Love it or hate it, you cannot deny the popularity of the manga/anime series K-On! With its slice-of-life appeal and moé characters the show has received a massive following not just from anime fans but also music enthusiasts. Its opening and closing theme songs, as well as the albums for the show's protagonist band Ho-kago Tea Time, have appeared either on top or near the top of Japan's Oricon music charts, and the two live concerts based on the anime (one in 2009, the other in 2011) played to massive sold-out audiences. With translation help from Sawa Kato I was given the opportunity to ask one of the show's key songwriters and music arrangers, Hiroyuki Maezawa, some questions regarding the popularity of the music within K-On!
Brina Palencia is considered to be one of the more talented dub voice actresses in North America. Her work in such English adaptations as Sgt. Frog, School Rumble, Black Butler and Spice & Wolf to name has been considered by fans and critics alike as some of the best anime voice work in recent memory. This past Friday myself and a few other members of the press at Anime Boston had the chance to take part in a private Q&A panel with Palencia, where she revealed much about her work behind the mic and within the control booth.
Team SITCAS was on stage. Tons of dancing filled the Auditorium. It was time for some Cosplay Chess!
I arrived at the Hynes at about 8:30 a.m. for the start of Day Two of Anime Boston 2011. Unfortunately due to an error I only blame myself for I came in thinking that the next event on my planner, the Anime Music Video contest, was at nine, only to find that it was actually at ten. I killed some time wandering around and checking out the cosplayers. I've started to notice that I've seen a lot of these costumes from last year. Maybe the economy's to blame, or perhaps they worked so hard on the costumes that wearing it only once wasn't enough to merit their craftsmanship. After a few minutes of walking around aimlessly I sat myself down in line to check out the AMV show.
With a mere five-minute wait in the pre-registration line I was given access to Anime Boston 2011. As soon as I walked in the insanity didn't just walk into me, it punched me square in the jaw. Cosplayers, steampunk, random dancing and the nonstop Marco Polo filled the air, hallways and panel rooms as the annual crazy otaku weekend began at the Hynes Convention Center. And the day hadn't even started.
Be on the lookout for any horrible musicians who slur their lyrics! They might get undeserved critical praise.
Yet again I stumbled upon another great Bostonian with a lot of talent. Meet Mat the Wad by Matthew Ducharme, a little cartoon series of different scenarios that is deals with the daily life of us all.
After watching four episodes of the new anime comedy Beelzebub, I keep finding myself asking the same three questions about this show: Why is the premise done to death, why do I keep watching, and would someone put a freaking diaper on that baby?!
The Bastards are quite joyful this week, and it has nothing to do with the holidays. (That episode's in two weeks.)