KrisZ on Anime, Manga, Cosplay and Video Games

Big news, Nintendo drops the price of the 3DS from $249.99 to $169.99 starting in August 12th.The console has been under-performing since it launched. Analysts have suggested that it is due to the high price and the anemic game lineup. With Sony launching the PS Vita for $250 in late 2011 or early 2012, Nintendo had to drop the price of the console sooner or later. Will the price drop improve sales? Without a doubt. Will Nintendo make up sales for launching their console at a high price and keeping the console out of the core demographic that plays Nintendo Handheld consoles? That is hard to answer.

If you haven't seen it already, here are some fan videos of Anime Expo 2011 by one of my favorite videographers, Ackson Lee . His videos are world class and they capture the beauty and art of cosplay so wonderfully. Anime Expo 2011 - Fanvideo 1 Anime Expo 2011 - Fanvideo 2 Anime Expo 2011 - Fanvideo 3 Anime Expo 2011 - Fanvideo 4 Anime Expo 2011 - Fanvideo 5 I can't really say anything except I had the pleasure of meeting him many times, and I have told him the many times I met him during Anime Expo that I love his videos. His passion and love of cosplay combined with his incredible editing and cinematography make him the best of the best. Please show him your support and thank him for doing a great job when you see him in a major California Anime Convention.

The four goddesses of Hyperdimension Neptunia Green Heart, White Heart, Black Heart, and Purple Heart (the female lead) Every once in a while, a game concept comes out that is so different and unique that it creates a lot of buzz, Hyperdimension Neptunia is one of those games. It has the console war that we all know and love, but with the game consoles personified as goddesses. There was lots of buzz with the game because there is lots of potential for self-deprecation and the gaming industry has a massive variety of things to lampoon. Hyperdimension Neptunia is a flawed game, but once you get past its flaws, it is an enjoyable game with a great cast of characters, an entertaining script that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and endless references to popular anime and video games. The story of Hyperdimension Neptunia starts off with the four goddesses of the world of Gameindustri battling for thousands of years gaining little or no ground. To break this endless stalemate, the g...

Kuroko from Railgun The last day of an anime convention is typically the slowest, this Anime Expo being one of the rare exceptions. This day four was one of the most energetic and fun days I could remember. My experiences in this day reaffirm what I believe, that Anime Expo is about creating wonderful memories with fellow fans. We ended our twentieth year with an incredible experience, by the fans and for the fans. Day 4 of Anime Expo starts off with a bang; I got up late and ran to my cosplay photography panel. Unfortunately I was not the only one late, Bryan woke up late and he ran to the panel late. The people running the panel were nice enough to run a cute and funny slideshow so that the guests waiting for the panel didn’t get irritated at our tardiness. The room was half full; it wasn’t as packed at the Day 1 panel of Anime Expo. It is easy to understand why, because the panel was so early. As we were doing the panel Jerry Shaw and Nick were taking our pictures. We kept it a...

After a big event one needs some time just relax and let it all sink in. Anime Expo 2011 was a great experience, and it ranks as one of my personal favorites in all my years of being at Anime Expo. Over the course of the convention I had so much to do that I had little time to catch my breath. Two weeks after Anime Expo I attended a cosplay picnic run by my friends over at Anime Los Angeles. It was a fun experience where I had a chance to meet up with many of my friends who cosplay or do cosplay photography.

Where is it from? It looks so familiar The story of anime convention is a story of experiencing the great things the con can offer, while trying to minimize the bad experiences you have. Seemingly simple things can create a rewarding and pleasing experience. In contrast, not following etiquette or skipping out on a simple “please” can ruin an otherwise great experience. My third day of Anime Expo had plenty of the former, and there were some unfortunate instances where I had to deal with the latter. Michael Underwood arriving My third day of Anime Expo 2011 starts with the 20th anniversary panel that was planned by Board Director Marisa Price and was moderated by Paul Wilson. Being a person who started in Anime Expo in 2004, it was a real treat hearing some of the original founders and members share stories about Anime Expo. One of my favorites was the story told when Anime Expo was in the Disneyland Hotel back in 2000. He was recollecting how the Disney hotel had to give a han...

Sailor Neptune from my photo shoot Saturday of any anime convention is the craziest, and Anime Expo 2011 was no exception. The reason why the Saturday is always the craziest day for any anime convention is that the number of people who would attend the convention for one day would typically choose the Saturday to attend the convention. My day started off in a meeting with the Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation. In the meeting I learned that we broke records for Day 1 and that Anime Expo 2011 is on track on beating all attendance records ever. With the great news I headed off to the Los Angeles Convention Center for my insane day. I go out to the Registration line and it was HUGE, I just couldn’t believe just how many people were waiting in line to pick up their badge. As long as the line was, it moved very fast, so I could see that people in general were very happy. I couldn’t help but be sucked by the crazy atmosphere...

Anime Expo GOH: Maon Kurosaki In the beginning of July thousands of anime fans converge on the Los Angeles Convention Center for one of the great events over the course of the year, Anime Expo. To me, Anime Expo is not just a convention, but it is an ideal that we all should aim for. Over the course of four days we create a convention where people don't judge each other on their social status, looks, age, ethnicity, or what religion they adhere to, because we are here together for the common love of anime and manga. In Anime Expo I wear two hats, the first hat is being a cosplay photographer, and the second hat is being on the Board of Directors for the parent organization behind Anime Expo. Due to the nature of the work I do behind the scenes of Anime Expo, this blog will go through my experiences as a cosplay photographer. My Day starts off very early in the morning, eating breakfast with Anime Expo staffers and recounting stories from the preparation day of Anime Expo, bett...

Anime Expo 2011 Guest of Honor: the beautiful Maon Kurosaki During Anime Expo I wear two hats, the first is being on the Board of Directors for the non-profit parent company behind Anime Expo. The second hat I wear is between Board duties, and that is a photographer. On my free time I took over 3,000 pictures, in which many of them are full blown photo shoots. Here are the links to a small amount of photos I have taken during Anime Expo, I hope you enjoy it. Like most of my other photobucket folders, they will be deleted after some time. Anime Expo 2011 - Day 1 Anime Expo 2011 - Day 2 Anime Expo 2011 - Day 3 Anime Expo 2011 - Day 4 Enjoy!