This weekend I am going to be attending Kumoricon 2019, so I’m going to be a little laid back on the Let’s Plays for this weekend, both in terms of streaming and in terms of video uploading. So I’m doing a blog post today with something of the panels that I have of interest. If you’re going and there’s a panel you’re interested in checking out, or if you’re reading this after the convention and there’s a panel you really liked, go ahead and post that in the comments! Panel descriptions can be found in the Kumoricon Program book, at the events page.
Quick note – these are not panels I’m on, these are panels I’m planning to attend.
Friday, November 15th
9:30 AM: Generally, I try to go to Opening Ceremonies, though there’s also an AMV panel that overlaps with it focused entirely on videos from GAINAX, Khara, and Trigger shows, titled Children of Daicon that also caught my interest. I’ll probably stick with opening ceremonies though. I am a little annoyed with someone snitching that panel title when it could have worked great for a panel about all the companies that came out of Daicon film and from Gainax alumni.
1:00 PM: The Wonderful World of CLAMP – I’ve been an off-again, on-again fan of CLAMP, having read all of Tokyo Babylon and a bunch of X/1999, along with Rayearth, though I’m not a die-hard fan. However, while I know something about the group and their background – they started as a Doujin circle, they are a group made up entirely of women, and they have heavy queer tones to their work, but that’s it.
1:30 PM: Anime Influence – Popular Culture and Global Creativity – This is something of an alternative to the Wonderful World of CLAMP panel if that panel fills up or due to any number of other factors.
2:30 PM: Japanime Games Panel – I’ve picked up one of their games thus far (Tanto Cuore), though I haven’t really had a chance to play it, and I’m interested to see what goes into the process of bringing Japanese board games to the west.
3:30 PM: AMV Contest – Again, this is something I normally go to every year.
Saturday, November 16th
9:00 AM: There are two panels around this time I’m considering shooting for, as they’re both looking interesting. There is Apocalypse in Anime, which is pretty self-explanatory, and Fight Like a Girl – Importance and Impact of Magical Girls. With the second panel, while I did an article on Magical Girls for my fanzine, I think it’s somewhat worthwhile to check my work.
Then we start getting into a bunch of screenings. There is a screening of Kaze-San and Morning Glories with a Q&A from 11 AM-1 PM, and a screening of Penguin Highway from 1:30-4:30 PM. I’m probably only going to be able to make it to one of those, so I’m either going to aim for Penguin Highway, or go with Kaze-San and then get supper during the screening of Penguin Highway.
11:00 AM: The History of Japanese Superheroes – This is something of an alternative pick for Kaze-San. I’m kind of interested in hearing about some of the other superhero anime and manga that predated Tiger and Bunny, and if they’ll get into stuff like Kikaider.
5:00 PM: Dark Horse Manga – I generally try to make this panel every year, and it’s scheduled opposite to the Cosplay Contest, so it’s either this or that. I’m leaning towards this because afterward is…
6:30 PM: Promare Unlocked with Studio Trigger – I saw Promare in theaters a little bit ago (and Vlogged on it). I’ve seen Trigger panels at Kumoricon about upcoming anime (like Darling in the FranXX), or currently airing anime (like Gridman), but I’ve never really gotten a situation where I could get a postmortem from members of the studio about a project. Closest I got was a panel with Hiroyasu Kobayashi from Khara about Cassette Girl.
Sunday, November 17th
11:30 AM: Shinto for Otaku – There are two Japanese spiritual practices that come up in anime a lot that I’d like to get a better understanding of. One is Onmyudo. The other is Shinto. So, this is kind of a big one for me – probably as much of a must-see panel as when I went to a Kendo demonstration at the last Vancouver Kumoricon.
1:00 PM: Seriously? There’s Even More Anime for That? – My To-Read and To-Watch lists are obscenely long. But like any good bibliophile and cinephile, that just means that there’s always room for more.
3:30 PM: AMV Contest and Closing Ceremonies – And, finally, I usually try to make sure to go to these, as something of a denouement for the convention, so I can see who won the AMV contest (and other contests throughout the convention), and find out what time next year I need to get off from work.
