Then doujinshi is pain. :)

Y'know, it's been a long time since i've done an OSE (One Shot Episode). I was drawing the stuff for what was originally going to be today's comic and it was taking forever (there are some days that the art just doesnt flow well, and when you start late, it sucks that much more). So, after realizing there was no way in pipe cleaner hell that i was gonna finish on time, i put this together instead. :)

Also, i felt the real need to give props to the Bioware guys. A few weeks ago i got this really nice package from Canada, and inside was a copy of NWN signed by all the people who had worked on it. I gotta say, thanks guys, it's sitting in a prominent space on my shelf next to my DigiCharat paws and signed Love Hina manga #1. :) You guys rock, plain and simple. And you KNOW largo hasn't come up for air since it came out :P I have NWN loaded on the machine Seraphim uses, and she has instructions to smack me if get anywhere near it - god, for a few free days to dive into this game (sigh) maybe someday soon.

I suddenly have this really bad idea for a NWN vs Warcraft strip... curse you dom... make these thoughts go away. ^^;;

In other news, plans for Otakon are going well - at least as well as this bunch can plan things. According to the poll which ran for a week, out of 9601 votes, 1193 people said they were 'definately' comming, 1284 said they were 'thinking about it'. So, based on poll results vs. actual crowd at Akon (that poll told us about 480 people were comming to the con, 550 showed up at the panel) well... we might have a LOT of people comming to see Naze Nani Megatokyo Live ^^;;;. The Otakon folks have given us the biggest room they can, but i am starting to think that its still not gonna be big enough. Geh... Where the heck do all you people come from????

So, in an effort to try to make sure everyone has a chance to see us at the con, i'm going to see about getting a second time slot - one later that night. Right now, we are scheduled for 3pm or so on Saturday - i'll see what i can do to get a midnight slot for "Late Night with Megatokyo - NeverNaked Nights" (tentative title)

... er... no, scratch that title...

Anyways, i figure we can do a less formal panel/presentation later that night for those who cant get into the first one. I'd rather plan this NOW rather than at the con. Please keep an eye on the website here the week before the con for the latest updates on our offical schedule and times. As always, i'll spend all the time i can at the Megatokyo table in artist's alley giving out sketches and stuff. I'll bring more index cards this time.

Oh, and i'm planning on doing some artwork for the artshow.

this is actually a big reversal on my normal policy of not putting my work in con art shows or selling it. Why? Well, two reasons. First off, i had a very interesting conversation with the lady who ran the A-kon art show that enlightnened me to a few things. I always felt that it wasnt fair to post my work because i didnt want to crowd out interest in the other work presented in the show. It was pointed out to me that by putting work in the show it would draw people TO the artshow which would be good for the other artists - not bad. I thought about this and decided that she might be right.

I'm of the opinion that these Anime Conventions, which to fans are *really* events where they can gather and meet thier online friends and have some fun for a weekend, need to shift thier official focus a little. To me, they concentrate a little too much on suckin money out of youngster's hands in the dealers rooms. (it bothers me when you have young teens quite literally begging for money outside of the dealer room near the end of a con) Anime cons are not needed as much as they used to be for anime merchandise because most stuff can easily be found online these days. To me, fandom of any sort should have as much to do with creative expression as spending money to buy things.

What's the biggest creative outlet at cons for fans? Cosplaying. I'd like to see the role of artists alleys, fan-produced art and other stuff take a larger role in cons than they do. Most art shows are stuffed away in little rooms that that are hard to find at cons. Think about it - conventions in japan are about FAN works (doujinshi), not where you can buy anime merchandise. I think that this is gradually happening, and i'd like to see it nudged along even more.

Oh, and secondly, the reason for allowing a peice of artwork to go up for auction... i have to face facts, i need a new server. The forums, when more than 100 people start using them at once, tend to lock them up pretty hard. The current server just can't handle it. So i figure i'll put a original piece for auction and use the funds from that to seed the 'New Server' fund. It's gonna have to be a really nice peice of art tho, if i will let anyone pay for it. we'll see if i can actually do anything of good enough quality.

As for the 'outfit' seraphim is making for me... heh. It's looking pretty good. Seraphim is amazing. She can do anything. :)

Oh, almost forgot, one of the things we will be doing for this presentation is answering questions sent in via email (gives us a chance to work them into the presentation) so go ahead and email your questions to nazenani@megatokyo.com, and we'll select the ones we feel like answering. :) We already have a bunch, but i dont know if everyone saw the bit about it in dom's rants. I mean, i dont read them. :P

Lessee, what else. Oh, for some reason Megatokyo seems to have won some awards or something over at the 2002 Cartoonist's Choice Awards. I don't really know why MT would win anything - certainly not best comic and stuff. ^^;; Anyways, thank you very much - award's like this should be won by comics and people who deserve it, and MT doesnt really fall into that category (especially lately). I'm honored to have been selected over the many other fine comics listed. Thank you.

Finally, i'd like to wish Best Wishes to Akamatsu Ken and his wife, who are getting married this weekend. :) (Akamatsu Ken is the manga-ka for Love Hina, and the MT crew had a chance to have lunch with him and his wife at Anime Central - they are just the nicest people and a sweet couple.). I was going to try to finish a gift art for them, but i just have not had the time to do anything worthy :(. Congrats and best wishes from all your fans in the states! :)

I have another big announcement next week too - something that i've been working on for months (many months) has finally come together, and you'll see a few exciting things happin here in a few weeks (probably around the same time as oktaon) I am so gonna need a break after otakon...

it's times like these that i am so glad i have stuff like the 'boards of canada' to chill to... downtempo chill ownz...

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