Anime Boston and AnimeNEXT ‘09

Anime Boston was BIG. Very big. No, bigger than that, it was BIG.

The city of Boston itself is very charming and I wish I had an extra weekend just to truly explore it. Irish pubs everywhere, historical, square brick buildings full of symmetrical right-angles…*sigh*. Things that most restaurants in NYC have abandoned to appear art deco and/or Asian.

The cosplay masquerade at AB was truly an epic. Costumes were world-class and a lot of the skits had me laughing backstage. It seems, according to the boards at AB, the audience approved. Super thanks go to Lindsay Garside and her dedication to a fast-paced, professional event. With any luck, I’ll be back next year to raise the bar. But this time I’ll leave the Sailor Scout uniform at home.

Another big announcement is…

ANIME NEXT ‘09
WHERE: Garden State Exhibit Center, Double Tree Somerset Hotel
WHEN: Friday, June 12th 6:30-7:30pm and Sunday, June 14th 2pm-3pm
ADMISSION: $45 for the weekend?

Both performances will include new material, skits and giggles including my newest parody to hopefully rival the Naruto Name Song.

I’ll be doing security staff as well as a stand-up show. Plus I’ve been inducted into the late-night cosplay burlesque show. Not sure if this is a good sign or not, but either way the Sailor Scout uniform stays home.

On a side note, I still don’t know why this video has nearly double the views of my actual performances. But life is full of mysteries.

Otakon, Baby!

Uncle Yo has been approved to perform at Otakon this year. Can’t wait to see you there.

I’ll also be presenting a new panel, “Surviving a Mecha Attack” with my co-panelist from last year. We had a great turn-out last year for our “Decade-Long, Decade-Strong panel,” and we hope to take it to the last level. So you’re minding your own business in a large metropolis when, as sure as rain, two giant robots appear in downtown and begin laying the smack down. How will YOU avoid this threat, emerge safely and avoid the riots? You will learn.

The East Coast’s largest anime convention, and all its details can be found here.

WHERE: Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD
WHEN: July 17-19th, 2009
PANEL TIME: Surviving a Mecha Attack: Saturday morning at 9AM. Uncle Yo’s hour-long stand-up begins in Panel Room 3 at 11:15am on Saturday morning. I’ll be doing my newest parody song, “Ode to First Person Shooters.”

Take That, Brooklyn ;>)

I gotta thank everybody for making Sakura Matsuri ‘09 a raging success even with the rain. I think we all know who to thank for the sudden sunshine. Big turn-out and a lot of positive energy. After the show, the cosplayers took to the center field and we had a HUGE photo taken of all of us. Fans. Cosplayers. Citizens. Standing together. Good times.

This was a big chance for anime fans to openly gather in a non-convention setting and for Normals to be introduced to American cosplayers. How did the show go? You tell me:

Thanks again to Lawrence and Steve from Kawaii Films for the superior camera-tizing.

Got to see Vampt Vo from Anigamers, and before our moms met to trade trash about us, it was cool to have a mini-Anigamers reunion.

These awesome pics were given to me by a talented photographer named Jason Gardner whose website I recommend visiting here.

Another name to drop is Megumi Sato’s radio show Samurai Beat Radio, who will be posting their show later next week.

Check out the full description at SBR’s blog WITHIN THIS LINK.

I got to sit next to Ai Kawashima (pop-star) and Team USA for the World Cosplay Summit. Thanks to Anita Jacobs for giving me passes to go backstage and eat all the pocky I could swipe, big man Josh and, of course, Peter Tatara of the New York Anime Festival for ALWAYS reaching that extra distance.

Anime Boston is soon, so strap on those Akatsuki robes and brandish your bankais. ‘Cause we’ve got the American Otaku National Anthem to premiere. And that’s BEFORE the skits can even start.