Showtime is Monday, May 23, [Read it all...]]]> Every Monday night is Anime Night at the Alamo Drafthouse Westlakes and tonight’s feature is the English dubbed version of Yu Yu Hakusho episodes 1 through 4. The Drafthouse also has trivia and giveaways making this a very fun event. This show is cosponsored by A.C.E.S., the Anime Cultural Enthusiasts Society

Showtime is Monday, May 23, 2011 at 7:30 PM at the Alamo Drafthouse Westlakes (1255 SW Loop 410 San Antonio, TX). These screenings are free but you must get a ticket at the box office window so show up a few minutes early.

Yu Yu Hakusho, literally translated as “Ghost Files” or “Poltergeist Report”, was originally broadcast in Japan between 1992 and 1995. The synopsis according to A.C.E.S. goes like this:

14-year-old Yusuke Urameshi is dead. But through a strange turn of events involving a Golden Egg, a blue haired girl riding an oar, and a centuries old toddler prince with a pacifier, Yusuke’s life is restored.

The catch; he is charged with the task of being the Spirit Detective! As Spirit Detective, Yusuke must track down and capture rogue demons who run wild on the unsuspecting world of the living. With a little help from a wise old master, Yusuke just might realize his full potential… if he doesn’t get destroyed in the process!

Head out to the Drafthouse tonight for this fun, free showing.

Get ready Anime fans, Mizuumi-Con 4 rolls in to Our Lady of the Lake University Saturday March 26, 2011. Yes, that’s tomorrow! This family-friendly event is packed with great activities and last year mre than 1,500 enthusiastic Otaku were on hand to enjoy the fun. Naturally OLLU’s Mizuumi Anime Club [Read it all...]]]>

Assembling Mizuumi-Con Welcome Packets

Get ready Anime fans, Mizuumi-Con 4 rolls in to Our Lady of the Lake University Saturday March 26, 2011. Yes, that’s tomorrow! This family-friendly event is packed with great activities and last year mre than 1,500 enthusiastic Otaku were on hand to enjoy the fun. Naturally OLLU’s Mizuumi Anime Club is preparing for even more this year. Head out to The Lake any time between 10:00 AM and Midnight to enjoy this celebration of anime, manga, cosplay and other aspects of Japanese culture.

Inspired by the recent natural disasters in Japan, the con organizers donated some of last year’s proceeds to the Red Cross and are collecting funds at the event for additional support for the Japanese people who have been displaced from their homes.

If you don’t already have tickets, you can get them at the University Wellness and Activites Center (UWAC) for just $15 for the full day of exciting and varied activities. Children under 7 are free.

There will be Ramen

Mizuumi-Con 4 features a wide variety of guests including voice and screen actors Cristina Vee (Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, Rozen Maiden, The Familiar of Zero and Aika R-16), Jessie Flower (Toph Bei Fong in the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, Finding Nemo, Spider Man 2, Son of the Mask, Kronk’s New Groove and The Emperor’s New School), Jack De Sena (Sokka in the animated Avatar: The Last Airbender, All That, Dorm Life), Mark Allen, Jr. (Pendant Audio’s Genesis Avalon and Seminar, Mac Ha’s Endless Blue, and CJ Workshop’s Obscurity) and Samantha Inoue-Harte (Blade of the Phantom Master, Final Fantasy: Unlimited, Pumpkin Scissors, Samurai X, Grindhouse, Sin City, Idiocracy, A Scanner Darkly, Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has A Glitch and lots more). The fire dancing troupe Nocturnal Sol will also be on hand.

Activities include Anime Dating Game, Artist Alley Annex & Vendor Room, Avatar Q & A, Calligraphy panel, Chigiri E, Contra Dancing, Cosplay competitions, Cosplay Chess, Cosplay and Costuming Panel, Glow Panel, Karaoke, The Online Otaku Panel, Radioplays & Audiodramas panel, Story Development Panel, SuperFunTime! with Jack and Jessie, Voice Acting Q & A and a Washi Egg Panel.

This looks to be a fun-filled event so don an anime-inspired costume (or not) and head down to Our Lady of the Lake University for a suge good time.

Tonight’s showing will feature the first three episodes of Full Metal Panic and the first three [Read it all...]]]> Looking for an anime fix with a group of dedicated otakus? Head over to Bobalicious Internet Cafe (4907 Northwest Loop 410 San Antonio, TX) tonight at 6:00 PM for the Weekday Anime Escape presented by the Anime Cultural Enthusiasts Society (A.C.E.S.).

Tonight’s showing will feature the first three episodes of Full Metal Panic and the first three of Kaleido Star. Check out the synopsis:

Full Metal Panic (episodes 1,2,& 3): On the surface, Kaname Chidori appears to be a normal, popular high school student. The problem is, she doesn’t realize just how popular she is. Unbeknownst to her, a group of terrorists believe she possesses the special powers of “the Whispered,” and they’re out to kidnap her. Enter Sousuke Sagara, a young, hotshot agent from the stealthy anti-terrorist organization Mithril. Will he be able to protect Kaname without her finding out what’s really going on? Or will he just drive her crazy as he tries to fit in as her awkward, gung-ho, war-crazed classmate?

Kaleido Star (episodes 1,2,& 3): The Kaleido Stage is a circus extravaganza with death defying stunts, flying trapeze artists, and magical clowns. The top performers of the Kaleido Stage are a handful super acrobats known as Kaleido Stars. When sixteen-year-old Sora Naegino arrives in the U.S. with little more than her dreams in tow, she has a chance encounter with mysterious man who immediately recognizes her potential for the stage. Sora can’t believe her luck when the stranger turns out to be Kalos, owner of the Kaleido Stage. But things are never really that easy, and Sora will have to turn cartwheels to get past the power of a Kaleido Stage diva named Layla. Prepare yourself for high flying excitement, and jaw dropping beauty as you enter the world of the Kaleido Stage.

This showing is free and open to the public tonight, Tuesday February 22, 1011. Stop in, say “konnichiwa”, sample the fare at Bobalicious and enjoy the anime. If you have a great time, consider joining up, A.C.E.S. welcomes new members.

The First Friday of every month in the Southtown neighborhood of San Antonio features a big art-centric street party. This month the St. Philip’s College Anime Club is sponsoring a First Friday Anime Event at Bubblehead [Read it all...]]]> [Editor's Note: Due to the inclement weather in San Antonio, this event has been rescheduled to February 11, 2011.]

The First Friday of every month in the Southtown neighborhood of San Antonio features a big art-centric street party. This month the St. Philip’s College Anime Club is sponsoring a First Friday Anime Event at Bubblehead (1035 S. Presa St, San Antonio, TX). Lots of guests will be there including folks from the upcoming Mizuumi-Con, Studio Sweet and Vanilla Cupcakes. Local manga artists will also be in full force, represented by Justin French, Red Beard Comics, Chris Holm, Trunksandsoto, Nicole Pacheco, Lady Insomnia and Andy Anderson.

There will be games, music, old school anime showings, a cosplay contest, raffle drawings and lots of other fun that is worth checking out.

Bubblehead is a bubble tea and hooka joint across the street from landmark Southtown restaurant Taco Haven.

On January 22nd, First Storm Manga is holding their first Mezasu Mini-Con at C4 Workspace. This is not your typical anime convention, but aimed at people who are interested in creating comics and supporting original art from local comics and manga artists. We made it our mission to find [Read it all...]]]>

Austin Rogers of Redbeard Comics

On January 22nd, First Storm Manga is holding their first Mezasu Mini-Con at C4 Workspace. This is not your typical anime convention, but aimed at people who are interested in creating comics and supporting original art from local comics and manga artists. We made it our mission to find out more about Mezasu Mini-Con, so we dialed up First Storm’s Austin “Redbeard” Rogers looking for answers. Here are the straight facts, directly from the bearded one.

Missions Unknown: What is the Mezasu Mini-Con?

Austin Rogers: Mezasu Mini Con is a new event that First Storm Manga has put together in order to create opportunities for original artists and writers, mostly in the form of manga and comics. We have a no “fan art” policy, so the public gets to experience only original art at the event. Creators can promote their art and stories without having to compete with the mainstreams of their genre.

MU: What kind of exhibits or activities can attendees expect? Who should attend?

AR: Every hour will be filled with workshops and panels that deal with everything from how to draw chibis to character development.

First Storm Manga presents Mezasu mini-con!

Three raffles will held throughout with various prizes. Also, most artists will be available for commissions as well.

All attendees will find something to enjoy, but those who are aspiring artists and writers, or just enjoy local art, will benefit the most.

MU: How many creators are you expecting?

AR: We will have nine creators in all, each with their own style and experiences to share.

MU: Tell us about the workshops you have scheduled and the presenters; which one are you looking forward to?

AR: A few of the workshops we have include “Organizing Your Story: Outlining & Scripting” by Ket Naki (head organizer for First Storm Manga), and “Introduction to Brush Inking Your Comics/Art” by Amanda Coronado. Amanda’s a local San Antonio artist whom I’m really looking forward to her workshop because I’m about to make the switch to brush inking with my own comics.

MU: The con is at C4 Workspace, that cool co-working place in Southtown, a seemingly unusual venue for this sort of event. How did you get hooked up with C4?

AR: In the early days of planning the event, I came to C4 for an unrelated meet-up and I had a good feeling about the place. I was able to visualize the convention there and the staff has been very accommodating.

MU: Explain briefly to our readers who may be unfamiliar, what is First Storm Manga? How many people are involved?

AR: At its core, FSM currently consists of four artists and writers that are working to create opportunities for aspiring creators in the manga/storytelling genre. We do everything from holding free workshops at local libraries to we create free compilation books with local artists. Find out more at www.firststormmanga.com.

MU: OK, my Japanese isn’t that good, what’s ‘Mezasu’?

AR: The word Mezasu is Japanese for “to aim at” or “to aim for” which is the heart of what the convention is all about. Also, the symbols mean creativity.

MU: How’s the San Antonio manga scene? What’s the latest locally-grown creation we need to check out?

AR: With more and more events being held in the manga genre, I think it’s doing pretty good. As far what’s locally grown, you’ll have to come to the con to find out!

We enjoy our fair share of manga and anime here at Missions Unknown and so we’ve had A.C.E.S. (the Anime Cultural Enthusiasts Society) on our radar for a while. A.C.E.S. claims to be the number one Texas anime community and with 298 Anime Otakus (members) [Read it all...]]]>

Franklin Moormann: President of A.C.E.S. and founder of Ooples.com

We enjoy our fair share of manga and anime here at Missions Unknown and so we’ve had A.C.E.S. (the Anime Cultural Enthusiasts Society) on our radar for a while. A.C.E.S. claims to be the number one Texas anime community and with 298 Anime Otakus (members) in their meetup group we’re not going to argue. Then we found out that the head A.C.E. just launched a new site featuring anime and cosplay themed apparel and we just had to know more. To sate our thirst for knowledge we put the questions to Franklin Moormann, president of A.C.E.S. and founder of Ooples.com

Missions Unknown: Tell us about A.C.E.S., the Anime Culture Enthusiasts Society. How long has the group been around? What is your role and what is the membership like?

Franklin Moormann: A.C.E.S. has been around for about 2 years so far. We run 3 meetings each week usually, consisting of things like cosplay nights (where we all dress up in cosplay), ACES Studio meetings (which is where our artists in the group make their own manga and we publish it for them and give them full credit), bloodbath nights (our adult nights), and normal meetings where we usually watch anime and sometimes discuss it. The meetings are almost always followed by hanging out in different San Antonio restaurants where we usually chat and play tabletop games for hours on end. The group is extremely self sufficient. My role is President in title but really all I have been doing for the past 6 months is posting the meetings that members run, and I get the location set up for them and provide them with the materials needed to run the event. Anyone can make their own meeting for anything they are interested in if they like, and we make it happen. Our meetings generally have around 20-30 people at the main meetings and around 15 or so at the smaller meetings.

MU: Are meetings open to everyone? Are anime showings family friendly?

FM: Yes, our meetings are open to everyone and everything we show is family friendly except for our bloodbath nights, of course, which are held at Klub Atomix, San Antonio’s best goth club. If there is any anime that is around PG-13, we will make sure to let the members know before we show it, just in case. Most of our meetings are held at Bobalicious Internet Cafe, which is the best place to find bubble tea and is located near the corner of 410 & Evers, right next to the Heroes & Fantasies store.

MU: What is the appeal of anime to you?

FM: I can’t quite put my finger on why I have always enjoyed anime so much. I have always thought that its because anime is so different from traditional American cartoons and there is so much more variety with anime compared to most cartoons that you see here, not to mention the fact that anime seems to be much easier to come by.

MU: Many people these days claim to be anime fans. There are a variety of videos for sale at major retailers and there are dedicated blocks of programming on TV. What does A.C.E.S. add to that mix? What will attendees get that they won’t get elsewhere?

FM: Well, our main focus with all of our meetings has been to educate, and that generally means that we will show the anime in its original language, which is Japanese with English subtitles. We also don’t show anime that is on TV, so that means we don’t watch the popular anime, like Bleach and Naruto, at our meetings. We almost always watch anime that has just come out in Japan and hasn’t arrived in America yet. We are proud of the fact that we show great anime that will become popular here, and all of our organizers, especially my Vice President Miyu Awan, pick really great anime that you won’t see anywhere else.

MU: You recently launched a new web site/business venture, Ooples.com. Give us the capsule synopsis of what it is about.

FM: Ooples.com is my answer to the problem that most geeks and anime lovers seem to have: Where can I find good quality geek clothing? Our answer is all 100% unique clothing that you are not going to find anywhere else, like our tentacle monster hat, raccoon hat, panda hat, and all of our shirts and other types of clothing. We will be adding posters soon and other things like messenger bags and ladies tank tops.

MU: How is Ooples.com doing? What kind of feedback have you gotten? What are your best-selling products?

Tentacle Monster Hat

FM: We are doing great! We are extremely busy with orders all of the time and we have just recently started to make a profit. We are about to launch a new site layout which will give us the ability to put much more info and make it easier to order and that should be launched very soon. We have received nothing but good feedback so far, but since we are only 3 months old that may not mean much. Most of our feedback has been that people love our original designs and they send us pictures of their kids wearing the product or themselves wearing the product. Our best selling product is most definitely our tentacle monster hat since we are always sold out of it and some of our other great selling products would have to be the I’m With Baka shirt, Get a Life shirt, and our raccoon hat.

We also have a retail location opening up at San Antonio’s Wonderland of the Americas Mall on June 15 in the Marketplace there.

MU: Products like the hats are very unusual, who’s making them? Are you staying up late every night stitching panda hats?

FM: I have two seamstresses, Crystal and Amber, that work for me and do a great job with making our hats, and they have been known to stay up until the wee hours in the morning making hats, especially if we have a big order or an upcoming convention. I’m still trying to learn how to make the hats, and sadly I have never used a sewing machine before, so I’m learning my basics first.

Franklin Moormann creating more shirts

MU: Besides A.C.E.S and Ooples, what occupies your time?

FM: I run the San Antonio Vegan Group called Vegans In Action, and I also run the San Antonio Lyme Disease Support Group. I’m one of those people that like to always stay busy with something. The good part of that is that I never have a boring day, but the bad part is that I never seem to have any time to watch anime or some of my favorite scifi shows.

MU: I recently attended Mizuumi-Con and was struck both by the number of anime/manga fans and even more so by the number of cosplayers and their enthusiasm. Are you a cosplayer? Give us an insight into this subculture…what’s the big deal?

FM: I don’t really call myself a cosplayer, but I have always wanted to make my own costume and dress up as some of my favorite characters. You will see me cosplaying soon though. Most cosplayers do it because they either want to get attention for their hard work or to go all out and become their character for a couple of hours. All of the cosplayers do it because they simply love that particular character.

MU: I would assume that a con like the upcoming San Japan would have a big draw to A.C.E.S. members. Do you attend the local cons? What is your impression? Does the group have a booth/table/presence at any?

FM: I try to help support the local conventions as much as I can, but ever since I started Ooples.com I haven’t had much of a chance to go to a convention for fun unless I’m running a booth in the dealers room. We won’t be at San Japan this year, but we have gone the previous 2 years, and we have been to Mizuumi-Con and O-Conn the past 2 years also. A.C.E.S. has had a booth at most of these conventions for the past 2 years, but we weren’t able to get a table at San Japan this year.

MU: How about giving us a couple of your top fives?

FM: My top five anime/manga are:

• Maison Ikkoku
• Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne
• Kaiji
• Monster
• Moyashimon

My top five SciFi shows are:

• Babylon 5
• Firefly
• Doctor Who
• Farscape
• Battlestar Galactica

Here is the synopsis according to Wikipedia:

The story is about the relationship between freelance photographer Kouhei Morioka and Hazuki, a teenager who descends from [Read it all...]]]> Freelance photographer meets young vampire girl in tonight’s free anime feature at the Alamo Drafthouse Westlakes. Moon Phase was originally shown late at night on TV Tokyo in 2004 and 2005.

Here is the synopsis according to Wikipedia:

The story is about the relationship between freelance photographer Kouhei Morioka and Hazuki, a teenager who descends from a royal vampire lineage. At the beginning of the story, Kouhei travels to a castle in Germany to take photographs of paranormal phenomena for his friend Hiromi, who is the editor of an occult magazine. At the castle, Kouhei meets Hazuki, who feeds on Kouhei’s blood and claims him as her unwilling servant. Although this “blood pact” is supposed to bind Kouhei to Hazuki as her obedient slave, her act has no effect on Kouhei. Following an action-packed sorcerers’ battle in which Kouhei and his cousin manage to free Hazuki from her captivity in the dreary castle, Hazuki travels to Tokyo, and takes up residence with Kouhei in his grandfather’s house in Japan. Hazuki claims that, because she fed on his blood, Kouhei is now her servant, but Kouhei continually refuses to obey her, especially when he thinks her requests are unreasonable. Despite their fighting, the relationship between the duo progresses over time — even in the face of repeated attacks by opposing vampires — until Kouhei becomes determined to protect Hazuki from the vampire servants of her family, who are determined to retrieve her by whatever means necessary.

This past weekend I took the family out to Our Lady of the Lake University on the shore of Lake Elmendorf in San Antonio’s near west side to enjoy [Read it all...]]]>

Clockwise from top left: Japanese eggs, Andy Anderson's Fighting Generica Art, just one of many cosplayers, steampunk optical gear, origami demonstration (photographs by Soren Vaughn)

This past weekend I took the family out to Our Lady of the Lake University on the shore of Lake Elmendorf in San Antonio’s near west side to enjoy the sites, sounds and people of Mizuumi-Con 3. Put on by OLLU’s Mizuumi Anime Club, the con drew a large active crowd of anime, manga and video game fans. The turnout was great, with a registration line well out of the building and a steady stream of new attendees throughout the day. Many, many people were decked out in costume which lent a fun, frivolous air to the event.

The opening ceremonies, while sincere, were underwhelming. The best part was the the introduction of the guests, mainly the utterly charming artist Valerie Lynn Aguilar, winner of the badge art contest. Aguilar, a student at St. Phillip’s College, explained how this was the first time she had won something like this, that she loved seeing her art on all the badges and that she was floored that people could “buy my chibis on a thong!”

We enjoyed screenings of several anime features including new favorite S.O.S. Brigade. Carey Martell‘s documentary Cosplayers: The Movie was an interesting look at the cosplay subculture, capturing some of the energy of the people involved. I felt that the film lost some focus at the end, degenerating into more of an explanation of the woes of the anime industry, but overall it was a good, insightful piece. Otaku Hell with Spike and Maria was a rollicking fun time hosted by a candy-throwing naughty nurse and video-playing ninja. The show alternated between choice web and anime video clips and goofy contests. The dealers room was well stocked with artists, toys, manga and anime. Plenty of things to look at and buy. I even ran into my old friend Grego Hernandez, proprietor of Bean Pot Toiz.

Other festivities included a Japanese flute recital, Japanese egg making demonstrations, origami lessons, a Twitter-based scavenger hunt, karaoke and a steady stream of J-POP videos with only a mild Rickroll interruption. You can catch some video reports of the con from guests, including Kyle Hebert on the impressive Mizuumi Con line and Random on Contra Dancing.

Even through we did not stick around for the later events including cosplay skits and musical performances, this was a fun con and the Mizuumi Anime Club did a great job pulling it off. This was the third year of the con and organizer Darrell Hoberer noted that they combined the best of what worked in the previous two years for this event. I look forward to seeing what they distill from this one next year’s con.

The Mizuumi Anime Club presents Mizuumi-Con 3 Saturday, February 27th 2010 at Our Lady of the Lake University. Guests include anime voice actor Kyle Hebert (Street Fighter IV, Naruto, Bleach, Dragonball Z), anime actor/producer/director Samantha Inoue-Harte (Final Fantasy Unlimited, New Fist of the Northstar, The [Read it all...]]]>

Mizuumi-Con 3: Art by contest winner Valerie Lynn Aguilar

The Mizuumi Anime Club presents Mizuumi-Con 3 Saturday, February 27th 2010 at Our Lady of the Lake University. Guests include anime voice actor Kyle Hebert (Street Fighter IV, Naruto, Bleach, Dragonball Z), anime actor/producer/director Samantha Inoue-Harte (Final Fantasy Unlimited, New Fist of the Northstar, The Princess Blade) and teacher/rapper/hero Random (aka Mega Ran, Big Ran or Random Beats).

Ticket prices are only $12 at the door and registration opens at 10:00 AM Saturday. There will vendor and artist tables aplenty. Head on out to enjoy cosplay, anime, video games and much more. Festivities are all day, from 10:00 AM to Midnight.

Mizuumi Anime Club at Our Lady of the Lake University is a Recognized Student Organization now in its 6th year of existence. The club’s mission statement is “to promote a better understanding of the Japanese culture through various styles of media, art, and technology”. The club meets most Friday evenings at 5:30pm, and guests are welcome to attend.