Katsucon 18

Anyone can cosplay and this panel will offer you ten easy tips on how to get started. Our panelists will address the subject of wigs, contacts, makeup, sewing, prop-making, and more. 

Kamishibai is a Japanese form of storytelling with pictures; this panel will be conducted with original Japanese materials provided by the Japanese Embassy. Children ages 3 and up welcome. 

Join The Clockwork Dolls’ own Helene de Fer in an intimate workshop where you will learn how to create your own mini-top hat! Space is limited. Please bring any notions or baubles that you would like to include in your creation! 

Why is it that anime and video games are able to touch us so strongly? A huge part of it is the music; this panel is directed both to music noobs and composers alike. Us- ing tons of video examples, we talk about types of music, what composers use, and how to voice music both instru- mentally and compositionally to get the sounds you want. The quartet plays many live examples through the panel and the audience can watch the notation go by as we play. 

Final Fantasy has come a long way. From a last-ditch at- tempt at success to the worldwide juggernaut it is today, the iconic series has undergone numerous changes in storytelling, mechanics, and content. “Chocobos Ate My Baby” is a look into these changes, and how each game has changed the series (and not always for the better). 

Take a fun, hectic crash course through the culture, his- tory, current affairs, geography, politics, and many other aspects of Japan. 

This panel is a guided how-to-play for the card game Cardfight Vanguard, including a demonstration game, a question-and-answer period, and free-play against other panel attendees using one of the four trial decks.

Love to laugh? Love anime? Look no further. In this an- ime-centric take on improvisational comedy (as seen on Whose Line Is it Anyway? or Drew Carey’s Improvaganza), it’s all about making stuff up as we go along for maximum laughter. Audience participation is definitely encouraged: in fact, we need YOU for most of these games! We will include classics such as “Scenes from a Hat” along with more anime-specific improv games. Come join the fun! 

I'm having a tea party and everyone's invited! I've always heard from ole Jervis Tech, you know, the Mad Hatter, about what fun tea parties can be, and how he has "the best" tea parties. Well I'm out to show him what a real party is! Come join me for tea and games! Lolita, Batman, Alice in Wonderland (Pandora hearts,Tim Burton, Miyuki-chan, etc) cosplays are encouraged but not necessary. Any non-costumed attendants will be handed over to Mistah J.

Are you a Werewolf? Come one come all! Make friends and folk alike in this easy and addicting game of  “who done it”. Cosplayers Welcome and encouraged! If you have played it, you know how fun it is. If you haven't, then you are about to embark on a game that you will play well outside of here!

The World Cosplay Summit is an annual international co- splay event that promotes friendly international exchange through Japanese pop culture. You likely won’t want to miss any of the WCS events.

Rarely is there a chance for convention chairs to get together and chat about meaningful things like staff/ attendee ratio, sponsor comparison, and a unilateral nuclear disarmament treaty. Come listen to these wise and wonderful folks and perhaps they might share with you the ancient secrets of cheap renewable energy.

Would you like to know how to make a basic plushie doll? Then this is the panel for you! You can come and make a plushie: no sewing skills necessary. Supplies will be pro- vided, so come and enjoy! This panel runs twice during the weekend, so please check your pocket program for times. 

This panel is an introduction to spoken Japanese, includ- ing greetings and basic grammar. 

OK, so you’re walking down the street when a lady in a face mask approaches you. In a shrilly, tinny voice, she says “Watashi kirei?” Unsure of what she just asked, she repeats herself. “Am I beautiful?” Then she pulls down her mask to reveal a hideously smiling face.

Yokai are a huge, and recognizable, part of Japanese culture. From humble beginnings, supernatural explanations and regional ghost stories, yokai have transcended their roots as things that go bump in the night, and become one of the most prevalent denizens of modern Japan, represented in media, manga and even urban legends. Kowai takes a look into the origins of yokai culture, how they have come to represent Japan across the world, and have proudly shown their colors in Japanese media. Come by and check them out... if you have the courage to.

Learn the basics of identifying and wearing of kimono.  This is done in a show and tell format to demonstrate different silks and decorations used for kimono.

Got a few nighttime hours to spare in your convention schedule? Come plop down in a chair and strap in for the long haul with hours of bizarre film footage, inane videos, and scenes from anime so bad that it will etch itself in your cerebellum. Prepare for the DEEP HURTING.

Kamishibai is a Japanese form of storytelling with pictures; this panel will be conducted with original Japanese materials provided by the Japanese Embassy. Children ages 3 and up welcome.

Everybody knows it: there’s anime; there’s Western animation; and they’re completely different. Guess what? Everyone is wrong! For decades, Western animation has been influenced by, copied from, and sometimes even made by the same people as anime! Join us as we journey to the West for four decades of American anime!

Relax and enjoy some tea and cookies at this meet-and-greet with The Clockwork Dolls. Curious how their music is made? What their favorite tea is? What their strategies for the upcoming and inevitable zombie apocalypse are? Now is your chance to find out!

(25-child capacity)

Would you like to know how to make a basic plushie doll? Then this is the panel for you! You can come and make a plushie: no sewing skills necessary. Supplies will be provided, so come and enjoy! This panel runs twice during the weekend, so please check your pocket program for times.