The Professional Gamer - September 7, 2015

This weekend, I am attending Nan Desu Kan.  Some of the coverage should have already hit the front page at this point.  However, I'm writing this at a point when the convention has only just begun.  That being the case, let's talk about my week so far.

Reading:  After many weeks of not finding the time, I finally finished another volume of Pretty Guardian: Sailor Moon.  That leaves me with only 3 volumes left in the entire series.  And, as I've previously discussed, I think the Dark Moon arc marks the point where the story finally has some good pacing and character development.

Watching: My lovely wife Crystal has convinced me to sit down and watch a few episodes of My Love Story, and now I'm hooked.  I suppose that this is only fair since I've hooked her into Welcome to Night Vale.  But, My Love Story is a great, unconventional shojou romance.  I've only watched a few episodes so far, and will therefore withhold my complete review for now.  For now, it is a fun romance, and definitely on my A-list for this year.

Playing: Unfortunately, the busy convention schedule this week did not leave me any time for games.  And, I will likely spend most of Labor Day catching up on my chores that I am neglecting this weekend.  Such is life.

That's all I have for this week.  If you haven't already, check out our coverage of Nan Desu Kan.  Have a great week, and game on!

NDK - 2015 Day 2

I've had a great second day here at Nan Desu Kan 2015.  Per usual, I started out the day finalizing my interview questions, and then went down to the open areas of the hotel in order to spot some cosplay and costumes.  Everyone has done such a great job with their costumes this year, and it has made the people watching into such a fun activity.

Aniplex Industry Panel

Aniplex again had a panel at NDK, and discussed a lot of their recent and upcoming releases.  Their list of anime currently available on disc included Fate Stay Night, Aldnoah Zero, Persona 4 Golden Animation, Irregular at Magic High School, and Expelled from Paradise.  Current streaming content includes Durarara X2, Charlotte, Classroom Crisis, Wagnaria, and God Eater.  Upcoming releases announced are largely later volumes of the series above, plus Sword Art Online and Tsuki Monogatari.  Aniplex will produce an English dub of Your Lie in April with Patrick Seitz as the director.

Funimation Industry Panel

Funimation has certainly been busy this season, with over 20 simulcast running during the summer season.  Michiko and Hatchin is now available on their S.A.V.E. line, so if you have put off purchasing it, now would be a good time.  Series now available for purchase include Hyperdimension Neptunia, Fairy Tail Part 16, Ben-to, D-Frag, One Piece Season 7 Part 1, and .hack//GU Trilogy.  I'm interested in Ping Pong the Animation, a series by director Maasaki Yuasa, whose previous work includes Tatami Galaxy and the "Food Chain" episode of Adventure Time.  The movie 009 Re:Cyborg will be a retelling of the classic Cyborg 009.  There also seems to be a theme of young women encountering down on their luck gods and spirits with series such as Noragami and Inori Kon Kon,  Funimation will re-release Fullmetal Alchemist on Blu-Ray with a very fancy collectors edition on September 15.  Season 2 of Space Dandy and Tokyo Ghoul will follow shortly after on September 22.  Finally, Mamoru Hosado's latest film, The Boy and The Beast is slated for a theatrical release in 2016.  Hosado's previous works include Summer Wars and Wolf Children, and I am therefore extremely excited to see this new movie.

The Ultimate Hellsing: Ultimate Panel

Jonathan Klein (series producer) and Teliesin Jaffe (series ADR director) discussed the ins and outs of 15 years of work on the Hellsing series, including both the original TV series and the more recent OVA.  Most of the panel was presented as a series of annecdotes relating the various challenges that the English language adaptation faced, such as us of Arucado versus Alucard for the main character, casting difficulties (people still complain about the British cast's "fake" accents), and some of the work they did to beef up the Ultimate series soundtrack from the original stereo mix to a full 5.1 mix (they added some cannon noise to Alucard's guns to give them more oomph).  Some say that suffering is necessary for art, but I feel Klein and Jaffe may have been dished more than their fair share.

Funimation Dimension W

Dimension W is a manga series that has been running in Japan since 2012 and currently has 8 volumes published.  In the panel, Funimation Conventions Manager Tara McKinney announced that Funimation will be on the committee that produces an anime series based on the Manga.  In Dimension W, humanity in the near future has found a solution to our current energy crisis by creating "Coils" that are capable of tapping energy from another dimension.  The main characters are Mira, an android, and Kyoma, a detective who is also somewhat of a Luddite.  Production stills and the trailer show some very promising animation with a mix of 3D CGI and 2D work.  As part of the panel, we were able to speak with series producer Uchiro Matsaka via Skype.  The series is currently in production and will begin simulcasting in January 2016.

I also interview Dr. Alisa Freedman today.  Look for podcast audio to be available in the near future.  And I am about to head to the Kevin McKeever's "War Stories from the Convention" panel.  But, since that is an 18+ panel, I doubt there will be anything that I can share with you.  Have a great night, and game on!

NDK 2015 - Day 1

Hi everyone! The first day of Nan Desu Kan 2015 has come and gone, and it has been a great day.  The new hotel seems to be working out great so far, and the new, larger Artist's Alley is filled with all sorts of cool artists.  I went to Opening Ceremonies, since it tends to be a good opportunity to meet the guests, and get a better idea of what they look like in person.

Awesome Tyrael cosplay spotted near the convention registration.

Later, I went to Jan Scott-Frazier's panel on Translating Anime and Manga.  Jan has 14 years of experience in the animation industry including as an animator, writer, and translator.  She discussed some of the basic concerns that any translator has when they approach a work, whether it is Beowulf or Lupin the Third.  Then, she discussed some of the particularities of translating Japanese works into English.  Overall, the panel was informative and entertaining.

And Steven!

That's all that I have for today,  Stay tuned here, and follow me on Twitter for more updates throughout the day.  Game on!

The Gameslave Podcast - Episode 213

In which we discuss our plans for Nan Desu Kan (NDK) 2015.

Nan Desu Kan has just release their programming schedule.  Go have a look and plan out your weekend!

Have you looked at the guest list for Nan Desu Kan recently?  I believe NDK is going to supply us with a good mix of older and newer guests.  From the former column: Lisa Ortiz.  And from the later: Robbie Daymond.  Don't know about the rest of you, but I'm excited for this convention.  

We also have a bunch of friends who will be in Artist's Alley.  You should go check them all out and exchange your monies for delicious comics.

TCAF Comics Roundup 1

This is first in a number a post that I'm going to put out on the comics that purchased at TCAF.  My plan is to post reviews of a few comics at a time over the next few weeks.  If I can manage that, then I should be able to start posting about my Denver Comic Con purchases by Labor Day.  

To be fair, this first round of reviews will be comics the I purchased in Toronto, but outside of TCAF.  Some were purchased at the Little Island, and others were purchased direct from artists that weren't exhibiting at TCAF this year, but still had a few books available to sell.  Without any further delay, let's talk about some comics.

Silly Kingdom: Alengrimrickshaw's 211th Birthday and A New Steed Indeed by Katie and Steven Shanahan

Two comic fantasy tales by the Shanahan's.  In Alengrimrickshaw's 211th Birthday, the Princess decides that the court wizard has been far too dour of late, and decides to hold a birthday party for him.  Alengrimrickshaw, the wizard, is offended when he hears that they plan to invite Markus, the Jester, to perform "magic" tricks at the party.  Alen decides to make it rain (fire) to spoil the party, and things get out of control.  In A New Steed Indeed, the Prince is jealous of Peatrid, Prince of Belfront, and his new unicorn steed.  Unhappy with his kingdom's traditional mount (a llama), the Prince sets out with Markus to capture a unicorn of his own.  It turns out, the unicorns are super jerks, and the Prince is in over his head.  

Both stories are fun, but if I were forced to pick, I would say that A New Steed Indeed is the stronger book.  The dialogue and situations create a humorous atmosphere, but I think Katie's ability to stretch the emotional expressions of the characters really bring this to another level.  If you get a chance to purchase these comics, I highly recommend it.

Overall: 4.5 / 5

Batgirl No. 35 by Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher, Babs Tarr, and Maris Wicks

This is the first Batgirl issue that is part of the "New 52" series from DC Comics.  To be honest, I have never gotten really big into anything from DC or Marvel in the past.  The last time I tried was in the late '90's when the current Spider-Man story was the Clone Saga, and the weirdness of that story really turned me off on the whole thing.  However, when I saw the first images posted for the new Batgirl character design, I was intrigued.  I've yet to visit my local comics shop, but when I saw this on the rack in Toronto, I decided to take a chance on it.  I'm glad I did.  This issue was fun, and piqued my interest in the characters, such that I'm looking at picking up the rest of the back issues.  I enjoy that Barbara Gordon is written like an actual young person who happens to be a crime fighter.  And Tarr's art is a lot of fun.

Overall: 4 / 5

Giant Days No.1 by John Allison, Lissa Treiman, and Whitney Cogar

This comic is written by John Allison (yes, that John Allison), so it promises to be interesting.  To be honest, I'm at a bit of a loss to describe it. So far, the story is centered on three women who are just starting at university.  There are some hints of supernatural events in the past that occurs before the story, but nothing really strange has happened on screen so far.  The characters are fun and the art is lots of fun.  I love the description of one of the girls as "50% hair, 100% not ready for this mean old world".  This has been a great introduction to the story, and I'm gonna try to find the rest of it.

Overall: 4 / 5

Lumberjanes No. 5 by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Brooke Allen, and Shannon Watters

I've saved my favorite for last.  Lumberjanes speaks to me in a lot of ways.  I grew up in the Boy Scouts, and in games of make believe in the woods.  Lumberjanes is basically that, except all the monsters are real.  All of the main characters are women (in fact, there are no male characters for the first few issues), and they are hugely variable.  Because there are so many women characters, none of them ends up being completely responsible for "representing" all women.  I picked up the first 4 issues when they were available on Humble Bundle, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

Overall: 5 / 5

The Gameslave Podcast - Episode 210

Denver Comic Con has come and gone.  In this episode, Crystal, Andrew, and Jim discuss the convention, representation, and Star Wars.  Enjoy!

Denver Comic Con - In Photos!

Denver Comic Con 2015 has come and gone. There was great cosplay throughout, and while I did not get it all, I have been able to preserve some of it for future generations. Please enjoy the full  Denver Comic Con 2015 gallery. 

The Professional Gamer - May 29, 2015

Hi Readers!  I'm going to change up the format this week due to Denver Comic Con dominating most of my geeky activities for the past two weeks.  Here we go!

Panels: Despite the kerfluffle caused by a certain panel at DCC, the panels that I attended were overall pretty good.  I found the panels about the Denver indie comics scene, Jurassic Park, and discrimination in pop culture, to be very well run and rewarding to attend.  A big thank you to the moderates and participants on those panels for doing such a great job.

Watching: I finished watching Silver Spoon this past week.  It was a lot of fun, but the later half of the second season is really sad.  I enjoyed that the bad things that happen in the series are not so much treated as things to be fixed, but rather as things for one to move past or adjust their lives around.  I also learned that Samurai Jack is now available on Hulu.  So that's what I'll be watching for the next few weeks.  I also realized that Mako voice Aku.

Reading: I'm trying to work through my large back log of comics purchased at TCAF and DCC.  Look for articles about those to be published in the next few weeks.

That's all for this week.  Join me again next Saturday as I discuss another week in the amazing adventures of the Professional Gamer!