A weird event popped out of nowhere recently, called "Orlando Anime Day." I really don't know what it is about or who is running it. Nobody else who is important in the local anime community does either. However, it is something to do and it's free if you get a coupon off of the website(or you could pay $3 at the door).
It looks like it will have a video room, dealer room, and costume contest; which is about as bare minimum as an anime event can get. It's also in Kissimmee at the Ramada that JACON was at until that convention uneventfully died.
The event is January 30th and unfortunately that is the same weekend as the Global Game Jam some of us are participating in. If any of you want to go, I'd suggest carpooling and letting the rest of us know how it went afterward.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Florida Oriental Trading is closing soon
Sad news everyone. I took a trip to Florida Oriental Trading today with a friend to confirm a rumor about their imminent closing. They are having a clearance sale for the rest of the year on just about all of their merchandise and will be closing up shop at the beginning of 2010. This is sad news for the community as FOT was pretty much the last anime shop in Orlando. Other stores like Japan HQ have disappeared while Colloseum of Comics and Sci-Fi City have scaled down their anime and manga sections to practical non-existence. After FOT closes, we have no local stores to buy anime merchandise from regularly except for Hot Topic, Best Buy, and MovieStop. Oh, joy.
Florida Oriental Trading has been selling anime & manga merchandise as well as many other products from Asia for many, many years. Quan(or is it Kwan?) has been good people to visit and talk to. He has sponsored prizes for events that I have done at conventions for the past two years and has helped out other clubs and organizations in the local anime community. Just today, we were talking about Guin Saga, which anyone in our club knows is awesome.
It will be sad to see the store go, but Quan plans to work local anime conventions and Megacon, and he will be selling his merchandise online. I will have a link to his website when it is ready.
I guess in the end, this was bound to happen sooner or later. The fanbase for anime has changed significantly throughtout this decade. We have a new generation of anime fans that see things differently from the older crowd; their tastes are different and far more specific. Not only that, their interest in spending money is far lower compared to years ago to the point that anime convention dealer rooms merchandise tables consist of discount anime and manga along with cheap figures and Pocky. The past couple years of Dealers' Room visits have been underwhelming, to say the least.
You will be missed Quan, even though we can say hello to you at places like Megacon and Anime Festival Orlando. For those who want to visit FOT before it closes, it is open everyday except Wednesday from 10am to 7pm and the shop is located on 1217 E. Colonial Drive, Orlando, FL 32803. Be sure to stop by, get some presents, and wish Quan a Happy Holiday.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Ninja action time! We are having a meeting this Friday, November 18th!
Sorry for the lack of updates! I have been busy at my new job. We've had a couple meetings since the last time this blog has been updated.
On November 21st, we watched Akira and ate delicious Thanksgiving deserts made by some of our club members! I also brought strawberry cupcakes. In addition, a hero brought lots of beef jerky which is appropriate for any occasion!
After some grubbin and socilalizin, we sat down of one big, happy nerd family and watched the movie and gave thanks to the anime gods(or Katsuhiro Otomo). Even to this day Akira is still a great movie and a cornerstone of anime. We were originally going to have it in the auditorium, but that did not work out. Many of us agreed that having it in the normal place works just fine.
On December 6th, we had an anime potluck with consisted of Riding Bean, Ghost in the Shell, and an episode of Pocket Monsters that featured Porygon and gave kids in Japan seizures! It was an awesome day! Nobody got a seizure at the meeting though. No, Waldo is always like that.
So we've been watching some classic anime films as of late. I am really happy about that because a lot of you haven't seen movies like Akira or Vampire Hunter D, so I think exposing you to that for the sake of being an legitimate anime fan is important. These are greats that still stand the test of time and offer a lot in terms of substance to even the modern age anime fan.
A lot of you have grown up on this shonen anime series called Naruto, which is about a boy ninja with a demon sealed inside him who constantly feels the need to prove himself to the people around him. It has it's merits; however, a lot of you need to see some intense ninja action.
So tomorrow night, we are going to watch Ninja Scroll, which was one of my first anime movies. I saw it a couple weeks ago after watching Ninja Assassin, and it's still pretty badass. It even has some romance in it! I am also sporting a new laptop, so we can continue watching Guin Saga, which may just be the best anime of 2009. Guin and those monkey people have a war with the Mongols to finish and Guin just recruited some strong allies to help them out. It's going to be intense!
A lot of you will be elsewhere for the next couple weeks and I wish you all safe travel and fun times! The next meeting will be Friday night(tomorrow), December 18th at 9:15 p.m. and it will be held in FS3B-113 at Full Sail University. See you all there!
On November 21st, we watched Akira and ate delicious Thanksgiving deserts made by some of our club members! I also brought strawberry cupcakes. In addition, a hero brought lots of beef jerky which is appropriate for any occasion!
After some grubbin and socilalizin, we sat down of one big, happy nerd family and watched the movie and gave thanks to the anime gods(or Katsuhiro Otomo). Even to this day Akira is still a great movie and a cornerstone of anime. We were originally going to have it in the auditorium, but that did not work out. Many of us agreed that having it in the normal place works just fine.
On December 6th, we had an anime potluck with consisted of Riding Bean, Ghost in the Shell, and an episode of Pocket Monsters that featured Porygon and gave kids in Japan seizures! It was an awesome day! Nobody got a seizure at the meeting though. No, Waldo is always like that.
So we've been watching some classic anime films as of late. I am really happy about that because a lot of you haven't seen movies like Akira or Vampire Hunter D, so I think exposing you to that for the sake of being an legitimate anime fan is important. These are greats that still stand the test of time and offer a lot in terms of substance to even the modern age anime fan.
A lot of you have grown up on this shonen anime series called Naruto, which is about a boy ninja with a demon sealed inside him who constantly feels the need to prove himself to the people around him. It has it's merits; however, a lot of you need to see some intense ninja action.
So tomorrow night, we are going to watch Ninja Scroll, which was one of my first anime movies. I saw it a couple weeks ago after watching Ninja Assassin, and it's still pretty badass. It even has some romance in it! I am also sporting a new laptop, so we can continue watching Guin Saga, which may just be the best anime of 2009. Guin and those monkey people have a war with the Mongols to finish and Guin just recruited some strong allies to help them out. It's going to be intense!
A lot of you will be elsewhere for the next couple weeks and I wish you all safe travel and fun times! The next meeting will be Friday night(tomorrow), December 18th at 9:15 p.m. and it will be held in FS3B-113 at Full Sail University. See you all there!