America's Greatest Otaku (Revealed)!

I'm not as far behind in my blogging as I thought I was!!!!!!!!!!!!  Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!   I  watched the finale of America's Greatest Otaku today (FINALLY!)  !!!!!!!!!!  I am sad to say good-bye to the Otaku 6: Diana Hsu & Dre Jean-Jacques (Team D & D), Stephan Cho &  William Sullivan "Sully" Brown (Team S & S), and Meera Marie & Dominique Kruse (Team Mangaloids)!   (SN: Have I used too many parentheses in this blog post yet?  LOL!)   I am absolutely thrilled to announce that my Hubby, Christopher Wanamaker, was declared AMERICA'S GREATEST OTAKU, with contenders Selene Schneider & Gina Gallego coming in close!!!!!  As the winner, Chris was rewarded with a trip to Japan, where he visited such hot spots as Toei Animation Co., Ltd., creative residence to such popular anime as Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball,  & Fist Of The North Star! Another not-to-be-missed spot along his journey was the Sanrio Puroland, a Hello Kitty theme park!!!!!!!!! (Note to Chris Wanamaker: Thanks for bringing me back such great souvenirs from this spot, Honey!)   He was even lucky enough to be able to see a Sentai (known in America as the Power Rangers) Show!  Wow!  I hope he goes to Japan again for a visit someday!  (If I'm lucky enough, I'll be able to go along with him!) In the meantime, I'll be content to immerse myself in Japanese culture by attending as many anime cons as possible!  Which reminds me, Otakon will be here before I can blink!  I guess I'd better put together my Wish List for the Dealer's Room!  If it's anything like it has been in the past, it's gonna be HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  (The Dealer's Room, not my Wish List!  LOL!)  Congratulations to AGO  contenders: 1. Ryan Tumaliuan, 2. Christine Choi, 3. Gina Gallego,4. Elizabet Schweizer, 5. Shireen Al-Zahawi, 6. Di-Khiem Tran, 7. Todd Haberkorn, 8.  Brianna Berry, 9. Janet Enriquez, 10. Becky Rasch, 11. Alexandra Lewis, 12. Selene Schneider, 13. Jasmine Salters, 14. Dianna Santodonato, 15. Joey Hanell, 16. Greer White, 17. Ryan Donafey (female),  and 18. Jillian Marcus!  It's too late for me to say "May the best man win!,"  because the contest is over and he already did!  Congratulations, Chris!  Wife Chan is very proud of you!!!!!!!!!!!

America's Greatest Art-taku?

I'm a little behind on my blogging, so this post is 1 of several that I'm hoping will be published over the next few days!  The April 7th episode of "America's Greatest Otaku" focused on the core quality of "Imagination" and emphasized the belief that "Life is short, but art lasts forever," a paraphrasing of a Hippocratic quote.  To reinforce this belief, the Otaku 6 were challenged to paint a mural.  While working on this project, the  Otaku 6 met several different artistic people, including Matt Booth, the owner of "Videodrome," dubbed "one of Atlanta's greatest movie rental places."  Sharing the same name as David Cronenberg's cult classic, Videodrome  (http://www.videodromeatl.com/)  offers pretty much everything and anything to tickle your movie nerd fancy.  Another person that crossed the path of the Otaku 6 was Cynthia Kado Shannon, the lead instructor-or godan-at the Shingetsu Kyudo Kai (http://www.shingetsu-kyudo.com/), a school dedicated to the study of archery.    Day 2 of Week 7 was spent learning about the art of Puppetry.   After meet-ups with Jeremy Underwood-who serves as curator of exhibits for the Center for Puppetry Arts (http://www.puppet.org/) -and Theodora Skipitares-a contemporary New York Puppeteer,  the gang slearned about the  bunkaru, or the traditional Japanese Puppet Theater.  Sounds like fun to me!   And, of course, you can't talk about puppets without mentioning Jim Henson, one of the greatest puppeteers who ever lived!!!!!  Without Jim Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) ,  great Muppets such as Kermit the Frog, Big Bird,  Elmo, and duo Bert & Ernie (my childhood faves!)  would not exist!!!!!!!! OK!   I'm getting weepy with nostalgia, so I guess it's time to move on to Week 7, Day 3 & Day 4!  Team D & D (Dre Jean Jacques & Diana Hsu) sojourned to New Orleans and discovered the Japanese poetic form haiku!  The pair visited the New Orleans Haiku Society (http://www.neworleanshaikusociety.blogspot.com/) and discovered an Otaku Hot Spot in the Boutique Du Vampyre (www.feelthebite.com), owned by Marita Jaeger!   The crew met up with 2 other artistic individuals-New Orleans stained glass artist Sarah Segovia & clothing designer Lady Angelique-before finally introducing AGO contender Greer White!!!!!  What makes White believe herself to be America's Greatest Otaku????  Maybe it's her aspiration to be an artist!  Or it could be that she is an avid cosplayer!  But then again, several people could argue that they cosplay as well!  So, maybe it's the fact that Greer White loves Para Para dancing!!!!!!!!  Or it could be the fact that she has attended anime conventions-Mechacon (http://www.mechacon.com/)  in particular-and cosplayed as characters such as Momo Adachi from "Peach Girl" (I've seen that anime!) But then again, what anime fan hasn't done that???  So, does Greer White have what it takes to be "America's Greatest Otaku?"  Only time will tell!!!!!!  In the meantime,  Meera  Jogani & Dominique Kruse (Team Mangaloids)  visited Chicago, Illinois to find other contenders who think that they have what it takes to be "America's Greatest Otaku!" It is in Chicago that they discover an Otaku Hot Spot in Wizard World. Wizard World is a producer of pop culture and multimedia conventions across North America that markets movies, TV shows, video games, technology, toys, social networking/gaming platforms, comic books and graphic novels. It has the rights to the names, marks, domains, customer lists and production rights for a portfolio of pop culture and multimedia conventions (http://www.wizardworld.com/).   Chicago is also where AGO viewers were introduced to business owners Phil Schlaefer (www.comiccollectorshop.com), Xavier B. Hamilton (www.thegrandillumination.com), and Steve Oertel  (www.galleryofink.com).   Finally, they introduced another AGO candidate, Chicago's Miss  Ryan Zanfei!  She makes a very cute Sweet Lolita, loves making accessories, and illustrates manga, but does she deserve to be "America's Greatest Otaku?"  If you can equate Lolita Love with Otaku Fandom, and add it to the fact that she runs her own website (http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&seller_id=95549&op=new&body=2) ,  then,yes,  it is very possible for Ryan to win the coveted  title. of "America's Greatest Otaku!"   To close out the Chicago visit,   Team Mangaloids visited with Masato Takai, the Manager of Mitsuwa Marketplace (www.mitsuwa.com) and Jillian Marcus, Chicago's AGO candidate!  Among Jillian's qualifications are her career as an Otaku baker and her aspiration to be an anime editor!!!!   And, like many other, anime and manga fans, she cosplays (as "Lucy" from Elfin Lied).  But if merely cosplaying was enough for someone to be declared "America's Greatest Otaku," then I'd definitely have a shot at the title!    "Life is short, but art is long," as is this blog post!!!!!!!! May the art of anime live forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Otaku Search Continues: San Di-AGO, Oklahoma, & Beyond!

I tuned in to Hulu (http://www.hulu.com/americas-greatest-otaku) this past Thursday for another webisode of  "America's Greatest Otaku!"This week, the crew decided to continue the search for America's Greatest Otaku at the  San Diego Comic Con International!   Among the attending vendors were representatives from  "Munky King"   (http://www.munkyking.com/) and  So So Happy (http://www.sosohappyonline.com/).  Among the guests who made an appearance were comic artist Emily Warren (http://frozenlilacs.com/).  The AGO crew then spent Day 5 of Week 4 of their search for America's Greatest Otaku in Oklahoma City!  They dined at the Sushi Neko restaurant (http://www.sushineko.com/) !  I wonder how they liked it, because I'm always looking for a good sushi restaurant!  (Even though I've never been to Oklahoma!)   Oklahoma is also where the crew caught up with Becky Rasch, the youngest contender for the title of "America's Greatest Otaku!"  However, Oklahoma is not where their search ended!  After Oklahoma, the AGO crew ended up in Nashville, TN! It is there that the crew met up with Matt Corlew and Laura Myers, co-owners of the "Happy Japan" store (http://www.happyjapan.net/). According to the official website, "Happy Japan is an anime and Japanese specialty store, offering retail sales of rare and hard to find items, imported snack goods, novelties, and couture fashions." The part I really enjoyed was when Laura handed the crew Bento Boxes with "Totoro" sushi!   Also in Tennessee, the crew met AGO contender, Alexandra Lewis, a self-proclaimed "Otaku Evangelist," as well as an avid cosplayer!  I particulary loved when she talked about doing a "Death Note" cosplay, as it is one of my fave anime series!  She  even provided pics, and I must say THEY LOOKED AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And then there was an entire family of Otaku: Amanda, Matthew, Selene, and the rest of the Schneiders felt that they were fair game for the coveted title.  I would almost agree, considering one of them spent $393 and some change on manga in just one day!!!!!!!!!!!!  (I wonder what her monthly Visa bill looks like?)  LOL!   Next week, more than halfway through the tour, the crew comes close to home when they hit New York, Baltimore & Washington, DC!  I am especially looking forward to that episode, because I'm sure I'll see at least one person I know in the area!   But only time will tell!

Here We AGO Again!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.hulu.com/watch/222242/americas-greatest-otaku-otaku-heat#s-p1-so-i0
The third episode of "America's Greatest Otaku" was broadcast over the Internet tonight.  The crew ended up in Phoenix, AZ and Albuquerque, NM.  (SN: Remember to check out the website for Lobo Anime & Comics in New Mexico!)  http://www.loboanime.com/
  I just have one question:  What do eating contests have to do with becoming "America's Greatest Otaku?"    One guy almost made himself sick gorging on noodles and ice cream (or it might've been yogurt!), while another overdid it on the pancakes!!!!!!!!!!  If you watch the show--click (or copy & paste) the link at the top of this post--you'll see what I mean!!!!!!!!!!  I can't wait to see what happens on next week's episode!!!!!!!!!

"AGO" is A Go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's not exactly anime, but it is anime-related, so it needs to be mentioned in this blog!!!!!!! The second episode of "America's Greatest Otaku" was broadcast over the Internet tonight. "America's Greatest Otaku," or "AGO," is a revealing documentary series that searches the United States for the number one American otaku. The term “otaku” refers to any uber-passionate fan of anime, manga, games, and Japanese pop culture for whom it is less of a hobby, and more of a lifestyle.  Todd Haberkorn, a voice actor whom I had the pleasure of meeting at one of the anime cons I attended, is one of the contenders.  Haberkorn is most widely known for his voice work in Hell Girl (as Ren Ichimoku), My Bride is a Mermaid (as Nagasumi Michishio), and xxxHolic (as Kimihiro Watanuki).  I am looking forward to next week's episode of  "America's Greatest Otaku!'"  I wonder if anyone else I recognize will show up!!!!!!!!!!!  The link for the series is:  http://www.hulu.com/watch/218497/americas-greatest-otaku-otaku-quest-revs-up?from=fb_share.  Episodes 1 & 2 are available to view now!