Otakon, established in 1994, is the nation’s third oldest and second largest, with nearly 34,000 individual attendees last year. This weekend, Dark Horse Manga is attending for the first time!
The Dark Horse panel will be on the first day of the con, this Friday the 24th between 3:15 and 4:15 PM in Panel 3 (BCC 337-338) We’ll talk a little about our past, discuss our recent spring and summer releases in some detail, and break down everything we’re going to do from now into the early part of 2016, with expanded previews of our new Japanese titles that begin next year. We’ll also be glad to take your questions, and we have giveaway items as well! A little earlier that same day, we’ll also be at the 2015: The Year of Evangelion panel, on Friday between 12:45 and 1:45 PM in Panel 1 (BCC 314-315, celebrating the 20th anniversary of Neon Genesis Evangelion.
There are so many good panels at Otakon, but if we could recommend you attend just one besides ours ^_^ it would be the MAPPA panel, also on Friday, between 11:30 AM and 12:30 PM in Panel 3 (BCC 337-338. MAPPA is the anime studio headed by Masao Maruyama, formerly of Studio Madhouse. We’ve recently been honored to publish two manga by Satoshi Kon, with an artbook on the way soon, and Kon fans will know that Mr. Maruyama was Satoshi Kon’s producer, and good friend.
Every year, the Animation Kobe committee (which includes the editors of Japan’s three major anime magazines, Animage, Newtype and Animedia) gives a special award for the person who has contributed the most to anime in their career; past winners have included director Isao Takahata (The Tale of Princess Kaguya). Only two living producers have won the award, and Mr. Maruyama is one of them. If you saw the recent anime series Shirobako, the studio president, “Masahito Marukawa” is based on Masao Maruyama. He is a legend, but what saves that from cliché is he’s still very much hard at work as a producer. Mr. Maruyama’s career stands for what anime can be, not just what it is or what it often settles for. He has been a longtime guest of Otakon, and I believe that speaks to the ideals the convention represents, as well.
