Anime Boston Preview
By: EyeSpyeAlexI’m ready to kick off the east coast convention season! First up: Anime Boston. Anime Boston is an annual 3-day convention held in Boston, Massachusetts. The first convention was held back in 2003 at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. It has been held at the Hynes Convention Center since 2005. At their first convention in 2003, Anime Boston hosted over 4,000 attendees. As of 2016, that number has grown to nearly 27,000 attendees, and shows no signs of stopping.With a focus on Japanese culture - specifically anime and manga – Anime Boston is a good con for both newcomers and veteran fans alike. Anime Boston does its best to host to those who are familiar with anime and manga, and those who are new t0 the scene. Fan panels range from 101s on cosplay, manga, and Japanese culture to in depth comparisons between eastern and western media. On top of that, the main faces of anime and manga production attend yearly to showcase the season’s top anime and manga.Conventions such as Anime Boston are nice in that they bring a lot of variety in terms of panel options. They have industry and fan panels for attendees to choose from, along with premiere events and sessions with directors and voice actors. I am definitely looking forward to the Funimation, Crunchyroll, and Aniplex of America industry and preview panels. I’m also looking forward to checking out the Viz Media panel to check out upcoming manga, and the Sentai Filmworks panel to see what they’ve got up their sleeves. The magical girl in me is also excited for the Sailor Moon panel, which will hopefully have release dates for more manga and boxsets (fingers crossed!).In regards to premiere events, I’m beyond excited to attend the Attack on Titan Season 2 Watch Party on Saturday. Saturday also boasts the Anonymous Noise world premiere. There’s also a One-Punch Man panel that promises surprises – perhaps that includes a sneak peek at season two? Friday evening brings two exciting premieres. First is ACCA: 13 – Territory Inspection Dept. Screening plus a Q&A with director Shingo Natsume. After that is the English dub premiere of Is it Wrong to Pick up girls in a Dungeon.I have a few fan panels picked out that show positivity and acceptance of women and adults in the anime and manga fandom. A panel titled “Girl Power: Feminism and the Magical Genre” has me feeling excited and intrigued. I’m looking forward to attending “Otaku on a Budget” to pick up some tips for shopping on the show floor responsibly. I’m interested to see what manga is recommended at the “20 Retro Manga Recommendations for Grown Ups” panel on Sunday. As a 90s child, I feel like I missed out on a lot of good, older manga due to my age. I went to a similar panel last year and got some good pointers, so it will be cool to see what manga is listed and where I can pick it up.There may be more panels I’m attending, plus some interviews scheduled. Be sure to check back for my daily recap!