Ahoy, I'm Peter Tatara. In brief, I'm left-handed, a vegetarian, and my blood type is A. I work for the New York Comic Con and New York Anime Festival and have a cute girlfriend and a Space: Above & Beyond boxset. I'm generally a happy guy.

AKB48 Concert Tickets!

Japan's biggest idol group in every sense of the word -- AKB48 -- will be coming to NYAF this year, performing a small concert, panel, and autographing on Saturday, September 26 at the Javits. Then, on Sunday, September 27 is the main event -- AKB48 taking over the Grand Ballroom at Webster Hall New York City!

Doors open at 4 PM, and the concert kicks off at 5. It’ll be a historic event, and it’ll be a free event – as AKB48 is giving away all the tickets to the concert to fans via an online giveaway! All you need to do is enter to win at the AKB48 Concert Page at nyanimefestival.com...

http://www.newyorkanimefestival.com/en/Events/AKB48-Tickets/

From now until 11:59 PM EST on September 21, just sign up to be in the running to win free tickets to AKB48's NYC debut! Each winner will win a pair of tickets to the show! AKB48 will be picking winners randomly, we’ll be reaching out to them from September 22 to September 25, and winners will be able to pick up their AKB48 concert tickets at the AKB48 Booth (Booth 115) at the New York Anime Festival. (You'll need a NYAF Badge to get in.)

Tickets will not be sold to the AKB48 concert, and all public tickets will be distributed through this online giveaway.

Ganbatte!

(VIPs and Press, how do you get tickets? Check the Ticket page for all you need to know.)

Brooklyn Book Fest This Weekend!

Just a reminder that this year's Brooklyn Book Festival (brooklynbookfestival.org) is going on this Sunday at Brooklyn Borough Hall. From 10 to 6, it's a celebration of literacy in all its forms. And, for the first time, New York Comic Con is taking part with a stage and whole section of exhibitors dedicated to comics and graphic novels. Check out nycomiccon.com for all our guests and panels.

Oh, and it's free. That's right. Free. You heard me. Free.

Roland Kelts comes to NYAF!

I have the great honor of announcing that Roland Nozomu Kelts will be attending this year's NYAF! Roland is a half-Japanese American writer who divides his time between New York and Tokyo and publishes in both English and Japanese. He is the author of Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture has Invaded the US. He is also a lecturer at the University of Tokyo, a contributing editor and writer for "Adbusters" magazine and "A Public Space" literary journal, and a columnist for "The Daily Yomiuri" in Japan. His essays and stories can be found in the books "A Wild Haruki Chase," "Gamers," "Kuhaku," "Playboy's College Fiction," "Tokyo Art Space," "Zoetrope" and others.

He is the Editor in Chief of the "Anime Masterpieces" screening and discussion series.

His forthcoming novel is called "Access," and when he is not writing, reading, lecturing or traveling, he can be found playing the drums in his band.

Mr. Kelts will appear at NYAF to introduce Yoshiyuki Tomino on his Friday panel as well as moderate AKB48's Saturday panel and Sunday's Yui Makino Q&A.

Baby, The Stars Shine Bright Boutique at NYAF!

What's the simple way to say this? How about this? Baby, The Stars Shine Bright -- Japan's premier Lolita fashion brand -- will participate in the 2009 New York Anime Festival through an official boutique with show partner Kinokuniya Bookstore. Yeah, that does the trick. Last year, NYAF and Kinokuniya partnered to bring Baby, The Stars Shine Bright to NYC. While we can't repeat guests two years in a row, the fan response was so positive to the Baby boutique that we're working with Baby, The Stars Shine Bright again to bring their boutique back to NYC!

Located as part of the Kinokuniya Booth at NYAF (Booth Number 203), the Baby, The Stars Shine Bright boutique will offer a variety of the designer's distinctive Lolita-styled skirts, dresses, blouses, and accessories. For newcomers to the Lolita fashion scene, Japanese Lolita fashion embraces child-like charms and details from periods such as Rococo France and Victorian England. The Lolita look is full of knee-skimming skirts, pintucks, petticoats, and blouses edged in lace. Developing since the 1970s in Japan, Lolita fashion is now rapidly gaining a wide following worldwide.

Baby, The Stars Shine Bright won't be at NYAF this year, but their clothes will be, and NYAF and Kinokuniya are both honored to again be able to present a boutique in cooperation with Baby, The Stars Shine Bright. We know the boutique will be a highlight for many, many attendees, and -- like last year -- we know it'll be bare bones (or is that "bare threads") after only a few hours.

The Destruct-o-Zone!

Most of NYAF's schedule is online now at nyanimefestival.com, but there are still a few pieces of programming you can't see. The biggest is the Destruct-o-Zone, an arena that'll be showcasing various martial arts (and Jedi) throughout the weekend.

Our headlining act, a demonstration by schools including the Shizen-Ryu and Koga-Ryu, takes place at 1 PM on Saturday, September 26.

The Destruct-o-Zone is smack dab in the middle of all the panel rooms, and it's the perfect place to unwind. Actually, no, it's not. It's the perfect place to get hyped up, convince yourself you've got a fox demon spirit inside your belly, and then totally terrorize your friends.

Have fun!