All posts tagged Todd Habercorn

Bests and Worsts of 2015

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Guess what? HAPPY NEW YEAR! Yes, it’s that time again and that is ringing in 2016 once our midnight rools around here in the states! To make tradition even better, it’s time for the Bests and Worsts of 2015 according to us at Nerdy Shique Universe! Let’s start with our Bests!

BESTS!

Best EP: Soul Switch’s Regenerate album! This year was a big year for our friends of Soul Switch! This past April they released their third album, Regenerate, and even had an album release party at the House of Blues. We also got to interview Jimmy Kwong and Matt Larson from the band! I loved this album and sing along when I saw them last, hell I even did the growls and screams the best I could along with “Demons.” Hoping they come out with another video since “Hang On” is a great song and video, I recommend these guys since you might be able to find them on ITunes! I also did recommend them to Rhett Fisher who played the Titanium Ranger on Light Speed Rescue along with our other buddies in Traverser! Speaking of which, we did have David from Traverser appear in that interview but will have a full on interview with them when their next album, Jupiter Doesn’t Care About You, drops next year! Congrats Soul Switch!

Best Come Back for a Local Band: Leaving Haven! Well, the reason why I am mentioning this is that a year or two ago we heard of Leaving Haven and back then we didn’t like their music style nor their performance style either. Once we heard one of their songs on Native Noise all thanks to a friend, we noticed how much they changed and then when we saw them perform on the night of Soul Switch’s album release, they improved tremendously! Their performance style and music have improved and we noticed it that night the most. I have two of their CDs and they are amazing! I would highly recommend this band.
Best Event We Finally Went To: Earth Day Birthday 22! We finally went to it after hearing so many things happening and who was going to be there this year and that is Earth Day Birthday! For many years, Gondras and I always wanted to go to this thing, especially the years Sevendust made their stage appearances many times over and over again, even before we saw them at Carnival of Madness back in 2010! As you know, I have been a fan of Sevendust ever since I heard the song “Denial” back in 2003. This year got us going because our buddies in Soul Switch announced at their album release that they are going to open the show and we got there to see that. It was kind of sad that Florida Anime Experience was that same weekend and they were bringing people from Evangelion and haven’t gotten to meet Tiffany Grant. So, we sent Papa Jeriyah on a special mission to get stuff signed by her, Spike, Brina Palencia since she’s Rei in the new movies, and Trina Nishimura even though we were catching up with her at Omni and getting to interview her. Was it worth it? Yes. I do love anime but music has been a major love and this year’s Earth Day Birthday did have artists Gondras and I do like which included Flyleaf, Trapt, Sevendust of course which was a last minute add on after Bush back outdue to a stalker situation, Buck Cherry, and the main band we really wanted to see the most and that is Rise Against! We seen them once in Orlando at the UCF Arena and got to see them again and perform some of their music from Black Market. What surprised Gondras when they performed “Chamber the Cartridge” from their Sufferer and the Witness album which he didn’t know that was a song they did and now he knows about it. Next year’s line up for this thing…he and I agree this year’s took the cake since next year they are having Hailstorm, Escape the Fate, and 311. Not sure if we will go to another, let’s see how time will tell!

Best Interview at a Con: The Cast from Attack on Titan! It was hard to choose for what was the best interview we have done this year but this has to go to the ones we did with Mike McFarland, who directed, Bryce Papenbrook, Eren Yeger, Josh Grelle, Armen, Trina Nishimura, Mikasa, and Lauren Landa, Annie Lockheart. As you guys know, I already interviewed Matthew Mercer during 2014 and apparently it was one of the most viewed posts here on Word Press which I thank you guys for that! Anyways, we had fun interviewing these guys, especially Lauren which it went into many tangents towards the end, not sure if the video camera caught it but we had fun with her, Bryce, and even Josh as well! I do have one entry for Bryce and that is…

Best Headbreaking Moment: Bryce Papenbrook Revealing His Daddy’s Voice! If you haven’t seen the video, but I asked Bryce how did he get into voice acting and that is through his dad, which by the way was a major surprise! I didn’t reveal it to many people because we wanted to have everyone see the video first and then hear many heads break and now will reveal it. Bryce Papenbrook’s dad was the voice of Rito Revulto on Power Rangers. Our reactions were priceless! I did watch clips after the convention and was surprised even more, he is very talented and see where Bryce got his talent from! You can hear Bryce’s voice as Maliotis in Seven Deadly Sins which you can catch on Net Flix! It is very good series by what we saw and people are starting to cosplay from it, we seen a few and taken pics, which you will see in our Holiday Matsuri gallery coming soon! So, enjoy that series!

Best Correction in an Interview: Josh Grelle Correcting Me With His Last Name! Another unsuspecting moment and that was when I was introducing you guys to Josh Grelle. The thing was I pronounced his last name with the pronunciation all thanks to my screen reader and when you see part one, you hear him correct me. It is actually pronounced “Greely” and so glad he helped out! Now I know how to say it whenever we meet him again since I have Attack On Titan Part 2 all nice and clean and waiting for Sharpie ink to touch! He is the voice of the devil in Devil As a Part Tim,er.

Best Voice Actor for a Convention: Jessica Calvello! Oh man, had to mention this one and it was hard to think who would’ve been the best since conventions do get pretty good guests to appear. This category goes to someone who hasn’t appeared at a Florida con by what I remember and that is Jessica Calvello! Due to how Omni was doing all Attack on Titan for the most part, Jessica was one of the actors who appeared and she does the voice of Honshi the scientist who loves looking at titans! Not only she does the voice but she did appear in cosplay as her character for Omni Expo! As in, jacket, glasses, and everything else and even acted like her throughout the thing, there was a part where her character ran into a door and did that as the 18+ Saturday panel with Matt Mercer, she explained what she was doing and wished I recorded that but it wasn’t allowed. But I can say that she also fangirled over Matt’s voice, who wouldn’t, I have been too and he is Number 1 on my Sexiest Voices in Anime and Gaming! I wonder how she would react to his British accent? Anyways, she was funny and very friendly and also very talented, even as Rip Van Winkle in Hellsing Ultimate Abridged.
Runners Up: Todd Habercorn and Joshua Seth! It was hard choosing runner ups because these two were also great at the same convention and that is Todd Habercorn and Joshua Seth! They are entertaining when it comes to panels, even you will get a lot of laughs from my interview with Mr. Seth as well. Couldn’t help but also finding Todd’s photo and signing war with Jess Harnell even funnier. On top of that, their panel with Sean Schemmel and Grey Deloisle as well.

Best Guessing My Age Moment: Walter Jones and Austin St. John at Ranger Stop! I had to put this on here because everyone knows that I don’t look my age! I turned 30 this past year and when people look at me they have to do a double take! Even when the ID gets taken out, it’s even harder to believe that I was born in 1985. This past year I went to Ranger Stop and told some of the people I was into Power Rangers when it first came to the states back in the early 90’s and was seven around then! When Austin St. John and Walter Jones asked me how old I was, I asked them “How old do you think I am?” They were guessing around the twenties, but Walter had more in the teens and then revealed I was 30! Austin was a bit speechless and then said, “You look good for it!” and Walter was like “Nooooo! Really!?” Hell, should’ve said, Veronica Taylor was speechless when I told her which she was actually speechless at AFO since I just turned it.

Best T-Shirt Props: The Rita Repulsa “Make My Monsters Grow” Shirt from Aardvark Tees! I had to mention this because so many people loved it when I wore it to Ranger Stop and it’s all thanks to Aardvark Tees! I got this shirt during AFO from their stand and it is of Rita Repulsa throwing rare candy to some Pokemon and it says “Make My Monster Grow!” It made sense and great thing about it, while asking my question during Ranger Recap’s Pre-Con panel for the regular pass holders they had the camera on my shirt! Even the Blue Rangers pointed it out during their panel that same night! And Christopher Kaman Lee saw it and asked where I got it from since he recognized it and told him I got it from Aardvark’s stand during AFO. I did get props for my Iron Man hoodie since it did get cool in the evening and morning during the convention!

Funniest Internet Review: Anime Abandoned Review on Jungle De Ikou! Yes, time to point out the best internet stuff for this year! Starting with the Funniest Review and that is by hannel Awesome’s own Bennet the Sage with his show Anime Abandoned! We got to meet him during MythiCon and did go to his 18+ Panel and of course Q&A which you can catch on YouTube, the Q&A one! He does very funny reviews on many anime OVAs and movies and an occasional series review. Some of these include Wicked City, Akira, even the InuYasha Movie which I should’ve included that as the funniest review for last year but forgot about it. This year I give it to his review for a really bad OVA known as Jungle De Ikou! It is a bit on the mature side and it does have jokes that are kind of….make you want be like how Bennet says it in his review, “WHAT!?” Basically the plot deals with a girl gets a magical totem figure from her dad who returns from New Guinea, Africa and gets visited by a spirit in her dreams and gets told if she gets in trouble while meeting the eviler spirit that was locked away to do a special dance. Yeah, the dance is ridiculous, ejven one of the other girls have a Macarena type dance but Bennet does end the review early due to it because…yeah…you have to watch it to see what I mean. What I like about watching Bennet is that he does make good points, even with this review talking about how there are bad movies out there and comedies that exist that are equally bad how this anime goes with the movie known as Movie 43. The jokes are pretty funny and he does quote Mad Max: Fury Road! If you are around my age, give it a watch and prepare to laugh your lungs out, Gondras and I sure did!
Runner Up: Nostalgia Critic Reviewing Fury Road! I know, what!? Well, around the time Fury Road came out Nostalgia Critic reviewed it and man he pulled a lot in making the review as a movie type review with his crew. We haven’t seen Fury Road ourselves but we seen the review and you should see it as well, the jokes a very good and does discuss it pretty well.

Death Battle of the Year: Death Stroke vs. Dead Pool! Most of us who have seen Death Battle on Screw Attack know that they have awesome pairings like Felicia from Darkstalkers vs. Taokaka from Blaze Blue, Iron Man vs. Lex Luther, and the one that really have us laughing and loving is Death Stroke from D. C. Comics vs. Dead Pool from Marvel! With the comparing stats, the episode got Dead Pool’s breaking the fourth wall like always and even hilarious in messing with Wiz and Boomstick. I would say watch Death Battle, even this battle if you’re a fan of Dead Pool or Death Stroke since they are entertaining and very informative! Anyways, don’t want to spoil who wins if anyone hasn’t watched it but the battle was pretty close!
Runner Up: Gaara vs. Toff! Yes, have to mention this one because it was one that Gondras thought I would be disappointed because I love Gaara from Naruto but at the same time Toff is my fave Avatar: The Last Airbender character. Both stats were very good but there is one thing, they pitted a guy against a skilled Earth Bender that can use the sand and the golden sand to her advantage. Yeah, sorry, ust spoiled that Toff won this battle. As always said, never underestimate the power of a blind girl, even when she Earth bends!

Internet Reviewer of the Year: Louis Lovehog aka Linkara! This was a pick from Gondras and I agree so I created this one and that is “Internet Reviewer of the Year” and this year it goes to Linkara from Channel Awesome! Why? Well, he has done awesome reviews when it has comes to comics, even caught up with all the Power Rangers for his History of the Power Rangers since he has done Super Mega Force recently, and has done really good story work with his movie! I haven’t seen the movie yet but heard it’s really good from Gondras but I seen enough of his comic book reviews that he makes really good sci-fi- story segments on his show! This is why he should be a guest at more Florida cons, especially Orlando after MythiCon ending! I did suggest him to AFO due to the Power Rangers stuff since I did watch In Space, Lost Galaxy, soon to watch Light Speed Rescue and Time Force after watching his reviews on those seasons! He even used clips from Attack On Titan Abridged during his Jungle Fury review and that is one other season I may see all thanks to him. Still he is a really good reviewer even when you go to his live panel at cons like we have the past two years. That is why Mr. Linkara, you get Internet Reviewer of the Year here on Nerdy Shique Universe!

Best Movie: Star Wars: The Force Awakens! Yeah, I know it seems abovious but think about it this way, it has been years since we got a new Star Wars movie evne though the prequels weren’t the best. I didn’t even seen the third one out of those because of how Episode 2 felt like I could make a drinking game out of the many “My lords!” and “My ladies!” they say throughout the film! When we heard that the story after The Return of the Jedi will be continuing and JJ Abrams will be directing it, we were worried and a bit skeptical since the new Star Trek films were not that great. We saw this on Christmas and man we enjoyed it! Hell, we even applauded when we saw Han, Chewy, and Lea returning in this film with the rest of the audience! Even the emotions in this movie was kept in tact since the original three really got us loving them with the suspense, emotions, and the action that is linked to it. Ohhh we can’t wait for the next episode with how this one ended on a very nice note! If you haven’t seen this film, you must!
Runner Up: Ant Man! II know, I know! Why wasn’t Age of Ultron the Runner Up? Well, I think that Ant Man kind of deserved it a bit more in my opinion! Yes, I was excited like everyone else about the second Avengers movie and how interesting it was with Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, plus having Jarvis being humanish. Ant Man, on the other hand, had a more interesting premise! It told the story differently as a way of passing down the mantle of Ant Man to someone new due to Hank Pim being older and it’s good to see that instead of the original story behind it. We are going to get glimpses of Hank in the next season of Agent Carter from what we see and it’s good to get the idea of the story before the movie in the show. Michael Douglas as always had a great performance, not only that this movie gave us our next glimpse into Civil War and we got to see one of the Avengers on top of it!

Worsts

Worst Press Turn Down: AFO! Yes, got to mention this because it was one of the worst things I went through this year. Not only with personal life but of course with being turned down hard by Anime Festival Orlando for press. We have given great chances by great conventions such as MetroCon in Tampa, MythiCon, now Holiday Matsuri, but the big one that gave us the biggest chance to do press was of course Omni Expo because they found us due to a typo! If you read all the press stuff we done, we didn’t start this blog to get free passes into conventions, we started this blog back on Blogger when Hot Topic discontinued their first cosmetics line and it blossomed from there into other things like gaming, cosplay, and many more! Plus, we brought you interviews with voice actors like Dameon Clarke, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Lauren Landa, and so much more! Now we have Joshua Seth and Todd Habercorn to add to that long list! I know I am harping it but all I have to say is we worked hard and if AFO doesn’t want to give us that chance even in 2016 and beyond, well we go to the next convention and try there! Even Ranger Stop is letting us try out again for next year, who knows if we get that one.

Worst Band: Blaine the Mono! I have to mention these guys here because ughhhhh! I respect a lot of local acts but Blaine the Mono is not one of them. Their music is not that great, it would improve greatly if the lead singer doesn’t scream or get a different person. Let me describe the screams, they sound like harpie screeching in my ears, really! We first heard about these guys when they performed at the House of Blues on the night that Soul Switch did their album release and they didn’t get better by the time we saw them operform with Mr. Bella and Soul Switch in September. Some people said they were better than Mr. Bella but here’s the thing…Gondras notices how the bandmates in Mr. Bella play music that fits the range of their lead singer and I agree with that! Blaine the Mono…not so much! Plus, there werne’t many people cheering for them as much as people were cheering for Mr. Bella and Soul Switch combined! Sorry to say, Blaine the Mono needs to improve or don’t come back because the competition is getting bigger!

The Most Meh Month for Beauty Subscriptions: May! I had to mention this because it kind of fits the Worsts categories and that is how the month of May was a bit of a meh month for Ipsy and BOxyCharm. I have been a member of both for over a year now and the products that I got in both were okay, not the best, just meh! I did like the lipstick I got in BoxyCharm which was the Lip Bar, which really made me excited about that. Ipsy, it felt like they focused a bit more on the anti-aging stuff more than any other items, heck I got the Blue Iceland eye patches but gave them to my mom since I wouldn’t be using them. December was also a bit meh but mostluy for Ipsy since two of the products were ones I swapped for better items while the rest were five star worthy items, heck even the Elizabeth Mott eye primer had me at happy because I got to try something else from the brand. I am hoping with 2016 that there won’t be much of meh months for both because the selections of products would be better. Heck, crossing my fingers on the Revealed Smoky pallet from Coastal Sense next year! Let’s see what it holds!

Well, that is it! Longest Wait for a Convention: Ranger Stop! Uhhhhhhhh! Seriously, never thought with a convention I would have to wait for the longest time for everything on the first day! What do I mean by that? Well, I had to wait until 2 PM to pick up my three day pass, wait until 4 PM to be let in, well mostly 4:30 since I wasn’t VIP, so yeah, longest wait ever! Most conventions just open around 10 in the morning and then dealer room around noon for VIP and an hour later for regular passes, Matsuri was 11 AM to open up dealer room for VIP! But nope, Ranger Stop opened their dealer room at 5! I know it seems like I am ranting but this convention needs to look at how some of the other ones run because it would help immensely, especially where this is the convention that felt like it catered to the VIP holders more than regular pass holders, which there were more events for VIP than doing more panels and special events. I will try again for press and hoping next year they have a better convention not only that did see there wasn’t much of a great turn out for Saturday since I only went for two days after knowing Sunday didn’t have much to do. Again, they need to improve with events and panels the most.

Well, that is it for this year’s Bests and Worsts. There weren’t that many worst things but still the worst of them all was the AFO Press thing and it still stings! I feel as though this year had a lot of bests and it is hard to fit them into one post so I stuck to what was the most best ones of all! There were great other moments from conventions like how Steve Cardinas thought my cane was a wizard staff and of course finally finding the Tiger and Bunny messenger bag I was looking for! And of course, showing up as Lucy to Todd Habercorn’s signings, first time doing it was at AFO after not seeing him since 2012 and shown my appreciation for trying Fairy Tail again.

What will 2016 bring? Well, crossing our fingers on year three of Omni Expo press! They gave us a major chance in press and hoping they give us a third time doing it. Plus, they are earlier this year due to MegaCon now being in May! I am not sure if we are going, I am almost thinking about press for it but at the same time it might not work or anything. I will have to look into that. Any new cosplays? Well, my Pokemon designs will be extending since I am thinking, hoping to get done by Omni, doing Link from Legend of Zelda as a Pokemon Ranger! I already got the Silveon plush, gotta get the rest of the parts! And of course, Lucy as a Pokemon Trainer! Not sure what got me thinking to do it but it came out of nowhere in my thoughts and already got a Vaporeon for Aquarius!

Of course, we will be looking forward to Captain America: Civil War! Even Dead Pool despite not being done by Marvel but it is already proving to be hilarious!

More to come in 2016! Stay tuned for the rest of our Holiday Matsuri coverage in January, hoping we get it up before December next year sneaks up on us again! Hey, 2015 did that to us and the next will do it too.

So, have a safe Happy New Year and be careful driving! So, til next time and follow us on Twitter if you haven’t!

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by moonleopard85 on December 31, 2015  •  Permalink
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Posted by moonleopard85 on December 31, 2015

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Holiday Matsuri 2015: Interview with Todd Habercorn

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Time for the first interview from Holiday Matsuri and that is with Todd Habercorn!

I know, I was supposed to put up the Joshua Seth one but due to Gondras being busy and also have to look at tutorials since it would be his first time with video editing, I went ahead with posting the one with Todd first! I was really happy to get to do this one because of what happened with AFO, as in no press passes and wanted to interview him along with Veronica Taylor, Christopher Kaman Lee, and have Gondras interview Reuben Langdon but that plan was shot all to hell! If you haven’t seen those videos from AFO, I did become creative and asked him during his Q&A panel which did he prefer, recording younger voices or older voices? His answer was older voices and did it as Rowan from Tales of Xilia!

Well, with Holiday Matsuri having him as a guest this year was a second chance and a Christmas Wish! I know I should’ve mentioned that in the “What I Got for Christmas 2015” but sounds more sentimental to mention it here because of Matsuri being so close to Christmas, it was a major wish I wanted even and it was granted!

Someone did ask on the YouTube side why were there voices in the background? Did you do it out in the open? Well, the answer is this, which I will be replying to that comment when I get on the blog’s e-mail address, the thing was if you read in my Needs for Improvement that interviews weren’t scheduled by the convention. We had to set up with Todd and Joshua, which we did get a private room with Joshua but not with Todd. We done it after his signing in the autograph room, that is why you hear the staff talking and I think some people were meeting Sean or Joshua that evening. We did get it done and it was great timing as well and want to thank Todd for a great interview! Hoping next year that there will be private rooms for interviews and slots already scheduled for these things if we do press next year.

That is it for this post! Hoping to get the Joshua Seth video up since I had fun doing that interview as well! In the meantime, since it’s New Year’s Eve tomorrow, technically today whenever you’re reading it, will be my Bests and Worsts of 2015! I will be mentioning what was the best out of this year while the worst of all! Stay tuned for that!

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by moonleopard85 on December 31, 2015  •  Permalink
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Convention Impossible: Holiday Matsuri

::clears throat:: Ready kitty minions!?

::kitties meow in “yes!”::

Let’s do this!

::sings with kitties mewing rhythm:: Deck the hotel halls with posters and fliers!
Fa la la lalala!
‘Tis the season for con jolly! Fa la la lalalala!
Dawn now our props and cosplays! Fa la lalalalala!
Troll the ancient yuletide anime! Fa la la lalalala laaaa!

Hello Shiquers and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Happy Holidays everyone! Time for another convention impossible and this time it is on Holiday Matsuri!

Sorry for the wait, have been busy the past few days, which included Gondras’ birthday! Happy 29th to him! Now I set aside for time to do this review and was glad to have Press after months of not having official press badges to conventions in the past. So, let’s get on with it!

DISCLAIMER: THIS REVIEW IS BASED ON OBSERVATIONS AND OPINIONS FROM THE WRITER AND SOME from her teammates! Please respect them!

Location: This year’s event was held at the Caribe Royale Resort on World Center Drive. This location was a very good one since everything for the convention was in one place like Omni was and AFO if you count that as well. It was easy to navigate the convention area despite the huge crowd, especially Saturday and Sunday, I think the crowd was even bigger Sunday. No mobility nightmares anywhere at this place due to how well lit it was, no ramps anywhere, just a straight walk, even to the pool’s snack area. Also, no weirdly placed stairs to fall over or be stuck at, trust me had that happen once at Islands of Adventure in the past. Still, a great place but…unfortunately it will be moved to the World Center next year due to how much the crowd grew. Even a good portion of it was in the gaming room by what we saw since it was a huge room. Bigger than Omni’s even. I understand they need a bigger space, especially with parking, oh yeah! Despite it being free a lot of people parked crazily especially by Sunday where some of them took up lanes and one part of the sidewalk. Now you can see where the crowding issue lies, at least it wasn’t as problematic as MegaCon where a lot of events were taking place and people had to park in every Concourse. I am hoping parking at the World Center, if we do press for this again, is not as expensive as Omni’s parking prices a year ago. Let’s see how that will happen but now this place was a great place to hold it at. Forgot to mention, even panels were easy to find at this place since everything was in one spot than being in three separate buildings. That is a plus!

Vendor’s Room: Next is vendor’s room! What we liked about this one is that in the convention guide there was a map with all the vendor names and where they were positioned. You don’t get that anywhere! You got a list of who is there or like at MegaCon, you get the map and it just tells you the booth number and you have to read the key in order to get the booth’s name, which that can be confusing! Matsuri, easy as pie! There were a lot of good vendors such as the Japanese Snacks guy was there but he had two different booths! One in the vendor room proper and then the second in the Game Room where there were a few vendors there if there wasn’t any more space to fit everyone. Now I can see why they are going to a new location. I did mention in my Last Minute Info post that this convention is a great place to do last minute gift shopping due to the dates of the convention being so close to Christmas and that is what Fox (AKA Nerdy Shirts, decided to use change it to that) did for his family. Also Gondras, since his birthday was so close, did have a chance to pick up something as his birthday present and it was from the woodmaker stand who had a Tardus , a mini one, and it has a light inside. It was their last one as well. They make a lot of wood items such as clocks, little boxes, I did remember they had charms, and so on. If you see these guys, they are very nice and they do make awesome work. What did I get? Due to the last of my cash, yeah spent a hundred at Ranger Stop, I did pick up Kit Kats in the pumpkin flavor, two flavors of Melty Kiss since you can only get those in winter in Japan, a nice little business card holder with Pikachu on it and it ill come in handy when I update all the information on my business cards for next year, and something you would rarely find and that is Digimon plushies, which I got Gatomon! The lady that sold it said that “She’s the best seller!” And I saw why because she had four left before someone bought one and I did the same. Can’t help that she’s a cat and she turns into an angel digimon! Also a sphinx in Season Two. Another stand I did find and knowing I will send a commission in the future is Grandma Thunderpants! She has been all over conventions and makes a lot of stuff by hand, plus she had 3DS cases at her stand that someone made, which I want to ask for a Fairy Tail one. And there was a shirts stand that had a Sailor Moon shirt that was based on Game of Thrones and a Green Ranger shirt where Dead Pool is underneath the helemet! Definitely would get the Dead Pool shirt if I were to go back to Ranger Stop and show up with that one! All in all, this was a great vendor’s room and of course there were even vendors in the game room, which you rarely see. No wonder Simple Plan sang that Christmas is mostly keep on spending!

Guests: This year’s guest line up considered two fashion guests, Angelic Pretty and Chocolate which I didn’t get to see their stands all weekend due to being busy with press stuff. While voice actors, you have Sean Schemmel, who was sick most of the weekend due to a digestion issue but he did add extra time to his signings and made to some of his panels, even the Holiday Voice Actors panel Sunday which we got to enjoy. Joshua Seth was added last minute and it was great meeting him! We did want to go to ShadoCon to meet him but due to funds and me going to Ranger Stop the following weekend we didn’t get that chance. We did get to meet him and interview him as well which was a major bonus! We didn’t get to meet up with Grey Deloisle due to busy and didn’t get to have that interview wither, there is always another convention and I still have my questions I made Thursday night in case that happened. We met up with Todd and filled my Christmas Wish of interviewing him! Yay! Don’t worry, we will get the videos up so you can see how I can meet a record of five minutes, which it shows that Todd is a popular guy and he has a very long line with a tight schedule on top! It was worth the wait, especially after waiting months after AFO to do the interview. What was also great is that Jess Harnell, the voice of Wakko Warner, shown up for a few hours Friday because he was visiting his mom and stayed at a hotel nearby. It was funny while getting Todd’s signature that he and Jess had a photo war and the responses were hilarious! Which reminds me, the four voice actors together in one panel are hilarious! If you’re at a convention with Grey, Sean, Joshua, and Todd, it is entertaining! Anyways, we did catch up with Jess in the hall and shook hands and appreciated him as Wakko, he even did the voice for us! Fox did catch him as he was leaving due to us telling him about it and he got a pic with him! What did we get signed even though it did cost us $40? Yeah, signings were $20 with the actors this year… Well, back at AFO, I didn’t get our copy of Summer Wars signed by Todd due to the whole first is free and afterwards $20 bit and wanted a funny message all thanks to SF Debris from Channel Awesome, if you never seen his reviews on Star Trek, his let’s plays, or even anime reviews, you should check him out! One of them was Summer Wars and we always enjoyed watching it, heck when I watched it the last time I quoted from the review. We did have Todd put the one for “Don’t tell me you killed the internet!” Don’t want to finish that but you can watch the review. Todd was a bit confused but if you’re reading, that is where we got that idea from! We did catch up with Manchii since he was a cosplay guest and I did wear the Lucy cosplay and did enter the costume contest with it, didn’t win anything though. He did say yes to my Lucy Pokemon Trainer cosplay since I am planning to do that probably next year but not sure on which convention along with a wedding commission. Also, since she will be at Omni next year, got to meet Indra and she is very nice and understanding with cosplaying! Can’t wait to see her again next year!

Events and Panels: Oh man, this weekend was eventful and panelful! I know that is not a word but it’s true! This convention was a busy one and there was a lot of things to see and do besides vendors and gaming! There were panels that people hosted, guests done, even of course as said above, the costume contest which was awesome! Not only you have cosplays posing but there were performances done and a good portion of them were of Madoka and Homura from Madoka Majica but the Homura cosplayers were doing the demon version of her from Rebellion, which was the movie continuing the story of the anime. What was a great performance that never thought I would see was a cosplayer from Dark Souls doing the “Friends on the Other Side” from Princess and the Frog and man he was good at singing it! Other events included, the Holiday Runway which I also participated in as my character, Avery, the Opening Ceremonies was also great since we got to see Todd cosplaying as Han Solo since the new Star Wars opened the same weekend. There was one major rule all weekend besides “Shower!” and that is “If you spoil Star Wars, then we will beat you to death!” I know that was a joke but people are serious and of course no one spoiled it, heck we’re waiting until Christmas day to see it because of how crazy it got with lines! Even the 4:00 news shown the Altamonte theater having a really long line Thursday afternoon. Panels on the other hand, included Funniest Moments in Video Games which was very entertaining, we even went to the Best Scenes in Anime, and we did give one of Propeller Anime’s guys some support by going to their Bizarre World of Goh Nagai which was an 18+ panel and the end of his 20 Years of Evangelion panel on Sunday due to Closing Ceremonies.

Verdict: CONVENTION ACCOMPLISHED! Yes, this convention deserves the “Accomplished!” rating since it was very eventful, had great guests, a really big vendors and gaming room, which they also had Rock Band 4 which Gondras tried out with “Uptown Funk.” Not only that a great location despite it moving. I can see why people liked coming to this convention and even got a lot of holiday versions of cosplays on top of it. We are definitely considering doing press for this one again due to how the staff was friendly! They even helped me onstage and offstage during the Cosplay and Holiday Runway Contests. I am still thanking Holiday Matsuri for giving us a chance to cover press for them and now to add them to my resume on top of it! That is why, I also want to give them:

“Pawprint of Approval!” Because this is one convention that knows how to pull off the holiday theme and draw crowds!

Needs for Improvement: I know this was “Accomplished” but there were some things that needed to be improved on:

1. Need More Security at Panel Rooms: Fox noticed this and there was not much security at panel rooms, which panels got to go a bit over. Plus, with more security it would help with keeping people safe while enjoying the convention. What if a fight broke out in a panel or in the main hallways? WWho do you call? Convention security of course!
2. Conventions Should be the Ones Setting Up Interviews: Yes, I need to point this out because as a press worker for the past two years now going on three, normally the convention is the one that sets up interviews with the guests. As in, setting aside different time slots and finding private areas for the interview to be done. Unfortunately, due to the hectic crunch time, we had to set it up with them and it wasn’t easy to get that private moment. We did have a room with Joshua Seth but had to be kicked out due to a panel, which kind of ticked me off about that. Most conventions set up the time slots for that room to be used for interviews so panelists wouldn’t interrupt it. Yeah, we have to edit the video since they had to kick us out. With Todd on the other hand, we had to wait for his signing to end because he had to fill in for Sean for his Kami Ha Contest for a bit. We were able to do that one in five minutes knowing that Todd had other things to do for the evening. As said, wasn’t easy trying to get that private time nor room, which hoping in years to come that interviews would be scheduled during time slots that voice actors are free and have a private room set up in time for the convention, like a month to a month and a half before the convention since, like I said, crunch time means “Running around like chickens with missing heads!”
3. Getting a Hotel with Better WiFi: Someone pointed this out during Closing Ceremonies and that is that e-mails were being sent with schedules for events, which I did get on my Handy Dandy IPad but couldn’t get on WiFi like everyone else. Which means that a lot of people would be using it and connections do go wonky and I agree with that, try being at UCF where everyone is online at once! Even though Fox did help with the Twitter stuff but it would be handy that we got to go online with everyone staying at the hotel so we can access it if we split up during the day and have to update Twitter, which one thing about this con and their press we have to tweet all weekend and felt impossible to do. Hoping with the World Center we get that access if we do press again.
4. Be Clear on Pre-Judging: What do I mean by that? Well, for pre-judging for the Winter Runway, I was told that I had to show up around 2:30 for my slot but then found out that they gave it up because I was late. Other people got the same message that if we didn’t show up at 2 or 3 then our slots were given. When I signed up with Indra, it was a different message altogether. Mixed messages aren’t great, especially when you’re being pre-judged. I did get the idea that we can’t be late for pre-judging for the costume contest and at least were early, still should agree on time slots for this because a lot of people would come on-time for the slots they were given, like I was with the rest of the people, and then it wouldn’t be a big deal but a big help.
Well, that is it for this Convention Impossible! I am glad that we got to do press again and hoping we get to keep going with this convention! I like having a nice break in between the holiday stress to hang out at a convention and enjoy some holiday glee! What is next? Hoping when we get them up, the videos from Opening and Closing Ceremonies, Gondras did get a video of Break Dancing Kakashi, the Twinbassadors, and of course the interview with Joshua and Todd!

Any Press News? Right now, we are waiting on news for Omni Expo since we are aiming for a third year doing press for them. In the meantime, you guys need to go to their website and show them support on their FaceBook, Twitter, and other social media because all thanks to Omni giving us chances for press, we wouldn’t keep on going and I want you guys to give them a nice gift of giving by checking their website, saying that we sent you from Nerdy Shique Universe, @ Nerdy Shique, on Twitter. Why I am asking for this? Well, we found out another convention is taking place that same weekend and don’t want Omni to go down next year.

So, stay tuned for more stuff from Holiday Matsuri! Knowing that we will be in a theater seeing Star Wars, Happy Holidays everyone and to the staff at Matsuri, Omni Expo, MetroCon, and wherever they are, MythiCon since they ended and their spirits still live with us. Merry Christmas to all in the Nerd Universe and Happy Holidays!

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by moonleopard85 on December 24, 2015  •  Permalink
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Posted by moonleopard85 on December 24, 2015

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2015/12/24/convention-impossible-holiday-matsuri/

Convention Impossible: Anime Festival Orlando 2015!

Hello everyone and welcome back to Nerdy Shique Universe! Well, it’s time for Convention Impossible for another convention and this time it’s one I haven’t been back to for two years. Yes, I am talking about Anime Festival Orlando, which is said to be “Orlando’s Favorite Convention.”

I am doing this review from an attendee’s point of view because we didn’t get press like we hoped and we are still disappointed but in the end we did sign up for another convention and crossing our fingers on that one. This is going to be hard because it felt like a really fast convention and there are things to be improved upon and of course wished we could’ve brought you the interviews we wanted to do. So, first…

DISCLAIMER: THIS REVIEW IS BASED ON OPINION AND OBSERVATION FROM THE WRITER. PLEASE DON’T GET ON THEM FOR WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY, CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM = GOOD CRITICISM.

Location: First is location of course! For years this convention has been held at the Wyndham World Resort on International Drive until 2013 when the Wyndham decided to expand their convention center area to make it bigger and AFO had to move to the Renaissance near Sea World, which was next door to the Double Tree where MythiCon was held and it was the weekend before that one. Last year, since the Wyndham was finished, they returned to the hotel and man it changed! We did see it during Omni Expo weekend while driving by but didn’t see the actual inside of it since we really noticed the WaWa in the parking lot. That was a major bonus if we needed food very quickly. Being there again this year, the hallways were interesting to say the least. Yes, they did expand it and added more doorways to get to different parts a lot easier like the indoor bars, the cafes, and even different parts of the convention area but did notice something that a friend did pick up and that was some halls were still narrow and foot traffic was hard to get through. I am talking about the halls near the smaller panel room salons, they still have mirrored columns. No offense, those could be knocked down and firmed to make wider hallways because like every year, attendees go from one area to the next and it does get crowded. I like the Wyndham since the convention is in one big area but the hallways should be wider to keep the crowds in check and flowing easily. I did find the ramps being a bit of a mobility nightmare since I didn’t know where they started or stopped but at least I got the hang of it with friends and on my own on Sunday.

Did we stay at the hotel? No, unfortunately, the rates were risen and when I first saw them to have a group stay for two days, it was going to be $109 a night. Our friend Chibi’s friend saw the lowest he could get was $200. I know there was convention rates but not by much, so we did like most attendees did and that was stay at a hotel a block away and that was the La Quinta. Very nice rates for very nice rooms, but the breakfast…don’t recommend, better off buying pop tarts like I did. If we were to go back to Metro, thinking their La Quinta would be a nice place to look into since it is on the River Walk close to the convention center. All-in-all, staying somewhere else for cheaper is good.

Dealer Room: Oh yes, I was saving up for this part because knowing that every year AFO’s dealer room tends to suck my money to the point of having not much left, but at least I controlled myself and got things I was looking for and new items from vendors I tend to buy when I go to this convention or find them at a different one when I can. I was actually glad I was able to buy more things unlike Omni when I didn’t have much cash to work with. Always next year since that is going to be two months earlier. Back to AFO, good thing is that it was in the same spot as always and the room was very easy to navigate between aisles and there were a few newer vendors to appear. One of them happens to be Cybertron Games from here in Winter Park, which sells a lot of old school games from Nintendo, the Game Boy, Sega, and so on to our current generation, PS3, 3DS, etc. Gondras and I heard about these guys through Propeller Anime and checked them out a day after to browse and pick up things like my Pikachu Amibo. Glad to see those guys show up there and will be visiting their shop soon since they have a copy of Pokemon Pearl I want to get. And of course, they do sell anime at their shop, I I did pick up the first Tenchi Muyo movie from there. I bet you’re wondering, what did I get and from whom?

Japanese Snacks Guy: He was there as always and started selling even more toys and not only that, Gondras did get me a Gruninja Amibo from him as a belated birthday present since he was working on my birthday. Trust me, I was hugging him when he got it. I did get a box of Strawberry Cheesecake Kit Kats which I was curious about cheesecake flavors of those and Japan is well known for their many flavored Kit Kats. I also picked up two flavors of Hi-Chew in Peach and Tangerine; the tangerine ones were limited edition and decided to check them out while peach was a flavor I rarely see and according to him it was new. I love Hi-Chew and glad I can get my paws on more flavors from him. If you see him at other conventions, buy from him because he has good stuff including figures, how else did I get my Frosh keychain?

Aardvark Tees: I was happy to find these guys again because as you know I always love buying my shirts from them! They did have a few new ones and I did replace one of my shirts with my actual size and that was the Arbok’s Koffing shirt which is a parody of the Starbucks logo with Pokemon. I did try having a medium and didn’t fit well, so I got it in Extra Large. The other two I picked up was a Power Rangers crossover with Pokemon of Rita Repulsa throwing Rare Candy at some Pokemon and it says “Make My Monsters Grow!” I may have to wear this one at Ranger Stop because it makes sense and it is funny! And finally, since Jurassic World came out this year they did make one for that! It’s a silhouette of Greymon and it says “Digital World” and it does take on the logo from the movies. I did give the guys an idea I had and it dealt with Happy from Fairy Tail as a Happy Meal box. Let’s see if they make it! BTW people, you can find these shirts at http://www.aardvarktees.com along with some of the others I have mentioned like my Gypsy Danger petting Eva Unit 1, the Prini Rights, and so many more!

Some of the other things I got included Fairy Tail Part 15 which I was itching to pick up due to the announcement of 16 coming out this month and wanted to watch more of it since it is getting good as always. I also did get another Fairy Tail messenger bag because the bag strap adjuster on my Erza bag cracked and I was sad about it. The guy who sold it to me said this one with the logo is sturdier and hoping it is since I do like using messenger bags as purses. I also finally found the Tiger and Bunny one I saw at Metro a year ago which had the comic book pages on it and it looked awesome! May use it next year since the next Marvel movie phase is going to be epic! A Sylveon plushie, a blue cat tail to go with my blue cat ears when I wear them, the Fairy Tail symbol necklace, and something I never thought I would get and that is a pair of steam punk goggles in Harley Quin style! When the guy mentioned those, I couldn’t resist! The good thing is, he does make the goggles and I can have custom jobs done, which I have a cosplay design coming up that I will be going to him for a pair of goggles to go with it.

Man, no wonder the dealer room at this convention seems to get good vendors like MetroCon does, which is a good thing because they blend people that make items in it and have shops selling their stuff. Now to save the rest of what I have left for other conventions at the end of this year.

Guests: The guests is one major reason that got me to come back for this year and wanted to do press for since they got guests that have been to Orlando recently which happened to be Eric Stuart, which as you know I have interviewed a year ago at MythiCon, and Dante Basco, who has been at KnightroKon and MetroCon last year as well. You can still view the video interview with Eric on our YouTube page and read the Dante Basco interview here on Word Press.

What guests that got me coming back were Todd Habercorn and Veronica Taylor due to how Todd was the nail in the coffin for Fairy Tail and that I was glad to see Veronica back after nine years and have grown up with her voice as Ash Ketchum, Ash’s mom, and May. I did show up to Todd’s Friday signing as Lucy and he did remember MegaCon 2012 and he was glad that I love the series and how it became a top fave of mine. I did bring part 15 for him to sign on Saturday since I didn’t bring any of the other parts that may have Natsu and thought like in Part 1 have him sign it like some of the other cast members that shown up in 2012. We also did get both Tails of Xilia games signed by him, the first insert on Friday and the second one on Saturday due to…well…this was the first AFO that I ever heard an autograph charge. The charge was the first item was free and the second item was $20 and pictures were also charged even with your camera and that was $10. Nerdy Shirts, who was with me Saturday since Gondras was working the rest of the weekend, was sad that he had to pay for a pic because he wanted to have one with Reuben Langdon. I was bummed too because I had Summer Wars on me along with my mini Death the Kid plushie. What was even harder was Veronica Taylor since I had all the rest of Slayers for her to sign since she signed my original Central Park Media box for season one back in 2006. I did get the original Central Park Media box for Try and the first season of Pokemon signed since the each of us carried one item. I did have to get Eric Stuart to redo his signature on Evolution R if I remembered right due to how smudged it was. I have to say is that with the charge being a bit excessive, I liked how autographs were free back in the past and same with photos as well and the only thing you get charged was any photos or posters that the guests brought. Plus, it would’ve been great to have the photo ops with each guest in a private area like in 2012 because it gives a nice intimate moment with them and have a pic on your phone or Ipad or camera to take with you. I was still glad that Todd remembered that moment from 2012 and I did surprise Veronica with my age since I do get the surprised reaction due to not looking the age. I am glad that I did get Slayers Try signed due to how you can’t find the Central Park Media boxes anymore and will treasure it forever, even season one.

Panels and Events: Even though we didn’t go to many of them due to how we got caught in bad weather, especially Saturday when we walked back to the hotel and it turned into Monsoon La Florida, I did go to some on Sunday to make up for it. Nerdy Shirts and I did video tape on the IPad the entirety of Todd’s Q&A panel and I did attempt the end of Speed Grapher getting the Pokemon actors panel, which some of you may not know that Todd is Tierno in XY. I also attended the last bit of Dante Basco’s panel since I didn’t get to go to any of his panels during the weekend and did have a question about his crossover with Nostalgia Critic last year for the “Best Avatar Episodes” where he came in as Zuko ad it hilarity ensues! His answer was that Dog’s great and his family was great and he had a lot of fun doing it with him. I would recommend watching that episode if you haven’t. He also mentioned how there is going to be another Hook movie but it’s centering around his character Rufio and how became a lost boy, not sure if it’s going to be animated or live-action at this point, at least it’s in the thinking stages.

Other panels I did take a look into was Reuben Langdon’s fighting panel which was pretty interesting and did go to Manime Man’s Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure panel that deals with doing the many poses from the anime. I liked it! It was like if you were doing yoga but doing it to anime shots of different poses and it did bring my flexibility back from not doing yoga in months and I did almost fall over from how the bells on my collar and ears were jingling like crazy. It was very fun, especially seeing people compete for a special edition box set in a posing contest. I want to see more panels like this because it shows more one-on-one with anime and gives attendees a nice demonstration in what an actor goes through with stunts like Reuben did for the movies he has stunt coordinated for and of course the many pose panels which helps with a lot of cosplaying, which can give major points for costume contests.

I didn’t see any of the Tails of Orlandia stuff due to how much running around and waiting in lines, and so on during the weekend. I did like the joke of the Line Ride from South Park that was made earlier Saturday morning, which was essentially Lines the Ride!

Verdict: CONVENTION COMPLETE! It was hard choosing to say about the verdict on this convention because it wasn’t really an accomplished due to how we did get in late Friday, went to one signing, and the weather was just bad, hell even flood advisories were made for the International Drive area. Trust us, so glad we had a third floor room at the La Quinta. And it didn’t seem it needed the Aborted rating either because there weren’t many things to see why it needed it. Reason that Complete fits more is because despite not having the press forms, we still had a good time overall. There is something I do need to talk about…

Needs for Improvement: Time Management! As always, a lot of conventions aren’t always perfect and I did notice on the group page for AFO a lot of panelists were waiting on news about panels. Heck, I was pretty much on the edge of my seat about press status and that took a long time as well despite the form was just one day and that was in July, month before the convention and felt a little unfair about the form. To me, after experiences with other conventions with their press and panel forms, they should be up at the same time. Why? Because when running a convention you are pretty much on crunch time with the many deadlines you have. Whether it’s auditioning for a certain show that is being done, like the LARP experience that AFO does every year, or making sure that the hotel dates and your dates are on the same page, you are on a major crunch time. This goes the same way with the many applications that conventions have because even if we are panelists, press, volunteers, and so on, we need the time between the deadlines if we got accepted to make plans if we need to reserve a room, find people to stay with, transportation arrangements which is a major must at these things, and what equipment to use for panels or press.

Another thing is that with the press form, like I said above, should be up with the panels and artist’s alley and dealer room forms because the July 3rd at midnight deadline caught us off guard! Seriously. If we didn’t know that that was the time they needed to be filled out the same day as they were posted, Gondras and I would’ve gone to Ongaku Overdrive and not contact Nerdy Shirts about it either. So glad I did check on the Handy Dandy Braille Sense. The thing is other conventions tend to do this because a lot of people are starting blogs and YouTube channels dedicated to conventions and other things. The better example is MetroCon due to how they pick press and panels at the same time knowing how many people want to do interviews with the guests and the panelists are able to pick out the rooms on the schedule so the time constraints before the convention would be easier. Plus, there are times when a blog or people who do Podcasts need the time after being selected to research who they are interviewing to come up with questions, such as for Lauren Landa, when I interviewed her, I did a lot of research on her work since she did both video games and anime.

In the end, the real thing is mostly time management needs to be improved because seeing how a convention works as a press badge holder and a volunteer in the past, it’s NOT easy! Especially when things do go wrong if they did at last minute, you never know.

Well, that is it for this Convention Impossible! Will we go back to AFO? I don’t think so! I know there were some positives out of this convention but there are things to be worked on and glad that panels do get time to set up and operate for that hour. Even though doing unofficial press as an attendee, it was not the same actually due to how we did want to interview Reuben Langdon, which you guys could’ve seen Gondras do that, Todd Habercorn, Veronica Taylor, and Christopher K. Lee which would’ve brought my first Power Ranger interview to this blog and YouTube. We did find a way around it and you will see in the video posts I put here. I do want to thank Nerdy Shirts for helping me get out of that slump when I got the big turn down, which was bad enough when it happened the day after a bad situation took place in my personal life.

Nerdy Shique Universe has been an important thing in my life, despite it being baby form back on Blog Spot and growing here on Word Press, I wouldn’t be enjoying every minute of it and every post I bring to you guys. I am almost in tears writing this because of the sacrifices we made to get out to conventions to bring you videos or transcribed interviews for you all to enjoy. Even cosplay tips and tricks, fan fiction rants, and even stuff about beauty since it can relate to cosplay in a way. I bring it to you guys! It’s all because of you guys that this blog has grown and I am dedicated to bring it to you. I even enjoy getting the chance to meet the people behind the microphone in video games and anime, even music since I did interview a local band, to learn more about them. Without us, you wouldn’t learn that Dameon Clarke was in Supernatural nor Castle or Bryce Papenbrook had a hard time doing a scream after an entire pile of sweet potato fries, you get to learn so many things from these people. With all the Monster Javas I chug and all the research we’ve done, for interviews even with my posts, in the end I love it! That makes Nerdy Shique Universe the blog that it is and we are willing to find ways of making it better and still bring you the best.

What is next for conventions? Well, as said above, signed up for press for Holiday Matsuri! It’s been two years since we gone back to that one as well and it would be a nice holiday present for you all to cover a holiday themed convention with a multimedia twist! I am not sure about Ranger Stop, since Zeno revealed the entire guest list and it got this kitty wanting to go after being a Power Rangers fan since age seven. And a possible day trip to ShadoCon in Tampa! Because one of our fave reviewers on the net, Spoony, will be there and I do have stuff to get signed by Neil Kaplan again and it would be good to touch bases with him again.

Well, stay tuned for the panel videos, you will enjoy what we caught in our own way of press. Til next time!

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by moonleopard85 on August 19, 2015  •  Permalink
Posted in anime, conventions
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Posted by moonleopard85 on August 19, 2015

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2015/08/19/convention-impossible-anime-festival-orlando-2015/

Convention Spotlight: Anime Festival Orlando 2015!

Time for another Convention Spotlight! I was going to wait until later this month but the latest guest announcement got me to do it now!

 

The convention is Anime Festival Orlando and it will be at the Wyndham Resort August  14th through the 16th here in Orlando, FL! Oh yes, a few days after my birthday yet again! Gondras and I haven’t been back to this con since 2012 but this year it has us wanting to return due to the guests which I will be announcing now!

 

Guests for 2015

 

Dante Basco: You remembered that I interviewed Mr. Dante Basco for you all to read and can still read here on the Word Press blog from MetroCon last year! This year he will be in Orlando for AFO and you already remember his roles as Zuko in Avatar: The Last Airbender and Rufio in Hook! And of course, the very first role I heard him as and that was Jake Long in American Dragon Jake Long!

 

Eric Stuart: I know, “Wait! What!?” I know, I was surprised too! Another actor I have interviewed last year is coming to AFO and that is Eric Stuart! He is no stranger to our backyard and you can still find my post with the videos interviewing him here and also on YouTube! Plus, I did mention it as “Best Interview of 2014!” in my Bests and Worsts of 2014. For anyone new to his work, he is known as Brock and James from the original run of Pokemon, Seto Kaiba in Yu-Gi-Oh, and the role that I really got into his work with even more, Gourry Gabriev in Slayers!

 

Veronica Taylor: She is also no stranger to Orlando since she hasn’t been back since 2006 at AFO during the high of FullMetal Alchemist started going off! Yes, I still remembered the extremely long line in front of her table for the FMA signing. Veronica Taylor is returning this year and happy about it! She was the original voice of Ash Ketchum in Pokemon and May in Pokemon Advanced. Can’t forget the great hero of justice, Amelia in Slayers! Will she be interviewed for Nerdy Shique Universe? Let’s see what happens!

 

Todd Habercorn: Oh yes! Just announced today, Todd Habercorn will be appearing at this year’s AFO and it makes me really happy! I can thank him for getting me into Fairy Tail as Lucy since he is the voice of Natsu Drakneil. And of course, Mr. OCD-to-Symmetry, Death the Kid in Soul Eater! And anyone fans of it, he is also in the newest Toonami anime that was added, Kill la Kill. Not sure if I want to get the Etalus Natsu and Regular Natsu side of one of my Fairy Tail volumes signed, still happy!

 

There will be some guest DJs to be added since of course they do have their rave. And of course…can’t forget…

 

Tales of Orlandia: Every year since 2007, AFO has their live action roleplay experience for convention goers to participate in by going around the convention to help complete the story and get missions from the stage players that are in the story as well. Gondras was one of the players during 2011’s story as a crazy Jester. and now it is back with a newer story and looks like this time they are going with the theme of the Tales of…. Game series, which has been a pretty popular series by what I seen lately.

 

What is the story? It is known as “Curse of the White Witch” and this is going to be interesting! I may have toparticipate this year when I get my paws on my press badge. If you’re interested in auditioning, check the Orlandia page on the Anime Festival Orlando website for full details and how to audition! They did hold some yesterday and more to come by the looks of it! Stay tuned!

 

Well, that was short! There will be more added to the page as time goes on and the convention gets closer and closer! You can register for passes for AFO 2015 by going to their page at www.animefestivalorlando.com and if you head to their Facebook page, you can sign up for the e-mail newsletter which is pretty handy dandy!

 

Well, what is next for Nerdy Shique Universe? Will be doing a review on Soul Switch’s new song! Stay tuned! Signing off for now!

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by moonleopard85 on March 3, 2015  •  Permalink
Posted in anime, conventions
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Posted by moonleopard85 on March 3, 2015

https://nerdyshiqueuniverse.com/2015/03/03/convention-spotlight-anime-festival-orlando-2015/