MetroCon

So, Florida’s biggest anime convention is getting SHAFTed directly with 4 awesome panels hosted by our own Thomas, the Thomas’ Prerogative guy.

SHAFT Podcast Presents: The Evolution of American Anime(Friday at 5:00-6:00pm in Panel Room 19)

Find out how we influenced Japan’s anime and how they influenced us right back with our American animation. From old school to the new school its an in-depth look back on how both animated pop cultures co-exist.

SHAFT Podcast Presents: SHAFT Anime Theater Live! With Fan Participation (Friday at 8:00-10:00pm in Panel Room 13-14)

Go, riff on the anime classic Street Fighter II with Thomas and an assembled crew of our friends and cohorts. Riff on the movie yourself to win fabulous prizes. If you’re into just making fun of bad anime, this is the panel for you.

SHAFT Podcast Presents: Thomas’s Prerogitive Live!: The Current State of the Anime Industry(Saturday at 6:00-7:00pm in Panel Room 18)

So have you ever wanted to see Thomas’ awesome rants live and in person. Well now is your chance to do just that. This time hes talking about the current state of the anime industry. Be sure to ask him questions, lots and lots of questions.

SHAFT Podcast Presents: Anime in New Media!(Sunday at 12:00-1:00pm in Panel Room 19)

I’m guessing if you watch SHAFT you have a fair idea of what it feels like to experience ‘New Media’. However, we take it a step further and tell you how its turned anime from a back room hobbist sub culture to a cultural phenomenon sweeping the globe.

And if you’re all SHAFTed out.. you can check out our other friends panels as well. Sean Russel from Anime 3000 will be there as well as the gang from Anime Addicts Anonymous.

Anime Addicts Anonymous

Girls Guide to Con Going(Friday at 1:00-2:00pm in Panel Room 18)

Its not easy being a girl at a con. You gotta look good, not get hit on by gross guys and do it all with style. Well the girls from AAA are here to help you make it happen.

Traveling to Japan(Friday at 8:00-9:00pm in Panel Room 19)

So maybe you’ve thought of taking a pilgrimage to Japan. See how the Japanese truly live it up in the land that gave birth to anime. Well the gang from AAA is going to give you the run down on what it takes… in Japan.

A.A.A. Podcast Presents: The In’s and Outs of Running an Anime Podcast(Saturday 11:00am-12:00pm in Panel Room 19)

So you’re curious on how to run your own podcast are ya? Well Chris and Gene aren’t there to teach you how to do it. BUT! The AAA gang is! Learn what it takes to make your own anime podcast, get listeners and make your own cool website.

Best Anime You’ve Never Seen(or heard of)(Sunday 2:00-3:00pm in Panel Room 19)

There is a lot of anime out there. I mean a LOT of anime out there. But there are anime that slip through the cracks… good anime. Well the AAA gang is here to catch them in a panel we’re calling Back in Bla… er… Best Anime You’ve Never Seen.

Anime 3000

Anime 3000 Panel, Live from Metrocon(Friday 5:00-6:00pm in Panel Room 1-2)

Sean Russel, the man behind Anime 3000 is bringing the Anime 3000 Panel to MetroCon. Check out the live version of the Anime 3000′s official podcast. Stop by… you’ll never know what’ll happen.

San Diego Comic Con International

For you west coasters, I sadly have no panels to send your way but be sure to check out Ryan’s table there. Pick up a copy of his comic, check out his artwork and chat it up with him. Let him know we sent you.

One, you can request us to do reviews. If we have or are able to get an anime from Netflix in a reasonable amount of time, we are thrilled to do requests as requested by viewers/listeners of the show. We’ve done requests in the past for listeners of the audio show who wanted us to review a series. And we are going to be reviewing Gakuen Alice by request on Episode 27 at the end of July. This will also mark the first time we’ve reviewed a series licensed by Nozomi Entertainment on the show.

Two, if you’re feeling generous, we will do Stand Alone Reviews(like the Code Geass review video we did earlier this year) to anyone who donates $5 or more to the show complete with dedications and will be longer then our normal show reviews. This is also another way we want to give back to people who donate to the show.

And three, as for reviews on the show. We’re looking into a way to keep those shorter then they have been the last few weeks. We’ve been feeling compelled to go on and on about the shows we review and have come to the conclusion that they are taking up the bulk of the show. And while reviews are an important part of the show, we also don’t want to lessen the value of the shows other content. So, expect reviews to become more streamlined in the near future.

We’re working on adding all of our links including links to our Facebook fan page, our podcasting and web comic friends, and conventions. We’re also working on cleaning up a load of the old posts. We will most likely be removing all old show notes from the blog, we will do our best to preserve AMV Alert!, Turning Japanese and Con-Goers posts in their entirety. However, some of the new features are as follows.

-Latest five episodes of SHAFT are ready to go when you open the page. These are the streaming versions of the episodes and will work with any computer that has flash… so anyone with an iDevice will have to wait until MP4s are on iTunes. This will also apply to any additional video content we plan on putting up in the future as well such as AMV Alert!.
-Latest four blog entries are shown as recent posts… complete with thumbnails. Making our content easier to find.
-Comments are more ‘reply friendly’. Meaning you can directly reply to someone in our comments rather then assume that the person below is talking to the person above.
-Twitter feed is now directly on the site. For those of us who do not follow us on Twitter can check our Twitter feed directly on the site. From time to time we will post links to anime news through out the week on our twitter profile as well as provide news and updates about the show through out the week.
-Promoting posts. So if you think a blog post or a SHAFT episode should be spread around the internet, it’ll be easy to do so with easy to click buttons found in the blog posts that can set it to sites like Digg or Twitter with relative ease.

Those are just some of the new features of the new SHAFT website. Let us know what you think by emailing us animeshaft (at) gmail (dot) com

We are certainly back this week. However, due to testic… er.. technical difficulties.. there is NO live show this week. Repeat, there is no live show this week. If you had something to say in the chatroom, we welcome you to email the show… animeshaft at gmail.com

This week we’re talking about FUNimation’s New Years Roll out, Kanokon coming to the US on DVD and the shake up at AX and what that means for the largest anime convention in the US. We’re also reviewing Spice and Wolf. So let us know what you have to say!

Also, we’re planning on Septembers edition of SHAFT TV. We have some ideas on making things work for now, but we also need your emails, suggestions for reviews, suggestions for anything you want to SEE us doing. Thats right, SHAFT isn’t just for audio… its for video TOO! We hope that by this time next month we’re bringing you a new SHAFT TV… at the end of every month.

Also you may have noticed that every week day we’re posting something new to the column. Here’s the schedule:

Monday: SHAFT Live

This our regular show. Just live on UStream to give you a chance to directly effect the show. Remember, every time I call out to the chatroom, you could be there being called out with any and all of your wacky antics making it on the air!

Tuesday: Podcast Edited with Show Notes

This is our regular show, with all the post production added in. With our regular segments edited such as “Thomas’ Prerogative” and “Where’s My Subs?”. Along with what other sound clip nonsense we put in.

Wednesday: Turning Japanese

This is our weird crap from Japan column featuring well… weird stuff coming out of Japan. Chris brings you the oddest stuff coming out of the land of the Rising Sun. Remember, Japan: Bringing you 83% of the worlds weird crap since 1957.

Thursday: AMV Alert!

This is our weekly look into Anime Music Videos and the talented people who make them. Gene brings AMV’s, from the award winning, pulse pounding, laugh rioting… and even the frighteningly bad. If you need a series summed up by popular American music and 3 minutes of fast paced clips… we’ve got you covered.

Friday: The Mad Gamer!

Angelo is a very angry man… because they don’t make enough video games to feed his need. Check this column for the latest in anime based video games or games that should be based for anime. If it came from the Rising Sun, its fair game here.

Saturday: Con-Goers

Our weekly webcomic brought to us by Ryan. If after a long week, you need a good laugh, well check out Con-Goers. The misadventures with everyone you’ve ever met at a convention… of any kind. Sit down with SHAFT and enjoy your Saturday Morning Cartoon!

And Sunday we rest… well we don’t really rest… we sort of watch stuff to review, make fun of other people and well… have fun and enjoy life.

Just remember to check the blog because while we might not be posting a podcast, we’re always posting something!

Well kind of sort of, i have been busy lately but no more!!!
well still kind of yeah, but anyway within the next couple of days, i shall release the Persona 3 review i got but in the mean time here is a comic about Persona 4.

WARNING it does contain some Spoils and will only Humor most people who have played through the game itself.

This is all Hiimdaisy

This week we’re talking about some surprise licenses out of Sentai and ADV this week which are all subtitled only. How do you feel about subtitled only releases? Do you prefer them, or do you wish there was a nice dub layered on top?

We’re also reviewing Spirited Away in our second Miyazaki month of reviews. Let us know what you think of this fine advancement of anime movie excellence.

And if there is something you want us to talk about or want brought up on the show, give us an email or a call!

Its summer time and that means its time to go outside and have some fun(unless you live here in which case you stay inside and avoid the rain)! And there’s one thing that screams summer fun, sports! Thats right we’re going to talk briefly this week about Sports Anime. We’re not going to talk about anything specific but just the sub-genre at large.. what constitutes a sports anime?, why are sports anime appealing? why sports anime might just suck? what an anime fan might look for in a sports anime.

We’re also going to be tackling some new releases coming out this week and reviewing The Sky Crawlers.

Also keep your eyes pealed to Gene’s Twitter for the twitter question which will be read and answered on the show! For those interested it’s: Are there any releases you’re looking forward to by the end of the year?

That and of course your email! And if you want to send us email or give us a call for this weeks topics, feel free!

This week we’re taking the time to respond to some of your awesome questions! So if you’ve got an anime related question you want discussed, answered or joked about on the show… give us a call or send us an email… we’d love to play/read it on the air! Or respond to my twitter!

We’re also talking about the hot topic in Japan… no not the emo store, the topic of the political battle over Japan’s proposed Anime Museum.

We’re also reviewing an old piece of crap in Mad Bull 34! Check us out live at 7 Eastern right here!

This week on SHAFT, we’re going to be talking about anime collections. What goes into a good anime collection, what otaku enjoy collecting, how you display you’re sweet collection, and ways on expanding you’re impressive display!

Feel free to email or call the show with feedback on your collections, pictures of your collections or what you think a good anime collection should have!

We’ll be putting up these pre-SHAFT’s on Fridays to let you know what we’re doing on the show the weekend before. Give you a shot to email in to the show your thoughts. Remember, this is ‘For the Fans, By the Fans’… thats you guys.