My Anime Boston story is an unlikely one. In 2010, I applied to attend Anime Boston as a member of the press, and was rejected since at the time, the convention did not accept student press (I was hoping to go on behalf of my journalism graduate school).
That could have ended after my frustrated tweet about how badly I wanted to report on Anime Boston. However, Tuan Pham, who was and remains director of Public Relations, saw my tweet and invited me to write for the staff blog, a new idea he’d come up with in which people live-blogged Anime Boston’s events.
The idea was a hit, and Tuan has continued to invite me back each year to reprise my role, now as Lead Blogger for the convention. Even better: the longer the blog has been around, the more popular it has gotten.
Anime Boston is a vacation for me, but it’s also a weekend in which I work very hard to report on awesome anime topics. I wanted to highlight some of my posts here:
Gender Identity in Convention Culture
Since outdated Massachusetts laws legally require Anime Boston to only permit two gender identities for registration—male and female—some attendees think we’re backwards when it comes to gender identity. I wrote this post about Anime Boston’s current and proposed gender sensitivity policies.
How to Get a Job in the Anime Industry According to Crunchyroll
A lot of people have seen my article Meet the girl who gets paid to watch anime, but I highly doubt some of them have read past the title. During this panel, Crunchyroll brand managers talked about the long hours and tons of travel time they devote to bringing anime to all of Crunchyroll’s members and fans. They also mentioned they’re hiring and offered some pointers for how to apply.
Ping Pong: The Animation Dub Premieres at Anime Boston
This post did not do well, possibly because I has to tell, not show, people what the Ping Pong dub was like. I thought Lindsay Seidel as Yurie was nearly indistinguishable from her counterpart in the Japanese performance. It also blew my mind that Micah Solusod, who plays Smile, also played Soul from Soul Eater—and Anime Boston guest Koki Uchiyama, who voiced Smile in Japanese, also played Soul!
Fan Activism: Five Times Fans Changed The World
I enjoyed this panel detailing the times that fans have pooled their resources and influence in order to create change and do good works in the community. It’s amazing what happens when we channel the passion we have for fandom into raising awareness. I highlighted Anime Boston’s several charity events prominently.
Celebrating Passover and Easter at Anime Boston
I was worried people would find this article offensive, but it actually did very well. On Passover/Easter weekend, fandom isn’t the only thing Anime Boston attendees are passionate about, and I enjoyed documenting the spectrum of ways people celebrated religious holidays while they were away from home.
Despite the 40 degree weather (at a time of year when it’s 70 degrees at home!) Anime Boston is hands down my favorite convention. Hope to see you there next year.