Summer has just started, and you know what that means. No, not fun in the sun (aka almost certainly getting a sun burn). I’m talking about CONvergence, the biggest Sci-fi/Fantasy/Media convention in the Twin Cities area. This year, the convention is taking up residence in the Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Minneapolis. As usual, I’ll be sitting on a few panels to help people get excited about anime. Below is my schedule; I hope you’ll stop by if you’ll be at the convention!
Thursday, July 4th
Anime 101
12:30pm – 1:30pm – Hyatt 2 Greenway J
With: James C Horvath, Donald Poleke, Michael Grimm (mod), Scott K. Jamison
There is a lot of Anime out there. What’s a good place to start?
I’ve been on this panel several times at the convention. Since anime isn’t CONvergence’s main fandom focus, it’s nice to be able to give an overview to those who are curious about it.
Interpreting Anime
5:00pm – 6:00pm – Hyatt 2 Greenway B
With: James C Horvath, Lathan Murrell, Michael Grimm
How do Americans interpret anime and how does it differ from the message being delivered in Asia?
This is a pretty interesting topic, and not one that many people think about. I spend a lot of time interpreting anime’s themes from my own Western viewpoint, but in some cases those interpretations may not echo the exact intentions of the text. How do we navigate this as Western viewers?
Friday, July 5th
Shiny New Anime
8:30pm – 9:30pm – Hyatt 4 Great Lakes A3
With: J.C. Horvath
Looking for some new anime to watch? Get info on some of the best anime in the last year from panelists that have watched a lot, and enjoy some clips!
We do this panel every year at Anime Detour and Anime Fusion, and since there wasn’t an equivalent this year at CON, we decided to run our own 🙂
Saturday, July 6th
Anime, Style vs. Source
11:00am – 12:00pm – Hyatt 4 Great Lakes A3
With: J.C. Horvath (mod), Michael Grimm, Boris L Smelov, Donald Poleke
If you copy the form/style but aren’t in Japan, is it anime? Is it appropriation?
This is always a hot topic in the anime community. Are series with aesthetic ties to anime, like Avatar: The Last Airbender or Castlevania considered anime, even though they’re made in the West with a Western audience in mind? I suspect this discussion may get passionate 🙂
As usual, we’ll be around the convention as attendees, too. So if you want to talk “shop” (anime fandom) or just say “hi,” please do so!