Conventional Conventions

So I was at Ichibancon all day today here in Charlotte, NC... and, well, I'm going to be brutally honest: it wasn't all that great.

So I'm going to talk about that for a bit, no pictures today. Sorry.

We paid $25 per person to get in for today only because no one really wanted to go for more than today, and to be honest I was just going to take a look at the merchant's hall. I'm going to go down the list of how decent things were.

The viewing rooms: There was really only one viewing room and it was small. To save time and effort, I'm going to let you know that the location was a poor choice, as it was a small portion of a hotel with narrow hallways, and in turn everything was smaller than it needed to be. Next, they aired nothing of real interest unless you like boring slice of life anime such as K-on.

The Dealer's Room: One of the only rooms that was an okay size considering this was a new up-and-coming anime convention. However, the lack of legit dealers was a little unnerving; instead of seeing nothing but DVDs, Manga, japanese snacks and so on from various internet stores, we got to see a handful of real dealers and the other booths were taken up by people who seemed like they were people from off-the-street and sold various things that had nothing in common, also a handful of things that weren't even related to japan. It'd be alright if it were like some webcomic trying to sell their merch; that's acceptable for a convention, but no.

The Game Room: Honestly? I can't say anything bad about the game room. It was small, but it had plenty of content despite its small size. They even opened another smaller room specifically for Rock Band 3. They made up tournaments of various games, and hosted the biggest one (The Super Smash Bros. Brawl tourney) in the larger lounge area. I have no complaints about the game room, I give them props for that.

...And really, that's about all I really dealt with. The panel rooms (except for the two main events rooms which housed maybe one or two things worth seeing; as with any convention) were too small for us to fit in without getting there super early, and there was always a line. Which also made things terribly difficult for people who wanted to walk around. Normally I'd bash on the fact that they could only get two real guests - a webcomic artist/author and a voice actor, but for a convention that is still in the early stages, I can obviously let them slide.

Now, before you take me for a 'negative nancy', I can still say I enjoyed myself. I've been spoiled by the larger convention, Katsucon, in my experience of conventions, so I know that a newer convention can't even try to compare at first. I gave it a little slack, but there were still things that even a newer convention could have done better. But I digress. I still enjoyed myself due to the one thing that makes a convention.

No, it's not the games, or the merchandise, or the guests.

No, it's not the girls in skimpy outfits... Although that helps, and you're close.

It's the people in general. People like you (or maybe not you, it depends on how much of a nerd you are I suppose) make a convention enjoyable. As long as you can make the experience enjoyable for yourself, unless you're just a douchebag, you can make the experience enjoyable for everyone else around you - even the people you don't know. So if you're reading this post and you went to Ichibancon, or if you've ever been to a convention before, thank you for helping to make the experience enjoyable for everyone else. Even if the con sucks, find a way to enjoy it.

And that's all I've got for this week.

-Arlon The Enigma

The Day Gainax Stole Christmas (Or, Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt pt. 2)

WARNING: The following post contains spoilers for Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt!

Every Ot/a/ku on 4chan liked Christmas a lot.
But Gainax, who lived over in Japan, did not!

Gainax hated Christmas! The whole Winter Line-up Season!
Now please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason.
It could be that their heads aren't screwed on quite right,
It could be, perhaps, that their shoes were too tight.
But I think that the most likely reason
Was that everyone thinks that Gainax can't properly end a season!

But whatever the reason, be it their endings or their shoes,
They sat there on Christmas Eve, hating the Ot/a/kus.
Staring into their computer screens with their asian faces deplored,
At the warm-hearted threads on 4chan's anime board.
For every Ot/a/ku at 4chan on the net,
Was busy now, posting a thread about the final episode of Panty and Stocking to make their bet.

"And they're loving Miss Stocking!" They snarled with a sneer.
"Today is the finale! It's already here!"
Then they growled, with their Asian fingers nervously drumming,
"We MUST find a way to keep Christmas from coming!"
For tomorrow, they knew that all the anonymous guys and gals
Would be posting about how the episode was the best one ever to their pals!
And then! All the flame wars! The Haters! The Fans!
That's the one thing they hated! All of those stupid Fans! FANS! FANS!

Then the mods, young and old, would make a sticky.
And the posters would cheer! How disgustingly ICKY!
They would start on Panty and Brief! And how Stocking was a slut!
And Gainax couldn't stand how they loved Chuck the mutt!

And THEN they'd do something Gainax couldn't stand!
The tripfags and Anonymous would get the drawfags together; hand-in-hand!
They'd whip out their tablets, their scanners and pencils with Christmas bells ringing,
And they'd all collaborate on fanart, some of them even singing!

They'd draw and they'd sing! Draw and sing!
DRAW! SING! DRAW! SING!
And the more Gainax thought of the Internet-Art-And-Sing,
The more Gainax thought "We must stop this whole thing!"
"Why for who knows how many years we've put up with this now?!
We MUST stop Christmas from coming! But...HOW?"

Then they got an idea!
An awful idea!
Gaianx got a WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA!

"We know just what we'll do!" Gainax laughed from their throats.
"We'll ruin the ending of Panty and Stocking! That'll sink their boats!
We'll make the episode as planned, but right at it's end...
Stocking will cut Panty into pieces! 666 Pieces that Brief will have to mend!"

"And if that's not enough, we'll bring back Corset too.
We'll troll them so hard - they won't know what to do!"

And that's exactly what they did. Minutes after Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt episode 13 was released, 4chan's Anime & Manga board EXPLODED with replies. Not many of them were too great. Here, take a look:
Yeah, it wasn't pretty.

Long story short, Gainax trolled the HELL out of everyone who watched episode thirteen during literally the last two minutes of the episode - Bringing back the BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy), revealing that Stocking was in fact evil, cutting Panty into tiny pieces, and telling Brief that he must collect all 666 pieces of Panty, travel to the neighboring city, and repeat what transpired in the previous 21 minutes of the episode ALL OVER AGAIN in order to get her back.
The episode ends with the rest of the cast (Demon sisters included) staring in shock, and Garterbelt telling Brief and Chuck to venture forth.I feel that's an accurate depiction. Oh well, I suppose on the bright side we might get a second season (that is, if Gainax wasn't joking about that too). If not, that'll be yet another anime that Gainax can put under their 'Gainax Ending' cliche belt.
I'd like to say that we at 'That's Your Problem!' hope you all had a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and hell, even a Krazy Kwanzaa! (Lol Kwanzaa)

-Arlon The Enigma

Saturday again? Already? (Or Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt pt.1)

Seems like it. So, what should we go over today? More Evangelion?
...No. I'm good.

Let's try another Gainax anime, shall we? Here's another one of my favorites, Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt.
...No, I'm serious, that's the title.

No, it's not porn! Here, look
er...Uh...
Damnit...

OK so it's full of fanservice. Sue me. Regardless, Panty and Stocking are two raunchy, bitchy angels who were kicked out of heaven and sent to earth. In order to redeem themselves, they must defeat ghosts and collect 'heaven coins' to purchase their way back into heaven. They are put under the care of the Priest named Garterbelt.
Yeah. After a few episodes, the angels make acquaintances with a high school nerd named Brief (affectionately nicknamed 'Geek Boy' by the angels).
Anyway, the series is directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi (whose repertoire includes anime like FLCL and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann). The artstyle is different from what Gainax usually produces; a cartoony homage to American animation. The animators vary on the episode, switching between artists from Gurren Lagann, but the same basic style stays the same in each episode.
The angels themselves do battle by 'transforming' articles of clothing that match their names into guns and swords. Upon defeating a ghost, the anime cuts to a real life model of the ghost, and the model then explodes with some kind of random word or phrase.
The church bell gongs, and everything goes back to normal until the next ghost appears. But where are all of these ghosts coming from? Who is responsible? Maybe a little bit more next time...
-Arlon The Enigma

A quick look

Saturday again, it seems. Another week where our other authors (The HelpeR aside) DIDN'T POST. Let's work on that, huh?? Christ...

Oh well, this week we will be looking at something very near and dear to my heart.Er...
There we go. Neon Genesis Evangelion. An anime from Gainax studios that never ceases to stir up discussions on forums everywhere. The original run of this series took place back in 1995, and followed the events of an awkward wimp named Shinji Ikari as he piloted what seemed to be a giant robot against monsters called Angels to prevent Third Impact (in layman's terms, the end of the world). The show seemed like every mecha fanboy's dream; giant awesome robots fighting monsters, explosions, blood, and even the occasional fanservice (example:see above image). However, around episode 18, shit went from kind of light-hearted with some comedic relief, to just plain serious and depressing. While the anime was still good, this began the slippery slope downhill where alot of fans stopped caring about the anime itself. The final episode (26) caused alot of problems, including threats towards the creator's (Hideaki Anno) life. Eventually, Anno released The End Of Evangelion movie, which seemed to be a retcon of the final two episodes, but seemed more of a big 'Fuck You' to everyone who had a problem with the series ending.

I mean, it seems legit. I'd be mad too if I made an award-winning anime and everyone bitched at me for ending my series the way I wanted to.
Moving on...

Years later (12 to be exact), Gainax releases the first of a tetralogy (series of four films, yknow like trilogy but with one more) of 'Rebuild of Evangelion'. As far as everyone can tell, it seems like a complete retcon of the series; crisper, smoother animation, Shinji being less of a wuss, new characters, some characters appearing alot sooner than they should, etc. For example, check this out:
Yeah, the one on the right looks a little better (that probably wasn't the best shot, whatever).

Now so far we can only speculate what's in store for the series as we go on, but Anno has confirmed that the third film will have a new storyline, and the fourth will be a completely new ending for the story. Knowing Gainax studios, we're in for a mindfuck of a ride. Speaking of mindfuck... Something seems a little off about Rebuild...
....-Arlon The Enigma