I just got back from SakuraCon this week and my office is a mess with paperwork, my e-mails are overflowing, and there are people who I need to talk to about important things.  I’m deciding to ignore all that, close the door, crank up Phil Collin’s ‘No Jacket Required’, and talk to all of you instead.  This is a better idea for all of us.

“Whats that important exec-type guy?  My TPS report is due in an hour?  I’ll be sure to get right on that.  ha-ha!”

FUNimation was all over SakuraCon like white on rice.  Being a sponsor of the show, having a 24-hour screening room (including DBZ – in Spanish!!), Voice Actors, cosplayers, premiers, free stuff, cheap DVDs, and other panels and events.  Here are some of the convention highlights.

Show attendance numbers were expected to grow this year so the con moved some of their events to different locations in the convention center from past years.  Including the Exhibit Hall.  Which kept getting me lost most of the show.  I felt like Ryoga Hibiki in a hedge maze…or an empty parking lot…or pretty much any place for that guy.

Our booth was busy non-stop at the show.  Some of this we have to chalk up to our amazing Heroic Age cosplay crew courtesy of ACParadise.com.

We created a scavenger hunt to promote the show where fans could answer a few questions to win an official Heroic Age shirt.  We had four different shirts – one for each tribe.  The shirts were a big hit with the crowd.  Even Vegeta approved of them.

For the showing of an epic space opera the likes of Heroic Age one must come with the proverbial thunder.  A thunder known solely as voice talent.  Joel McDonald, the ADR Director, and J. Micheal Tatum, the voice of of the shows leading feral hero Age, were on hand to talk to the crowd and answer questions.

After the event they were also on the FUNimation booth  signing autographs for all the fans.

Outside of all the Heroic Age events we also screened the dub for Romeo x Juliet.  This may just sound like a line but it’s the gosh darn truth I tell ya.  The English dub for this show is one of the best I’ve heard in a good long time.  The show actually has lines from different Shakespeare plays that match up perfectly with lip flaps and what each character is trying to convey in the scene.

This is an amazingly difficult task that very few people can pull off decently let alone incredibly well.

In our sneak peek panel* we showed these clips of the dub to an audience who asked where see more and buy DVDs at the end.

I hope you all enjoyed those and please feel free to share with others.

Now, time for our weekly No Cons left behind shout outs:

New to program: Fanime

Conventions this weekend:

UBCon XX: April 17 – 19, University at Buffalo’s North Campus, Buffalo NY

Shinboku-con: April 18, Lorain Southview High, Lorain OH

*this is the panel where we entice you with our new shows with clips, information, and candy**.

**candy not included.