Available Panels

"We are not intellectuals.  We are idiots with good taste"
Our panels aim to be as informing as they are entertaining, and as entertaining as they are informational.  In almost everything we do we try to look a little deeper, dig in a little more, and think a little harder about it.  We give you not only the substance, but the contexts it can be viewed in, and what was going on behind the scenes to inspire it.  Also, robots.  Big freaking robots.


Miyazaki/ Studio Ghibli - An open forum exploring the works of the prestigious Studio Ghibi, the creators behind it, their past works, and general commentary on the subject. A look both at the themes and content of the individual works, and the studios works in general. Personal points of view and different interpretations highly welcome.

Recommended Viewer Experience Familiarity with at least one or two major Ghibli titles, or an interest in the field.
Recommended Works Nausicaa, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, Whisper of the Heart, Only Yesterday, Future Boy Conan, Lupin III, Porco Rosso
Optimal Level of Audience Involvement The more the better! Come with comments, jokes, opinions, and the works!
Additional readings http://www.nausicaa.net
Anime, from Akira to Princess Mononoke by Susan J. Napier, ISBN 0-312-23863-0 (chapters 7, 9, 10, and 11)
Hayao Miyazaki : Master of Japanese Animation by Helen McCarthy ISBN 1-880-65641-8
http://www.onlineghibli.com
http://www.wingsee.com/ghibli/


Koji Morimoto/ Studio 4°C - An audiovisual introduction into the visually amazing works of studio 4°C, plus a brief synopsis of the studio its self, its history, and its future. Originally an off-shoot of Studio Ghibli, Studio 4°C has a much more modern style than its mother studio, but might even surpass it in visual design, and artistic use of animation.

Recommended Viewer Experience None required!
Recommended Works Memories, Spriggan, Noiseman Sound Insect.
Optimal Level of Audience Involvement Anything you can do to help us out, but due to the relative lack of general knowledge on this studio, we aren't expecting much. Cheer if you like the videos though! Brief discussions may follow each video, so feel free to chime in!
Additional readings http://www.kojimorimoto.net/ (french)
http://Catsuka.com (also french, but easy to navigate. Just go to videos and then click Morimoto)
Sorry, we are translating these sites as fast as our superior minds can comprehend the inferior language of the frog eating surrender monkeys

 FLCL - You've seen it, you love it, but how well do you understand it?  This anything open forum panel will serve a duel purpose as a Q&A session and a place to trade theories and ideas on FLCL!  Any theories, thoughts, or opinions are welcome!  From psychologically analyzing the characters, to a breakdown on the significance of having a left handed bridge on a guitar, this panel will fulfill all your Fooly Cooly needs!

Recommended Viewer Experience Knowledge of FLCL, as well as having seen the episodes.
Recommended Works FLCL
Optimal Level of Audience Involvement The more you talk the better!  We burn with great desire to answer all your questions, and we are suffering great torment wanting to hear your views and opinions on the topic!  This panel is as much about what you have to say as it is what we do.
Additional readings The Groundwork of FLCL
The FLCL manga
DVD Linier Notes
DVD director commentary
Any Pillows music (just because it rocks)
 

Deep Thinking/Mind Bending Anime - This panel is all about the anime that keeps you up at night for weeks.  The shows you need to watch five times to fully get everything.  The anime that drives you crazy, that makes you collapse in a drooling, giggling mass on the ground when you finally "get it".  The movies that make you want to give up and join the navy when it shoots off in a random direction... or say a characters arm falls off or something like that.  This is an open forum for talking about your favorite deep anime, looking at the theories behind them, investigating the deeper themes and messages, and asking the questions you have never been able to answer!

Recommended Viewer Experience The more anime you have seen the better.  An interest in more complex shows and movies is important, and some background knowledge of psychology and philosophy couldn't hurt either!
Recommended Works Evangelion, Akira, anything Ghibli, anything Oshii, Lain, Boogiepop phantom, etc.
Optimal Level of Audience Involvement Although we always like heavy audience activity, in a perfect world this panel would have us mainly moderating debate amongst yourselves!  Come prepared to ask questions, share ideas, argue statements, and debate theories!
Additional readings Check your local library, read up on things online, consult the Buddha, and eat the brain of a Graduate Student to gain his knowledge.

 

Your Favorite Anime Sucks! - "You anime fans think your little cartoons are so great, the best thing that happened to media since the invention of cable TV, right?  Well, you're all morons!  Anime is the stupidest load of crap I've ever seen, and I'm going to prove it to you!  Just tell me your favorite title, and I'll tell you why it sucks!"  Obviously this panel is all for fun, and not to be taken seriously.  The premise is simple, you give us a title, and we'll make fun of it!  It's a good time for all!

Recommended Viewer Experience As long as you know at least one title, you'll be able to participate and enjoy the panel!  Even if you don't know a lot of anime though, you should still have a good time as most of our insults are funny even if you haven't seen the show!
Recommended Works Nothing specific, but I do particularly enjoy making fun of Shounen Jump stuff!
Optimal Level of Audience Involvement Everyone in the audience WILL be involved!  We can't insult your favorite show if you don't tell us it, and in the unlikely event of us failing to deliver adequate punishment to someone's show, then you might have to help us out!  
Additional readings Nothing really, but again, Shounen Jump has some pretty bad stuff!

 

A Parents Guide to Anime: What is too much? - This panel is an objective look of both anime and anime fan-culture aimed at helping parents with teenager or younger children to understand what their kids are watching, and to help them judge what, and how much, is appropriate.  We understand the concerns that many parents have, and will work to not only serve as a guide of what titles, genres, and activities you are comfortable with, but also ways to bridge the gap and to get a better understanding of what your kids are watching.  We will remain free of any biases during this panel, to try and give you the best possible view of this subject.

Recommended Viewer Experience None!  After all, if you watched a lot of anime you wouldn't need to come!
Recommended Works While there are no specific shows to see, nor do you need to have seen anything completely, we recommend that you watch at least a little anime so that you understand what it is, and what it consists of. 
Optimal Level of Audience Involvement This panel is about your concerns and questions, so please be very involved and ask as many questions as it takes to get a good handle on what it's all about!
Additional readings Anime Essentials: Every Thing a Fan Needs to Know by Gilles Poitras
Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke : Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation by Susan J. Napier
Anime Explosion! The What? Why? & Wow! of Japanese Animation by Patrick Drazen

 

A History of Fandom - From watching 8th generation tapes in a cramped dark room with a second year Japanese student attempting to figure out and explain what's going on as it happens to thousands of fans at a convention watching professionally translated anime with celebrity voices being digitally projected onto the silver screen.  From primarily male graduate students to more and more teenage girls, fandom has changed a lot in the last thirty years.  This panel looks at the history of fandom and its fans, as well as the current trends and demographics.  We will also look at the motivations behind becoming a fan, and the reasons for interest in anime.  This is a look at who we are, where we came from, and where we are going.

Recommended Viewer Experience An appreciation of anime as a medium is important, as well as to be a fan/ fanboy/ fangirl/ otaku.  However, people with no fandom experience will be able to understand and learn from this panel. 
Recommended Works A knowledge of older titles couldn't hurt.
Optimal Level of Audience Involvement This panel is about our experiences, so feel free to share your insight on your own generation of fandom, as well as what first interested you in anime, and what you get out of being a fan.This 
Additional readings Watching Anime, Reading Manga : 25 Years of Essays and Reviews by Fred Patten (forward by Carl Macek, the man behind Robotech) 

 

What not to do when making an AMV - This isn't your standard "How to make an Anime Music Video" panel, because we aren't going to you what to do, or how to use your oh-so legally acquired copy of Premier to make a video of your own.  No, we're going to tell you how to not make your AMV suck!  Most of what we have to say isn't too complicated, and hopefully will go a long way to make your AMVs stand out from the rest!

Recommended Viewer Experience An interest in AMV's as well as regularly watching AMVs.  Also, being an AMV creator would be useful, but is not required.  
Recommended Works Euphoria by Koopiskeva 
Tainted Doughnuts by E-ko
Die Another Day by VicBond007
Eternal Damnation by NHMK
These are all really good AMV's, also just dig around and find some bad ones.  An easy way to do this is search for a popular song and DL everything that comes up.  90% of them should have glaring flaws!
Optimal Level of Audience Involvement         Primarily a lecture, but throw in your own input about what floats your boat, or what sinks her to the bottom of the sea!  If you disagree with something we say, tell us!
Additional readings   Http://www.animemusicvideos.org should have everything you need on it.

 

Con-ing 101 - AKA the "I woke up in the hallway of a hotel in a city I don't know, dressed like a hooker, covered in marker, surrounded by freaks... and I remember all of it!" panel.  This panel is both about helping newer fans learn the secret arts of how to get the most out of a convention, as well as experiences shared by veteran con-goers.  Also, learn a little about what goes into making a successful convention, and how to do your part to make sure everyone has the best time possible!

Recommended Viewer Experience Since part of it is a guide on how to enjoy a con, I guess being at the con is the first step.  Liking anime might help too!
Recommended Works Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch Pure, nah, just kidding, you don't need to have seen any anime for this panel!
Optimal Level of Audience Involvement This is primarily a lecture, but we always enjoy audience input!  Give us your tips for survival, strategies for fun, favorite activities, and best con-stories! 
Additional readings Convention Strategies and Tactics for Fans of Foreign Pop-culture by Ralph Wednesday

GAINAX - The "Why Nadia is the Best Thing Ever" panel.  Some of you might be familiar with this little known studio, they did this show called Evangelion a while back, you might have heard of it.  They also did this short little number called FLCL.  Oh, and basically everything they did before those were just as good, and just about everything afterwards is worthy of mention as well.  We'll primarily talk about the animated works themselves, with a little bit of attention to the studio, and almost no attention to the video games.  

Recommended Viewer Experience                      Being familiar with several Gainax works.  Old or new, it's all going to come up.  
Recommended Works Gunbuster, Eva, FLCL, Mahoromatic, Abenobashi, Kare Kano, Nadia, Melody of Oblivion, Wings of the Honor Mice.   
Optimal Level of Audience Involvement This is Gainax we're talking about here!  You guys should spontaneously start drooling and writhing on the floor!  Interject whatever you want, tell us your deepest secrets, and that little theory you've secretly kept to yourself all these years! We 
Additional readings The Notenki Memoirs: Studio Gainax And The Men Who Created Evangelion by Yasuhiro Takeda

 

Alternative Manga - Alternative, Semi-Alternative and underground manga.  A look at manga that goes beyond what one usually finds in the book store these days.  This is a look at artists and the history of manga that is off-beat (though not necessarily hard to find in Japan ), alternative, down to earth, or fantastically weird.   From a popular artists that is currently Hayao Miyazaki’s favorite manga-ka, to an obscure Frenchman living in Japan who wants to merge the aesthetics of manga with the aesthetics of French Comics.  Also there will be a brief history on what is the world’s oldest “art-comics” market, going back to 1958.

Recommended Viewer Experience                      Some knowledge of manga is needed.  Knowledge of some underground stuff would be useful, but this is designed to introduce you to that stuff, so it is not required. 
Recommended Works Nasu by Iou Kuroda, Screw Style by Yoshiharu Tsuge, Tatsumi by Adrian Tomine, Cannabis by Tanaka Tatsuyuki, 0range by Koji Morimoto, Kinderbook by Kan Takahama, Rivers Edge by by Okazaki Kyoko.  Nothing is required though, and we will throw out plenty of recommendations at the panel.  
Optimal Level of Audience Involvement None required, but we always love to hear your comments, takes on things, suggestions, opinions, questions, insults, Futurama quotes, etc.!
Additional readings Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics by Frederick L. Schodt
Dreamland Japan by Frederick L. Schodt
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
www.mangascreener.com

 

Whose Line is it Anime? - Anime improv'.  Yeah, we know there are other people out there who do it, but we did it ourselves for Anime Punch, and it kicked-ass, so we figured why not.  We'll do most of the games, just don't ask us to sing!  

Recommended Viewer Experience                      See Anime, and also watch an episode of Whose Line is it Anyway 
Recommended Works Whatever, just watch something or enjoy humor 
Optimal Level of Audience Involvement We will take all of our cues from you, and I'm pretty sure that all of our games require some sort of audience input!
Preferred Games Scenes from a hat - give us a number of scenarios for us to be placed into
LARPing (minus the lame) - Give us a character to play 
Sub to Dub - Some act something in Japanese, while others translate
Dubtitling - Skip the whole foreign language part and just have other people adding dialogue 
Props - We steal your stuff and have fun with it!
That game when you carry on your partners sentence - Do what that thing I just said
SFX - Audience members add sound effects for our actors
Improbably Mission - Give us a mission and we'll act out doing it as super secret ninja!  

 

Anime Makeover - Some unlucky sap will be torn from the safety of the audience, publicly stripped and made-over to become an anime character!  Done in combination with either a game show or a cosplay panel, this event is really fun, or really scary, depending on circumstance.  Just be sure to wear clean underwear!

Recommended Viewer Experience                      Know what cosplay is.  Be aware of what an anime character costume may entail.  
Recommended Works Nada  
Optimal Level of Audience Involvement No one has to do anything... except one guy or girl, who may be: poked, prodded, manhandled, molested, painted, hair-sprayed, teased, scarred, humiliated, raped, and dyed.  That guy kinda has to be heavily invoved.
Additional readings Cosplay Encyclopedia (DVD)
Bad Touch, a guide to inappropriate contact - Bantam Books Inc.  1956

 

Last Artist Standing Complex - AKA - "The 'I got an eating disorder from a drawing contest' game"!  Grab your pencil and sketch pad and get ready to sketch your little heart out!  In this game of elimination, we will call out a genre and you have a few minutes to do your best to draw a character for it.  Sometimes it has to be an original character, sometimes a real one, and sometimes even a scenario.  Be ready for anything because we don't plan it out ahead of time!  At the end of each round the drawings are collected and mocked!  As time goes by, less and less people are able to compete, and finally the best artist in the audience will be found!  

Recommended Viewer Experience                      Know how to draw, or don't be bothered by insults. 
Recommended Works Practice drawing in your free time.  Be ready to draw on the spot, and look at other peoples fan-art and then your own.  Realize that 99% of fan-art and DA artists just flat out suck, and so know your own limits. 
Optimal Level of Audience Involvement Well, drawing is big.  Also not taking the insults too seriously, you're all beautiful in your own special ways.  Some of you are just beautiful in a really ugly way.
Additional readings The "How to Draw Manga" line of books is very good, and highly pertinent. 

 

Back of the Box Voicing - Something we never thought would catch on, voice acting the back of DVD's.  Ever wonder what autistic retard (no offence to autistic retards intended) they hired to write the descriptions of anime you find on the back of the box?  Well... for once we are going to thank them, because they are fun as hell to read dramatically!  Show off your best acting with the worst of scripts, and maybe even get some candy out of it!  

Recommended Viewer Experience                      Learn how to read! 
Recommended Works As with all the fandom oriented panels, not a lot. (since fangirls don't know crap anyhow... yeah, I said it, you wanna fight about it?  Go cosplay a show you've actually seen!)  I will say though that the Lain descriptions are particularly bad, and make Lain sound like an extra angst-filled Kare Kano!    
Optimal Level of Audience Involvement You better get your self on stage, grab a script, and let loose all the emotion and bravado you can muster!  Mmmmm...... Mustard.... uggghhhhh
Additional readings Look at any write up on any DVD you own, and realize just how little it has to do with anything.  

 

What Not to Say Online - A guide to internet politnessitude.  If you've ever chatted on AIM, read a profile online, put up an away message, posted on a forum, or seen a live journal; you've probably realized there are certain rules and formalities one must follow, and you've probably either gotten angry at someone, or have been flamed when one of these rules has been broken.  Learn the tricks of the trade, and hear awesome stories of internet stupidity at this panel!

Recommended Viewer Experience                      The more you have been online, the funnier this will be, but total newbies are accepted too, as they are in the most danger of falling to the darkside of internet culture.  F34R teh 1337 /\/0085!! 
Recommended Works Any forum or IRC channel will at some point invariably get some moron asshat showing up and causing trouble.  Study this boy, for he is what makes this all possible.  
Optimal Level of Audience Involvement Share your stories and insights!  This is about mutual hatred, not individualist love!
Additional readings There are several books about internet decorum.  I've never read one, so I can't recommend any.  

 

The Funny and You - A guide to yelling at the screen and coming off as a smart ass, and not just an ass.  Since the dawn of cinema  some in the audience have felt the need to add their own little comedic touch to the movie.  Unfortunately most of these comments are CRAP!  This panel hopes to save the audience from itself by spelling out the dos and don’ts of ridiculing the film.  At the end of the panel some lucky fans will come out certified smart asses if they pass our rigorous exam.  Those who fail will be required to spend 100 hours of training with a certified smart-ass instructor before they will be allowed to retake the test or sit in on a public anime showing.  Knowledge is power!

Recommended Viewer Experience                      At some point being in a room with a guy who was the only one there who didn't realize he wasn't funny.
Recommended Works The greater pop culture knowledge you have, the better you can do your job as a certified smart-ass.  
Optimal Level of Audience Involvement We will screen short segments of anime and give you the chance of ridiculing it.  The pressure is on, don't let us down!
Additional readings Guides to American pop culture are good.  Again, the more you know, the better you can do.  A Kirk reference is good, but a Sylvia Plath is better!