Return To Our Roots, Modern Japanese History Edition

This may not be the "Return To Our Roots, Part 2" that you might be expecting, but I do plan on having a "Return To Our Roots, Part 2" if I ever make my return to Round 1 in the near future.

As I enter my final year here at Sacramento State, I'm taking a history course about Modern Japanese History from the 1800s to the present. The professor asked this question on the first day of class: How did we get from samurai and "Old Japan" to "New/Modern Japan" with cars and anime?

Notice: Staff Member Leaving

I was hoping that she would post this herself, but she has left me to do this task.

I would like to inform everyone that as of right now, Avianna Tiscareno is no longer part of the California Conventions Blog. She has moved to San Antonio, Texas due to unspecified reasons and can no longer perform the duties as a staff member.

Avi was part of the first wave of people that I hired back when I first expanded in 2010, and she did a wonderful job covering such events as Anime Five Cities and PMX in addition to anchoring coverage at Anime Expo and Anime Los Angeles. She was also the lolita expert and had much insight into Japanese fashion and music.

You will be missed Avi. Thank for you everything that you brought to this blog, and I wish you the very best in your future.

- Matthew

The Mathematics of Conventions, Part 2: Nendoroids

As of late, I've been collecting Nendoroids, starting with the Hatsune Miku Support Ver. I got back at Anime Expo 2011. I was able to pick up one at SacAnime Winter 2012, nabbing me another Hatsune Miku Nendoroid, this time Snow Miku Ver. 2010 (there's a 2011 and 2012 versions of Snow Miku as well).

The word around anime conventions is that convention dealers will markup their items versus buying online. But if you look closely and find the right dealers, you can actually save money versus buying online. However, there is always a downside.

SacAnime Winter 2012 Report: Part 5 - Epilogue

 

SacAnime Winter 2012 Report: Part 4 - Sunday (Day Three)

Like all last days of conventions, my first priority is clearing out my portion of the room and ensuring that the room is clear. Despite only getting four hours of sleep, I was up an hour before the VIP autograph session would take place and in under half an hour, I was able to clear out my portion of the room and pack everything in the car leaving myself to check on the room often between now and check-out. I didn't feel like driving to Starbucks again, so I settled on a bagel with cream cheese alongside some A.M. Gatorade.

SacAnime Winter 2012 Report: Part 3 - Saturday (Day Two)

Day Two started for me at 7am, taking about an hour to get everything ready for the day. It was a chilly morning, and I didn't feel like making the trek over to Starbucks in the sub-freezing weather. Luckily, my car was unfrosted and I was able to make the quick drive over there to pick up a Venti Extra Caramel Extra Shot Caramel Macchiato and a Chicken Sausage Breakfast Wrap.

You know you're a cosplayer when you put your character's name on a Starbucks cup and bag.

Sac-Anime Winter 2012 - by Ray

My first convention of the new year. After the mild disappointment that was Sac Summer last year, I thought to give this con another shot, especially with some obstacles now out of the way. While still a small convention compared to, say, Fanime, its growth in recent years has been staggering, becoming what is perhaps the second largest anime convention in Northern California. But numbers and growth aren't all to a convention; after all, it's about the quality of the experience, which I found would take surprising changes as the con went on.

SacAnime Winter 2012 Report: Part 2 - Friday (Day One)

The best way to start out at a SacAnime is a good breakfast at Jim-Denny's around 7am because the night before I realized that there were events going on and I wanted some good early parking even if I was staying over at the hotel.

#7 Katie's "Just Right" Breakfast

SacAnime Winter 2012 Report: Part 1 - Prologue

It's interesting how things change quickly, even faster than the transition from summer to winter. The Radisson changed its name to the Woodlake, I gained a new staff member that helped me cover SacAnime Winter 2012, and I even had a new camcorder to play around with at the convention.

But coming back here often reminds me of my early days here at SacAnime.

Cafe Hoshi

NOTE: The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the California Conventions Blog.

As you will read in my report, I spent a good amount of time at Cafe Hoshi over the weekend of SacAnime Winter 2012, ranging from spending my first hours at the convention with the maid cafe to filming and photographing various events over that weekend.

You might of heard that during the VIP show Saturday night that the hotel and the convention got into a disagreement which resulted in a) food not being served at the VIP show and b) everyone migrating to the hotel buffet, Basil's, to be served instead. I was part of that of that group that migrated over and while were walking I was talking to the group behind me for some instant reaction, which was very negative at that moment. I would of stuck around to see what would of happened, but other commitments pulled me away from the VIP show.

There is something much deeper than what the attendees and everyone else saw that weekend, and I have obtained some leaked documents and testimonies from my sources close to Cafe Hoshi.