Katsucon 18

Meet the Mad Men & Mademoiselles behind Cosplayer Na- tion: The Documentary, a yearlong project on documenting cosplayers all across America. There will be brief screen- ings of never-released footage and a scandalous Q&A with CEO Joshua Adams and co-producer Uke Li. 

This is a full-on Q&A panel with the Geek Comedy Tour, complete with road stories, robots, prizes, nerdery, em- barrassing stories, and love. 

What could be better than a FUNimation clip show? Join FUNimation for a showing of some new and upcoming DVD releases. Curious about their new releases, but don’t have the time to catch a screening before shelling out the cash? This is the panel for you. Fan participation and prizes are encouraged. 

The pain! Oh dear god, the pain!! Oh, Japan – how could you ever allow these shows to see the light of day?! The panelists take no responsibility for any psychological dam- age done when they show (re: inflict upon you) some of the worst of the worst. Remember, they say ‘cruel & un- usual punishment’ is illegal in this country!

Come meet Gaia’s staff, and get a sneak peek at upcoming features, games, and events. Stick around for the open-mic Q&A session and get your burning questions answered! Expect plenty of fun and some great prizes! 

armony Gold’s Steve Yun hosts a panel where judges argue over which robots would win in a fight, while Steve makes fun of attendees for being huge nerds. 

This is a screening of the live action Dragonball movie, which will be receiving the MST3K treatment courtesy of Kyle Hebert. 

Remember his earlier Q&A? Well, this is very similar, only this one is a bit more uncensored. Put the kids to bed and come with your unvarnished questions. 

You’ve seen Iron Artist. You love Super Art Fight. Now see what happens when the rule book gets thrown out. Pre- pare your eyes (and your therapists) for anything. 

Like BL? Love pretty boys?!? Do you want to be queen or king of Katsucon’s fujoshi? Don’t know what a fujoshi is? Play “The Yaoi-ing Game” and try five segments of Q&A, voting, and video to win. Four contestants are chosen and audience participation is encouraged and rewarded.

How has anime influenced the world, and in turn, how has the world influenced anime? 

Before becoming a popular Food Network series in America, Japan’s cooking competition show reigned supreme for nearly a decade with over 300 episodes! Showcasing talented chefs, various cooking styles from around the world, and a wide variety of themed ingredients, the “Iron Men of Cooking” battled for the eccentric Chairman Kaga in a fierce cooking competition! Bring your bell peppers and celebrate the Iron Chef legacy with us! Allez cuisine! 

Join The Clockwork Dolls and The Steampunk Family for an exhibition of steampunk paraphernalia. Have a ray gun, a corset, or a fancy hat that you’re dying to show off? Bring your favorite steampunk item for this fascinating show and tell! 

The comic Something*Positive has been around for a de- cade and its creator has a lot of stories to tell. Come listen to Randy ramble about comics, their fans, and more. Due to language this panel is 18 and up. 

Come listen to our main two musical guests talk about their recent works and upcoming plans. 

Why do you go to anime conventions? How have anime conventions changed over the years? What’s right/wrong about convention culture today? Come join Zhao Chen and Charles Dunbar in this roundtable discussion about the ups and downs of contemporary convention culture. 

Join in on a discussion about the realities of working as an actor in the anime industry. From auditions to recording, come learn what it’s really like to make a living working in the anime industry. 

Catch up on the state of the industry, direct from FUNima- tion. Hear the latest news and get updates on upcoming releases live at the show. Stick around till the end of the show for some special announcements. 

A noted voice actor and ADR director, Chris Ayres has acted professionally since the age of six and is the voice behind a multitude of anime characters. Come hear him discuss being on both sides of the microphone.

If you enjoy fun, games, contests and random awesome- ness, come to the Gaia Game Show. We’ve got some cool surprises and fantastic prizes up our sleeve, so come prepared for a good time. All attendees are guaranteed to walk away with a prize! 

Harmony Gold’s Steve Yun hosts a panel where judges argue over which anime girl would win in a fight, while Steve makes fun of attendees for being huge nerds. 

Check out this gathering of several old-school anime guests and fans chatting about what anime was like in the old days, and how they think it should be in the 21st century. Come one, come all... and bring your Kevlar vests! 

Due to the state of the economy, this year’s “Guests Uncensored” event will be a little more toned down than it normally is. That means no flaming hoops of death or live reenactments of Battle Royale with our guests. We hope you’ll still join us for a mellow, quaint evening of sophisticated and intelligent conversation. Wait... this just in! The recession is over! “Guests Uncensored” is back on in full force! Light the flaming hoops and break out the explosive collars and implements of death! It’s going to be a long and interesting night.

From Baldur’s Gate to the highly successful Dragon Age and Mass Effect series, BioWare has captured the attention of RPG fans around the world. BioWare started making PC RPGs like Neverwinter Nights and Baldur’s Gate, but eventually made the move to consoles with the highly rated Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic for the Xbox. We will also analyze how BioWare has managed to recreate the RPG and have taken the thunder out of Final Fantasy.

Neon Genesis Evangelion and its mysteries have been put under a microscope more than almost any other anime. While many questions have been left unanswered, many facets of its creation have been documented in detail. This panel will present a broad survey of what went into creating Evangelion.

Come one; come all! It’s that time of the year again – to come and bid on popular and hard-to-find items and donate to a wonderful cause! This year our benefitting charities are the American Cancer Society and the Cherry Tree Maintenance Endowment Fund. As always, we will have hard-to-find items from around the Con, some popular items from the Merchants’ Hall, as well as original artwork from Artists Alley. We will also have all the panels from the Super Art Fight competition and you can only bid on them at the auction. We will have a table set up Friday and Saturday in the Merchants’ Hall with information – feel free to stop by. The auction is Sunday morning, 10am to 1pm in Live One. We can’t wait to see you there!

Did you miss the first Robotech panel? Do you have more questions that weren’t answered? Here’s your chance to catch up and see more funny Robotech clips. 

Every five years, the video game industry pushes forward into a new hardware generation with better graphics and (hopefully) better game play. What of those old games whose systems get discontinued? While many remain in the ownership of the players who continue to enjoy them, many find their way into the secondary used market, which is ripe for game collectors who have learned that for the cost of one brand-new game, they can get a dozen or more from eBay or Craigslist instead. For some, it can
become a self-sustaining hobby, where funds from resells can fund new purchases indefinitely, all while adding more and more titles to your collection.