Convention Review: Genericon 2015

Well ladies & gentlemen, fellow Otaku & metalheads, Genericon 2015 has come & gone. I saw familiar faces, and encountered plenty of new folk as well. There were some fun panels, the guests were great, and despite a couple hiccups, the overall experience was as good as it’s always been for me! As I promised, I’m presenting for all of you a review of this year’s convention. I certainly have some strong opinions all across the board, so without delay, here’s my review for Genericon 2015. Enjoy!

Good Points
Definitely some good points to talk about!

First off, I’ll talk about the point I enjoy, and that’s the people. Each & every single Genericon I’ve been too, I’ve come across plenty of awesome individuals, many of which became dear friends of mine. There were plenty of familiar faces I saw, but there were many new ones as well. Everyone I came across was in a good mood, with nary anyone having a foul temperament. I came across people from New York City, and even California, who were all at the convention to have fun!

On a small spinoff, Genericon’s staff was great. Despite one hiccup (See “Bad Points” below), I thought that they professional, helpful, and surprisingly patient. They were certainly helpful last year when I had issues with my “Companies of Borderlands 2” panel, and they helped out this year as well. Although they seemed a little frazzled once in a while, on the whole they could be counted on to help out, and do a damn good job at the same time!

Activities were great at this con. While I didn’t go to many of them because of my habit of talking to con-goers, when I did go to something I was enjoying myself. I went to a Hetalia Q&A, a Ouran Highschool Host Club Q&A, the Cosplay Deathmatch, participated in the Cosplay Chess event as one of the hosts (Dressed up as Mr. Torgue from Borderlands 2), and many other things that I sadly can’t remember at this moment. Regardless, there was a variety of panels, workshops, and other fun activities for the con goers to participate in. I certainly wasn’t bored, that’s for sure!

To conclude the good points about Genericon 2015, I want to quickly talk about Jazzman’s Café. Located in the main hall, Jazzman’s Café provides cookies, pastries, coffee & tea, and many other little food stuffs to buy. The pricing for everything is inexpensive, so if you don’t want to go out for lunch/dinner, then this is most definitely an option!

Okay Points
One thing I noticed about Genericon 2015 is the more meaty composition of Sunday. In the past, Sunday is always the weakest day of Genericon, and of all conventions in general. This time around, there was actually more things to do or see. For me, I went to more panels/events this past Sunday than any other Sunday at Genericon. That said, this was still Sunday, and as such it’s typically the weakest day of the convention. Definitely some more substance this time though!

Bad Points
There are only 2 gripes I had with Genericon 2015. One was very personal for me, and the other was probably something a fair number of attendees talked about as well. I’ll go over the second gripe first.

The number of dealers this year were...lacking to say the least. I can certainly understand why there weren’t as many in 2014: Genericon 2014 was originally supposed to start on Valentine’s day, but due to scheduling issues, the con was pushed back 2 weeks, and because of this shift, many dealers couldn’t make it. This year...I don’t think there is a good excuse. I’m forgetting as I’m typing, but I believe there were 7 or 8 dealers this year. This severely limited shopping options for the con goers, myself included. 2014 & this year was difficult for me, as it’s my tradition to bring home at least 1 DVD. While I have come home with DVDs, the selection was incredibly lacking (This year especially). Coupled with scheduling issues & the dealers area not opened on Friday because of said issues, and the window for shopping is shorter.

So from the second gripe, we come to the first. I had a panel to host at the convention. An 18+ panel, to be exact. I got my notice a few months ago saying it got in, and in the convention booklet the description for it can be seen clear as day. However, along with the con booklet you’re given a schedule/time sheet, showing off when & where panels are taken place. My panel took place from 12:30 to 1:30, but my panel wasn’t on the sheet at all. Only a blank space was where my panel was supposed to be. I went to the con staff to talk about this, and they stated that the individual in charge of the sheet forgot to put it on. To make up for this, they posted a sign on the door to where I was to present the panel, but the damage was done. I had about 10/11 people at the start, but by the end I had 4 to 6. This really irked me, and for a split second, I considered not sending in a panel for next year’s con.

Overall Opinion & Rating
Don’t take the bad points the wrong way. Genericon 2015 was an absolute blast of a convention! The things the worked right were perfect, what got stuck in the middle stayed there for the most part, and the bad things irked me. If I started this blog a few years earlier, and did reviews of Genericon then, I would have given a 9 out of 10, maybe even a 10 from time to time! Sadly, the bad points were noticeable enough that I couldn’t do it this time around. That said, I enjoyed myself as I always do, and I’m glad that this was my 6th Genericon. Looking forward to seeing everybody at my 7th!

Genericon 2015 gets a 8.75 out of 10.

Well, this was my review for the con. I hope the staff appreciates this, and any Genericon attendees enjoy this. See you soon!



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Don’t completely believe this, but at the “Closing Ceremonies” event on Sunday one of the staff said the attendance number was 2,200 for Genericon 2015. Not the biggest attendance boost for the convention, but it’s a little noticeable. I’ll put up the official number when it gets announced in the coming days.

Anime (Episode) Review - Sket-Dance 6

I think it’s a safe bet to say that Shonen anime is pretty fluffy. A lot of them are just action, fighting, and fan-servicey when it wants to be. On top of that, they usually aren’t all that deep, and characters sometimes just aren’t interesting. So it’s always surprising when a Shonen series bucks the trend, and actually has some meat on the bones. Today’s episode review come from just such a show, and the series in question happens to be one of my favorite modern anime. I won’t waste anymore of your time in this intro, so let’s look at a review for Sket Dance episode 6, Even Onihime Has Tears in Her Eyes.

Basic Story
Taken from Wikipedia:

“Tsubaki from the Student Council tells the Sket-dan they're going to be disbanded. In order to prove the Sket-dan's effectiveness, Bossun takes on a request to put on a play for a local preschool. But the Student Council also takes on the same request, and the battle is on!”

There’s actually a little more to the story than this: one of the Sket-Dan’s more recent friends, Momoka, is a reformed juvenile delinquent, who’s had a previous run-in with the group (Especially with the lone girl of the group, Himeko). However, she & her own little group have had trouble trying to make friends, with the Sket-Dan being the only people to consider them such. So in addition to keeping the club around, there’s another story of forgiveness, acceptance, and friendship. Simple stories like this aren’t quite as popular in more mainstream series, that’s for sure.  

Overall Mood
Sket Dance is an anomaly among the sea that is Shonen: the show constantly balances serious, funny, charming, tragic, etc. It does this perfectly without any screwups, and the transition between these various moods is flawless. Even Onihime Has Tears in Her Eyes is a perfect example of this: there are plenty of moods going on, but it doesn’t feel overwhelming in any way because of this. There are plenty of moments where the cast is gut-busting hilarious, but there’s many other scenes where they’re quite serious, and without getting into detail, the final 2 ½ to 4 minutes managed to get me to cry, and was one of my favorite bits in the episode.

Characters
Like with this show/episode’s mood, the cast of Sket Dance is an anomaly: everybody is likable. The good guys are fun to watch, the anti-heroes are interesting, and even the villains (Some of them, at least) are sometimes a little more than what is presented. While the villains take a back seat in this episode, the rest of the cast absolutely shines here. In the end (Without going into detail), the good guys are standing on top, and the anti-heroes were quite humbled. Simply good characters all around!

Animation
For a relatively recent show, the animation of Sket Dance (Including this episode) doesn’t quite look so new. It’s not ugly, oh no: this is a very pleasant-looking show. Everybody looks different from one another, the backgrounds are nice, and every once in a while there’s an interesting visual. Apart from that, this show doesn’t look/feel like something from this decade. It seems like it comes from the late 2000s, but only due to it’s physical features. On the inside, you have one of the more clever Shonen anime to be released in recent years, but a full description will have to be done at a later date.

Other
If there was any flaw with this episode, and the show in general, is that there’s no dub. This was put out back in 2011/2012, and considering how new it is, I would expect it to have gotten picked up by somebody. Sket Dance is popular enough over on Crunchroll, and the reviews for it have been highly praised, so I’m surprised that Funimation hasn’t jumped on the chance to dub it.

Final Opinion & Rating
Even Onihime Has Tears in Her Eyes is an example of how a standard formula can twist things around, and become it’s own creature. All other Shonen series should do well to examine this episode: the story was simple, the characters likable, and the overall vibes that were emanating during the near 21 minutes the episode aired were just perfect. I would sincerely put this episode on a potential “Top 10 Anime Episodes” list, if I ever did so. You are doing yourself a big disservice by not watching this episode, so I enthusiastically encourage you to do so!

Even Onihime Has Tears in Her Eyes gets a 9 out of 10.

Well, this was a quick offering. I hope it wasn’t a terrible review, and hopefully it can tide you over. Genericon is coming up in a couple days, so I’ll have a review for that not too long afterwards. See you soon!



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Here’s a link to the episode. Give this a go, and I promise you’ll have a good time:

Sket-Dance (Episode 6)

News 2: Death, Failure, and Guests

Truth be told, I didn’t want to do this post. Due to my own idiocy by posting up last week’s review late, I have effectively screwed up my posting schedule for the next couple weeks. On top of that, Genericon is happening in over a week, so I don’t really have time to watch anything big. I’ll have an episode review up next week, if only because it’s quick & easy, and it won’t beat up my schedule to death. After the convention, I’ll have a review for it, and hopefully my schedule will be back to normal for the most part. In the meantime, onto the news!

Let’s start off with perhaps the biggest piece of news in recent days. Leonard Nimoy, perhaps best known as Spock on the original Star Trek series, passed away this past Friday at the age of 83. The week before his death, he was admitted to the hospital due to severe chest pains, as he was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 2014. COPD for short. The man has left a legacy of iconic movie & television roles, some of which are classic, and others a little more infamous. He’s even had a revival as Spock in the newer Star Trek movies of 2009 & 2013, and those performances were just as awesomely cheesy now as they were back in the day. Mr. Nimoy, live long & prosper!

The next piece of news isn’t quite as big, but it’s tragic regardless. The Leetstreet Boys, and band that specialized in music geared towards anime, manga, cosplay, gaming, and everything that lies in an Otaku’s life, failed in their kickstarter to fund a 4th album. If I remember correctly, they only managed to get to the 2,500 to 2,700 (Maybe 3,000 something) of the 9,000 dollar goal. If my math is correct, that amount of money is around the 1/3 mark. Adding onto this, they planning on doing one final concert (At which convention, I’m not sure), but they’re not going to pursue any other concert bookings or album production. For a little more information on this, check out the link below:

http://www.leetstreetboys.com/2015/02/kickstarter-unsuccessful-mostly-bad-news-but-a-little-good-news/

Lastly, there’s some good news. About mid last week, the guests for Genericon were finally announced. There’s Tristan MacAvery, who Evangelion fans might recognize as the voice of Shinji’s father. In addition to him, there’s the geek & comedy oriented Belly-Dancing group, Antipode. I’ve never gone to their shows at the convention, but recently I’ve been watching them on Youtube, and I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that they’re a lot of fun! Finally, there’s the iconic geek standup comedian Uncle Yo, bringing his warped brand of comedy to RPI. I’ve been paying attention to his material for a long time, and there’s nothing that I’ve ever disliked from him.

Uncle Yo: Kotoricon 2014 Show

There’s also been a dance that’s been announced yesterday, and in addition to being opened for the con, it’s also available to RPI students who aren’t part of the con. More information can be found below:

https://www.facebook.com/events/355369437990990

So that it for news in recent days. Like I said at the beginning, my schedule for March is now completely screwed up. I don’t know how much I’ll get done, especially since I’ve got another Metal Overview coming in April that’ll coincide with a 5-year anniversary loss of one of metal’s most iconic singers (Hint, Hint). In the meantime, I’m hoping I’ll have the schedule put almost back to normal. Regardless, I’ll be seeing you all soon!



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For a nice article about the live of Mr. Leonard Nimoy, check out this post from the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/arts/television/leonard-nimoy-spock-of-star-trek-dies-at-83.html?module=Notification&version=BreakingNews%C2%AEion=FixedTop&action=Click&contentCollection=BreakingNews&contentID=30440287&pgtype=Homepage&_r=0