preview: waku waku nyc

We at Study of Anime first heard about Waku Waku NYC back in June, and wondered about it: it had been a long time since NYC had its own anime/manga/Japanese-flavored event, and here was a new event coming along with an impressive list of sponsors that seemed to guarantee Waku Waku would show up with an amazing flourish. The trick though, is hoping this year goes well so it'll be scheduled again and again.

Study of Anime will be present there as an attendee (via me, Kit), so let me tell you a bit of what I'm looking forward to or would otherwise recommend:

Savory Square: I love ramen, but Japanese style iced coffee is also a thing I enjoy. So I plan to check it out if I can! If you haven't had takoyaki or Japanese style cream puffs, you might also want to check it out. I have a soft spot for takoyaki, myself, as it still reminds me of when I visited Osaka back in 2004.

Kodansha Comics is also doing an industry panel on Saturday, and even though Kodansha (as part of Random House) is based out of New York, I always enjoy seeing them at conventions and seeing what they have to say especially with regards to the localization process, as localization is one of my key interests. So, I'm interested in seeing what they have to say at their panel at Waku Waku.

There will also be an Anime and Manga Studies panel on Sunday, right in time for the new school year, so if you're a student interested in studying anime and manga this panel will be sure to help you get more insight about doing so. I've seen the presenters give a similar panel at other conventions, but the timing of this one (again, right before the new school year) and the closeness of so many schools and universities to Waku Waku's location means this might be the best panel they give. We'll just have to see. I won't be involved with this panel, but friends of Study of Anime such as Kathryn Hemmann are.

 This event is right in my proverbial backyard, so of course I'm going to try and check it out. If you're in the NYC area, or close to it, try to check it out also if you see something interesting on the schedule.

Waku Waku NYC is August 29-30, 2015.