Kids in Iraq love Pikachu and now Bahrain is working on starting its own anime con. I actually heard about this a couple of weeks ago and fired off an e-mail with some questions for Hind (the person trying to get this thing going) to see if I could get some more information, but I haven’t heard back.

But I still think it’s a really awesome idea, so I’m spreading it! Hey, Google says I have some visitors from the middle east, even some in Bahrain. So if you’re one of them: join the site’s member list and find out what you can do to help out.

Did I ever mention to y’all that I’m going to the New York Anime Fest after all?

Well, uh, I am. I’m leaving at stupid o’clock tomorrow morning, so I won’t be at the ICv2 conference, unfortunately. But I WILL be covering as many panels as I can (and attempting to secure people to attend the ones I can’t), as well as apparently taking part in theOtaku’s main panel on Friday at 6pm. So come and heckle me. Just remember that most theO readers are underage, so keep the heckling PG-13ish.

And yes, I’m covering the panels for theO, since they are, y’know, footing the bill and all. So head there for my complete coverage; I’ll put together a round-up when the con’s over, hopefully.

Since I’ve been so busy, I sent my minion kuronok to attend MangaNEXT for me. And he went above and beyond the call of duty by snagging some pictures and writing up a report! What can I say, I have good taste in minions. ♥

What follows is the report, and photos are after the jump.

So I, Kurono K, ventured into the small convention known as Manganext, the bastard offspring (and much more enjoyable) of Animenext, which was conceived due to contracts and a regret of a hotel. A lot has happened too me there, I’ve seen things I’ve seen at no other con. Want a look? WELL DO YOU?

• A ten and a twelve year old girl sister team teaches a bunch of people Hare Hare Yukai, in black SAILOR FUKU’s no less.
• Some stupid idiot asked a Del Rey translator why she didn’t get a reply from Yuu Watase after writing her a letter through Shoujo Beat.
• What you see about Comiket in Genshiken and Comic Party: Not an Exaggeration at All
• There are Manga-Ka who have drawn Hentai, Yuri, Yaoi, Shounen, and Shoujo manga.
• Apparently, Raves start off with Chocolate Reign?
• Just because I wear a V mask, people need to shout “Epic Fail” the whole time?
• Katsushi Ota will be at NYAF (gianote: The only Katsushi Ota I know of is a sound recording guy on the sentai show Kamen Rider…)
• A cheap sound effect technique is to translate it roughly, and take the vowels out of the word.
• The 4th Volume of Rumiko Takahashi’s One Pound Gospel will actually come out, unflipped at that
• Queenie-Chan will be drawing a manga based on Dean Koontz’s Odd Thomas
• The Qko-chan hardcover you may have saw at Barnes & Noble won’t happen with volume 2.
• Yaoi styled Cosplay has no actual men, EVER.
• The Manga: Complete Guide features over 1200 manga.

Well, that’s all the notes I could find. I know I had more, but Gia already had report all the good stuff: the licenses. I hope to be able to do this again some time.

Later Nyoro~N

Right then, hit the jump for photos of cosplayers, some kind of organized fighting, and child porn! Or, uh, something else that “CP” stands for. I’m really not sure. (WTF is a “CP Starbucks Cafe,” anyway?) Read more…