anime next panel schedule

And so it begins. I knew this summer was going to be eventful, and it will be. Anime Next is this weekend, the first of three consecutive weeks of conning. And this week's the EASY one.

This year's Anime Next, my 5th overall, hopefully will be the most relaxing of all the cons I've been to of late. I don't have too much set up for the weekend, as I prefer for this con to always be sort of spontaneous and random. I also can't help but notice how it, once again, has traded weekends with AMA. Not that I mind much, but a "week off" between AMA and Portcon would have been amazing. Oh well, I do claim to love to travel.

I have a lighter panel schedule this year, relatively speaking. Still giving 5, but 3 of them are co-hosting gigs. I'm also debuting one new panel that should be "making the rounds" soon.

Friday
3-4 PM: Con Horror Stories w/ Eric Stehmer. And the open forum on crazy stuff at cons rolls into ANext. Interestingly, we both applied for this independently of one another. Eric told me there is supposed to be a "late night" version on Friday from 1-2 AM as well, but it does not appear on the schedule yet.

10-11PM: Kowai- Yurei, Yokai and the Japanese Idea of Fear. Terrible name, I know, but this panel looks into ghosts, monsters and horror culture as it has been in Japan since...well, forever (my oldest examples go back to Heian period "Hell Scrolls"). Expect a yokai roll of some popular, and some not so popular, monsters, and some history into their relationship with Japanese media and culture.

Saturday:
2-3 PM: Fanthropology- Behind the Study of Fandom. Different than the Anime Boston panel of similar name, this one looks into the history of fandom study, notable names and books on the subject, and is intended as a brief overview for anyone interested in studying fandom at the college level, or even just for personal fulfillment.

11PM-Midnight: An International Game of Telephone. The timeline of cross cultural trade continues here, with some new slides, events and snappy dialogue courtesy of myself and Abby.

I would say "As usual, look for the 9th Doctor," but I have a distinct feeling he will only be making an appearance on Saturday, unless the heat breaks tomorrow.