Fanime 2026: So Much to See!

I had a feeling this was going to be a tough year for me when I looked at the panel list and saw a lot of potentially interesting panels.  From presentations by established regulars, to unions in videogames, to cosplay wrestling, to games that mess with you, to that one industry panel I always attend, to spotlights on and from guests of honor, I wound up having to make some hard choices on what to actually sit down and watch.  (There were also the ones I attended because there was nothing else opposite them – try to guess which was which!)  This was also in addition to checking out the dealer’s hall, artist’s alley, and swap meet (on Friday), as well as taking the opportunity around the con to get pictures of quality cosplay.  Of course, just because a panel looked interesting didn’t mean that it actually was.  So did my hard choices pay off?  Read on and find out!

Foundation For The Eradication of Gen 5 Pokemon

Super Mario Bros. Super Panel

I try not to attend their panels in successive years as they’re mostly doing the same bits again.  Even if I’ve forgotten most of what was in the previous panel from a year ago, looking at my writeup of it let me know that not a whole lot had changed.  Yes, they did have some thoughts on “The Super Mario Galaxy” movie, but those were briefly given at the end.  It may surprise some of you to know that they didn’t hate it, but they didn’t really like it all that much even if the constant barrage of references (and Star Fox) were still pleasing.

However, I did take down their Pasta Ratings for most of what they talked about, because what says Infinitely Repackageable Italian Plumber Mascot than pasta!  With that in mind:

• Saturday Morning Supercade:  Chicken Noodle Soup – it’s only pasta because it has noodles in it, and it’s also mostly water.
• Super Mario Bros. Movie (Live Action):  Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach:  Mushroom Ravioli – because whoever made this was clearly doing a lot of ‘shrooms.
• Super Mario Bros. Super Show:  Lasagna – because it has SO MANY LAYERS (OF QUALITY) to it.
• Super Mario’s Fire Brigade PSAs:  Raw Ziti – there’s not much there and it needs some water.
• King Koopa’s Kool Kartoons:  Cannonelli – again, there wasn’t much too this
• Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3:  Lasagnette – it just doesn’t have as many layers as the original.
• Super Mario World:  Vermicelli – reportedly, it’s the most offensive pasta.
• Super Mario Bros Movie:  Cheese Pizza or Pesto Linguini with Way Too Much Parmesan – as they barely resemble actual pasta.
• Super Mario Bros Movie (Animated):  Angel Hair – as it’s barely there.
• Super Mario Galaxy Movie:  Pasta Primavera – it has some good parts, and some that are distinctly not pasta.

InfoWario

I figured it’d be good to check out this panel given the recent developments in the life of his real-world counterpart.  That turned out to be a good idea as we got to revel in the experience of an awful person being forced to act decently and getting trolled by his former “friends” along the way.  It started off on a great note with Wario crawling out drunkenly from under the stage and being forced to read a disclaimer by his new overlord, Max, accounting for his victim blaming and stating that he was going to Hell because he deserved it.  That didn’t stop him from constantly trying to shill supplements for Dr. Waluigi’s Huge Naturals, because he really needed the money now.

We did get multiple guests for this installment of InfoWario including Team Skull head Gysma who was pushing his crackpot theories about how the Ultrabeasts created all life on Earth.  He was followed by Fuhrer King Bradley and his ongoing plans for a “Middle East” invasion, which were dashed after he was arrested by the International Criminal Court for war crimes at the end of his appearance.  Shadow the Hedgehog also showed up to gloat about his technological accomplishments in the field of AI, but left as soon as Wario tried to hit him up for financial help.

Best of all, though, was the final guest:  Waluigi.  From what I was able to gather, he was responsible for negotiating Wario’s post-settlement agreement with him supposedly getting 50% of all proceedings from the hosting of his show going forward.  The thing was that the contract he signed was in crayon and therefore non-binding.  What actually happened was Waluigi got ⅓, Max got another ⅓, and gay bear frogs got the remaining ⅓ to go live their best lives.  That last part sent Wario over the edge and under the table again, which was easy to enjoy.  There was enough general nuttiness and insanity to keep me entertained throughout the panel, but part of me was also glad that I never paid much attention to InfoWars while Alex Jones was running it even if it meant that I didn’t get all of the jokes here.  What’s the deal with the gay bear frogs anyway?

Anime Villain Solutions, LLC

Everyone thinks you’re the bad guy, but are you really?  What if you’re just the victim of bad publicity or outright propaganda – like how Shou Tucker from “Fullmetal Alchemist” was at the hands of the Elric Brothers.  That’s what Anime Villain Solutions, LLC, is here for and is ready to spin the alchemist’s reprehensible actions as the result of lingering trauma from the terrorist actions of renegade Ishbalans like Scar.

This was prime troll material from some Prime Trolls and some of it worked better than others.  Framing Doctor Robotnik’s plans for world domination as a means of giving feral animals purpose (by controlling individual robots) in the face of a chili-dog-obsessed interspecies-breeding hedgehog was a good example.  Talking about Gendo Ikari’s plans to create more beachfront property by instigating the Third Impact was another (as was the running gag about the presenter of this plan, Blake, being hung over and inebriated after his face-eating antics at Park Con last night).  Telling Aura the Guillotine from “Frieren” that she should lurk more to stay alive longer also made sense.

However, some of these presentations only made sense if you were familiar with them.  I had no idea who the fashion-forward anime character who they said bought JoAnn was, and the plan for “Death Note” was to either make Light and L’s relationship more gay, or not gay at all?  Not helping matters were the technical problems, which were to be expected at any panel by this point.  This ultimately resulted in a panel that definitely had its moments, but felt like it needed a bit more planning in order to meet its full potential.  (What, you say that I should watch more of the stuff they’re talking about?  Nah, that’s crazy talk!)

Waluigi Time

This was another panel of theirs that I returned to after a few years away.  The premise is simple:  Mario forged Luigi’s signature and committed the both of them to hosting this panel that was all about Waluigi.  Everything from his games, to his food services, to his supplements, and also his Waaaaaps.  Because this was a classy panel, it started off with Toad stating that he had a fatal case of Ligma and that it was his dying wish to meet Waluigi.  After the man of the hour showed up and signed Toad’s head, the retainer promptly fell down dead (don’t worry folks – he got better).

Things continued on with a legitimate list of Walugi’s game appearances in Mario Tennis, Mario Party 3, Mario Power Tennis, and Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix.  Then things took the expected turn for the strange with the reveal that both Peach and Bowser had filed a joint restraining order against him (the one thing they could agree on), that he started his modeling career in a Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, and that he won Wimbledon 2016 with Serena Williams.  Naturally things segued to his movie career with his role as the princess in “Castle of Wagliostro,” “Spirited-a-Wah” and “Waaaah of the Heart.”  The last two were notable for his reportedly torrid on-set romances with Totoro and Birdo, who were both “screamers” according to our host.

Things did get dicey after he was arrested a couple times during the panel.  First for the murder of Harambe, and then for cocaine smuggling through his Italian restaurant.  He managed to beat both charges because nobody cares about Harambe anymore, and the prison guard was his canonical side piece, Knuckles.  Though Waluigi was also supporting the Switch 2 with “Waluigi’s Back Alley Barbershop,” “Green Mario’s Midlife Crisis 3:  Dark Times,” and “Lemonade Tycoon” (which sounded perfectly normal until it was revealed to be about selling Wario’s unregulated supplements to kids), Toad came back for one last time to spotlight the Purple One’s most infamous games:  “Waluigi Goes to Court for Hitting a Woman” and “Waluigi Gets his Waluweenie Stuck in a Post Office Box” for which his legacy is deservedly tied to.

Anime Survivor

Grab a whole bunch of anime, and anime-adjacent characters, put them into an online “Survivor” simulator, let the audience figure out the reasons for the agreements and disagreements, and let the good times roll.  That’s been the formula for this panel for years and it’s been a very reliable source of entertainment for me and many others at the con.  In the years that I’ve been attending, this event has only had one winner:  “Kaguya-sama’s” pink-haired spirit of chaos, Chika Fujiwara.  While I was ecstatic at her win that first year, and her threepeat two years later, there was no denying that seeing her win every time was starting to get a little old.  Was this going to be a situation where she’d continue to dominate every year at this con, or had her time finally come?

The selection of contestants for this year was as eclectic as you’d expect.  Aside from Chika, we had:

There were a lot of people I wasn’t familiar with, but longtime readers can probably guess that I was rooting for Laios.  So it was REALLY DISAPPOINTING to see him get booted in the first round.  Which led me to resign myself to hoping that Chika would win as I couldn’t say that I was too passionate about seeing anyone else win.  However, early alliances between Mami Nanami from “Rent-a-Girlfriend,” Shadow the Hedgehog, Boxxo the vending machine, and Goose from “Untitled Goose Game” wound up being enduring through the rest of the game.  Anyone not part of these alliances in the Swap Meet group effectively had a target on their back.

Which turned out to be true when Chika was eliminated before the merger of the two remaining tribes!  The room went nuts and now it was really anyone’s game.  With my favorites now eliminated, I started gravitating towards Yogsoth-oth as I respected the under-the-radar game he was playing.  Naturally, he was eliminated in Round 11.  Beyond that, I really didn’t have any favorites; though, I was in agreement with Max in just not wanting to see Shadow win.  We both got our wishes when he got voted out in the penultimate round.

The final three came down to Goose, Mami, and Boxxo, and it was hard to pick any kind of favorite here.  Until I realized that Mami had been playing a lot of the characters against each other over the course of the game, and I had to respect that at least.  So it was at least a little satisfying to see her in over her animal and mechanical competitors. Whether or not this is the start of a new dynasty, we shall see.  One thing’s for sure:  I’m still not going to start watching “Rent-a-Girlfriend” after seeing her win.

Andre Pena

(Not) Cthulhu For President

Last year, Andre made the point that this was not a panel for Cthulhu for President because he was done with that.  We still got the usual goods, even though he presented a distinctly, “I’m over this vibe as well.”  That’s what it looked like we were getting again this year until he started his slideshow and a “Reverse” Uno card popped up.  At that point he stripped off his hoodie and sunglasses, put on a business jacket and told us that we were back in business!  This was a proper Cthulhu for President panel once again and he started things off by letting us know the old cabinet was still in place.  The big new addition was that the Old Lady Who Shoots the Cyborg Repeatedly in “Nemesis” was going to be our new Tsar of AI.  Also, plans to start up a “Blood for Oil” program (by way of alchemy), investments in the dark arts and sciences, and a ramping up of research into transhuman enhancements were planned because when have any of those things gone wrong before?

The real fun of the panel always comes when Andre opens it up for audience Q&A and either delivers reasoned answers or sick burns to those who deserve it.  Among the insights gathered into Cthulhu’s platform from this session were:

• Benjamin Netenyahu isn’t smart evil and the current plan is to force feed him bacon until he dies.
• Las Vegas will be lit on fire to provide power for the rest of the country.
• Cthulhu isn’t in the Epstein files – he doesn’t diddle kids, he just eats them.
• On that note:  School lunches will be made better in the hope of making kids taste even better.
• They’re very much looking forward to seeing what kind of genetic abominations arise from their research initiatives.
• Cthulhu believes in due process.  The due process of eating 1d6 humans per round.
• The Brownshirts (ICE) will be getting what’s coming to them.
• Billionaires who are not eldritch abominations like Scrooge McDuck (seriously, how does he swim through all that cash) will not be allowed to live.
• Jack Burton got lucky when he beat current party VP candidate David Lo Pan and “Big Trouble in Little China” is nothing but propaganda.
• How will Cthulhu compete against Lich President Franklin Delano Roosevelt?  Given that FDR didn’t beat Polio, our odds are looking pretty good.
• Speed limits in California will be raised to 100 mph in the hopes of alleviating traffic issues as well as generating plenty of shits and giggles.
• Any problems with Cthulhu consuming humans faster than we can reproduce will be solved through cloning.

Bad Hentai

It’s always good to check in on this panel every couple of years to see what new and returning kinds of degeneracy Andre has on offer.  After starting off with the traditional round of Nazi sex machine exploitation, we segued right into seeing a humanoid loli cephalopod get sexually assaulted and impregnated by a genuine asshole.  It was not pleasant at all, but as our host reminded us, “The name of the panel is ‘BAD HENTAI,’” and we all chose to be here.

Fortunately the rest of the offerings weren’t as distasteful.  We got some over-the-top comedic psychic sex action courtesy of the “Ogenki Clinic,” some shockingly well-done monster transformation sequences in “Sailor Moon” knockoff “Venus 5,” human-on-female-centaur action, lots of hamster sex comedy with “Ebichu,” and multiple crimes against humanity via terrible English voice acting in hentai.  All in all, this was the expected affront to good taste that the panel is every time I come to see it and something everyone should see at least once – provided they’re not the easily offended type.

Coffee Shops in Tokyo and Beyond

Andre started off this panel by polling the audience as to whether they were here because they were genuinely interested in the subject, or just him (and his degenerate stuff) and got a surprisingly even split through the crowded room.  He then went on to talk about how he got into coffee during the pandemic and while he previously had an unsustainably large collection of whiskey, coffee was something that he could consume and enjoy on a regular basis.  There was also talk about how we’re currently in the “third wave” of coffee consumption (first wave being how our parents did, the second being the popularization of it through chains like Starbucks) which was the curation of specialty experiences.  That’s what he was here to talk about by way of the many, MANY places he’s visited in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto.

Even though I’m not a coffee enjoyer, it was still engaging to hear Andre talk about his passion.  The man has always been very good at communicating his feelings and the reasons behind them at his panels and he made seeking out these shops and experiencing their individual quirks sound like an adventurous good time.  Some of them might be a bit crowded or cramped, others may want you to leave as soon as you’re done, others create themed experiences, while some keep their locations a closely guarded secret.  He did recommend talking to them if possible as some of the staffers will open up if they find out you’re a coffee weirdo like them.  Also, buy beans  from these shops as that’s where they make their best margins.  For anyone curious about all of the shops he’s visited, Andre created an Apple Maps list of them that you can find on his website at www.andrepena.com  

Cosplay Wrestling Federation: Fanimania 2026

Night One

This may have been the prelude to tomorrow’s main event, but it still had plenty of excitement and surprises for everyone who attended.  After a recap of previous CWF events over the past year (and a brief message from Batman), organization president La Shayda DuCree and her associate Bandit Keith got the ball rolling with the announcement of the four events that would make up tonight’s card:  An In Memoriam section, the Tag-Team Championship, the 24/7 Scramble, and a Secret Presentation.

The memoriam turned out to be for Gaston, who hadn’t been seen since he was taken out by (Jiggly)Puff two years ago.  Helltaker gave a moving speech where he spoke to the man’s lasting impact, and how ‘Taker taught him to read.  Best of all was the guy in the audience who brought nearly everyone to tears by saying, “Gaston is gastover!”  It would take a truly heartless individual to interrupt a scene like this, which is why evil HMO enforcer Jamie Goems showed up to demand the proper permits for the proceeding.  While Helltaker ripped up his paperwork, something else happened before they could come to blows.

It was Gaston himself, rising from his grave!  Without a word, he put Helltaker down for the count and had everyone fearing that he had made a genuine heel turn.  Until he then turned his silent wrath on Jamie and gave him the beatdown he’s deserved for the past few Fanimanias.  After announcing he was back, Gaston walked back into the audience and wasn’t seen again for the rest of the evening.

After being dubbed “Cowboy Team Rocket” last year, Isaac and Miria showed up to own that moniker as the managers of the CWF’s Pacific Northwest Division.  They were in charge of the Tag Team event that saw Neko World Order against the 4Kids Straw Hat Crew.  You’d think that anything 4Kids would be a decent sacrificial lamb in an event like this, but these guys were weak by any reasonable standard.  Their trash talk was bad, went on for too long, and was also subject to a recurring wardrobe (wig) malfunction.  When the time came for the audience to decide the winner, Temu Straw Hat Crew only got token applause while people actually cheered for NWO.  By the time LaShayda was done adjudicating this, you could tell that she was ready to be over.  At least we got a fun bit about Rad 4Kids Anime Dad selling Only Fans (not anything related to the site, these were actual fans) to get out of debt with the CWF.

After Joker, the Riddler and Scarecrow showed up to announce that they had hijacked the CWF’s social media feeds to post Hiki selfies they were quickly taken away by TWO Batmen and the 24/7 Scramble began.  This was a half-hour long series of one-on-one matches where previous champion Red Soldier lost the belt to Isaac and Miria, who then lost it to Shika in a game of rock/paper/scissors, who then lost it to Riddler after being stumped by a riddle.  Things continued along these lines, with the most interesting challenges being presented by Pokemon’s Giovanni who preferred to make deals to secure the belt at multiple times, and a surprise intervention by the referees overseeing this event for the CWF.  While it looked like it was going to come down to Joker vs. Giovanni at the end, a last minute intervention by the Scarecrow saw the Bat-villain secure the 24/7 in the name of fear.

As for what the final match involved, it featured the return of unlikable heel Onii Ares who had announced that he had captured this year’s Fanime mascots and was preparing to send them to Japanese Hell to be possessed by demons.  While this initially felt like it was going to be setup for something happening in the following night’s match, Parappa the Rapper showed up to throw down with him.  Even though Onii Ares laid the smack down on the Rapper, he – and the audience – believed enough in his ability to win that he shook off the beating and threw the villain into the same grave that Jamie Goems went into at the start of the night.  Parappa staggered off the stage weakened, but triumphant.

Here’s hoping that he’ll recover and take the CWF Heavyweight Championship belt back from that annoying little scrub Carl Wheezer in night two!

Night Two

Well, that didn’t happen, but it was still time for the battle for the Heavyweight Championship of the Universe!  After Bandit Keith and LaShayda made their introductions, we met our contenders.  There was a mix of returning favorites like Torracat, Blackbeard, (uh…) American Goku, Travis Touchdown, Bill Ding, and (even more “uh…”) Jaymee Goems and newcomers like Marty McFly, Ron McDonald, Percy Jackson, Imelda Marcos, Gojo Wakana, Uzi Doorman and The Shipper.  Each of them made their case as for why they should be the one to take on reigning champ Carl Wheezer, and… I was honestly a little concerned at this point.

Not only was this a smaller roster than in years past, it felt pretty lacking in star power.  Last year’s champ Shadow the Hedgehog wasn’t present, and Parappa the Rapper was nowhere to be seen even though he was in Night One.  Then there was the fact that, aside from The Shipper’s creative trolling, most of the newcomers were pretty bad.  Marty, I admire your guts for getting up on stage in the first place, but you’ve got a lot of work to do before you stand a chance of making it to Round Two.

At least the returning favorites brought some heat.  Jaymee Goems even brought some continuity from last night as he was sporting fresh bandages and crutches following his beatdown from Gaston.  That even caused the audience to bless him with a new chant, “WADDLE FASTER!”  American Goku appeared to come once again to feast on the audience’s rage, only to flip the script and finally admit that “Dragonball Evolution” was complete shit and that he was ready to destroy the final copy of it – with the audience’s help!  Then there was Travis Touchdown as the fanboy turned assassin brought his raunchy style of fan-empowerment to the right audience at the right time.

In the end, only Travis, Goku, Jaymee, Bill, Ron, Torracat, and The Shipper advanced to Round Two.  Carl started things off with some takedowns that fluctuated between pretty decent and “What the hell is this kid even doing here?”  Then the challengers made their case against the reigning champ and while it was fun to see Jaymee completely flub his go and come off as even more of a creep than he was, Goku used the whole room as his challenge to Carl, which was impressive to see.  It couldn’t top Travis, who brought a body pillow of Carl’s mom to match the champ’s pillow of Jimmy Neutron’s mom and allow him to go to town in describing all of the things he was going to do to her.

In the end, there could be only two:  Goku and Carl Wheezer… until it wasn’t!  LaShayda announced that this was going to be a three-way-battle and Travis was brought back in.  Moms were disparaged, blu-rays were threatened with sexual assault, and cuckolding came up a whole lot.  In the end, the audience decided that Travis was most worthy and the belt was finally his!  Even if the route getting here wasn’t as solid as I was expecting, this second night of Fanimania delivered in the end.  Especially for its champ, as while I don’t know the real name of the guy who plays Travis (he was also Isaac in Night One), he’s been doing quality work in the CWF for years and it was great to finally see him get the belt he deserved.

All the Other Panels and Panelists

Corporate Chaos in Videogames

It’s time for workers – especially in the gaming industry – to rise up and secure their power through the means of unionization!  That was the main thrust of Sarah, the panelist, and she also talked about how it would look in games as well.  Some of these games were very well suited to the subject – “The Outer Worlds 2” had a specific plotline about it and the poor working conditions of the Dwarves in “Deep Rock Galactic” are known through their flavor dialogue.  Others like “Hollow Knight:  Silksong” were discussed in the context of how unions can be formed in religious organizations, while “Dispatch” came up in regards to how seniority was meant to be handled in the workplace.

Sarah clearly knew what she was talking about and was clearly passionate about the subject.  She gave multiple examples of the benefits of unionization in real life both personal and national.  Companies may have you believe that you could buy a PS5 instead of paying your union dues, but doing so to be part of a union will secure you additional pay to buy four of those, plus get you a portable air conditioner when it’s 80 degrees outside and twenty degrees higher in your workplace.  It was definitely an informative panel, even if it was clear that this was meant to be a talk about the benefits of unionizing itself and the videogame connection was just a bit of sugar to help all of that go down smoothly.

Page 2 Plate:  Anime Food IRL

This was from the same people who did “Food Reviewing Delicious in Dungeon” last year and there was a bit of crossover with that panel as I caught the tail end of it coming from “Corporate Chaos” and before the “Super Mario” panel.  I did learn some interesting things here, such as that it’s legal to eat horse meat in most states (but not California), there’s a foreigner-friendly Ainu restaurant in Tokyo, it’s legal to eat bear meat you hunt yourself – but you can’t buy it (and be sure to cook it at 140° to kill any parasites), it’s easier to get worms from pork than bear meat, the tea time at the Hello Kitty cafe at the Citywalk is worth it, and Ushiya in NorCal and Chubby Cattle in SoCal both offer decent Japanese BBQ.

Video Games that F*** With You

This was from Trickssi and Fractali who did “A History of Controversy in Videogames (and Why It Matters)” last year, and it was a considerably less intense experience.  They started off with identifying the key means by which games will mess with you – fourth wall breaks, unreliable narrators, false endings, just plain lying to you – and giving some clear examples.  Mario being told about how controls work isn’t a proper fourth wall break, while Solid Snake being told to plug his controller into port 2 to get around Psycho Mantis’ mind control is.  There was also talk about the GOAT of unreliable narrators, Capt. Walker from “Spec Ops:  The Line,” games like “Nier Automata” with its false endings, and the body of work from “Nonary Games” creator Kotaro Uchikoshi, who the panelists praised as a smart writer and ally.

Then they went on to talk about other games I’d never heard of that offered their own interesting ways to mess with the player like “Mothered,” “The Beginner’s Guide,” and “Immortality,”  As well as one game that’s currently on my Steam wishlist “The Hundred Line – Last Defense Academy.”  Most of the way through the panel, the panelists then pulled off their own twist on the audience by talking about their work with the Cosplay Survivor Support Network and the way it offers support not just to cosplayers, but fans who have faced harassment and abuse from others in real life.  This was a better way to promote their own interests (about an important topic) than I saw at “Corporate Chaos,” as they then went back to talking about more games that  messed with their audiences and even had time to take some recommendations from the audience.  After these past two years, I’ll have to keep an eye out for Trickssi and Fractali’s next panel to see what subject they’ll be giving us a deep dive into next.

Yu-Gi-Oh:  A 4Kids Guide to Censorship

I’m not into this franchise, but I’m a sucker for any panel talking about 4Kids’ wacky history of localizing anime for an American audience.  Fortunately we got a host, Daniel Laube, who was VERY into this and also had the added con cred of being Dragonball Evolution Goku in the Cosplay Wrestling Federation.  However, this wasn’t just a look at what 4Kids did to the American version of Yu-Gi-Oh, it was also an examination of how the anime differed from its manga source material.  Which was wild as while the infamous “finger guns” that were used to censor actual guns in the anime was touched upon, we also learned that Bandit Keith had his own finger gun that he lost his life to in the manga as part of a penalty game.

That said, the differences started out pretty tame with the fights in the anime being more action-packed compared to the duels-in-boxes that the manga delivered.  Yet Yugi and Kaiba racked up their own body counts early in the manga compared to the anime, and we found out that the Millenium Eye was plucked from its owner’s head in demonstrably bloody fashion.  That was nothing compared to what we learned about the alterations to Marik’s backstory as while changing a secret knife to a staff in the American version to get around the fact that he stabbed his dad to death in the Japanese original is one thing, he also carved the historical tattoo off of his dad’s back in the manga.  That was the panel’s high point, even if seeing the efforts to camouflage Zorc Necrophades’ dragon dong in the various versions were good for a laugh.

Overall, I really enjoyed this with Daniel making for a very energized and knowledgeable host.  It was also interesting to learn during the audience Q&A that “Yu-Gi-Oh” has a Season Zero that was never localized by 4Kids because it was just too violent.  The man also gave a wholehearted recommendation to “The Dark Side of Dimensions” movie that wraps up the franchise, and while I probably won’t be checking that out anytime soon, I will certainly come back for any other panels he’ll do.

A Brief History of Yokai

This was hosted by translator Zack Davisson, who was also a Guest of Honor at this year’s con.  He spent the time before the panel started talking about his time living in Japan – specifically about the greatness of Nara and the awfulness of Japanese summers.  Once the panel started, he wasted no time getting into his subject and letting us know that the conversation of what Yokai are has been ongoing for centuries and shows no sign of abating anytime soon.  Davisson subscribes to the idea of Yokai as a “Mysterious Phenomenon” and that they encompass anything that can’t be explained.  While he gave us some familiar Japanese examples like Kappas and Nekomatas, he also let us know that Western creations like Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and Vampires would also qualify.

He then went into a history of Yokai starting in the first millennium and their origins as beings of energy.  It wasn’t until the Muromachi period that these creatures were given forms for the first time and then later, Toriyama Seiken gave us the first compilation of Yokai stories, natures, and images over three volumes.  Those three volumes encompassed all of the known Yokai at the time, but they were so successful that Seiken went on to deliver successive volumes involving ones he just made up (because someone loved money is one of the big sources of old folklore according to Davisson).

The popularity of Yokai continued until the Meiji period and Japan’s rapid modernization and acclimation to the state of the outside world.  This led the government to try and disabuse the populace of the existence of these things by explaining them and thus stripping away their mystery.  It wasn’t until Shigeru Mizuki’s stories of Yokai in manga during the post-war period that they made a comeback where they now enjoy their current ensconcement in popular culture.  Davisson had to zoom through the last part of his presentation due to time constraints, but what he delivered was definitely informative and satisfying.

Career Spotlight:  Hiroshi Nagahama

The veteran anime director is best known to me as the director of the excellent episodic supernatural period drama series “Mushi-Shi,” but that’s not all he’s known for.  Nagahama got to talk about the highlights of his career so far in direct fashion starting off with his work on that series by way of the guidebook he brought with him.  He then went on to talk about the other series that most people in the audience would know him for, “Flowers of Evil” and “Detroit Metal City.”  Writing about this now, I’m wishing I’d taken better notes about what he was talking about on these series as the only interesting anecdote I noted was how he got to cameo in the “DMC” live action movie and had a terrible time getting into the extreme makeup that bit part required.

It was more interesting to hear him talk about some of the smaller roles he had in other notable productions.  We got to see his storyboards for the episode of the original “Fruits Basket” series he directed (episode 25) and he talked us through the production of it from his notes.  I was also surprised to learn he was responsible for designing and helping to animate the final sequence of “Revolutionary Girl Utena:  The Movie.”  If you’ve ever seen it, you know how crazy it gets there, but Nagahama talked through the design of the cars and the CG castle like they were the most natural things in the world.  He also pointed out some interesting tidbits like how he worked in Utena’s design into the carseats, a high heel into the car design, and tried to make the castle more Star Destroyer-like to communicate its imposing nature.

In the end, I was glad that I went and heard him talk about all of these projects.  Some of you may also know that he worked on the recent adaptation of Junji Ito’s “Uzumaki” and that the animation quality fell off a cliff after he directed the first episode and not the rest.  If you were hoping he’d provide any insight into that debacle, it never came up at all in his discussion.

Dark Horse Manga

I arrived late to this panel and walked in to hear Carl Horn talk about the company plans to publish deluxe reissues of the art of Hisao Tamaki’s adaptation of “Star Wars Episode IV:  A New Hope.”  The publisher is doing deluxe, oversized versions to showcase the art and its impressive detail and while a Kickstarter campaign was run to allow people to back this project early, this two-volume set will be arriving in stores in June and August, respectively.  If you’re wondering why Dark Horse isn’t doing a straight-up reprint of Tamaki’s manga, after they originally published it back in the 90’s, that’s because the rights are tied up with Marvel.  However, they were able to get permission to do it in this format because it’s just spotlighting the art.

While a lot of what Horn talked about was already familiar to me – and to anyone who reads my “Dark Horse Penguin Picks” – there were some interesting new tidbits included here.  In addition to the deluxe edition of “Appleseed” that’s coming, Dark Horse will also be doing deluxe editions of the remaining works of Masamune Shirow they still have the rights to.  There will be a slim supplemental volume to “Appleseed” coming along with a “Masamune Shirow Anthology” that will include both volumes of “Dominion,” “Orion,” and “Black Magic.”  

“Babanbabanban Vampire” is a new “Buddy Love” series whose first volume will be out in November about a vampire working in a bathhouse and trying to ruin his chosen prey’s love life in order to preserve the appeal of his blood.  I remember hearing about the anime adaptation last year and how it got raked over the coals by the reviewers in Anime News Network’s Previews Guide for apparently making gay predation and grooming into the core joke of the series.  Given this, and the fact that the anime itself came and went without making much of a name for itself beyond that initial controversy, I’m at a loss as to why Dark Horse is releasing this.

The same goes for their omnibus release of “Asobi Asobase,” but the difference is that I’m actually looking forward to it.  Ostensibly, this is about three schoolgirls who play games in an afterschool club and doesn’t sound all that interesting on its face.  Anyone who’s read the manga or seen the anime, however, can tell you that this goes to some strange, surreal, and frequently hilarious places.  Even if the anime adaptation came out years ago, I’ll be picking up the omnibus when it’s released.

Finally, while vol. 43 of “Berserk” was said to be coming in October, we were also told that they’d be publishing a manga from Kouji Mori, the man supervising its return.  “Suicide Island” is about Japan’s plan to deal with all potential suicides by shipping them off to an island so they won’t have to worry about them.  Sounds like a can’t-miss plan, naturally.  I’ve only read one of Mori’s other manga, “Holyland,” and have been meaning to read more since then.  I’m glad to know I’ll have the chance to do that when the first volume of this arrives in December.

The Anime Economy

This was hosted by Dallas Middaugh, an industry veteran who I was aware of from his work with Viz, then Del Rey, then Kodansha before he joined Crunchyroll in 2015.  Despite his history with the manga industry, this was all about the anime industry’s explosive growth over the decades.  He talked about its origins as a loss leader to help Osamu Tezuka sell more copies of “Astro Boy” manga, a practice which still continues to this day, and how NBC’s pickup of the anime back in the day got the international ball rolling.

From there, it was a long strange trip over the decades that was a mix of legitimate localizations, well-intentioned fansubbing, and outright piracy that led us to where we are today.  While I was familiar with Crunchyroll’s face turn towards being an official anime streaming site, it was interesting to hear how it was a meeting with one guy – Hiroki Saiki, if I got the name right – at TV Tokyo that gave the OK for them to show Naruto that really got the ball rolling there.  Middaugh also provided lots of other interesting tidbits I wasn’t aware of, such as how Funimation founder Gen Fukunaga had an uncle at Toei who really wanted “Dragonball” to make it to the US and promised his nephew he’d get him the licence if he could front him the money.  We also learned about how “Dragonball” performed better in repeats on Cartoon Network than “Sailor Moon,” new episodes of “Dragon Ball Super” crashed servers when they arrived, and Hulu only realized how big anime was once they lost the licenses to the shows that Funimation was sub-licensing to them.

Sadly, Middaugh was pessimistic about the current state of Crunchyroll, noting that most of its crew, as well as the former Funimation crew who effectively took over, have been let go in place of other streaming service specialists.  That’s not to say that the service still isn’t phenomenally successful, and our host could’ve gone into even more detail if he had the time.  Middaugh is currently working on a book about this very subject and this panel is part of his effort to workshop/organize it.  I’d buy it if he does release it; though, I’d also be up for one about his time in the manga industry as the bits he talked about – Viz’s revenues going from $5-6 million annually to over $100 million because of “Pokemon,” the “Attack on Titan” manga selling like ass until the anime turned it around – also sounded very worthwhile.

Dark Souls for Dummies

This was hosted by Rangoon, a Micolash cosplayer, who came to the series in a somewhat unconventional way.  They started with “Dark Souls III” as part of the Humble Monthly Bundle while playing on their school-owned laptop that occasionally managed to get the framerate into double digits.  Even with that handicap, Rangoon managed to beat the first boss before their Humble subscription expired.  It wasn’t until they got a copy of “Dark Souls Remastered” on Xbox that they truly got into From Soft’s storied series and its successors.

As you’d expect from the title of this panel, it was an explainer session talking about the series’ origins, what makes it worth playing, and whether or not it’s truly hard – with an emphasis on the first  game in the series.  Rangoon stated that they eventually came around on the idea of the series needing difficulty modes based on how they played “Halo 2” versus how a friend did.  They both had significantly different experiences which affected how they were able to commiserate about the game.  Having everyone experience the game the same way, while also giving them multiple ways to engage with it, ultimately makes for a more satisfying social experience – something I’d agree with too.

The highlights of the panel, however, came when Rangoon talked about their own experiences with the series and first game.  Aside from their time playing part three on a school laptop, they talked about why you shouldn’t play the game with a mouse and keyboard, why “Bandit” was the best starting class, and why Artorias from the first game’s DLC was their favorite boss.  Best of all was their recommendation to audience members to take time outs and go run off frustrations during particularly difficult encounters.  Which caused one audience member to remark, “How’s the marathon coming?” which brought the house down.

****

Monday morning turned out to be unexpectedly quiet as there weren’t any panels I planned on attending.  Which meant I had plenty of time to sleep in, grab breakfast, and take one last stroll through the dealer’s hall and artist’s alley before I left.  I did manage to hit the Valley Transit Authority train pass jackpot on the way to the airport, but that’s another story.  Even with this quiet day, I could start to feel post-con depression setting in as I prepared to head back to reality.  I know I say this almost every time I wrap up one of these reports on Fanime, but it’s still my favorite con experience every year.  I’ll be back again in 2027 because I know it’ll offer lots of entertainment, but hopefully with fewer hard choices about what to actually see there.