In an effort to initiate a US branch of the ZeroAka Dojo, Vertical Inc. has collected a brain trust of the brightest and most respected manga bloggers and journalists on the East Coast to discuss manga culture. But there is a catch! This is not your average panel. This is a moderated discussion covering a wide range of manga topics from politics and ethics to the industry and its fans. This is not a democratic, everyone gets equal time, panel. This is a public forum where the best voices of manga share their knowledge and views honestly and openly.

Has manga criticism reached new heights? Or are our manga literati still in the dark ages? Join journalists, podcasters, bloggers, industry insiders and manga academics as they reveal why manga your fandom originates and always comes back to manga!

Last weekend at Anime Boston 2010, Ed Chavez (of Verical, Inc.) held a panel with some popular Internet writers and reviewers of manga to ask them critical questions about the manga industry, manga criticism, and manga fandom. The panelists included Brigid Alverson (MangaBlog), Michael Toole (Anime Jump), Scott Green (Ain’t It Cool Anime), Clarissa Graffeo (Anime World Order), Erin Finnegan (Ninja Consultants), and Ko Ransom (welcome datacomp).

Erin also recently uploaded a recording of her own, which has slightly higher audio quality (she recorded from the stage; I recorded from the audience), but also cuts off a bit of the end. You can reference her recording here, but catch the end of the panel by listening to the DoAAA podcast.

Listen below, or use the direct download here (55 minutes 59 seconds).

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