Fanime 2022: The Return
“THE KUROSAGI CORPSE DELIVERY SERVICE” IS BACK, BABY! I mean, it’s coming back in July to comic shops and in August everywhere else! That’s the big news I learned from the Dark Horse Comics panel at the convention, and it was shocking for a couple reasons. One is that I rarely expect to get big news like this at these panels, as they usually involve reiterating previous announcements and solicited titles. The other is that this went completely un-mentioned in the solicitations I read from the company on a monthly basis. That said, this is incredible news and everyone who has read this series should ask their local retailer to pre-order it for them, or pre-order it yourself at your online retailer of choice. Because if this new omnibus doesn’t sell, this could be the last we see of this excellent series for good.
As for Fanime itself, it was pretty good.
This was clearly a rebuilding year in the wake of two years off from in-person conventions, and the biggest problems with the con felt like they were outside of their control. The lack of video rooms was missed, and the available panel rooms were smaller than they were in years past, but that was due to the fact that the con didn’t have access to the Signia’s (formerly the Fairmont) additional rooms. There was also the matter of the waitlist system the con decided to use. It was a good idea in theory, but they deserve credit for dropping it as soon as they saw that it wasn’t working.
Even with these issues, I had a great time and will definitely be back next year. There was lots of great cosplay to take in, choice finds to be had in Artist’s Alley, and lots of excellent panels to take in. Not all of them were excellent, but I’d have taken the experience I had on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday over the one day I had at WonderCon this year. On that note:
The Society for the Preservation of Gen 1 Pokemon:
Ash is a Bad Pokemon Trainer: These guys were the MVPs of the convention as Max, Clayton, Andrew, and their friends can always be counted on to provide some quality troll-based humor at (almost) every panel they hosted. This one, where they made a deep dive into the reasons that Ash is a terrible Pokemon trainer is just one example. I’m not a fan of “Pokemon,” but I still got plenty of laughs out of seeing them explain the ways in which Ash endangered himself, his friends, and his Pokemon in pursuit of being the best that ever was. Their descriptions of how he failed to properly get the badges in the initial game/anime series were a particular highlight.
Console Wars: This was a repeat of a panel from a few years back and is a relatively unique one in SPG1’s lineup. In the sense that it’s an actual history of the console wars and not a total shitpost about the subject in question. It was nice to see the group bring their unique spin to this particular bit of history, and for them to update it to include this latest generation of consoles. That said, it did have me feeling that there were diminishing returns in seeing the same subject matter presented again, even with a three-year gap in between. That’s a problem with one of their other panels, but also one they managed to avoid in another.
Fifth Gen Isn’t Pokemon: Does what it says on the tin. This is SPG1’s signature panel, and I’m wondering if its stated aim of taking down the fifth Pokemon generation isn’t starting to wear on me. Maybe it’s because they had an extra half-hour to indulge themselves with this year. Maybe it’s because this is the third or fourth time I’ve seen this panel. I still laughed a lot, but it also felt like I was laughing at the same jokes I’d heard before, and not as hard either.
Waluigi Time: I’ve been to this panel before, but this felt like a clear improvement over the previous one. Which I, admittedly, have fuzzy memories of from a few years back. This was due to the fact that the SPG1 guys did the panel in character as Mario, Luigi, and the man himself Waluigi, who was every bit the villainous troll that you’d expect him to be. From dunking on Mario and Luigi’s love life, to promoting his new game “Waluigi’s Medical Bills” on the 3DS, to being arrested at the panel for drug trafficking, he was in great form and kudos to Clayton for wholly committing to the part. I’m all for seeing the character in “Super Smash Bros.” at some point, even if I’ll never, ever buy into his WaaCoin crypto scam.
Convention Stories: I’m including this here because it was co-hosted by Max from SPG1, even if the host was a Chris Redfield cosplayer. This was another “does what it says on the tin” experience with the hosts talking about their con experiences, but mostly asking the audience about theirs. Max’s presence was greatly appreciated as he treated an early responder in the panel with his story about NTR’ing his friend’s carrier waifu at a con, and then sending him pictures of it, with all the respect it deserved. There were other decent stories, but the best one had one of the attendees talking about the time he attended an anime con that was triple-booked with a veterans’ gathering and a Christian Marriage Counseling session.
Anime Survivor: This was the last panel I attended and I almost didn’t do it. I’m glad I did because this was arguably the best of SPG1’s efforts at this con. “Anime Survivor” is a version of the show “Survivor” done with anime characters… and Hayao Miyazaki… and Scrooge McDuck… and Cthulhu. What the SPG1 crew did was feed anime characters as diverse as Arataka Reigen, Spike Spiegel, Dio, Chika Fujiwara, and more into an online “Survivor” game generator that tracks the challenges, immunity idol plays, alliances, and individual character actions and makes a whole season of the game out of it. The fun comes from how the SPG1 crew offered their own explanations and solicited audience suggestions for how all of the alliances and character interactions were meant to play out between these characters. It led to a lot of surprising and funny moments that had me entertained and invested in seeing who would win. As for who did… I bet on Reigen, but it turns out that Chika, that pink-haired agent of chaos, was the one to outwit, outlast, and outplay all the other characters.
Andre Pena:
Cthulhu for President: Andre’s signature panel was back again this year and it showed that he hadn’t lost any of his signature meanness in the process. From his takedown of the current administration and their opposition, he continued to make his case for the elder god of madness and his plan to solve all of America’s problems by eating everyone who opposes him. While also investing in infrastructure as well and appointing Judge Dredd to the Supreme Court. The cabinet and policy stuf was as entertaining as ever, but the real fun came with the audience Q&A where he gave reasonable answers to those who asked reasonable questions, merciless takedowns to those who asked dumb ones, and kept sending Max from SPG1 to the back of the line on general principle.
However, there was a moment of crisis during the Q&A. One of the people in line had what appeared to be a seizure and caused Andre to call out a Code Blue to the staff members at the door. He halted the panel and the people next to the attendee cleared the area and did their best to comfort him while the paramedics arrived. The good news was that the attendee slowly recovered after the initial shock, and the paramedics didn’t have to take him to the hospital after they arrived. The attendee was examined, deemed to be all right, and he was even able to ask Andre a question after the panel continued. It was a shocking experience, but it also showed that the host is a class act regardless of what situation he finds himself in.
Midnight Madness: Andre has been running this curated block of funny videos online for the past two years. The version of it he showed off here didn’t feature any new videos, which was disappointing. There were also technical issues whenever a .flv video came up, which was doubly so. Surprisingly, none of these things mattered as it was just great to be in a room, watching these videos with a group of like-minded people. We laughed, we clapped, and were entertained by Andre’s commentary. It was just a good example of how great it was to have the in-person experience at the con again.
Everyone Else:
Recreating Food from Anime: One of the Guests of Honor this year was Alvin Zhou, who does the “Anime With Alvin” segments as part of the Babish Culinary Universe on YouTube. I’ve been watching his stuff there for a while and was looking forward to seeing him in person. The panel didn’t disappoint as we got what amounted to director’s commentary on several of his more notable creations like the “Gotcha Pork Roast” from “Food Wars.” He talked about how that series was both helpful in how it laid out the steps for creating the dish, but also left out key bits that he had to work out and/or improvise for himself. We even got a sneak preview of a future episode as he showed off the final form of the deluxe parfait from “Darker Than Black,” a dessert that is only in two shots of one episode. It was everything I wanted from this panel, in other words.
Then I went and embarrassed myself a bit when I went to ask him a question. Earlier in the Q&A he mentioned that he had watched this Chinese-animated series called “Link Click.” I had watched that series as well, with Steve, and it featured an ending that was so ridiculous, it registered with me as the biggest troll of a finale I had seen since the original series of “Berserk.” I figured that the ending of “Link Click” was therefore impossible to have neutral feelings on, so I decided to ask Alvin what he thought of it. His response was that it really made him look forward to season two! Which was certainly a fair response, and after realizing I wasn’t going to get the, “I know, man, what was up with that?” response I was hoping for, I thanked him and made my way back to my seat, telling myself that this probably isn’t even a top 20 most awkward question he’s been asked.
Anime to See Before You Die: This is a regular panel at Fanime from Richard “MoNgR3L” Neil, who can always be counted on to produce quality content. Because of a conflict with Alvin’s panel, I only saw the second half of it this year. He still had some interesting anime to showcase, from the wartime propaganda piece “Momotaro: Soldier Stories,” to Masaki Yuasa’s out-there science fiction head-trip “Kaiba.” Extreme sex and violence was also showcased in the horror passion project that was “Midori (Mr. Arashi’s Freakshow),” while embedded journalism got a spotlight in “Flag.” He also gave a shout-out to “Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne,” a “mature” action series that I’ve had in my library for years, but have yet to finish watching. I think I’ve got a reason now after having him remind me about all of the stylish and sexy action this series had to offer.
The Way we Used to Watch: This panel was hosted by a guy named Nick Redman who focused on an interesting subject. While the title implies that it’s going to be about how fans used to watch anime before widespread distribution via VHS was a thing, that was only a small part of the panel. The majority of Nick’s panel was about the Bay Area’s local PBS station, KTEH and how it broadcast a lot of anime over the course of the 90’s. Fans opened their wallets to donate to the station to have them show series like, “Bubblegum Crisis,” “Urusei Yatsura,” “Sakura Wars” and even “Neon Genesis Evangelion.” That’s right, “Evangelion’s” TV debut wasn’t on Cartoon Network, but a PBS station in the Bay Area that even showed it uncut. It was a fascinating recounting of a niche bit of anime history made even better by the vintage clips that were shown of the station’s host describing series like “Sakura Wars” with a completely straight face.
Dark Horse Manga: Carl Horn was back to offer a history of Dark Horse’s efforts in manga publishing, and to showcase all of the American comics they’ve published that have also received Japanese releases as well. It’s a history I’ve heard before, but it’s always nice to hear again, with the updated details regarding the best American comic shop in Japan and the new titles that are being published in Japan. While the news regarding “Kurosagi” was obviously the highlight of the panel for me, he also let us know that vol. 10 of “Mob Psycho 100” will be coming later this year, and that vols. 4, 5, & 6 of “Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken” were on their way as well. He mentioned that 4 & 5 were coming in the back of vol. 3, so I don’t know if the mention of vol. 6 here was confirmation or a slip of the tongue. Also, regarding series that are currently “on hiatus,” one audience member asked Carl about the status of the “Evangelion: The Legend of the Piko Piko Students.” As is the case with any series that the publisher puts on hiatus, the reason was down to low sales. So if you really want that series to come back, start convincing your friends to buy the existing volumes physically or digitally.
Otaku Comedy Tournament Finals: After I left the Dark Horse Panel, I tried to see if I could get into the “Bad Hentai” panel that Andre hosts. That was a mistake because not only was that panel full, but the panel that Richard was hosting in the panel room I was just in, “Anime’s Biggest Assholes” had a huge line for it as well, so I couldn’t get back in. With my primary choices out, I wandered over to this panel featuring amateur stand-up comics trying their best to make the audience laugh. While it wasn’t terrible, I’m REALLY glad I didn’t go see the try-outs as these guys were just alright, and the MC was funnier than most of them. The two comics that followed the first three were the better group, but this wasn’t an experience I’d recommend to anyone looking for quality comedy.
Pokemon Arceus Midnight Mass: THIS WAS A MISTAKE! WE’RE MOVING ON NOW!
4Kids: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Because everyone loves the story of how a trashfire got started, right? Well, these first-time panelists weren’t here to condemn the infamous licensor of “Pokemon,” “One Piece,” “Ultimate Muscle,” “Yu-Gi-Oh” and more anime series. They were here to give an even-handed overview of the company whose licensing of the “Pokemon” anime boosted both its fortunes and that of the pocket monster franchise itself. We learned how they helped anime make further inroads into the American TV market and gave exposure to series that wouldn’t have had it otherwise. The panelists also gave 4Kids a dutiful roasting for their questionable localization choices and commercial bits which have not aged well at all. They did have to rush through things at the end, but this was one of the rare panels at the con that was both entertaining and informative.
CWF: Fanimania VII: Having nothing to do after coming back to the con after dinner on Sunday, I decided to see what the Cosplay Wrestling Federation was all about. It probably won’t surprise you to learn that there was no actual wrestling involved. Instead, we had lots of cosplayers cutting promos and trash talking their opponents (and, in some cases, the audience) in advance of taking on the reigning champion: Skeletor, now rechristened as Skelegod in the wake of the new “Masters of the Universe” animated Netflix series. It was honestly pretty great as characters as diverse as Bayonetta, Travis Touchdown, Mumen Rider, Spicy Burrito Guy, and Billy Mays all took their shot and the audience cheered and booed them on as appropriate. It was great and my only disappointment was that Coach Conners didn’t make it to the final round. The audience ABSOLUTELY HATED this guy and he totally thrived on that. I’ll be back for this panel next year, and I hope he returns.
I was excited to see that Fanime returned to being an in-person event this year, and the experience did not disappoint. Even with the logistical issues and occasionally disappointing panel, the majority of the stuff I did and attended there was thoroughly entertaining. I’m glad to have it back and am looking to see it become more like its old self (once we get access to the Signia) next year.