Mizuumi-Con 5 is tomorrow (March 31, 2012) at scenic Our Lady of the Lake University and one of the special guests is the progressive trance DJ Sephi Hakubi. Sephi is also the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Multimedia Producer and Artist for [Read it all...]]]>

DJ Sephi Hakubi will be speaking and performing at Mizuumi-Con 5 Saturday, March 31, 2012.

Mizuumi-Con 5 is tomorrow (March 31, 2012) at scenic Our Lady of the Lake University and one of the special guests is the progressive trance DJ Sephi Hakubi. Sephi is also the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Multimedia Producer and Artist for Sushicrowd Entertainment. On the eve of the con, we put some questions to the multi-talented culture masher.

Tell us a little about the kind of music you perform.

While I’m DJing, my main genres are Progressive Trance and House with a mixture of Japanese Pop.  I’ve been a fan of Electronic Dance Music ever since my freshman year of high school (2000-2001), growing up in the South Florida area. Combining my growing passion for anime with Miami’s dance station Party 93.1, the two revolved around my entertainment world and I’ve been partying that way ever since. Currently my wife Rin Hakubi, my DJ peers Ryudo, Infam0us, and Sephiroth, and Club La Vela owner Totally Patrick, have been my biggest influences in the past five years and with the support of my peers, friends, and fans, I know I can continue to find a greater appreciation for Electronic Dance Music, and hopefully someday I will create something just as incredible for them to appreciate as well.

Is this your first time at Mizuumi-Con?

Mizuumi-Con 5 will indeed be my first Mizuumi-Con.  I heard about it for a while ever since I moved here to San Antonio back in May, 2011.  Just as I love the big cons like Kawaii Kon, Mechacon, and San Japan, I love the smaller cons just as much because I get to interact with the attendees in a more intimate setting.  I believe anime convention fans are the best fans in the world and I never forget that every con I go to that I am a part of that fandom, that universe.  Part of the reason why I film convention videos extensively is that I capture incredible memories, and I hope to experience and capture more memories at Mizuumi-Con as well as any future convention I appear at.

What events are you running at the con?

Besides filming the convention, I will be hosting a one-hour panel on Japanese Pop Music from 3PM – 4PM in the Orange Room.  I will be discussing the basics of traditional Japanese Music, J-Pop and J-Rock; as well as, show some of my favorite promotional videos from different Japanese music genres.  Then at 6PM I will be mixing the best in J-pop and Trance with Mizuumi-Con’s “mini-rave” for 2 hours, although there are rumors that I may be playing longer depending on how logistics go, but let’s hope we get lucky.

Tell us about the mini-rave? What makes it mini?

The “mini-rave” will take place at 6PM in the Orange Room. I’m not sure why it was called a mini-rave as I wasn’t the one who named it.  If I were to make an assumption, I’ve mentioned that Mizuumi-Con’s convention scale is appropriate for a close-knit gathering compared to a huge convention that may be too crowded to enjoy for folks looking for a more friendlier setting.  FAN:dom Con 2011, my last full-scale convention rave, had such an immense turnout that I was hearing the crowd with the music.  Mizuumi-Con may become a more modest dance party but we never know, we may surprise ourselves. I’m sure not going to try to make anything mini about it and just as with anything I do, I am going to give it my best shot because the fans deserve it; otherwise, I may be partying right along with the ravers.

People don’t typically think of J-Pop and Texas together. What’s the J-Pop scene like in San Antonio and beyond?

Not sure whether to say if it’s a good thing or bad thing, but just like most places, J-Pop has not become part of their American mainstream yet.  As I’ve mentioned, I recently moved to San Antonio back in May 2011, and it wasn’t until I attended San Japan and visiting message boards, Facebook pages, and anime shops like Ooples, that I started becoming a part of the local scene here.  Based on a lot of events that I have attended whether it was hosted by the convention, Ooples, or the anime fans themselves, I believe there is a strong J-pop fanbase here; however, it does take some community searching to find it.  I started working for the anime community when I was in Hawaii, and Japanese Pop culture was just everywhere.  When I moved to Fort Walton Beach, FL after Hawaii, it almost appeared non-existent, that is until I searched for nearby conventions and became a part of their message boards.  I would say my advice to Japanese Pop culture fans out there, if you think you’re lonely in the town you live in, check the internet for convention message boards or Facebook groups.  You never know that your next-door neighbor is into Gundam, Final Fantasy, and Malice Mizer.  As much as I like to see J-Pop part of mainstream culture, I hope that such a great thing doesn’t get spoiled as other things that may become way too popular.

If people like what they hear, where can we catch your next performance?

I occasionally play whenever Ooples has a major event but there isn’t one scheduled yet.  I’d say check Ooples’ Facebook page whenever an announcement is made.  For sure, I will be DJing at the AT&T Center for the Autism Walk taking place on April 14th where I will also join the San Antonio Cosplayers group.  Also for September 14th and 15th, I have been invited to perform at Edinburgh, TX for a new multi-fandom convention called RurouniKon.  It’s too soon for me to officially discuss details on it but from what I understand, this convention will be massive and I am really excited about it.  I hope to score some more gigs between then, especially for another awesome convention that takes place in San Antonio *winkwink*, but we’ll see what happens.

Best J-pop we need to hear?

Some traditional J-pop that I could recommend are Koda Kumi, Utada, Mika Nakashima, Nami Tamaki, Ayumi Hamasaki. Actually, if you can find and listen to the Above & Beyond Remix of “M” by Ayumi, I guarantee if you like J-pop and Trance, you’ll really love this tune as it’s a perfect combo of both.  I think I may be a bit biased towards the girls but I honestly do love their music. I feel that way with Korean Pop as well with artists like BoA, Bada, Lee Jung Hyun, and U;Nee (may she rest in peace).  Believe it or not, I love Japanese Rock music and I am a big fan of metal, progressive, and visual-style rock as well such as Psycho Le Cemu, Dir En Grey, Gackt, An Cafe, and Girugamesh.

What’s your favorite anime you watched this year?

Honestly, I’ve been so busy with school, work, and maintaining Sushicrowd that I’ve been a bit behind on anime; in addition, I miss the old school traditional style where it was about the action, artillery, giant robots, and buxom beauties.  If you can compare Outlaw Star to Lucky Star, you’ll see what I mean.  I want to say that my favorite that I’ve seen this past year was Soul Eater. I thought it had a great cast of characters and has a good level of campiness without getting to ridiculous or melodramatic.  On the other hand, despite what some folks might perceive as a rabid fanbase, I thought Hetalia: Axis Powers was the most hilarious thing I’ve seen recently. A lot of the jokes that are mentioned on that show have made my jaw drop in disbelief, especially since World History was one of my favorite subjects in high school.  A great title for those that are not too culturally sensitive.  As I knock out a lot of the stuff that’s keeping me busy, I’m trying to finish Yu Yu Hakusho until the end on Blu-Ray, then maybe pickup another classic title, but I’ll do what I can for this old fogie to keep up (I’m 25 by the way).

I love to stay in touch with other fans of Fandom culture.  Check out my websites sephihakubi.com and sushicrowd.com.  Also Like me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SephiHakubi and follow me on Twitter: @SephiHakubi. Finally, watch all of my past experiences from over 20 conventions at youtube.com/Sushicrowd. See you all at Mizuumi-Con, and remember: “Don’t die crashing…LIVE SMASHING!!!”

San Japan, South Texas’ premiere Japanese culture and anime convention, is almost upon us.

The annual event, which draws thousands of attendees, will take place Aug. 5-7 at the Marriott Rivercenter Hotel. This year’s guests include a bevy of artists, voice actors, musicians and [Read it all...]]]>

Cosplayers show off their fancy duds at San Japan 2010.

San Japan, South Texas’ premiere Japanese culture and anime convention, is almost upon us.

The annual event, which draws thousands of attendees, will take place Aug. 5-7 at the Marriott Rivercenter Hotel. This year’s guests include a bevy of artists, voice actors, musicians and cosplayers, including Shinichi “Nabeshin” Watanabe, the anime director behind “Bonobono,” “Excel Saga,” “The Wallflower,” “Tenchi Muyo! GXP” and “Nerima Daikon Brothers.”

As with years past, San Japan 2011 will include a dealer’s room, a formal dance masquerade, cosplay events, art shows, screenings, panels, live-action role playing and an Ani-Idol singing contest. New this year are Poke-Battle Live!, a Pokemon play fight, and the Hetalia World Summit cosplay event.

Pre-registration is available via San Japan’s website. Three-day passes cost $45, and San Japan also offers less expensive single-day passes and pricier Gold and Silver passes that grant attendees special privileges.

If you’ve visited San Antonio’s Alamo Drafthouse locations lately, you may have seen a new San Japan 2011 commercial created by Bryan Ortiz (of “Doctor S Battles the Sex-Crazed Reefer Zombies” fame). You can watch the commercial after the jump…

While attending Mizuumi-Con 3 at Our Lady of the Lake University, I was attracted to the First Storm Manga table to ogle at their art and comic samples on display. Attending the con with an eight-year-old doesn’t leave a lot of time for jawboning so I had unanswered questions about FSM…questions I knew Missions [Read it all...]]]>

While attending Mizuumi-Con 3 at Our Lady of the Lake University, I was attracted to the First Storm Manga table to ogle at their art and comic samples on display. Attending the con with an eight-year-old doesn’t leave a lot of time for jawboning so I had unanswered questions about FSM…questions I knew Missions Unknown readers would share. I dialed up these manga maniacs and FSM writer and organizer Eduardo Soliz answered the call.

We’ll let him handle the introductions: By day, Eduardo “Randomizer9“ Soliz is another code monkey banging away at a computer for a living. Once night falls, though, his creative side wakes up from the monotony and wants to have some fun, so he blogs, podcasts, writes short fiction and poetry, plays drums for The Loliholix, is currently taking voice-over lessons, and admins FirstStormManga.com.

Eduardo Soliz, as drawn by "My Cage" artist Melissa DeJesus

What is First Storm Manga, a publishing company or an artist/writer collective or some of both?

First Storm Manga is what I like to call an “artist’s group.” While we do put things in print, we have no intention of ever becoming a full-time publisher. Our main focus is getting creative people together so that they can collaborate and learn from each other to create new original manga. We also promote our members by distributing printed copies of member works and posting them up at firststormmanga.com

Being a Trekkie, I do like your use of the word “collective!” We are anything but, though; most of our members are fiercely independent.

How many members are in the group?

We have a total of 31 members spread across three branches in San Antonio (the “home office”), Houston and Austin. We do not focus simply on numbers; we would rather have a small number of dedicated people than a lot of people that never participate. In line with that philosophy, we do occasionally prune inactive members from the group.

Continue on after the jump for more…including the super secret (until now) origin of First Storm Manga!

A staple of many comic books is the secret origin story. Can you share with us the FSM origin tale?

“First Storms” by Eduardo “Randomizer9” Soliz

It was a dark and stormy night, and The Council was preparing to meet. The meeting promised to be different, as The Council had let it be known that they were seeking artists and writers. The Grand Hall echoed with the excited chatter of those who had responded to their call. They came from far and wide, seeking audiences for their work. Silence quickly filled the hall as The Overseer walked up to the podium and began to speak.

“The Council thanks you for coming to hear our proposal!” he started. “We seek artists and writers to create manga for us. Join us, and your works will be seen by hundreds, nay, thousands of people across the land!” The Overseer said, prompting a cheer from his audience.

The Overseer continued: “In exchange, we will take ownership of your work. You will receive no compensation for your efforts save for the pleasure of being a member of The Council.”

As a hush fell over the audience, a bespectacled gentleman stood up and said, “I do not wish to give up my creations to you!” His friend, who was wearing a jaunty cap, also stood up and said “Why should The Council alone reap the benefits of our work?” A third artist, a burly man who worked for a local merchant, stood and asked: “What good reason is there for us to join The Council?”

The Overseer smiled a condescending smile and said: “You should join us because we are the largest Council in the land, and you have no chance of success without our blessing!”

“You may be large, ‘tis true, but what feats has The Council actually accomplished?” asked a fourth artist; a rather large fellow who sported a red beard.

The Overseer briefly struggled to find an answer for his accusers, and soon became furious: “BEGONE FROM OUR MIDST, TROUBLEMAKERS!” he angrily bellowed. The four were already making their way to the exit as disgruntled murmurs began spreading among those who remained.

As the Great Hall’s heavy wooden doors locked behind them, the four stood facing each other in the rain.

“How churlish of them, demanding we surrender our work,” the burly one said.

“We should form our own council, one where people can work freely and share ideas amongst one another!” the bespectacled one replied.

“A grand idea, but first, we should seek shelter and a warm drink.“ the third one said as he removed his jaunty cap, shook the rain from it, and placed it in his coat.

“Aye, let us take our leave of this horrid place,” added the red bearded one as he began walking away from The Grand Hall.

The four soon found an inn. As they entered, a stout gentleman wearing a large ring on his right hand beckoned them. “You are here much earlier than I anticipated, friend,” he said to the burly one. “Did the gathering not go as you had planned?” he asked as everyone sat down around a table.

“The Council is corrupt and not worth our effort, so we have decided to band together and proceed on our own,” came the reply. As they shook hands, the bespectacled one said, “You are more than welcome to join us if you wish.”

“I would be honored to, sir. Does your newfound venture have a name?” the stout one said. “Not as of yet, that should be our first order of business,” the red-bearded one answered.

“A good idea, and we have time to think. The first storm of the season is fierce, and will keep us here for some time,” the stout one said as he looked through a nearby window.

As he placed it back onto his head, the gentleman with the jaunty cap smiled and said: “First Storm…interesting…”

And thus, our story begins…

Image by Man on a Commission from the Crux Project

Why Manga as opposed to traditional American or European style comics?

There are two reasons: the first is that the manga style is something we all enjoy reading and creating. I think it would be fair to say that everyone at F.S.M. enjoys comics, regardless of where they happen to come from. The second is that there are not very many places for creatives interested in creating manga to find like-minded individuals. Our goal is to be that place.

What kind of publications (print or online) do you have coming up?

We recently distributed about 350 copies of our second compilation, Manga Madness 2.0, at Anime Matsuri and O-Conn, and plan on debuting our third compilation at San Japan 3. I’m hoping we can have a new mini-manga ready for Realms Con in Corpus Christi later this year.

As for online: Naki is currently working on his Crux Project which is a series of intertwining stories featuring a variety of characters. I am currently developing a comic myself called Just Another Day At The Office which I would like to put online. The “origin story” for it was published in our second compilation.

Are meetings held in person or online? Where do most of the collaborations happen?

Meetings are held both online and in person. To get all of the benefits of being a member, we do require a small amount of in-person attendance. That said, it is possible to be considered an “active” member by only attending online meetings. Collaborations are usually done at our Saturday meetups, though we do have a members-only forum where folks can put up works in-progress if they are looking for feedback.

Who likes toast?

Seeing as I put together Toast Vol. 1, that certainly makes me a fan and then there’s Angela Zavala over in Houston who drew the first two Toast comics. Austin Rogers hates it with the fire of a thousand suns, and Chris Holm had Toast ‘guest star’ in a recent comic…and blew him up, so I’m not sure what side of the fence he’s on.

FSM has a presence at many of the area cons including San Japan, Mizuumi-Con, Anime Matsuri and more. What do you get from participating in these events? What do you think of the area conventions? Which are the best ones to attend?

Conventions give us an opportunity to distribute our works, promote ourselves and recruit. It also gives our members a chance to network and seek opportunities. As an example: it was recently announced that Austin Rogers is going to be collaborating with MegaRan on a project for his next album, I believe they first discussed it at last year’s San Japan.

My convention experience is fairly limited, as I have only been attending them for just over a year. That said, I think our local cons (Mizuumi-Con, O-Conn, ChimaeraCon and San Japan) are doing a great job. The best local one that I have been to so far would have to be San Japan, followed by Mizuumi-Con.

What con is First Storm going to be at next?

Our next con is San Japan 3, and we can’t wait, because their new location should make it even better than it was before! Realms Con in Corpus Christi is next stop; we are looking forward to their new and improved location as well.

You are a writer with the group and function as a team leader for some of the projects. What sort of challenges do you face in working with this sort of ad-hoc group?

The biggest challenge, in my opinion, is making sure that I give the artist(s) more than enough story to work with. It is always easier to leave things out than to add things in that might not work. At one point while working on San Japanic, an artist told me after I gave him an outline: “You know this isn’t going to all fit on one page, right?” I replied by saying that was okay, because my goal was for him to get the gist of what I wanted to happen. The artists also greatly add to the story by thinking of different visual ways to tell it that may not be apparent to me as a writer.

The second challenge is in juggling everyone, because each artist has their own style, their own opinion on how to tell the story, and work at their own paces. I would best describe it as herding cats. Luckily, I like cats.

Who has the harder job: the artists or the writers?

I would say the artists, because let’s be honest, anyone can write. Not everyone can write well, mind you, but anyone can write words with a pen or keyboard and they will still be recognizable as words. If I were to draw something, on the other hand, people would probably look at it and think it’s a Rorschach test.

We always ask for a top five list or two. Wanna give us your top 5 manga or comic titles?

Here are some Top 5 comics/manga lists from some of our organizers:

Writer/San Antonio Organizer Eduardo “Randomizer9” Soliz

1. Maus
2. Watchmen
3. Ghost In The Shell
4. Sky Doll
5. Death of Superman

Artist/Founding Member Chris Holm

1. Law Dog (Epic Comics)
2. The Jaguar (Impact Comics)
3. The Real Ghostbusters (Now Comics)
4. Gold Digger (Antarctic Press)
5. Cherry (Last Gasp/Cherry Comics)

Artist/Austin Organizer Chelsea “Illuminesce” Hostetter

1. MPD Psycho by Sho-u Tajima
2. DMZ by Brian Wood and Ricardo Burchielli
3. Angel Sanctuary by Kaori Yuki
4. Maus by Art Spiegelman
5. Saiyuki series by Minekura Kazuya

Artist/San Antonio Organizer Austin “Redbeard” Rogers

1. Watchmen
2. The Walking Dead
3. Batman: Year 100
4. Akira
5. Lone Wolf and Cub

Artist/Houston Organizer Angela “Coffeebeat” Zavala

1. Video Girl Ai by Masakazu Katsura
2. Dragon Half by Mita Ryuusuke
3. Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs by Yukiya Sakuragi
4. Battle Angel Alita by Yukito Kishiro
5. Bastard! by Kazushi Hagiwara

San Japan, San Antonio’s major Japanese Culture and Anime Convention, has announced the first round of guests for its July 2010 convention. The convention is proud to announce that voice actors Carrie Savage, Chris Ayres and Josh Grelle will be making return appearances to San Antonio. San [Read it all...]]]>

From San Japan 2009. Photo ©2009 SkyPirate.

San Japan, San Antonio’s major Japanese Culture and Anime Convention, has announced the first round of guests for its July 2010 convention. The convention is proud to announce that voice actors Carrie Savage, Chris Ayres and Josh Grelle will be making return appearances to San Antonio. San Japan is also proud to announce the return of new school hip-hop act Maja and local cover band LoliHolix, along with popular artist Amelie Belcher.

Christopher Ayres has been working professionally in theatre, television and film since the age of 6. He currently works as a voice actor for ADV and FUNimation. Chris is also an A.D. R. Director for ADV and Amusement Park Media.

Carrie Savage has voiced many anime characters: from California, she has voiced such characters as ‘Fuko’ in I, My, Me! Strawberry Eggs, ‘Rakka’ in Haibane Renmei, ‘Hakufu’ in Ikki Tousen, ‘Nancy Makuhari’ in R.O.D. the TV series and ‘Maromi’ in Paranoia Agent.

A native Texan, Josh Grelle was raised on stage and in the art studios of Central Texas. He performed on stage for over 15 years prior to starting work for A.D.V. Films at the start of 2004. Since then he has worked for ADV and Funimation on numerous projects.

Amelie Belcher travels the country selling her award-winning art, doing one-of-a-kind commissions for con goers, and being paid tribute by her army of fans known as the “Ami Army” in the form of Pocky and manga. Known as “the angriest chick on the net”, she is the creator of the popular web comic “The Real Life Adventures of Amelie” at Cordeval.com.

Maja is an American lyricist who loves Japanese animation, video games, and the Japanese language. In fall 2009, Maja released a brand new album called “Bleach’d Out”, a brand new hip-hop twist in tribute to the anime series Bleach which can be downloaded for free.

LoliHolix bring a line up of songs influenced by video game music, Japanese styles, and all types of assorted musical diversities.

San Japan will be bringing many popular events to the convention including the Ouran Host Club, Hetalia Olympics (formally Otaku-lympics), an enduring otaku competitive event along with Ani-Idol, a karaoke and singing competition. San Japan is currently taking entries for its upcoming AMV Competition along with art submissions for its art contest with prizes given out for winning entries.

San Japan will be happening on the weekend of July 9th – 11th, 2010 at its new convention location to happen at the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter Hotel, adjacent to the Rivercenter Mall in the middle of the famous Riverwalk. Pre-registration is currently happening for $30 for a discount 3-day weekend pass. Hotel rooms will be available at the Marriott Rivercenter Hotel for a special convention rate of $117 per night (normal nightly rate is $219). Pre-registration is open until June 10th and the discount hotel rates are available until June 17th.

Show founder and organizer Dave Henkin says, “San Japan is very excited to be returning for its third year. We plan to invade the center of the Riverwalk. We will moving to a brand new location which will be able to hold our growing convention
in one large spot (the Marriott Rivercenter Hotel). We plan to build on the continued success of our previous conventions in
bringing the best fandom experience we can offer for our attendees and patrons.”

More information on registration, additional details about the convention, guest announcements, along with streaming music tracks of the performing music guests, can all be found at the official revamped San Japan website. San Japan is also on Twitter and on Facebook, which will include the latest up-to-date news about the convention.

For photo galleries of the past two years of San Japan fun, please visit SkyPirate.

San Japan [Read it all...]]]> Japanese culture and media have been very influential to mainstream American media in varied ways, some as obvious as Godzilla, others as subtle as an American remake of a Japanese horror flick. If you are a fan of Japanese culture, movies, anime or manga, SAN JAPAN is the place for you this weekend.

San Japan is San Antonio’s annual Japanese Culture and Anime Convention. This is the second year of the con and it is shaping up to be a big one. The 2008 show was a huge success with over 3,500 people attending! This year con organizer Dave Henken anticipates crowds in the 4,000+ range.

The list of events is lengthy. You can see and partake in Cosplay (costumed roleplay), Otaku-lympics (mock-olympic showdown), Ani-Idol (sing your favorite anime or video game song), concerts, a charity auction, panels, workshops, dance, art, interactive anime screenings and so much more.

There will be plenty of guest stars at the convention including voice actor Travis Willingham (Fullmetal Alchemist, Dragonball Z), Laura Bailey (Fruits Basket, Fullmetal Alchemist), Chris Patton (Bubblegum Crisis 2040, Nerima Daikon Brothers), Christopher Ayres, Jonathan Joss (King of the Hill, Jonah Hex) and hoards more. Antarctic Press, San Antonio-based purveyors of excellent comic titles like Gold Digger and Ninja High School will be in full effect with lots of creators on hand.

Expect concerts with musical guests the LeetStreet Boys, Tadahisa Yoshida, Random (a.k.a Mega Ran), ZeaLouS1, Katsuhiko Jinnai and Loliholix. Through in a healthy mix of dancing until 4AM and 24-hour video gaming and you have a powerful concoction of fun.

This event is definitely worth a visit.

San Japan 2.x is going on all weekend, August 14-16, at the San Antonio Municipal Auditorium (100 Auditorium Circle) and the Holiday Inn El Tropicano Riverwalk hotel (110 Lexington Ave). 3-Day Weekend Passes and Single-Day Passes are available at the convention. Get a taste of San Japan on their YouTube channel and follow the happenings on Twitter.

DAVE HENKIN is not one of us. He’s not a San Antonio guy. So why is he being profiled for “Made In SA”? Quite frankly, because in two short years, Dave has become one of the key shapers of San Antonio’s genre scene. He’s [Read it all...]]]>

SAN JAPAN'S MAN WITH A PLAN: Dave Henkin means business.

DAVE HENKIN is not one of us. He’s not a San Antonio guy. So why is he being profiled for “Made In SA”? Quite frankly, because in two short years, Dave has become one of the key shapers of San Antonio’s genre scene. He’s making such a meteoric impact that we just had to interview him and find out the skinny for ourselves. He’s the chairman of the emerging Japanese culture and anime convention, SAN JAPAN, based right here in San Antonio. He’s been attending fandom conventions for over six years and has been running San Japan for over two years. Read on and find out why this Austinite is one of the rising stars of fandom and why his San Japan show is already one of San Antonio’s annual must-see events.

Favorite authors, books, films, and anime include: Dave Barry, Douglas Adams, Chuck Palahniuk, Douglas Coupland, Neil Strauss, BATTLE ROYALE, FIGHT CLUB, CHOKE, HITCHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, MICROSERFS, THE MATRIX, AIRPLANE!, MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL, DONNIE DARKO, AZUMANGA DAIOH, INITIAL D, THE MELANCHOLY OF HARUHI SUZUMIYA, REVOLUTIONARY GIRL UTENA, and LUCKY STAR.

You live in Austin and yet you’re the chairman of a booming convention that’s shaping San Antonio’s genre scene. How did this happen?

There is a long story behind how San Japan came to be what it is today, but in essence, the abbreviated version is that a collective group of anime fans that were regular attendees at multiple conventions across Texas assembled to organize an anime convention in San Antonio since it hadn’t been done before. A young woman, who lived in Schertz, thought this was possible based on a crazy conceptual dream on putting a convention together. We started work on this huge project back in Fall 2005. My arm was kind of twisted to help out this group so I ended up backing San Japan and help front the startup costs by signing the paperwork necessary to create San Japan LLC. We were able to secure a hotel to host the convention.

However, before it even happened, it nearly fell apart since our staff was admittedly ill-experienced in the convention business. Some of the original people behind San Japan decided to depart including the young woman who originally created San Japan, but I decided to keep the dream alive, which started by reorganizing the group. I spent a lot of time and energy researching on convention organization, recognized a lot of our internal flaws then overhauled the communication within San Japan so we flowed well as a group. It has been a quite a learning process.

How many people do you expect for this year’s show? How do you get the word out?

This year we are expecting around 4000-4500 attendees. In our first year we brought out over 3500 attendees total, which shattered our previous expectations. Building on very positive word-of-mouth, our group pushed forward to raise the bar which we set for our first year. We continue to advertise at every large Texas anime convention across the state, at local conventions in San Antonio and with the cooperation from several large local stores we were allowed to advertise. We do not rely solely on word-of-mouth as San Japan is setup on many major social networks to ensure that any updates made on our website are also duplicated on different social networks to help spread the word. At the same time, I created Internet advertising campaigns on popular social websites and Google to take advantage of its capability to advertise to key demographics within the state for the same cost of a couple cups of premium coffee each day leading up to the convention.

To create continual interest, we held several mini-events including sponsoring a one-day convention at Our Lady Of The Lake University in March 2009. We also participate at large events around the city to continually promote the convention. In the past, we would receive generous help from people who would participate in street teams to push the word about San Japan. It is a lot of work but as a large collective we never stop trying to turn over every stone to get the word out within our limited budget.

Are most of the con-running committee Austin-based or are they a mixture of SA and Austin-based folks?

Our main staff is spread throughout the state of Texas. We have people based in Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio who are dedicated to helping our group. It makes staff meetings a bit difficult to hold in person but since most of the people on-board are tech-savvy as we are able to communicate efficiently online.

How about the attendees? Are most of them local or are you seeing folks from much further out attending?

About 70% of the attendees are local or within an hour driving distance but we’re pulling in people from all over the state including all of the major cities and even unlikely places like Abilene, El Paso and cities in the Rio Grande Valley. Based on records from our pre-registration in 2008, we had attendees from 15 different states attend our convention. In 2009, we have attendees from 17 states and 3 countries including Australia who are attending this year’s convention.

What are one or two favorite events happening at this year’s San Japan that you’re personally excited about?

Last year when Smile.dk surprised us by accepting our invitation to be our main musical guests to perform in their first-ever North American concert, I admittedly ‘fanboy’-ed when I finally met them in person, as I had been a fan of their music for a very long time after being introduced to them through the dance simulation game Dance Dance Revolution. The musical acts we invited this year have been thanking me for the chance to perform at San Japan but at the same time I have to admit that I’m probably most excited to finally meet some of our musical guests that will be performing at our convention this year.

Are you a big reader of manga and how did you first fall in love with Japanese genre culture? Was it via anime or manga? Any specific faves that you still highly regard today?

At one point I did immerse myself deeply in manga but it has waned over the years due to the high cost of purchasing the books since a series can be an upward of 25 to 35 books which can be a hit on the wallet. While I was introduced to anime while in high school, I was a late bloomer as I was recommended to NEON GENESIS EVANGELION by a good friend while in my early 20’s and fell in love with it immediately. I was local patron of a couple anime & indie movie stores in town picking up everything that I fancied. I went beyond anime to become immense in the Asian pop culture and its different types of music and movies. I decided to check out a local anime convention back in 2003, which lead me to become caught up in the culture. I don’t hold any series in truly high regard or watch it constantly but I do have many favorite series including the five favorites that I listed above.

The influence of manga and anime on American pop culture is completely assimilated into every fiber of today’s American comics, film and fashion. Are you seeing any new Japanese genre trends, products, comics, or films that American audiences haven’t experienced yet, but may be coming down the pike soon?

The real peak seems to have happened back in 2005 when there was an explosion of anime in America and its influence became affluent here. There have been new trends within the genre after it hit its plateau in 2005 but none that will be groundbreaking or likely will be coming to America since they are quite Japanese-centric which would not have commercial success in America.

You’re a big lover of dance video games. How did this come to be?

At one point in my life I was in a big rut after I had ballooned up to 260 lbs and I didn’t have much of a motivation to lose the weight. I was a regular patron of video game arcades when they still flourished so when a local arcade in Austin got a game called Dance Dance Revolution [DDR] back in July 2000, like anime, it was almost love at first sight. It was a fun, challenging game, which you could sweat your behind to catchy songs. I would spend hours a day at it and spent a lot of money at every chance I could get. It was quite a workout and I noticed I was losing a lot of weight as I dropped 70lbs after a year in playing DDR. This would be my gateway to being introduced to other music-rhythm video games and have been a fan of it for almost a decade.

Not just anyone can organize a successful convention. It takes a special drive, passion and skillset. What would you say is your biggest strength as the organizer and chairman of San Japan? Also, what do you most love about your job?

Besides making it an obsession to make it the best convention possible, I think my biggest strength is learning to treat the convention as a business but at the same time be kind and compassionate to my staff and volunteers. I try to keep a high-level of internal communication so my main staff isn’t in the dark but I treat everyone from staff to volunteers fairly. It has a trickle-down effect. If I am able to make my staff and volunteers happy, they in turn will be glad to help out the convention, and our attendees will see it along with having an enjoyable experience. This would be the best part I love about the job. While we still have a core mission to spread the word about Japanese Culture & Anime, I love to see the smiling attendees having a fun time at our convention, due to all of our hard work.