Today was quite a day at the Jacob Javits center in west midtown.  I literally walked the width of Manhattan from my apartment on the east-side; it was well worth it.  When I arrived outside the convention center I was greeted with a super long line that curled all around the building.  I thought it would be a while before getting in, but the queue actually moved swiftly. 

Once inside, I was wondering what to do first!  I grabbed a free Rogue Galaxy bag [Oh yes!  Tons of free stuff!] and hit the show floors.  There were so many comic books, aisles filed with mountains of them.  It’s kind of sad that I haven’t been reading comics for at least a decade… so what the hell was I doing at a comic convention if I don't read comics?!  Well, there’s more than just that, there’s video games, anime, manga, etc.  Speaking of manga and anime, I got to meet Takashi Okazaki [the creator of Afro Samurai], Fuminori Kizaki [anime director], and Eric Calderon [co-producer].  They signed my poster [hehehe, another snagged free piece…], and I got a sneak peak [which most did not get!] at the first print of the manga!  Wow, did it look stunning!  I can’t wait until they release it here in North America… oops, I should have asked them if I could write the English version… oh well.  That was probably the highlight of my day.




Another cool part of the day was checking out the Playstation booths.  I got to play Rogue Galaxy and Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops demos.  Both of which are titles I've been looking forward to and I was just as impressed, if not more, after playing them.  Rogue Galaxy plays out like Star Wars [for the story] meets Dynasty Warriors [for the game-play].  The game may not be very original, but it's got an ultra quick, action packed game-play that makes it really fun to play.  As for the PS3 booths, they were constantly packed so I only got to watch people play.  Though just being a spectator was exciting; after experiencing the surreal visuals of the PS3, the media was justified in saying "once you go HD, you never go back."  Shortly after checking out the PS3 booths, I was arrested by Storm Troopers [see picture below].  Lucky for me, they let me go on account of good behavior.  Free from the iron grasp of the Empire, I found myself eager to try out for an anime reporter contest were the winner is sent to a cover an anime convention in Tokyo.  I believe I made more of an ass out of myself in front of the camera [ala American Idol rejects], and would soon regret this decision!


At the end of the day, I decided to rest up and watch a special screening at the theater downstairs.  What was playing?  Well it was the premier showing of Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. Solid State Society.  It was a beautiful film, with some spectacular visuals.  But for the most part, Ghost in the Shell, especially Stand Alone Complex, is full of non-stop techno-babble and confusing conspiracy theory.  Whether that’s good or bad, that’s for you to decide.  Personally, I liked this series when it first came out but with each newer title, the series is starting to lose its appeal.


The only downside to the show... I didn't get to meet Hayden Panettiere... boo hoo!