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Department of Alchemy Podcast: Panels from Anime Boston 2009

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I’ve decided to flavor the blog with audio under the moniker Department of Alchemy Podcast. Occasionally, I’ll post audio from panels or discussions here, but don’t think of it as a regular podcast, à la Anime World Order.

This past weekend, I took my new audio recorder to Anime Boston 2009, and while I tried to record a number of panels, I had a few mishaps and some of them didn’t save. However, I did pick up a handful of them, so I’ll try to repair the audio a bit and upload them here.

First up is one of the five panels that I spoke at: Akiba Empire: The Otaku Influence. The convention’s booklet reads: “Otaku spending pumps over 4 billion dollars annually into Japan’s economy. Discover how nerdy anime fans went from basement dewllers to a powerful cultural, economic, and political force.” Please listen! Or download here.

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More panels from AB will be posted shortly!

Summer Con Circuit Commences!

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The Department of Alchemy has started prepping for the summer convention circuit!

If you’ll be at Anime Boston this weekend, I’ll be talking at the following panels:

Genre, Music, and Shinichiro Watanabe
Friday @ 6:00 pm in Ballroom A
A chance to praise Watanabe and his musical direction! Finally!

Akiba Empire: The Influence of Otaku
Friday @ 8:00 pm in Ballroom A Constitution Ballroom
Pairing up with Nicole from Design Benign, a talk about marketing and the otaku economic force.

The Virtual Worlds of Anime
Saturday @ 1:30 pm in Back Bay Panel/Video
A survey of anime and manga about virtual spaces and how the medium helps us understand new worlds.

Chains, Trains, and Love Hotels: The Japanese Sex Industry
Saturday @ 10:00 pm in Ballroom A
A presentation on, well, sex in Japan.

The Anime That’s Not Anime: Opening and Ending Themes
Sunday @ 11:30 am in Panel Room 207
An attempt to examine and contextualize a solid number of opening and ending themes of anime.

Also, Otakon panel acceptances have just come in, and the Department of Alchemy will be making more appearances:

1. Without Watching the Anime: Opening & Ending Themes
2. Chains, Trains, and Love Hotels: The Japanese Sex Industry
3. The Real Story of Japanese Street Fashion
4. The Impact of Evangelion

With other possible talks to include (pending the waiting list and notices):

5. The Problem with Otaku
6. Japan (and Anime) Beyond the City
7. Anime in Academia

Hopefully, the Anime Boston panels will be recorded if you can’t come up to New England for the weekend, but some of these panels may also appear at Anime Expo and Anime Weekend Atlanta!