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.
- Created By ptatara
Come to Hideyuki Kikuchi's Birthday Party!
Vampire Hunter D author Hideyuki Kikuchi turns 59 on September 25, the day before the start of the New York Anime Festival. Yet, preparing for all his panels and autograph sessions, he won't have time for a proper birthday dinner until NYAF ends. Kikuchi-san will be celebrating his birthday from 6-8 PM on Sunday, September 28 at a restaurant in Midtown Manhattan with Yoshitaka Amano, Kevin Leahy, and -- possibly -- you!
Kikuchi-san wants to celebrate his birthday with ten of his most die-hard American fans, and if you think you're one of them, I'd like to give you the chance to reserve your seat now. A ticket to Kikuchi-san's birthday costs $125 and includes appetizers, a salad, an entrée, dessert, birthday cake, unlimited coffee, tea, and soft drinks, and autographs from Kikuchi-san, Amano-san, and Mr. Leahy.
If you're curious about the menu, you can take a look right here...
http://www.nyanimefestival.com/images/factsheet/kikuchimenu.pdf
If you want to attend this once-in-a-lifetime experience, grab your seat fast!
http://www.nyanimefestival.com/en-us/tickets/583.cfm
Rie Tanaka - NYAF Guest of Honor!
I'm very happy to announce Japanese voice actress Rie Tanaka will appear at New York Anime Festival 2008 as a Guest of Honor. Ms. Tanaka is most known around the globe for voicing Lacus Clyne in Gundam SEED, Chii in Chobits, and Suigintou in Rozen Maiden, but this is just the tip of her resume.
While Ms. Tanaka is most recognized for her roles in Gundam SEED, Chobits, and Rozen Maiden, she's contributed her voice to characters in over 50 animations, with some standouts including Simca in Air Gear, Yomi in Azumanga Daioh, Sei in Burst Angel, Hiroko Matsukata in Hataraki Man, Monica Lange in Macross Frontier, Tomoe Marguerite in My-Otome, Saki in Steel Angel Kurumi, and Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke in Strike Witches. In addition, Ms. Tanaka is also the voice behind songs featured in many of the series she's worked on including Azumanga Daioh, Burst Angel, Chobits, and Gundam SEED.
Beyond question-and-answer and autograph sessions, Ms. Tanaka will perform a selection of her songs at the start of NYAF's World Cosplay Summit Masquerade -- a costume contest with prizes including a trip to Japan.
I hope you'll join me in September in welcoming Rie Tanaka to NYC and the USA!
Japan Cuts!
The New York Asian Film Festival just wrapped up earlier in the week, but that doesn't mean cinephiles can go back to sleep -- as the Japan Society's Japan Cuts Film Festival is just starting up and continuing on until July 13.
What's on tap for Japan Cuts? 20 feature films and over 60 shorts pulled from Japan's cineplexes and art houses and screened just for your in New York City! Highlights include Sakuran, A Gentle Breeze in the Village, and Kisaragi.
To learn more, see a full list of the Japan Cuts films, and get the entire festival's schedule, click on over to http://www.japansociety.org/japancuts. I hope you, like me, will be spending some hot July events in NYC in the cool Japan Society theater enjoying some of Tokyo's best!
NYAF 4th of July Sale!
I'm very pleased to announce the New York Anime Festival and RightStuf.com have slashed prices on 2007 New York Anime Festival shirts and other goodies to make room for our 2008 show apparel. We've only got a limited number of 2007 items left, and if you hurry, you can pick up some treasures from last year's NYAF for as little as $5...
http://www.rightstuf.com/catalog/browse/link/t=category,c=right-stuf,v=right-%09stuf,g=merchpub-NEW-YORK-ANIME-FESTIVAL
NYAF Mascot! Roar!
Over the past few weeks, the New York Anime Festival invited fans to design our 2008 mascot. What were the guidelines? None, really. We asked artists to create a mascot that embodied anime and New York City, but – beyond that – we wanted imagination to carry our artists away. Out of all the submissions – posted up on theOtaku.com – ten were selected as finalists, and these ten went toe to toe with attendees at AnimeNEXT last weekend in New Jersey. Attendees voted for their favorites all weekend long. And now, a week later, the dust has settled, the votes have been tallied, and we have a winner. Chibizilla!
http://bp3.blogger.com/_BC26hreB8QA/SGkBx1tVw_I/AAAAAAAAAFs/o76dhw1pTsg/s400/563742-20080617232911.jpg
Chibizilla is the creation of Quarteni, a 23-year-old artist currently living in Orlando, Florida. More of her work can be seen at quarteni.deviantart.com and betweenreality.com. I spoke with Quarteni over the weekend…
What was your inspiration for Chibizilla?: I was watching Godzilla vs. King Kong on TV. Then, when I sat down to come up with a mascot entry, it hit me. Chibizilla! King Kong is associated with New York City, which is why the Empire State Building is in Chibizilla's clutches, and Godzilla is associated with Japan – and chibis are synonymous with anime! NYAF brings Japanese anime and New York City together, so I did the same with Chibizilla!
What software and materials did you use to make Chibizilla?: I used pencil, paper, ruler, Sakura micron pens, and Photoshop.
What do you do when not creating mascots?: I really enjoy drawing, creating content for computers (icons, desktops, screensavers, etc.), reading a variety of books, editing manga, web/graphic design, and of course anime and manga! I'm also currently preparing my portfolio to go out into the market and start my career.
What do you ultimately want to do?: I'd really enjoy drawing or editing manga as a career. I’d like to try voice acting (not strictly anime related). It also would be nice to be able to run my own business someday, too.
What do you think of when you think of New York City?: I think of the amazing architecture of the older buildings, pizza, the museums, the intriguing history, and many of my favorite comic book heroes whose stories take place in NYC.
What was the first thing you thought when you learned you won?: OH NO!! I won?! XD There were a lot of really great entries this year. I'd like to tip my hat to everybody who entered, everybody who voted, and everybody who has a part in the NYAF and the mascot contest. I'm really very honored to have my design chosen as the mascot this year.
What’s the first thing you want to do at NYAF?: Meet Peter Fernandez and ask him to sign my Speed Racer VHS.
Do you have a message for aspiring artists?: Practice constantly! Look at the world around you and always try to learn something from it. Also, take criticism and build from it. Show your art to anybody and everybody you can – friends, family, and even the professionals, too!
Who would win in a fight, Chibizilla or The Cloverfield Monster?: I'm sure the Cloverfield Monster would fall victim to Chibizilla's cuteness!
