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By J.D.  IntroAnime Boston, my favorite big anime convention. This was my fifth time going after going in 2016, 2017, 2022 and 2023. It’s always nice to go and see some of my friends from college/Tora-Con. This time, it was the week after Tora-Con so I had seen most of them just recently. There are a lot of different things I could possibly cover about this con but I thought it might be interesting to break down my experience event by event to show what going to a con is like for me. It was a new experience writing this all down so I hope you enjoy it. Day OneAnime Musical PanelIt’s always interesting going to a panel before Opening Ceremonies. I’ve seen a few anime musicals because of my friend Andrew so it was cool to see the Prince of Tennis and Death Note I saw because of him mentioned. I liked that this panel went way back about a century when discussing adaptations of newspaper manga, how Takarazuka Revue and their adaptations of manga/anime including The Rose of Versailles shaped the modern industry or how basically every major male actor in Japan has probably been in the Prince of Tennis musical at least once. It also showed me places where I can legally watch these online and got me looking forward to the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood musical adaptation coming out with Mamoru Miyano as Dio. This was a great start to a convention. Opening CeremoniesThe opening ceremonies this year were the same as previous years. The two convention mascots, A-chan and B-kun, the con chair and vice chair all welcomed attendees to the con and introduced the guests including English guests, Japanese guests and musical acts. I really liked this bit from the English voice actor guests’ introductions: Every other guest: This is my first time (as a guest) at Anime Boston Michelle Ruff: This is my second time at Anime Boston Greg Ayres: This is my 19th time at Anime Boston. [Editor’s Note: There have only been like 20 Anime Boston cons] At the end, they realized there was one guest left to introduce and the audience was greeted to a surprise performance by BABYBEARD. They performed three songs including “Papaya”. I’m not entirely into their kind of music but it was definitely an interesting teaser of what they’d be performing at their concert later in the con. They also let guests know about some of the other big events including the first drag show at Anime Boston. Lunch Break I met up with my friend Nick in the tabletop gaming/autograph space and we formed a team to play Wits & Wagers. If you haven’t played this game before, here’s a quick rundown:
I had just helped my friend Andrew run two themed versions of this game at Tora-Con the weekend before Anime Boston: One was Nintendo. The other theme was Shonen Jump. I expected another anime themed one and was kind of disappointed when we were just playing the regular version of the game. There’s still a lot of fun to be had as people who know next to nothing about the topic try to guess. I think we all underestimated how many movies Martin Scorsese had released before The Departed. We randomly pulled that question but it was very fitting for Anime Boston. Nick and I went from last to second place in the Final Round by betting it all on “Lower Than the Lowest Guess” for “How old was Oprah when she first appeared as a news anchor?” Kira Buckland Autograph Attempt #1Since I was already in the autograph area and had some time to kill before the next panel, I decided to see if I could get Kira Buckland’s autograph. I love their work especially in River City Girls and was looking to get my copy of River City Girls 2 and the poster I got with it signed. I spent about 40 minutes waiting but the line wasn’t moving fast enough for me to get the autographs and make it to the next panel so I left to meet up with Nick and his brother Ben. Draft ChoicesThis was a game I’d never seen before but according to Nick and Ben, they have played it at a previous year’s Anime Boston. Two players are given nine options and a property on which they will be sorted by like “Number of episodes” or “earliest premiere date.” The players then pick two each snake draft style. First player picks one. Second player picks two and finally, the first player picks another one. The options are then revealed from last to first and points are awarded to the players based on where their choices rank. (Last = 1 point, 2nd to last = 2 points, etc.). The person with the most points at the end wins.  I watched the first round to get a feel for the game before joining the second round. Its category was “number of manga volumes released as of Feb 2024”. Of the nine presented, my opponent and I picked the top four. I was lucky enough that my opponent didn’t know that Golgo 13 is the manga with the most volumes at 212 right now and I forgot that there are actually more volumes of One Piece than Detective Conan so I was worried that I wouldn’t win until the very end. For winning the round, I got a pin and a $20 Amazon gift card. Nick and Ben also played and won so we got a sort of friend’s hat trick. Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night PremiereI got to the room early and caught the end of the film Blue Giant. I only watched about 20 minutes but it seemed really good so I’ll definitely have to check out the whole thing later. From Doga Kobo, the studio that brought you Oshi no Ko, comes a new original anime Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night. I don’t think the start of this got much fanfare. I was looking at my phone for a second and then, the episode was already playing without an introduction. Maybe I just zoned out. Anyway, from the first two episodes, it seems the show is about who you are and who you want to be and how that interacts with society’s expectations of people. Mahiru Kōzuki is a lapsed artist who is doing her best to be a normal While seeing an idol perform in front of a mural she designed, she almost yells out to the idol to stop blocking the mural of a jellyfish but decides against it. Luckily for her, another member of crowd, Kano Yamanouchi, does it for her because she also loves that mural. Mahiru follows Kano and eventually, they get to talking. Kano is a former idol who left her group after a scandal but it looking to make a comeback as the anonymous artist JELEE inspired by the Mahiru’s mural. Kano asks Mahiru to team up with her to do art for her music. Mahiru is hesitant at first but later agrees. She notes that apparently, jellyfish can’t swim or shine on their own but with Kano, maybe she can shine as well. Episode 2 introduces us to a new character Mei, a fan of Kano’s idol work who doesn’t like this new direction Kano’s music is taking. Since we’re past the basic setup in episode 1, I won’t go very deep into it but Mei also has her own issues relating to who she is really and who the people around her want her to be to fit in. She also plays piano and arranges music so JELEE see a possible new member in Mei. I find myself liking Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night but I don’t know what kind of show this is after two episodes and I’m not entirely sure the show does either. Episode 1 feels more like a dramedy while episode 2 seems waver back and forth between that and full-on rapid-fire comedy. There are also some weird jumps between episodes that I had to wonder if either they hadn’t shown episode 2 or if I had just somehow completely missed something in episode 1. I’ll probably watch this all the way through no matter what just because that’s what I do but most people might want to apply the three-episode rule. Verdict: Give It Three Episodes Kaho Q&AI think this was the only time at all of Anime Boston that I actually used my Press status to get ahead in line. Kaho’s so popular that I just wanted to make sure I was in the room. She was kind enough to let all the press record it. It also seemed like she was streaming it to her Twitch but I don’t know how long that video will be available. I’ll have a transcript of my recording later but here are a few of the highlights:
And with that, Day One of Anime Boston came to an end for me. Day TwoI was really excited for Day Two of the convention because it had some of the biggest events including our press panels with Yukana and Queen Bee and the Masquerade. Since I was confused myself for nearly two years, the Masquerade is the costume contest not a costumed dance. Anime Boston does have a semi-formal ball which was at the same time as the Masquerade. Yukana Press PanelI was really looking forward to this because I love her work especially in Code Geass and Cardcaptor Sakura but sadly, like Manuel, this got canceled so, I needed something else to do with my morning. Dunkin’ Donuts BreakfastWell, I was hungry and inspired by Kaho’s Q&A the night before, I decided to grab breakfast at Dunkin’. I got one of their bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches on a croissant since I had a bunch of those during Tora-Con and a donut as well. This place was packed. It’s not much bigger than a small mall shop but because it’s right by the main entrance to the Hynes Convention Center, staff and congoers were all here trying to get food early morning. I had some time to kill and dropping into video rooms or AMVs is always a good way to pass the time and maybe find a series or an AMV maker that you like. Since the contest was just starting, I decided to drop in on that and due to some technical difficulties, I didn’t miss anything despite being late. This year’s entries by category. Listed as “Name by Maker – Song/Audio Source – Anime” Category winners underlined. My personal favorites in categories are underlined and other awards are noted in parenthesis. Trailer/Commercial
Drama
Action
Romance/Sentimental
Upbeat
Other
Fun/Comedy
Overall, these AMVs were all pretty good. Check them out if they sound interesting. Whisper Me a Love Song PremiereThe second and final premiere I attended of Anime Boston was for the anime series Whisper Me A Love Song. Based on the manga series by Eku Takeshima and produced by Cloud Hearts and Yokohama Animation Laboratory, this anime will premiere on April 14, 2024. This is a yuri anime. I’ve never really watched a lot of yuri anime so this was an interesting watch. I think that because it has a source material to build off of, this show doesn’t have the same problem I had with Jellyfish the day before where I wasn’t really sure what kind of show it wanted to be. Here, I can tell from the start that this is the story of the blooming relationship between two young girls: Himari Kino and Yori Asanagi. To start off my thoughts, I have a question to ask you. You may have heard it before: Would you believe in a love at first sight? Yes, I’m certain that it happens all the time. Ok. Now, that I’ve gotten The Beatles references out of the way. Let’s talk about this show. The two both fall for each other at first sight when Himari sees Yori sing and play guitar for the school’s light music club band at the first day of school. Wait, sorry. There seems to have been some miscommunications on their part. It seems Himari only fell for Yori’s musical talents and not romantically. But, by this point, Yori’s also in love with her and determined to make Himari feel the same. Overall, it’s a cute show with nice art and I like the visual stylings to the transitions between certain scenes. And by the end of episode, it looks like things might be moving much faster than I expected from other romance shows I’ve watched. I’m definitely looking forward to watching the rest of this. Verdict: Watch It Lunch BreakSince I didn’t have any restriction on my food today, I went to Anna’s Taqueria in the Prudential Center connected to the Hynes and got a chicken burrito. It wasn’t as bad as Dunkin’ in the morning but the place still had a lot of people making it a bit difficult to get my order taken. There were a few mistakes but it was still a pretty good burrito. With a Coke and added guacamole, it came out to around $16. Queen Bee Press PanelWhile I was waiting for this panel to start, I had two people come up and talk to me because they recognized me as the “Banzai!” guy from AB’s charity auction. I’ll explain what that means later. I would once again like to bully Manuel for misleading me. Every time he’s talked to me about these kinds of panels, he tells me there will be like 50 people there and I’ll never get a word in. Here, at least, there were only three outlets covering it so I ran out of questions pretty quickly. I know better for next time. Like with Kaho’s panel, I got to record this and will have the transcription later after it’s been approved by their management. I will say that I look forward to their shows held underwater and in space. Kira Buckland Autograph Attempt #2I had a few hours to kill before the Masquerade and luckily for me, Kira Buckland was holding a signing about 30 minutes after the Queen Bee presser ended. The line was shorter than the previous day and moved more quickly so I was able to get my game and poster signed at the cost of $80. Sadly, because I had trouble folding it properly, my poster is starting to tear. Hopefully, I can get it signed by Kayli Mills and then, put it in a frame before it is completely ruined.
Anime Boston Family FeudI tried to join Nick and Ben in a panel but couldn’t get in because the line was too long and got cut off. I might have been able to jump the line with my press pass but I decided to find something else instead. History of Kyoto AnimationTakeaway: Tamako Market is better than people give it credit for and you should watch it. I like a couple KyoAni series with Free as my favorite but I don’t know much about the studio itself so this was an informative panel especially about the early days. I didn’t the role of housewives doing animation work and how many of them formed Kyoto Animation or much about their early works like Noroi no Onepiece or Munto. The panel also discussed the 2019 arson attack on the studio which killed 36 people, the outpour of support towards everyone affected and how it shaped the studio as it now stands. If I could fault them for one thing, it’s that some times they would make big claims like “K-On! was an industry-changing classic” without really providing anything to really back that up. It’s not that I don’t believe them but like, a quote from people in the industry saying how K-On! changed the way anime was made would have made it better. There was also a weird bit where they said A Silent Voice had no previous property directly after saying it was adapted from a manga but I assume they just meant “no previous anime.” MasqueradeIn previous years, Anime Boston has used tickets to control the lines for the Masquerade. Congoers could pick up a ticket on Saturday morning to guarantee a seat either on the floor level or the balcony level. This year, they did away with that meaning I had to show up about an hour early. I decided to get a seat on the balcony and got the back corner seat. All throughout the convention, there were QR codes to scan for little visual novel skits and items for congoer’s customizable avatars. Because the balcony is so high, the rigging for the lights on the auditorium stage made it impossible to properly scan the QR code. Luckily for us, one person took a photo of the code was came around to let us all scan it. That person is a hero. Later, they printed it out and came around holding it as well.  Anyway, back to the Masquerade. It has two portions: the Craftsmanship competition and the Performances competition. Both have four divisions: Youth, Novice, Intermediate and Master which all have separate awards. Craftsmanship is first up. Contestants are introduced and walk across the stage showing off their cosplay for the judges. There are always a few Final Fantasy and Monster Hunter armor sets along with other anime and game characters. This year even had two Claudes from Fire Emblem: Three Houses and two different Link armor set cosplays from Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom but the thing I was most impressed by was the cosplay of the boy and the heron from well… The Boy and the Heron. The heron was essentially a puppet another cosplayer controlled using strings. It was impressive to see and absolutely deserved its best prop win. After they’ve all walked off, the Performance section begins and the Craftsmanship judges go backstage to look more closely at the cosplays and decide on winners. If there’s an exact order to performances, I’m not entirely sure what it is other than maybe when they entered. These are generally song and/or dance numbers or pre-recorded skits acted out on stage. There were too many to talk about all of them here so I’ll just go over a few that I thought were worth talking about. The first of these skits and one I really liked was of Iida from My Hero Academia dancing using a machine created by Mei Hatsumei that started malfunctioning making it go on longer than intended. It was a lot of fun and I was happy to see it win a Judge’s Award at the end. Speaking of dancing, another performance was of Adam from Sk8 the Infinity dancing to “The Masochism Tango”. It was a very interesting performance but I think it would have worked better as an actual tango with a partner as another character from Sk8. (Side Note: I’m not entirely sure the song is in the right time signature for a tango) Another one I really liked was Smash This Gym Up where the Wii Fit Trainer competed in an aerobic exercise/dance competition. I think it really managed to convey that well through both the video displayed behind the competitor and the dancing they did. I was glad to see it win the Intermedia Division. There was an “interesting” song number with the singer dressed as Mikasa from Attack on Titan. I say “interesting” because I think it might have spoiled part of the ending for anyone who hadn’t seen it yet. Sorry to those who got a great ending spoiled for them. In another skit performance, Trucy Wright was looking for a key piece of evidence for Phoenix and Apollo. It incorporated some magic tricks and used video from the games to illustrate the world beyond the stage. I was glad to see this take second place in Masters. 1 million Gruesome Ways to Die – A Death Note Parody was fun. It was just a few Death Note cosplayers singing the song “A Million Gruesome Ways to Die” from the game Billie Bust Up! In the context of Light going over all the ways he could kill L. Really funny and really great singing. I was glad to see it take second place in Intermediate. With the Performance competition done, there were a short set by Exhibition performers Perfect Trio Project doing a few songs by the Love Live Sunshine Aquors subunit Guilty Kiss. I might just be biased because I like anything with Yoshiko/Yohane in it but I thought they were pretty good. With all the performances out of the way, the judges still needed time to decide the winners so they showed us the AMV contest winners. Like I said in that section, not really any videos I didn’t like just occasionally a few I liked more than the winners. See the AMV Contest section for more. After that, it was time to announce the winners and when that was done, it was time for me to head back to my friend’s place to get ready for the final day of the convention. Day ThreeDunkin’ Donuts BreakfastWell, it worked the first time. Might as well do it again. I got another bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich and a Boston Kreme donut ($8.22). Still just as good. Thankfully the place wasn’t nearly as packed as it was the day before. Charity AuctionThe charity auction held on Sunday is one of my favorite events at Anime Boston. I love seeing all the cool stuff they have for auction and how fiercely some people will bid for it. Plus, it raises money for the National MS Society. So, time to explain why those two, Harvey and Emily, know me as the “banzai guy”. At the auction, when someone bids exactly $50 on an item, the crowd is supposed to yell, “Yatta!” For every hundred-dollar amount between $100 and $900, the crowd is supposed to yell “Banzai!” and for every even thousand amount someone bids, the crowd yells “Sugoi!” The auction starts at 9:30 AM and goes for about three hours. I don’t drink coffee and generally don’t have caffeine before 11 AM at the earliest so I don’t know how I manage to have the energy to be the person cheering loudest and doing that for the entirety of the event. It just kind of happens. Nick and Ben showed up for a second but they were going to bingo instead (I swear we’re not as old as we sound.) so I was instead joined by another friend of mine Ian and a different friend’s dad (not pictured).  Here’s a few memorable items: The first pick of Artist Alley table for Anime Boston 2025 - $1850. In previous years, this has gone for about double that price but this year, there was only one person bidding on it in the room so congrats to you. You’re probably going to make yourself a lot of money next year. Godzilla signed picture - $666. A signed picture of Haruo Nakajima, the first suit actor for Godzilla. My friend Ian wanted this one really badly but he was already above what he thought he could afford and he thought that a $666 bid winning on Easter Sunday was too fun to beat. Anime Boston Lifetime Pass - $2000. At around $100 for a weekend pass and prices more than likely going up a few times in the future, that will probably pay for itself in 10-15 years. Let’s hope that Anime Boston lasts that long. Last year, this went for $2800. I know because my friend’s dad won it for her last year. Azumanga Daioh animation cell - $275. Seemed more like a storyboard but I’m not very knowledgeable on the animation process. Still, it’s a cool piece of anime history. Past years have had other cells from Cardcaptor Sakura and Detective Conan as well. Lunch BreakI’m a creature of habit so I decided to go back to Anna’s Taqueria and get another burrito. This time I got a Mexican Coke ($15.11) and opened it with my handy Oathbringer bottle opener I got from my Year of Sanderson subscription. I still had time to kill so I wandered around vendors and artists alley without finding anything I really had to buy before settling in line for closing ceremonies. Closing Ceremonies As its name implies, Closing Ceremonies is similar to opening ceremonies but instead of saying hello, it’s saying so long to the convention as it ends. There’s talk about and footage from the cool events that went on. All the guests who are still there come out to say goodbye and hope they’ll be back for more. There was a performance from the winner of the karaoke contest. I think it was a city pop song but I couldn’t recognize it. I don’t think the audio was set up properly for music and singing. The Berklee College of Music, which is right by the convention center, has an anime band and this year they dropped into closing ceremonies to play two songs. I could only recognize “The Rumbling” from Attack on Titan but both songs sounded as good as they could with the way the audio was set up. Next time, I’ll remember to bring earplugs. The wrap up of the con, they talked about how the auction and other charitable events raised more than $20k. They also talked about next year. Every year of Anime Boston has some theme and next year’s is “Something to Look Forward To?” What could it be? The sweet release of death? Sure, if that’s what you want it to be. Also, please seek help. The last thing before the credits rolled was another showing of the AMV Contest winners. Everyone around me stayed seated for that so I watched them again and left when the credits started. After The ConWith that, my Anime Boston 2024 was done. I headed back to my friend’s place and we got dinner at a BBQ joint near his apartment. I got a hot chicken and waffles sandwich which other than the soggy waffle was really good. The next day, I flew back to California and got back to my normal schedule.
So, that’s my Anime Boston experience in a nutshell. For those of you that haven’t gone to Anime Boston or maybe even a convention in general, I hope this has given you an idea of what your time there could be like. Maybe, I’ve even sold you on attending what is my favorite big convention. Hope to see you all next year. |
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