogger, and must secretly select for them three anime titles. The recipient then chooses one, watches it, and posts their review on December 25. This will be our third year participating in the now four-year-old Secret Santa (we were on hiatus during the event last year).

This time we have three bloggers taking part: me, Ink, and David.

I had to make a tough call between RahXephon, Tantei Opera Milky Holmes Season 1, and The Garden of Sinners. The former seemed cool enough, what with its combination of giant robots and Yoko Kanno music, but it also looked pretty boring from the first episode I watched. Milky Holmes, on the other hand, appears to be pretty funny, but it's also saccharine little-girl anime that will probably send me into a blind rage if I watch too much of it. Garden of Sinners is too expensive, so I'm not even entertaining that idea. Thus, I've decided to go with RahXephon. It's a shame that for the third year in a row my Secret Santa choice has come down to "which of these will I hate less?," though that probably only happens because I'm so picky about the anime I spend my time on.

Meanwhile, Ink and David, who don't have the luxury of writing overlong descriptions of their thought processes since I'm the one penning this post, made the following choices: Ink selected vampire mystery Shiki over Kaze no Stigma and Murder Princess, while David went with Gainax's shojo manga adaptation His and Her Circumstances (a.k.a. Kare Kano) instead of Princess Tutu or Ouran High School Host Club (somebody was looking to put a little shojo in his life!).

Our reviews will be published on or around December 25, 2012. For occasional updates on our progress on the shows (interspersed with Instagrammed food and other inane babbling), follow us on Twitter @VamptVo, @AnimatedInk, and @QX20XX!

Anime Secret Santa 2013: Three (Un)wise Men was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on November 12, 2012 at 8:26 PM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.

Ani-Gamers and Crunchyroll News Begin Cross-Posting Partnership

Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 13:30:00 -0400

You may have heard of Crunchyroll before. Y'know, they're just the most prominent official source for streaming Asian media, including anime and drama. No big deal. And though they're known for their streaming media, Crunchyroll has also gained a large following over the past year and a half for their News division, a blog (run by Otaku USA Magazine EIC and anime industry veteran Patrick Macias) with the latest information about anime, manga, video games, and other Japanese pop culture.

However, Crunchyroll News is, as their name suggests, very news-centric, and they'd like to feature more editorial content like reviews and con reports. Meanwhile, Ani-Gamers features lots of editorial content but our news coverage has fallen to the wayside in recent years. The solution? A super-awesome partnership between our two sites! Crunchyroll will repost a few of our posts every week, and in exchange we'll do the same for them. That means more posts for your face every week, and more exposure for both of our sites.

As a part of this partnership, Ani-Gamers will also become a Crunchyroll Affiliate, meaning that we'll make a commission if you sign up for a Crunchyroll account through us.* Also, while I make no promises, I'll certainly talk to the folks at Crunchyroll about running contests for our readers with Crunchyroll-sponsored prizes and all that good stuff.

It's an exciting time here at Ani-Gamers. Everyone here is extremely happy to be working with the folks at Crunchyroll News, and we hope you'll enjoy the fruits of our new partnership! The fun starts today with a repost of my Kids on the Slope review over at Crunchyroll.

* For the record, we will not, under any circumstances, compromise our coverage for the sake of this partnership. Crunchyroll shows will get a fair shake in reviews just as they always have, and we won't give any more positive coverage than usual to Crunchyroll. When possible, we may also include a disclaimer about our partnership to make this clear to new readers.

Ani-Gamers and Crunchyroll News Begin Cross-Posting Partnership was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on September 5, 2012 at 1:30 PM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.

Otakon Had a Game and (Otaku) Bingo Was Its Name

Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:57:11 -0400

Otakon 2012 is THIS WEEKEND (I know, it's hard to believe, right?), and we couldn't be more excited here at Ani-Gamers. The huge annual anime convention has nabbed some excellent guests this year, from the J-pop singer and voice actor Hirano Aya (Haruhi Suzumiya, Lucky Star) to Madoka Magica and Fate/Zero writer Gen Urobuchi to mecha model artist Hidetaka Tenjin to Otakon regular and Madhouse founder Masao Maruyama (did you read our interview with him from last year?). But you know what we're really excited for? Thousands of teenagers shouting "I GOT THAT ICE COLD WATER" straight into our eardrums for three days.

So, to commemorate yet another year of anime congoers being absolutely ridiculous (in the best AND worst possible ways), we've brought back the popular Otaku Bingo game for another round!

The rules are simple: when you see one of the anime con shenanigans on the bingo card, cross it off, and try to get five in a row. If you get "Bingo," tweet us a photo of your card (or a list of the boxes you got) with the hashtags #OtakuBingo and #Otakon2012. Of course, you could also send us an email at otakubingo [AT] anigamers [DOT] com with the photo if you're not a fan of the little blue bird. We'll be compiling everybody's submissions to publish on the site! (Last year we didn't get enough submissions, which is why I never posted them.)

[Click here for a PDF of the Bingo card for you to print at home]

See all you chumps at Otakon! Look out for our panels, "Fandom & Criticism," and "The Changing Faces of Anime."

Otakon Had a Game and (Otaku) Bingo Was Its Name was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on July 25, 2012 at 1:57 PM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.

Our Panel Schedule at Otakon 2012

Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 20:49:47 -0400

Otakon 2012, the largest anime convention on the U.S. East Coast, is right around the corner (next weekend, July , and Ink, David Estrella, and I — Ani-Gamers' Otakon 2012 blogging crew — have got a whole bunch of stuff we're looking forward to! Yesterday the convention released their online schedule, so we've compiled a handy list of the panels we'll be running and the ones that we're looking to attend (as usual, our schedules are super-tentative). Check 'em out, and hopefully we'll catch you down in Baltimore this year! Of course, don't be afraid to say "hi" if you notice us at the con.

Our Panels

FANDOM & CRITICISM: THE ART OF ACTIVE VIEWING: Saturday, 9:00 – 10:00 AM in Panel 5; As anime and manga fans, how does our fandom affect our ability to judge and reason about our favorite (and least favorite) series? Can we — and should we — think critically about all of the media we consume? Join Evan Minto and Ink from Ani-Gamers and Clarissa from the Anime World Order podcast for an open dialogue about all these questions and many more.
THE CHANGING FACES OF ANIME: Saturday, 7:30 – 8:30 PM in Panel 4; Anime and manga have seen their fair share of different looks and feels throughout the years, but few aspects stand out to fans and non-fans alike in the same way as the faces of their characters. Join Evan Minto of AniGamers.com as he picks apart nearly sixty years of anime character designs, from Astro Boy all the way to Haruhi Suzumiya.

Our Tentative Panel Schedules

EVAN

Friday

Anime News Network
Riichi: Japanese Mahjong, Anime, and You (Ogiue Maniax/Dave Cabrera)
The Aging Otaku: Anime Fandom and Getting Older (Anime Rest Stop)
Hidetaka Tenjin Q&A
Video Games as Literature: Towards a New Criticism (Fast Karate)
When You Wish Upon a Tezuka
Crunchyroll Industry Panel
Gen Urobuchi Q&A
VIZ Media Animation Industry Panel
New Anime For Older Fans (Reverse Thieves)
Toonami: A Look Back
Sports Manga: Olympics Edition (Nigorimasen)
The Perverted Genius of Go Nagai
Anime's Craziest Deaths

Saturday

Fandom & Criticism: The Art of Active Viewing (Ani-Gamers)
Anime and Manga Studies: Three Decades In
The Weirdest Games You've Never Played 2
Sexism in Anime and Fandom
Aniplex of America Industry Panel
Mainstream Japanese Cartoons
Maruyama & MAPPA Q&A
FUNimation Industry Panel
The Worst Anime of All Time (Mike Toole)
The Changing Faces of Anime (Ani-Gamers)
Lupin the Third: 40+ Years of Heists and Hijinks (Anime World Order)
The "Art" of Fanservice (Anime World Order)
Dubs That Time Forgot (Mike Toole)
Type-Moon: Unlimited Panel Works (Reverse Thieves)

Sunday

Geneon, a FUNimation Retrospective
Light Novels in Translation (Paul Starr)
Sentai Filmworks Industry Panel
Kodansha Comics Industry Panel
Legal Fansubbing on Viki (Viki Industry Panel)
Vertical 2012 (Vertical Industry Panel)

INK

Friday

From Uguu to Wafuu
Genshiken: The Next Generation
The Perveted Genius of Go Nagai
Anime's Craziest Deaths

Saturday

Fandom & Criticism: The Art of Active Viewing (Ani-Gamers)
Ai Nanoka Q&A
Anime and Manga Studies: Three Decades In
Sexism in Anime
Aniplex of America Industry Panel
Maruyama & MAPPA Q&A
FUNimation Industry panel
Worst Anime of All Time (Mike Toole)
Moral Philosophy and Madoka Magica

Sunday

Sentai Filmworks Industry Panel
Legal Fansubbing on Viki (Viki Industry Panel)

DAVID

Friday

Riichi: Japanese Mahjong, Anime, and You
New Anime For Older Fans (Reverse Thieves).
MangaGamer: The Now and Future of Visual Novels

Saturday

Satelight: an Introduction (Satelight animation studio Industry Panel)
Aniplex of America Industry Panel
Type-Moon: Unlimited Panel Works

Sunday

Sentai Filmworks Industry Panel
Vertical 2012 (Vertical Industry Panel)

How about you guys? Will you be at Otakon 2012? What panels, events, and guests are you looking forward to this year?

Our Panel Schedule at Otakon 2012 was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on July 19, 2012 at 8:49 PM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.

AnimeNEXT 2012 Incoming! [EDIT 1]

Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 16:04:19 -0400

It's that time of year again: AnimeNEXT 2012 is this weekend, June 8-10, at the Garden State Exhibit Center in Somerset, NJ. Ink and I will be there with our typical Ani-Gamers coverage, and I'll also be on four (count 'em, FOUR) panels over the course of the weekend. On Friday night I have a three-hour block starting at 9pm: Adaptations in Anime/Manga (my new panel, covering adaptations to and from anime and manga, from books to movies to games and more), Science in Anime (hosted by Vincenzo Averello from All Geeks Considered, featuring old-school anime con personality Walter Amos and myself), and The Changing Faces of Anime (my character design panel). Then, on Saturday from 3-4pm I'll be a panelist on Charles Dunbar's "Fanthropology Forum." I imagine we'll be talking about the nature of fandom and such things, so look forward to that.

Anyway, below the break I've included tentative schedules for Ink and me — as usual, conflicts will be reconciled on-site. EDIT 1: Ink made a couple changes to his schedule. If you see us, come by and say hi. I'll probably be wearing an Otaku USA shirt at some point during the con, if that helps.

Evan: Friday

When	What	Where
1:00 – 2:00 pm	Spoilers! The Good, The Bad, WTF of Anime Endings	Panel 1
2:00 – 3:00 pm	WTF Moments of Anime and Manga	Main Events B
4:00 – 5:00 pm	Father-Daughter Bonding in Japanese "Magical Girl" Series	Panel 3
4:30 – 6:00 pm	15 Recommended Manga for Grown Ups	Panel 6
5:00 – 7:00 pm	Kyle Hebert Presents DRAGONBALD: A Dragonball Evolution Roast	Main Events B
7:00 – 8:00 pm	Taste of CRAZYOTAKU	Panel 1
7:00 – 9:00 pm	Japanese (Not so) Childrens Games	Workshop 2
8:00 – 9:00 pm	Carl Macek's Robotech Universe	Panel 1
8:00 – 9:00 pm	American Comics for Manga Fans	Panel 3
9:00 – 10:00 pm	Adaptations in Anime/Manga	Panel 4
10:00 – 11:00 pm	Science in Anime	Panel 5
11:00 pm – 12:00 am	The Changing Faces of Anime	Panel 4

Evan: Saturday

When	What	Where
10:00 – 11:00 am	Living in the 90s	Panel 5
12:30 – 2:00 pm	The Downfall of the Anime Industry as We Know It	Panel 2
3:00 – 4:00 pm	Fanthropology Forum	Panel 6
7:30 – 9:00 pm	Style and Substance: 50 Years of Anime Openings	Panel 3
9:00 – 10:30 pm	Anime Game Show Super Show	Panel 3
10:00 – 11:00 pm	What Bronies Can Learn From Anime Fans	Panel 1
11:00 pm – 12:00 am	As the Otaku Grows (18+)	Panel 2

Evan: Sunday

When	What	Where
11:00 am – 12:00 pm	25 Years of Burning Blood: Masami Kurumada Anime	Panel 4
11:00 am – 12:00 pm	Beyond Castles, Forests and Houses: Philosophy in the Works of Hayao Miyazaki	Panel 3

Ink: Friday

When	What	Where
1:00 – 2:00 pm	Spoilers! The Good, The Bad, WTF of Anime Endings	Panel 1
2:00 – 3:00 pm	Sleeping Samurai	Arena
4:30 – 6:00 pm	15 Recommended Manga for Grown Ups	Panel 6
5:00 – 6:00 pm	To Death with a Stick: Kendo and Iaido	Arena
6:00 – 7:00 pm	Yokai Nation	Panel 5
7:00 – 9:00 pm	Berryz Kobo Concert	Main Events B
9:00 – 10:00 pm	Adaptations in Anime/Manga	Panel 4
10:00 – 11:00 pm	Science in Anime	Panel 5
11:00 – 12:00 pm	The Changing Faces of Anime	Panel 4
12:00 – 1:00 am	Epic Con Stories	Panel 3

Ink: Saturday

When	What	Where
11:00 am – 12:00 pm	Poké Mythology	Panel 3
12:30 – 2:00 pm	The Downfall of the Anime Industry as We Know It	Main Events B
2:00 – 3:00 pm	Writing for Dubs	Panel 3
3:00 – 4:00 pm	Fanthropology Forum	Panel 3
7:30 – 9:00 pm	Style and Subtance: 50 Years of Anime Openings	Panel 6
9:00 – 11:00 pm	The Secret World of Arrietty	Main Events B
11:00 pm – 12 am	As the Otaku Grows (18+)	Panel 2

Ink: Sunday

When	What	Where
10:00 – 11:30 am	Jojo's Posing School	Panel 5
11:00 am – 12:00 pm	Beyond Castles, Forests and Houses: Philosophy in the Works of Hayao Miyazaki	Panel 3
12:00 – 1:00 pm	There She Is	Panel 2
2:00 – 3:00 pm	Shinigami in Anime	Panel 2
2:00 – 3:30 pm	AHHHHH! Video Game Cartoons	Panel 1

AnimeNEXT 2012 Incoming! [EDIT 1] was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on June 6, 2012 at 4:04 PM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.

Reminder: Lain and Allison & Lillia articles in Otaku USA

Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto — Sun, 20 May 2012 17:00:00 -0400

Hey, just a quick reminder that I've got two more articles in Otaku USA Magazine this month: a review of Allison & Lillia and a feature article on Serial Experiments Lain (one of my favorite series of all time!). Caleb Dunaway also has the cover feature on Steins;Gate, Erin Finnegan took a look at The Book of Bantorra, and Daryl Surat wrote up the Dragon Age anime. The issue is set to hit stores on May 22, so go check it out!

Reminder: Lain and Allison & Lillia articles in Otaku USA was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on May 20, 2012 at 5:00 PM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.

Zenkaikon, ho!

Ink — Tue, 08 May 2012 09:40:11 -0400

Another year marks another change of locale for Zenkaikon, eastern PA's rapidly growing anime con. While this will be Zenkaikon's sixth celebraton of anime, manga, and Japanese pop culture, it will be the con's first time at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA. I've been attending Zenkaikon since 2009 (check out some posts about those pilgrimages here) and am looking forward to a con that seems to improve with every iteration. This year will feature the return of brand-new Ani-Gamers guest contributor and anthropologist extraordinaire Charles Dunbar, as well as former Ani-Gamer and otaku comedian Uncle Yo. Zenkaikon 2012's full schedule for Friday, May 11 and Saturday, May 12 can be found here (PDF), and my very tentative schedule follows the break. As usual, conflicts of interest are usually resolved spontaneously. Follow @animatedink on Twitter if you want my up-to-the-minute whereabouts, and if you see me, come on up and say hi!

Friday

When	What	Where
3:30 – 4:30 pm	Saving Time and Money for Anime	Live 2
4:45 – 5:45 pm	A Look at Women in Anime	Live 2
6:30 – 7:30 pm	Cosplay Dating Game	Hall A
7:30 – 8:30 pm	Japanese Language and Culture	Meeting Room 5
8:30 – 9:30 pm	Platform One Concert	Hall A
9:00 – 10:00 pm	Maho Shojo Evolution!	Live 2
10:30 – 11:30 pm	Dead Like Us: Shinigami, Death...	Live 2
12:00 – 1:00 am	Most Heinous Monster & Villains	Live 2

Saturday

When	What	Where
10:15 – 11:15 am	60 Years of Anime Openings...	Live 1
10:45 – 11:45 pm	Traditional Inking	Meeting Room 5
2:00 – 3:00 pm	Kyo Daiko Taiko Drummers	Hall A
3:00 – 4:00 pm	Uncle Yo’s Stand Up	Hall A
4:00 – 5:00 pm	History of Sharp Pointy Things	Hall A
4:15 – 5:15 pm	Sprits, Wheels, and Borrowed Gods	Live 1
4:45 – 6:15 pm	Aaah! Video Game Cartoons	Live 2
5:30 – 6:30 pm	Motivational Anime	Live 1
6:30 – 8:00 pm	Ninja Weapons of Death	Live 2
9:00 – 10 :00 pm	Asterplace Concert	Hall A
11:45 pm – 12:45 am	Yaoi Feud	Live 2

Zenkaikon, ho! was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on May 8, 2012 at 9:40 AM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.

Aniblog Tourney 2012: The Battle Begins! [EDIT 1]

Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto — Tue, 01 May 2012 09:00:00 -0400

EDIT 1: The links for some of our posts were broken, but they should be all fixed now. Thanks to our opponent, Charles, for pointing that out!

At long last, Round 2 of the 2012 Aniblog Tourney has begun. We're up this Wednesday, May 2 against Christian-themed anime blog Beneath the Tangles, and we want to remind everybody (both new and regular readers) to vote for us. Why? Well, there are hundreds of posts from over four years of Ani-Gamers blogging to convince you of that, but I'll try to sum up all the awesome in this one.

For those of you who need a straightforward explanation of what we do here, Ani-Gamers is a collaborative anime, manga, and video game blog. We focus mostly on critical commentary in the form of reviews, feature articles, columns, and podcasts, and we've got two main tenets: Quality and Variety.

Quality represents our dedication to sharp, honest, and entertaining commentary not only on anime, manga, and video games, but the fandoms that surround them. It also represents our strict revision process that screens all articles before they reach the eyes of readers like you.

Variety represents the range of bloggers and podcasters who make up our team of contributors. We've featured writing from an otaku comedian, a poet, a cultural anthropologist, and a few professional gaming writers. We leverage this diverse team to provide a wide variety of voices and post topics.

Unfortunately, this means our focus tends to shift depending on which writers are actively contributing, so I've made exploring the site easier for you by compiling a list of 15 of our best blog posts and podcasts. Through these posts you'll be able to get a taste for the wide range of topics we cover and the unique perspectives of our contributors.

So why vote for us? Well, we've been plugging away at this blogging business for longer than a lot of other blogs in the Tourney, and we think we've honed a pretty fun, insightful way of looking at anime, manga, and games. If you agree, then head on over to the Tourney poll tomorrow! We expect a BLOODBATH OF DEMOCRACY when we check the poll again on Friday — preferably one in which we come out victorious.

Finally, regardless of which way your vote swings, I'd like to take a leaf out of Bradley C. Meek's book (have you heard him on our podcast?) and ask for as much feedback as you can give about Ani-Gamers. Is our content working for you? How's our layout? What do we do best? What could we be doing better? Don't worry about being mean — I welcome any chance to find out what our audience (or potential audience) is looking to get out of this site. So please feel free to leave a comment on this post once you've taken a look around. And most of all: Enjoy your stay!

Aniblog Tourney 2012: The Battle Begins! [EDIT 1] was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on May 1, 2012 at 9:00 AM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.

The Return of the Aniblog Tourney

Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 22:36:59 -0400

Remember the Aniblog Tourney? A (mostly) friendly competition between anime blogs back in the spring of 2010, the tournament pitted the websites against each other in popularity polls to determine which was the ULTIMATE JAPANESE CARTOON BLOG. After participating and getting as far as Round 2 in the last tournament, we have been invited back for the 2012 games, which feature over 100 blogs!

We're really happy to be a part of this again. While the popularity contest format might not be the most appropriate for evaluating the wide range of anime blogs out there, the Aniblog Tourney is still a fun way to find new blogs, reach new readers, and get some constructive criticism about Ani-Gamers.

The tournament proper starts on April 15, but until then you can pore over the huge bracket graphic over at the official site. Presumably due to our win in Round 1 last year, we were automatically advanced into the second round this year, so our poll will be up on May 2. Till then, keep your eyes on Ani-Gamers for more awesome anime, manga, and video game posts!

The Return of the Aniblog Tourney was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on April 12, 2012 at 10:36 PM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.

We're Shipping Up to Boston!

Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 21:47:07 -0400

We're heading back to Boston yet again for one of the largest anime conventions in the US, Anime Boston! I'll be there for sure, thanks to another awesome official trip subsidized by my university's anime and sci-fi club, the Rensselaer Science Fiction Association. David Estrella, former New Kid on the Block (Phillip has now ousted him), will be there as well, covering the concert and a number of other events.

We would have loved to cover PAX East as well (it's occurring at the same time in the same city), but the logistics just didn't work out this year. Sorry!

Remember, if you'd like us to report in on any panels or guests, just drop a comment right here and we'll do our best to honor your requests. If you'd like to see the events I'm planning on attending, just head below the break to see my tentative schedule.

Friday

Analyzing Anime 101 (10am, Panel 202)
I am woman! The Evolution of Female Characters in Anime (10am, Panel 208)
The Legend of Zelda or: How I Learned to Tolerate OOT's Fandom (10am, Panel A)
Building Mecha Model Kits: A Total Beginner's Guide (11:45am, Panel 208)
Romance Anime: Affecting the hearts of us all (2pm, Panel 306)
Vertical 2012 (5pm, Panel 202)
The Meiji Era: A Japanese Industrial Revolution (6:45pm, Panel 107)
LGBT Manga and Anime (9pm, Panel 309)
Introduction to Japanese Fairy Tales (9:30pm, Panel 206)
Unusual Manga Genres (18+, 10:30pm, Panel 202)
Totally Subversive Toons (18+, 11:15pm, Panel 208)

Saturday

Anime Happiness (10am, Panel 206)
Sentai Filmworks (2:30pm, Panel A)
FUNimation Industry Panel (4pm, Panel A)
Tokusatsu: Heroes and Monsters of Japanese Television (6pm, Panel A)
Seinen Up: Manly Manga...for Manly Men and the Manga-Reading Women that Love Them (6:45pm, Panel 306)
Anime Hell (9:30pm, Panel 306)

Sunday

Judaism and Anime (10am, Panel 309)
We Con, Therefore We Are: A Critical Look at the Modern Congoer (12:45pm, Panel 206)
Anime Forever! Movie Screening (1:30pm, Panel 302/304)*

* I'd like to point out this event in particular. Stephen is a friend of mine who has been diligently putting together this documentary for years now, and I'm really excited to see it completed. I saw a number of versions of the film as Stephen worked on it, and it's a really honest, heartfelt portrait of the modern American anime fan. If you can get to this event, please do!

We're Shipping Up to Boston! was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on April 2, 2012 at 9:47 PM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.

Check Out My Fate/Stay Night Feature in Otaku USA

Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:35:58 -0400

Yes, yes, there are a lot of great blogs and websites about anime on the Internet, but believe it or not, there are still a few people writing about anime in print form! I recently joined their ranks via my first ever article in Otaku USA Magazine, a feature about the Fate/Stay Night anime. I'm super-excited about being the newest Otaku USA contributor, and I recommend everybody check out the latest issue of the magazine (June 2012), as it also includes a bunch of great articles from other anime bloggers and podcasters whom I have a ton of respect for. (Dave Cabrera has the cover story about Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt and Erin Finnegan did a great write-up of Fractale.) If you're particularly interested in Fate/Stay Night, I also recommend you check out Ink's 2010 Secret Santa review of the series.

Furthermore, if you're not already subscribing to Otaku USA, please do! It's a great magazine all-around (my contribution notwithstanding) with a stock of really excellent writers.

Check Out My Fate/Stay Night Feature in Otaku USA was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on March 20, 2012 at 2:35 PM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.

Hang out with us at Genericon XXV

Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:12:46 -0500

Well, I'm cutting it pretty close here, but I figure I should get something up about this before it's too late. Ink and I will be at Genericon XXV, the annual student-run anime, science fiction, and gaming convention at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY) this weekend, March 2-4!

We'll be joining awesome panelists like Ninja Consultants Erin & Noah and guests like prolific Power Rangers actor and anime voice actor Johnny Yong Bosch, his band Eyeshine, and Battlestar Galactica actress Nicki Clyne for the illustrious 25th anniversary of this general (you might even call it "generic") geeky convention.

I'm the Vice-Chair and Public Relations Coordinator of the convention, which means I'll be super-busy all weekend, but I managed to find time to run two panels: "The Changing Faces of Anime" (anime character design history) and "Fandom & Criticism" (roundtable about critical analysis with guest panelists Ink, Erin, and Noah). Erin & Noah are running four awesome panels of their own, so definitely check those out too. Finally, I'll most likely be helping run Opening and Closing Ceremonies, so come on by for those if you're up for it.

And as a final little bonus, if you stop by the video gaming room, you'll be able to play a student game that I worked on called Bullet Hell on the RPI Game Development Club arcade cabinet. Genericon XXV: More Evan than you probably ever wanted!

In case you're up for some Ani-Gamers stalking, I've included the list of our panels, with days, times, and locations included.

Opening Ceremonies — Main Events A — Friday, 6–7pm (Genericon Staff, probably including Evan)
Fandom & Criticism: The Art of Active Viewing — Panel 2 — Saturday, 1:30–2:30pm (Evan, Ink, Erin, and Noah)
The Changing Faces of Anime — Panel 2 — Saturday, 5–6pm (Evan)
Closing Ceremonies — Main Events A — Sunday, 4-5pm (Genericon Staff, probably including Evan)

How about you guys? Are you planning on attending Genericon XXV? What events are you looking forward to? Are you running any panels or events?

Hang out with us at Genericon XXV was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on February 29, 2012 at 3:12 PM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.

Ani-Gamers Welcomes David Estrella to Our Staff

Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:00:00 -0500

It's only been a couple weeks, but I'd say Ani-Gamers is already off to a pretty great start in our 2012 reboot. We have a couple of great posts in the pipeline, and today I'm proud to announce the newest member of our staff: David Estrella, an anime fan and game design student who reportedly overdosed on moé anime in late 2009 while seeking to understand the Mysteries of the Universe. He is now a shell of a man, eking out an existence by absorbing rays of pop culture and transforming them, via a perverse form of photosynthesis, into strings of words that may or may not be reviews on the Internet.

If you want to check out more about David, you could probably follow him on Twitter, or just stick around to see his first review later today, an analysis of the churning core of the dread spectre: the K-ON! manga.

Ani-Gamers Welcomes David Estrella to Our Staff was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on January 19, 2012 at 10:00 AM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.

Downtime in the Next Few Days

Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 13:21:00 -0500

Hey everybody, long time no see! Ani-Gamers will likely experience some downtime in the coming days as I switch us from Blogger to A Small Orange hosting. There's more news to come in regards to the blog itself, but I'll let that slip as soon as we're all set up on our new server. Don't you worry your pretty little heads, though: our domain name will remain anigamers.com, as always. See you on the other side, and keep your eye on our Twitter and Facebook feeds for news on when the site is back up!

Downtime in the Next Few Days was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on December 30, 2011 at 1:21 PM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.

New Uncle Yo Album: Matching Hair Clips

Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 09:05:00 -0400

Surely you've missed Uncle Yo, the anime reviewer who contributed a lot of great reviews to Ani-Gamers early in our blogging career. He's been off working on his "otaku comedy" stand-up routine for over a year now, which is why you haven't heard much from him on the site, but now he's got a new album, featuring live recordings of some of his best routines. Check it out and support Uncle Yo!

iTunes Link
Amazon Link

New Uncle Yo Album: Matching Hair Clips was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on July 26, 2011 at 9:05 AM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.

Announcing "Otaku Bingo": Otakon 2011 Edition

Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 14:00:00 -0400

We love Otakon here at Ani-Gamers. For the past few years we've been eagerly heading down to Charm City to meet up with fellow bloggers, speak with awesome guests, and take in the stunning variety of fan panels on display at the convention. But this year (July 29-31) is going to be EVEN BETTER.

In addition to Ink and I (who have been attending the con for a few years now), our very own and very British Elliot Page will be coming to the States to attend and cover the convention. And if that's not exciting enough, we're running "Fandom & Criticism: The Art of Active Viewing" on Friday at 6 PM, with all three Ani-Gamers bloggers talking about what it means to be both a fan and a critic, and how those two viewing styles interact. Trust us, this is going to be a great panel; we've gotten some really insightful audience participation at previous versions of it.

Now that I've spoiled the surprise in the title but led you on for two paragraphs of typical pre-con hype, I'd like to announce our little con game for Otakon 2011: "Otaku Bingo." How does it work? Well, you print off one of these fancy little cards and mark each square whenever you see that event occur somewhere at the con. We generally included funny, often groan-worthy moments of fandom silliness, so we hope it'll give you a chuckle or two. If you get five in a row, send your Bingo card to me evanm [AT] anigamers [DAWT] com and we just might publish it on the site (as long as we don't see any evidence that you lied about the squares that you got, but really guys, please be honest).

At the very least, Ink, Elliot, and I will be playing Otaku Bingo amongst ourselves during the con (with a punishment for the loser to be determined by the other two players), but we'd love to get our readers, listeners, and fellow bloggers involved. So feel free to print out a card or find us during the con to get one from us. Of course, if you have ideas for more squares for us to use next time, definitely let us know. Have fun, and see you at Otakon!

DOWNLOADS:

Announcing "Otaku Bingo": Otakon 2011 Edition was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on July 23, 2011 at 2:00 PM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.

Back to Boston! [EDIT 1]

Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 10:05:00 -0400

True Story: Despite living in New Jersey for my entire life, the first anime convention I ever attended was actually Anime Boston, and since attending in 2005 or so, I have never been back to the large con. This year, however, is different.

I'm heading up from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with the school's Science-Fiction Association, which is organizing a trip to the con. While up in Boston, I will be blogging about the convention's myriad panels and events and maybe grabbing an interview or two with the guests. Plus, I will co-presenting with Daryl Surat of Anime World Order on his "Remembering Satoshi Kon" panel. (I ran a similar one at Genericon, and I hope to bring my own insights to what is already looking to be a great panel about the late director's life and work.)

As usual, I've included my tentative schedule — complete with overlaps that I will reconcile on the fly at the con — after the break. Note the number of Charles Dunbar panels; after Ink's great write-up and my own repeated failure to attend his panels, I'm going to make a real effort to see them this time.

Are you going to the con? What events are you looking forward to?

EDIT 1: Modified my list a little after realizing that I missed a few panels.

Friday

When	What	Where
10–11 am	Who Was Carl Macek?	Panel 309
11 am-12 pm	Oda Nobunaga: Evil Sorceror or Space Alien?	Panel A
1–2:45 pm	The Tokyo "Nonexistant Youth" Bill and How It Affects You	Panel 309
3–4 pm	Castles, Forests and Bath Houses: The Worlds of Hayao Miyazaki	Panel A
3:30–4:30 pm	Future of the Fullmetal Fandom: Is It Really Over!?	Panel 306
4–5 pm	Anime Intro & Ending Themes	Panel 302/304
6–7:30 pm	Experts of Fan Controversy	Panel 107
6–7 pm	Dubs That Time Forgot	Panel 202
7–8:30 pm	Totally Subversive Toons	Panel 309
8:30–9:30 pm	Villains and Virgins: The Madonna-Heathen Complex in Anime	Panel 107
8:30–9:30 pm	I <3 the 90's	Panel 306
9:30–11:30 pm	Anime's Craziest Deaths	Panel 306

Saturday

When	What	Where
10–11 am	The Family That Geeks Together, Keeps Together	Panel 107
11 am–12 pm	Tezuka 101	Panel 206
12–1 pm	It's a Rumic World	Panel 309
1–2 pm	State of the Industry	Panel 306
2–3 pm	Sentai Filmworks	Panel 306
3:30–4:30 pm	Remembering Satoshi Kon (1963-2010)	Panel 202
5–6 pm	Notable Directors of Anime That Aren't Hayao Miyazaki	Panel 309
6–7 pm	"What is Super-Flat": Where Anime fits in Post-Modern Culture	Panel 206
7–8 pm	Omoide In My Head: A Brief Guide to Japanese Indie Rock	Panel 202
7–9 pm	Bad Anime, Bad!!	Panel A
8–9 pm	Dead Like Us: Shinigami, Death Lore and Japanese Media	Panel 107
8–9 pm	Animating Music in Anime About Music	Panel 206
11 pm–12 am	STEREOPONY Concert	Auditorium

Sunday

When	What	Where
10–11 am	The Visions of Akira Kurosawa	Panel 202
12–1 pm	Spirits, Wheel and Borrowed Gods: Religion in Japan	Panel 202
12–1 pm	Satoshi Kon RIP (this is NOT Daryl's panel)	Panel 302/304
12–1 pm	From East to West: the Superheroes of Japan & America	Panel A
1–2:30 pm	An International Game of Telephone: The Japanese Culture Exchange	Panel 107

Back to Boston! [EDIT 1] was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on April 20, 2011 at 10:05 AM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.

Ani-Gamers Joins Anime and Manga Bloggers For Japan

Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 18:55:00 -0400

In my last post on the recent Japanese earthquake, I provided some basic details of the problems currently occurring in Japan in the aftermath of the massive 8.9 quake. And while I suggested you donate to charities to help the victims of this tragedy, Daniella Orihuela-Gruber from All About Manga has gone the extra mile and started up an informal group of anime/manga bloggers who are pushing for more donations.

Today Ani-Gamers joins in this campaign, reminding our readers that there is still months if not years of work to be done for Japan to rebuild after the earthquake. And, as Daniella points out, the $12 million in donations have not yet even surpassed the numbers for the recent Haitian earthquake or the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe in New Orleans!

For more information on donating, and suggestions on some great charities to give to (namely ShelterBox and the highly-rated Doctors Without Borders), check out Daniella's big Anime and Manga Bloggers For Japan post.

Ani-Gamers Joins Anime and Manga Bloggers For Japan was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on March 15, 2011 at 6:55 PM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.

Ani-Gamers at Zenkaikon 2011

Ink — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 13:23:00 -0500

I’m looking forward to returning to Zenkaikon this year (March 18-20 at the Valley Forge Convention Center in King of Prussia, PA). Its last incarnation was cramped but chuck full o’ goodness. This time around, I’m told accommodations are more spacious, and the schedule looks to be rather impressive to boot. After the break, you’ll find the hourly breakdown of events I plan on attending. If anything is doubled or overlaps, I still haven't quite made up my mind. And as a reminder: if you see a pile of walking chess pieces pass by, say hi!

Ink’s (super-tentative) Zenkaikon Schedule:

Friday:
11:30 am -12:30 pm - Giant Robot Openings from 1963 to 1984
1:00-2:00 pm - Opening Ceremonies
3:00-5:00 pm - Birdy the Mighty: Decode
5:00-6:00 pm - Uncle Yo – Stand-up for Geeks
6:00-7:00 pm - Living as Otaku in Japan
7:00-8:00 pm - Gelatine Concert
8:15-9:15 pm - Show and Tell with Todd Haberkorn
9:30-11:45 pm - Anime Parliment
12:00-2:00 am - Robogeisha

Saturday:
10:00-11:00 - Iron Artist
12:30-2:00 pm - Modern Mythology
2:00-2:45 pm - 10 Things I Hate About Webcomics
3:00-3:30 pm - AMV Contest
3:30-4:30 pm - Sacred Symbols and Giant Robots
4:30-5:15 pm - Losing Should Be Fun
6:00-8:00 pm - Masquerade
9:00-9:30 pm - Rose Noire Concert
9:30-10:30 pm - Where’s Our Flying Cars and Hoverboards
9:30-10:30 pm - The Great Debates
10:45-11:45 pm - Anime One Night Stands
11:00 pm -12:00 am - Guests Uncensored

Sunday
9:00-10:00 am - Superheroes of the Silver Screen
10:15-11:15 am - Castles, Forests, and Bath Houses
12:30-1:30 pm - Anime Press Your Luck
2:30-3:30 pm - Closing Ceremonies

Click here for more of our Zenkaikon 2011 coverage

Ani-Gamers at Zenkaikon 2011 was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on March 12, 2011 at 1:23 PM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.

Genericon XXIV: Party in the Tundra

Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 16:32:00 -0500

Genericon XXIV is almost upon us! The annual student-run anime, sci-fi, and gaming convention held at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY is going to be a total blast this year, thanks in part to some fantastic guests and panelists who are making their way to the cold, cold north of upstate New York on the weekend of February 11-13.

Who are these wonderful people? Well, they include guests like the Most Dangerous podcasters of Anime World Order, RPI alumna/webcomic artist Jenny Blanchard, independent animators For Tax Reasons, anime voice actor/fangirl magnet Vic Mignogna, Ani-Gamers' very own Uncle Yo, and Japanese-American punk band Uzuhi.

The new featured panelist program rounds out that list with Legend of the Galactic Heroes/Hetalia superfan Walter Amos, Vertical, Inc. Marketing Manager and all-powerful manga expert Ed Chavez, a group of RPI alumni panelists called "The Con Artists," super-powered podcasting duo Erin and Noah of the Ninja Consultant podcast, and the part-time anime bloggers/full-time detectives of the Reverse Thieves blog.

I am a student at RPI and the Public Relations Coordinator for the convention, so my weekend will be comprised mostly of running around trying to make sure everything works well for our attendees. However, I will be making time for two of my own panels: a new "Satoshi Kon Tribute" (7-8pm on Friday), in which I walk the audience through the life and movie-making style of the acclaimed director, and my tried-and-true character design panel, "The Changing Faces of Anime" (3-4pm on Sunday). Uncle Yo will naturally be running his popular stand-up comedy show (3:30-4:30pm on Sunday), as well as "Beyond D&D" (6:30-7:30pm on Saturday) and "Anime One-Night Stands" (1-2pm on Sunday). Our copy editor Sean Kim is also an RPI student, so he might be hanging around the con as well during the course of the weekend.

I know I'm super-psyched about Genericon this year, and I hope I'll get to see some Ani-Gamers readers/listeners up in Troy. If you happen to go to a panel from me or Uncle Yo, feel free to come up afterward and say hi!

Genericon XXIV: Party in the Tundra was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on February 5, 2011 at 4:32 PM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.

An Apology (Then Back To Work)

Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 13:47:00 -0500

Yes, it would seem that an apology is in order. I have been missing in action for about two weeks, which means (due to the current editorial structure of the blog) that Ani-Gamers has been missing in action for about two weeks. Luckily, the two big things that have caused this hold-up are related in some way to Ani-Gamers, so no "life got in the way" excuses here, folks. Plus, they're mostly out of the way, so we'll be back in business ASAP.

New Blogging Platform: For the better part of the two weeks since the start of the new year, I have been working night and day to construct a blogging platform based around this idea: Blogger isn't quite doing it for me and, being a perfectionist control freak, the best solution is naturally for me to build my own platform from the ground up, with every functionality made to fit my needs. It's still a little unpolished, but I've finished all the big things, so at this stage it actually could operate as the official Ani-Gamers blogging platform. I haven't decided yet if we'll be moving to it, but I'm currently looking into a web host to hold the new system and some cosmetic and organizational changes that might go along with it. I'll keep you all updated on that as things progress.
Genericon XXIV: As soon as I finished that colossal project, I moved on to Genericon, the anime/sci-fi/gaming convention for which I am Public Relations Coordinator (a job that I didn't really keep up with much during the two weeks of straight coding). I'm now working hard on organizing press coverage, guests, and featured panelists (including some folks you might know from around the Internet) while I get back into the swing of things here at Ani-Gamers. I'll be running two panels (my character design panel The Changing Faces of Anime and a new Satoshi Kon retrospective) at the Troy, NY convention, which will be held February 11-13, 2011 at my college, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Thanks for sticking with us through this embarrassing little hiatus. We all look forward to your continued readership and feedback!

An Apology (Then Back To Work) was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on January 14, 2011 at 1:47 PM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.

New Staff Welcome: Mehket

Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 13:04:00 -0500

I mentioned a long while back that we were looking for a new gaming writer, and though I was still looking through applications as recently as this summer, we finally decided on a new contributor to add to the ranks of Ani-Gamers: Hayley Myer, a.k.a. "Mehket."

She is a longtime video gamer and anime fan who began her gaming life on the Sega Genesis with titles like Crystal Ponies and the original Sonic The Hedgehog. Now Mehket focuses most of her gaming time on Japanese RPGs, a topic that she will be covering extensively here at Ani-Gamers. We're excited to have her join the team, and I hope you'll all enjoy the new perspective she brings to the table.

New Staff Welcome: Mehket was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on November 27, 2010 at 1:04 PM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.

Anime Secret Santa 2010: Our Choices

Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 23:06:00 -0500

You may remember last year, when I took part in the Reverse Thieves' "Anime Secret Santa" project — each participating anime blogger gave another blogger a list of three titles to review without revealing their identity, and the recipient had to choose one of the titles and actually review it. Well, despite my harrowing experience with A-1 Pictures' moé comedy Kannagi (2008) last year, I've signed up yet again, and Ani-Gamers writers Ink, Elliot, and Evan (Krell) have also thrown their hats into the ring. It's gonna be a crazy Christmas this year!

The three choices I received were considerably less dire than last year's moé buffet (Air, Kannagi, and True Tears), with the Read or Die OAV (2001), Akiyuki Shinbo's The SoulTaker (2001), and Last Exile (2003) from studio Gonzo. R.O.D. is out of the question because I've already seen it, so I decided to go with Last Exile. Gonzo did pretty well with Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo (2004) despite their bad reputation, so I'll give them a shot on this steampunk adventure with character designs from the talented Range Murata.

[Read on after the break for Ink, Elliot, and Evan's choices.]

Meanwhile, Ink had to choose between Kanon (2006), sola (2007), and Fate/Stay Night (2006), and since he's already seen Kanon, he will be watching and reviewing Fate/Stay Night.

Elliot received Eden of the East (2009), Baccano (2007), and Kino's Journey (2003). He's already seen Kino's Journey and Eden of the East isn't out in the UK yet, so that leaves him with Baccano (previously reviewed on our site by Uncle Yo).

Finally, Evan Krell — who is writing a review each for Ani-Gamers and Insert-Disc — had to choose between Ocean Waves (1993), Pale Cocoon (2006), and Umi Monogatari (2009), and he's going with Pale Cocoon for his Ani-Gamers review.

Our reviews will be on the site during the week before Christmas, with the last one coming out sometime early in the day on Christmas Eve (December 24). Watch our Twitters (@VamptVo, @Poetic_Ink, @elliotpage, @bakatanuki) if you want to keep up with our opinions as we watch through these series — or hear about that fantastic bagel we just ate.

Anime Secret Santa 2010: Our Choices was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on November 20, 2010 at 11:06 PM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.

New York Comic Con 2010: Prepare for Mind Blowage

Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 21:14:00 -0400

It's coming, guys. One of the biggest convention events of the year begins this Friday, October 8, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. That's right, the New York Comic Con (now merged with the New York Anime Festival), featuring guests and exhibitors from nearly every facet of geekdom. I'll be there most of the weekend (except for Friday morning/afternoon), covering as many anime/manga/gaming events and exhibitors as possible for Ani-Gamers. Unfortunately, I'm the only Ani-Gamers writer who will actually be at the con, so covering everything that I want to will require nothing short of a time-turner.

Luckily, I've got some help from Jewels, a photographer and videographer who has volunteered to help cover the convention for Ani-Gamers. As far as our plans go right now, I will be taking care of industry panels and some fan panels, while Jewels will photograph the cosplay masquerade, Bandai model kit contest, and a few other events. On the panels side of things, I will making the NYAF premiere of my anime character design history panel, The Changing Faces of Anime, on Sunday at 3:45pm in Room 1E14. If you're going to be at the con, please do try to stop in. (And don't be afraid to say hi after the panel.)

I've included my tentative schedule of events for Comic Con after the break. Will you be going to one of the biggest pop culture events of the year? Is there an event you'd like us to report on? A question you'd like us to ask one of the guests? Let us know in the comments!

Friday

When	What	Where
5:45–6:45 pm	Aniplex	Room 1E13
6:30–7:30 pm	A Geek's Guide to Podcasting and Blogging	Room 1A17
8–10 pm	The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya	Room 1E09

Saturday

When	What	Where
11 am–12 pm	Bandai Industry Panel	Room 1E13
12:15–1:15 pm	FUNimation Industry Panel	Room 1E13
2:45–3:45 pm	Crunchyroll Fall Season Announcements	Room 1E13
3:45–4:45 pm	Yen Press	Room 1E14
6:15–7:15 pm	Vertical, Inc.	Room 1E14
8:45–9:45 pm	Unusual Manga Genres	Room 1E12

Sunday

When	What	Where
10:45 am–12:45 pm	TBA (formerly Kodansha USA panel)	???
11 am–12 pm	Castles, Forests and Bath Houses: The Worlds of Hayao Miyazaki	Room 1E13
12:15–1:15 pm	Anime News Network	Room 1E13
1:15–2:15 pm	Oni Press	Room 1A14
1:45–2:45 pm	Culinary Manga	Room 1E12
2:45–3:45 pm	Anime Recruitment	Room 1E12
3:45–4:45 pm	The Changing Face of Anime	Room 1E14

Click here for more of our New York Comic Con 2010 coverage.

New York Comic Con 2010: Prepare for Mind Blowage was originally published on Ani-Gamers (www.anigamers.com) on October 5, 2010 at 9:14 PM. Unless you are reading this in an RSS reader or a blog aggregator that credits the original authors, this version has likely been illegally copied (or "scraped") from our site. If you believe a site has scraped our content, please contact us so we can take action against the offender.

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