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Join Kate and Alain as they discuss everything from what they just watched to what is going on in fandom.

The Speakeasy: The main podcast where we discuss what we’ve been watching, reading, and playing, plus occasional other topics.

Aug 7, 2017

Be sure to attend Our Panel!

New Anime for Older Fans
Friday, 9:00AM, Panel 4 - (WEWCC 150)

Welcome to a brand new Otakon. For several years it has become more and more obvious that the Baltimore Convention Center was just not big enough for Otakon. The byzantine layout of the multi building convention center mixed with overcrowding and harsh bottlenecks made the convention feel like it was ready to burst at the seams. While we are all going to miss the highs and lows of Baltimore the move to DC was long overdue. Moving always brings its own set of problems even in the best of circumstances it was a change that was unavoidable. That said there is a world of possibilities and opportunities that have now opened up and we hope to take advantage of them.

First and foremost the guest lineup this year is solid. Masao Maruyama is back. We have Japanese production guests Ei AokiTetsuya KinoshitaTomoki KyodaHidenori Matsubara, Katsuyuki Sumizawa, and Hideyuki Tomioka in attendance. Everything from directors to character designers. Toshio Furukawa and Shino Kakinuma are two older Japanese voice actors. The MAJOR advantage to seeing veteran voice actors: They are 1000% more likely to give you real answers to questions since they are fairly entrenched in the industry.

We'll be treated to dubbed and subbed showing of In This Corner of the World. And the Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution world premiere. There will also be screenings of the Anime Tamago 2016 short films and Lupin III: The Italian Game. Plus, there will be the East Coast premiere of Fate/Grand Order -1st Order-.


Our tentative schedule for the convention:

Friday
09:00AM New Anime for Older Fans (That's us!)
10:15AM Fate Universe: I Am the bone of My Panel…
11:30AM Bubblegum Crisis: 30th Anniversary
12:45PM Japanese Heraldry – The Evolution of the Mon
12:45PM Fire Emblem: Genealogy of a Strategy Game
02:00PM Shinto Shrine Opening Blessing and Shinto Basics
03:15PM Tomoki Kyoda Focus Panel 
04:30PM Break the World's Shell: Apocalypse and Anime
04:30PM Toshio Furukawa & Shino Kakinuma Q&A
05:45PM Matsubara Live Drawing
07:00PM Writing for Anime w/ Katsuyuki Sumizawa
08:15PM Romance and Abuse in Shoujo Manga
08:30PM The History of Magical Girls 
11:00PM Panelist Bootcamp

Saturday
09:00AM The First Mecha: From Postwar Japan to Mobile Suit Gundam
10:15AM Samurai Mythconceptions: Learn the Truths of the Legendary Japanese Warrior
11:30AM Otakorp and You: The Bylaws
01:30PM In This Corner of the World w/ introduction by Maruyama and Matsubara
05:00PM Dark Horse Manga
06:30PM Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution World Premiere Screening with Director Tomoki Kyoda
08:45PM Fullmetal Alchemy: The Real-World Alchemical Tradition and FMA
11:30PM Writing Renga and More

Sunday
09:00AM Iyashikei: Animated Healing
09:00AM Superheroes and Subversion: The Comedy of One-Punch man
10:15AM An Inherited War: Child Soldiers in the Gundam Universe
11:30AM Complex Motives: The Zero Escape Trilogy
12:45PM Discotek Media Industry Panel
03:00PM Closing Ceremonies 
04:00PM Con Feedback Session