NDK - It Approaches

Nan Desu Kan's (NDK) sweet 16 is approaching fast. The event starts on September 14th and runs until the 16th. They have a full list of guests (after saying it was finalized several times). They also have the schedule up so you can plan what you are going to hit and when. Finally something new they are doing is a mobile version of the con information. This includes hours, policies, guests, a map, the schedule, and more. Blackberry and Win Mobile users can access it at mobile site while iOS and Android users can download the Guidebook app to have everything in a much smaller (read not a legal size piece of paper) in their pockets.

This brings us to the yearly reminder for all those that are visiting the convention. Since you have not yet seen fit to shed your meat bag bodies for a superior robot one you will have to remember to do three primary tasks. These are eat, drink, and sleep. And when I say this you must eat more then pocky and ramen. You need to drink more then ramune and alcohol, especially if you are not native to high altitudes. That means you need to drink more water and don't become a cheap date since you won't be able to handle your booze near as well as you used to. Finally you need to sleep in a real room, not a viewing room while no one is watching. This will ensure you a great experience at the con instead of a mediocre experience with the EMTs. Lastly help everyone else have a great con and remember to bathe regularly. We don't need to help the smelly geek stereotype thank you very much.

That leaves me with one things left to say.

WOO NDK!

NDK Sets Record Hotel Reservations

As many of you may know NDK is a bit off still, about 8 months roughly away, but that doesn't mean you can get lazy and complacent. Reservations for the DTC Marriott, the hotel where the convention is held, started yesterday. All the normal and atrium rooms for the hotel sold out in an hour. This is a record for the convention and a sign that they are quickly out growing the convention space of the hotel, but we already knew that. At the time of this writing the hotel still had outside balcony rooms available and it is possible a cancellation will open up some rooms in coming months. I personally would not hold my breath on that happening. The anime geeks will be watching for those like hawks.

If all else fails then you can also get a room at the Hyatt and Hilton hotels nearby. From experience the Hyatt (after correction) is a nice hotel with a decent restaurant and the walk over isn't as bad as you would think. It's also good to remember to pre-register for the convention just in case with the attendance cap in place because you don't want to be left out do you?

To see the posts for NDK record hotel reservations, please visit their website here.  If you'd like to pre-register for NDK, you can do so through this link here.  We look forward to seeing you all there again this year!

Update on 2012-01-27 22:30 by Chris "Assimilator" McLerran

OK, Carebear informs me it was the Hyatt that we stayed at, not the Hilton.  Too many Hotels with starting with H.

Also here is the link to NDK Registration: http://ndkdenver.org/registration

NDK New Year's Eve 2011

So New Year's Eve has come and gone.  How did you spend yours?  I spent as mine at the NDK New Year's Eve Ball.  All though it would have been better called a fancy party thanks to the music selection, at least from the music that I heard, it was a lot of fun. They had a charity for the Japanese Red Cross, free Poker, a fortune tree, and dancing (of course).  For those that could not make it here are the pictures we grabbed (full pictures are in the photo gallery)

NDK 2011 - Assimilator's Impression

Nan Desu Kan 2011 recently happened here in Denver, and we here at The Gameslave attended to report on the convention.  So here I give you my experiences with the biggest anime convention in the Rocky Mountain region.

Opening Ceremonies

We started things off by going to opening ceremonies.  This actually really helped set the tone for the rest of convention.  The energy that the convention directors exuded helped get everyone pumped for the weekend.   We were introduced to the our guests which included Chris Cason, Clarine Harp, Jamie Marchi, Leah Clark, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Michael Sinterniklaas, Patrick Seitz, Stephanie Sheh, Todd Haberkorn, Tony Oliver, Vic Mignogna, Kevin McKeever, Steve Yun, and Tommy Yun.  They all mentioned how excited they were (at least the ones that were in the room) to be at NDK this year.  A few were even returning guests such as Patrick Seitz and Vic Mignogna, so we must be doing something right.  The only thing that gave me pause was when the guests started to praise Casa Bonita.  I have been there and I had to wonder if they actually ate the food they ordered, or just ate the unlimited sopaipillas and watched the cliff diving?  Patrick did look good in the sombrero though.

Read More in the Anime Section...

NDK 2011 - AMV Winners

Did you go the AMV awards at NDK 2011 this year? No, you did not make it? Good thing you have us then. May I give you the winners of NDK 2011 AMV Contest ... which can be found on the Anime Page.

NDK 2011 Preliminary Review and Pictures

Another NDK has come and gone for us here at the Gameslave.  We are hard at working ripping our recordings to computers, cleaning up pictures, and writing articles about this year's anime convention.  I'm posting just a quick article about my own feelings and experience at this year's NDK as we work on finishing our main articles.  Follow this link here to our Anime page for more of my initial thoughts.

NDK 2011: One Week Away

We're at one week, or more technically eight days away, from the largest anime convention in the Rocky Mountain region.  We here at the Gameslave are starting to prepare our schedules for coverage of this year's convention.  NDK is celebrating it's 15th year, which seems startling to me.  Mostly because I, ZeldaQueen, at least have been attending since 2000, so that'd be NDK number four. 

In any case, NDK's main site has done their major update before the start of the con, which is very informative.  If you've been before, there isn't too much new stuff, but enough that will catch you off guard if you aren't paying attention.  Firstly, the Marriot is charging for parking.  Paying for parking is not always ideal, but if you've stayed on location before, you know how terrible parking is in the Marriot lot.  It's only $5 a day per car, which really isn't too bad considering the hotel is guaranteeing beginning room rates to not start above $100 the next 5 years.  Thank you hotel staff and NDK for that.  Hopefully more people will carpool and help let everyone have a spot.  Woe to those who leave the lot as spots are hard to get back into.  Second, there isn't the early dealer's room privilege for those that pre-register.  No longer do pre-regs get in an hour to 30 minutes earlier cause we've finally reached the point where more people pre-register now than not.  We do have separate lines though, for those who have props to check and those who don't, to hopefully keep things flowing along.  Thirdly, the video game room will be going on 24 hours a day, much like the anime video rooms.  That's a lot of gaming playing in a single weekend and tournaments if that's what you like.  Lastly, we get to see how the attendance cap plays out this year.  Each day is capped at 7,500 people.  Unless NDK can get a larger venue, we'll have to get use to this new feature.  There can only be so many people crammed into one building and trust me it's already been feeling seam-bursting.

If you are planning on attending or know someone that is and would like the heads up, direct yourselves to the main NDK page here at this handy link.  There are PDFs of the Events Schedule and Program Guide so you can start planning out your time spent at the con.  The list of potentials for us is long already and will need to be pruned as we can't be in three places at once and will need to do some dividing and conquering as well as passing up some items, for our coverage.  It looks like it's another great year for panels and guests as many favorites are returning.  (Darn you anime counting contest for always being during the costume contest!  Why can't you be on Friday night!) 

For those of you unable to attend or just want the highlights, is there anything you'd like us to check out and report on at this year's convention?  Send your thoughts in a comment and we'll see if we can't take in the sights and answer the questions for you!  Keep your eyes peeled for our coming coverage of NDK!

Pre-Registration Ending Soon for NDK

It's closing in on being that time of year for the Rocky Mountain region con attendee! The largest anime convention in the area, Nan Desu Kan is fast approaching its pre-registration deadline.  If you are in the region and are thinking of attending, then I suggest you head over to their registration page by following this handy link here.  There seems to be a little bit of conflicting information on their site, but my guess is that the pre-registration ends on August 14th and not the 16th, so you have roughly 12 days to get your 3-day badge for the discounted price of $40 versus $50 at the door.  Also the sooner you buy the better as NDK is implementing an attendance cap this year.  Those of you who drag your feet might end up disappointed.  Plus think of the extra benefit you get to go into the dealer's room an extra hour early before everyone else, so for the collector it's so worth it!  For those of you who are attending, keep your eyes peeled for those of us from the Gameslave.  We will be wandering around, attending panels, taking pictures, asking questions, and giving out original goodies designed by me, ZeldaQueen.  We look forward to seeing you all there September 9th - 11th!