Speaking of Anime Expo, I figure now would be a good time to figure out what I should actually be doing while I’m down in LA. I’m arriving on Friday (mostly because work’s keeping me on Thursday and I totally was oblivious of the fact that it was a Thursday-through-Sunday con — I’m used to this thing called Fanime, yaknaamean?).

Here’s my schedule, as it stands right now:

Friday, July 2, 2010

12:00 PMish: Arrive at the LACC.
3:00 PM: Danny Choo panel. (I’m familiar with Danny, but it’s more like his panel comes right before a panel featuring…)
4:30-7:30 PM: Horie Yui panel and signing ♥
10:30 PM: Hardcore Synergy (AX Edition)

Saturday, July 3, 2010

10:00 AM-1:30 PM: Toradora! US Debut / Kitamura Eri and Horie Yui signing ♥
6:00-8:00 PM: Nihongo de OK
8:30-9:30 PM: Shira Oka panel

Sunday, July 4, 2010

9:00 AM: Danny Choo panel (Black★Rock Shooter unveiling!)
10:00 AM: General Guest of Honor autograph session (feat. Horie Yui, of course)
3:00 PM: Return back to NorCal.

“But Spiritsnare,” you might ask, “What about the gaps inbetween events, like 12~3 on Friday and 1:30~6 on Saturday? I think I did mention MangaGamer and how many guests they have and how none of their events seem to have a schedule yet. So those blocks are basically currently devoted to lunch, the Exhibit Hall in general, and whatever events from MangaGamer pique my interest.

To people I already know (you know who you are ♥), and to people I haven’t met up with in a while (SoCal peeps, holla!), and to people I’ll be seeing for the first time (Mid-Atlantic Technika “Shoreline Crew” and a couple of bloggers), I look forward to seeing you!!

Here’s a carol dedicated to the guests that are making it over to Anime Expo, courtesy of MangaGamer. (Because if I made a carol about guests in general, I’d get stuck on Horie Yui and never be able to stop massugu go massugu go massugu go massugu go. Start singing after the break. Oh, and some of these links aren’t work-safe (this is sorta a carol about MangaGamer, who publishes eroge). You’ve been warned.

せー

のー

On the first day of AX, MangaGamer gave to me:
The prez of @overdrive_jp!

On the second day of AX, MangaGamer gave to me:
Tororo-danchou,
and the prez of @overdrive_jp!

On the third day of AX, MangaGamer gave to me:
Katakura Shinji,
Tororo-danchou,
and the prez of @overdrive_jp!

On the fourth day of AX, MangaGamer gave to me:
Kayura Yuka,
Katakura Shinji,
Tororo-danchou,
and the prez of @overdrive_jp!

On the fifth day of AX, MangaGamer gave to me:
ア・ジュ・ソ・フ・ト～
Kayura Yuka,
Katakura Shinji,
Tororo-danchou,
and the prez of @overdrive_jp!

On the sixth day of AX, MangaGamer gave to me:
Kirari Shiino,
ア・ジュ・ソ・フ・ト～
Kayura Yuka,
Katakura Shinji,
Tororo-danchou,
and the prez of @overdrive_jp!

On the seventh day of AX, MangaGamer gave to me:
Fujimaru-san,
Kirari Shiino,
ア・ジュ・ソ・フ・ト～
Kayura Yuka,
Katakura Shinji,
Tororo-danchou,
and the prez of @overdrive_jp!

On the eighth day of AX, MangaGamer gave to me:
Kuribayashi Minami,
Fujimaru-san,
Kirari Shiino,
ア・ジュ・ソ・フ・ト～
Kayura Yuka,
Katakura Shinji,
Tororo-danchou,
and the prez of @overdrive_jp!

On the ninth day of AX, MangaGamer gave to me:
Kase Aina,
Kuribayashi Minami,
Fujimaru-san,
Kirari Shiino,
ア・ジュ・ソ・フ・ト～
Kayura Yuka,
Katakura Shinji,
Tororo-danchou,
and the prez of @overdrive_jp!

On the tenth day of AX, MangaGamer gave to me:
Takano Yuki,
Kase Aina,
Kuribayashi Minami,
Fujimaru-san,
Kirari Shiino,
ア・ジュ・ソ・フ・ト～
Kayura Yuka,
Katakura Shinji,
Tororo-danchou,
and the prez of @overdrive_jp!

On the eleventh day of AX, MangaGamer gave to me:
rino (aka CooRie),
Takano Yuki,
Kase Aina,
Kuribayashi Minami,
Fujimaru-san,
Kirari Shiino,
ア・ジュ・ソ・フ・ト～
Kayura Yuka,
Katakura Shinji,
Tororo-danchou,
and the prez of @overdrive_jp!

On the twelfth day of AX, MangaGamer gave to me:
Frontwing (lolnottypemoon),
Rino (aka CooRie),
Takano Yuki,
Kase Aina,
Kuribayashi Minami,
Fujimaru-san,
Kirari Shiino,
ア・ジュ・ソ・フ・ト～
Kayura Yuka,
Katakura Shinji,
Tororo-danchou,
and the prez of @overdrive_jp!

HAPPY RIDICULOUSLY EARLY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYONE

Today is a Sunday. It doesn’t feel like one.

Tomorrow, the fall semester of school starts for me. It doesn’t feel like it’s that time yet.

What have I done during the summer, anyway?

• I kicked off the summer with FanimeCon 2009. It feels like the best con because it was a convention of extremes: I had the best roommates (I love you, Allan!), the best teammates (I love you, E-Gaming!), the most lack of sleep during a convention (I love you again, Allan!), and the most hype I’ve had at a concert (I love you, Momoi!).
• The final build of DJ Max Technika hit Sunnyvale Golfland a week and a half later to tumultuous applause and dance. (Currently, I’m at the Main DJ rank.)
• A month-ish later, I’d head over to Anime Expo 2009 courtesy of a couple of friends of mine – Tsubasa, who graciously provided me with a ride down to the City of Angels, and Tuny and Jon, who graciously allowed me to crash at Jon’s apartment. I collaborated with PM Studios – the Western distribution team for the DJ Max series – on publishing and distributing a pocket guide for DJ Max Technika, which was really fun.
• The anime adaptation of Sora no Manimani hit Japanese airwaves (and torrent trackers) on Tanabata, and I’ve been watching! On that note, I’ve watched all of Endless Eight and I’ve rewatched the entirety of Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight!, and, depending on my mood, I rewatch episodes of Sketchbook ~full color’s~ from time to time. Oh, I almost forgot – I finally got around to watching Kara no Kyoukai 5 – which was a doozy – and 6, which, albeit pretty entertaining, is the weakest movie thus far.
• As of recent, I’ve started drilling kanji with Rome. Most of his recent posts list the kanji we’ve studied; I’m going to make a tumblr or some other microblogging thing for that express purpose whenever I get around to it. Oh, and I’ve decided to sign up for JLPT 4-kyu.
• I successfully set up a SAMBA/CUPS server using Ubuntu Server Edition. To test the linkup, I tossed the entirety of Manabi Straight onto the server and streamed a couple of episodes on the clients. Needless to say, it was rather fun (and refreshing not only using an entirely command-line prompt, but using a text-only browser for the first time, as well).
• Tina came back from Japan this past week, and we had a party to commemorate that. It was a potluck, so I brought supplies for what I dubbed Straightforward Crepes. Seventeen of them were ordered. All seventeen people who ordered them were satisfied (except the one person who asked for a surprise and got the stack of messed-up crepes with stuff on top — It was a surprise…!)
• Last, but not least, I sang my heart out at Gamba Karaoke this past Thursday. I had tentative plans with a different group of friends to do it again that upcoming Saturday, but it didn’t happen.

True to what the title of this particular post references, precisely half of this list is, in some way, consciously Manabi-related. I wonder when this particular fascination will wear off…

He was buried in what must have been hundred-degree sand, yet he still had a smile on his face. He was, perhaps, probably thinking about how, after he’d be done shooting the promotional video for Ottototto Natsu Da Ze (trans. It’s Summer Already!), Yuki Goto of the now long-disbanded idol pair EE Jump would head back to his house, smothering himself in the chill of his house’s air conditioner.

In contrast, I’m not quite as fortunate in regards to climate control. At the time I write up this particular post, the Weather Channel reports to me that we’re in 96-degree (Farenheit, natch) heat, complemented by two heat advisories – one for today, one up until tomorrow morning. The most I’ve got is one of those Blizzard fans pointed at me on high speed, which seems to be working wonders…until I realize that, for some forsaken reason beyond me, I’m still sweating.

This doesn’t bode well for this upcoming weekend. I’ve confirmed that I’m going to Anime Expo, which is supposedly for all intents and purposes, the quintessential American anime convention. The problem is that Anime Expo is in Southern California, which is supposed to be, on the average, ten degrees hotter than the climate of Northern California, which is where I live.

Did I mention it’s 96 degrees here?

The Los Angeles Convention Center better have the best air conditioning system on the face of the planet, lest the cosplayers ruin their outfits on the first day, and I perish while cheering Morning Musume on.