Waku Waku +NYC Day 2 [Pic Heavy]

Hey y'all, I hope that had a wonderful Christmas or holiday if you don't celebrate it^^ I had a relaxing day with my friend at his apartment in Queens with his two cats Ali and Boom. I'm back to finish my adventures at Waku Waku +NYC.

Day 2
On Sunday, the first thing on our list was to attend a panel called Introduction to Manga and Anime Studies and it was really interesting. We both are writers (Tiff more so than me), so we figured it would be cool to go to a panel for a career or hobby we are interested in doing. Since I'm a big fan of the humanities (particularly literature) I spent a lot of my time reading in school and analyzing texts. I haven't analyzed manga or anime yet, but I think it would be something I could be potentially interested in doing. The panelists talked about looking at anime and manga under the same lens as film and other contemporary media. They discussed why such a field should exist and one of the reasons being that mainstream American pop culture has been influenced by anime and manga. You can see its influences in shows like Steven Universe and Adventure Time to name a few. Putting these texts and films into context is a great way to explore why these influences exist. I wonder if one day the US will be like how it was in Blade Runner.

It's interesting that for manga and anime to be such a huge influence on American pop culture that there is no such thing in schools as an anime/manga studies major or minor. There are a few schools that has Comic studies as a minor. But students that want to examine Anime and Manga are usually studying it under a Japanese literature or film studies major.

The also pondered what is categorized as manga and anime citing for an example that Miyazaki does not like his work to be called anime. I had no idea he felt this way because he is often heralded as a major front runner to the popularity of anime in the West. His work is usually synonymous with the word anime. They also brought up shows like Avatar the Last Airbender and RWBY and how there are debates about whether or not shows like this can be considered anime. It was a really informative panel^^

After the panel we headed back to the Brooklyn Expo center to grab something quick before lining up for the Baby the Stars Shine Bright fashion show. We remembered how long the line was the day before for the PUTUMAYO fashion show and figured it would be even longer for Baby whose show we did not want to miss. What I grabbed to eat was so scrumdiddilyumptious like oh my word! I got a chicken katsu sandwhich from Katsu-Hama and my life was changed.

Waku Waku +NYC Convention: Japanese Pop Culture Festival Day 1 (pic heavy)

Hey everyone! I hope the weather hasn't been too harsh for ya. NYC hasn't been told cold which is a relief and kinda worrisome at the same time. Fingers crossed for a mild winter! I've attended quite a few events and I'm behind on writing about them. Ah the convention season lol

Back in August Tiff and I attended Waku Waku +NYC and it was amazing! It was the first time that this convention had been held, but it didn't feel like it. It was ran very well except for a few minor snags here and there. Waku Waku +NYC is a two day Japanese pop culture festival that launched this past summer in Brooklyn. The festival consisted of many aspects of Japanese pop culture like anime, manga, music, food, film and fashion. There was a dealer's room, exhibits, panels, screenings and fashion shows.

We learned beforehand from the schedule that the event would be spread out over five locations in Greenpoint and Williamsburg (Brooklyn Expo Center, Transmitter Park, Wythe Hotel, Brooklyn Bowl, and the Verboten). They were also kind enough to have shuttles that went between each location and would also pick you up from the Greenpoint subway station. The first day I cosplayed as Kagome and Tiff wore her young Eren cosplay from Attack on Titan. 

The pre reg line was great which was a welcome change from what happened at AnimeNEXT. They were kind enough to direct everyone to stand in the shade. The line was slightly wrapped around the block but it went very fast to our relief.

6% Doki Doki booth

We headed straight to the dealer's room the place where your hard earned coins go to die lol I lied to myself sayin I was only gonna spend $50 haha Yeah right! I went in the first day and spent way more than I originally wanted. I don't feel like anything I bought was a waste :)

Mi spoils lol

Japan Week at Grand Central and Meeting Domo kun!

Howdy there, I just got back from a relaxing long weekend. I hope everyone is staying warm. On Friday I had the day off and decided to stop by the Japan Week event at Grand Central. The event lasted from February 18th to February 20th. The event is sponsored by the Japan Tourism Agency, Japan National Tourism Organization, and few Japanese businesses in NYC and Japan. They even had a stage for performances.

One side had booths for Japanese businesses while the other side was set up like a Depachika. This event was my first time hearing this term. A depachika is a food market located in the basement of a Japanese department store. Sweets, street food, and snacks are typically sold. Mitsuwa even had a booth!

The entrance to the side with booths for Japanese business

Guess who I got to meet?! Domo kun!!!

I saw on the website that there was someone in a Doraemon costume but I didn't see the person during my time there.

The depachika side smelled amazing; some of my favorite snack places were there like Beard Papa's^^ Their cream puffs are amazing! It was nice to experience a little taste of Japan. This event has been going on since 2012. Each year has looked amazing, so I imagine next year will be awesome as well. I look forward to the chance to go visit hopefully in the near future. I'll definitely have to brush up on my Japanese before I go though! Thanks for reading!

Japan Block Fair and Hookah Bar

Hey loves! I hope that you're doing well and enjoying the holiday. I had to work earlier even though no one everyone else was off >_< Luckily, my homie and co-worker Mehgan had to come in, too. So, I wasn't too afraid to be in that huge building by myself that may or may not be haunted *clutches pearls*

I wanted to take the time to talk about an event I attended last month. Oh and before I start let me say that Comic Con was awesome this year. I definitely want to go for four days next year with Boba. I have some nice photos that I'll be sharing soon. On to the event!

I heard about the Japan Block Fair through twitter, so I asked my boo Clarissa if she wanted to go with me. We meet up around by the West 4th subway stop and walked to the fair together which was on 6th Ave between Washington Place and Wavery Place. It started out as a normal street fair with the usual vendors. I love running into street fairs because the vendors have the best food. When the street fair's location we were a little disappointed. It was super tiny, there were only a few vendors set up.

 Those materials were beautiful^^

 These yukata's were so lovely

Despite the small size of the fair they had some nice food stalls. They had takoyaki too! Clarissa and I both wanted marble soda (aka Ramune) so we left and went to St. Marks and hit up Sunrise Mart. While we were out my wifey, Laura invited Boba and I to dinner at Bill's Bar and Burger; their food and milkshakes are the bomb. I was super excited because I hadn't seen her and her gf, Rae, in a little bit.

So, Clarissa and hung out for another hour or two, and afterwards I picked up Boba from work and we headed to the restaurant. To my surprise Laura and I's good friend Naomi was there, the five of us always have a blast. Unfortunately, Naomi's gf couldn't make it. I think if the six of us went on a triple date the world would explode lol Afterwards, we ventured to a hookah bar and we had strawberry hookah. Fun fact: Boba loves hookah a lot and owns one; he also used to work at a hookah shop when he was younger.

It was a really awesome night and even though the Japan Block Fair left me a little disappointed, I still appreciate that I can attend events like that in NYC often. It was nice to get out and enjoy the nice weather with a friend. Thanks for reading!