The nation’s largest anime and manga event was a ton of fun this year. With a record number of over 44,000 unique attendees, getting around the show floor was easy. There was so much anime fun and so many happy people, I wanted to share my pictures from the show. Enjoy!

Anime Expo 2009 was held from July 2-5, 2009 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, CA. Next year’s convention will be returning to the Los Angeles Convention Center July 1-4, 2010.

It is less than two weeks to Anime Expo 2009! Are you ready for it yet? It’s the nation’s largest anime and manga convention which will be held July 2-5, 2009 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Southern California. Don’t forget, Anime Expo is a 24-hour convention, offering late-night dances, all night video and gaming rooms, and open-mic Karaoke in the nighttime hours. I also see that Japanese manga artist and writer of the manga series Afro Samurai, Mr. Takashi Okazaki, will be an official Guest of Honor.

As part of the 30th Anniversary of the Gundam series and arrival on the sci-fi anime scene, toymaker Bandai has constructed a full-scale reproduction in Tokyo’s Shiokaze Park, near the headquarters of Fuji TV, where it will be officially unveiled on July 11th. The statue itself stands about 59 feet (18 meters) tall and is said to be a 1:1 replicate of the Gundam from the show. Adding to it’s cool factor is that has moving parts with lights and such. What’s next, a 1:1 scale Godzilla?

Check out the cool videos on this life-size Gundam too.

This was my first visit to WonderCon in San Francisco and I really enjoyed myself. WonderCon is known as the sister-show of San Diego Comic-Con. I’d say it’s a smaller sister, but even though it wasn’t as huge as SDCC, it has it’s benefits. Since it’s a smaller show, that means there’s less of a crowd and you could get more face time with the stars, which is nice. (Speaking of stars, I met and talked with Henry Winkler (Fonzie) and saw artist Jim Lee.) I also finally met Daniel M. Davis of Steam Crow Monster Commute and Michael Fleming of tweedlebop!

WonderCon features the best in a variety of specialty programming including the very best from, pop culture, Hollywood film and television, but comics are still king at this 23-year-old event. Watchmen was prevalent, but so was Star Trek, Star Wars, G.I. Joe and other comic heroes. This was a nice warm-up for me, as I await SDCC in July. Please enjoy my photos from the show with my slideshow or visit my WonderCon 2009 Flickr set. Perhaps you should consider going to WonderCon next year.

Afro Samurai: Resurrection just came on Spike TV and I watched it. Thankfully the movie was shown completely, as it was intended and it was pretty good. The animation was smooth and vibrant, the music was thumping and groovy, the story was ok and didn’t drag much, and the characters were well developed – in more ways than one. (Yes, there’s plenty of overly endowed and scantily clad, girly goodness to go around.) With the voices of Samuel L. Jackson and Lucy Liu, as Afro and Sio respectively, they’re quite convincing in their roles. Don’t forget, this movie is for adults only. Cause there’s plenty of action packed fights scenes, with people getting sliced and fountains of blood throughout. Some might call it dark, gritty and violent.

If you’re a fan of the series or like silent afroed warriors, go buy the DVD.

I liked Kuma, a swordsman who wears a cybernetic teddy bear mask. Very cool!

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom – As a fan of the Marvel vs. Capcom game series, I’m buzzed about this Wii game. It looks awesome and it’s got lots of my favorite characters! This game isn’t expected to be released outside of Japan due to Tatsunoko’s licensing issues. If it doesn’t make it over soon, I will seriously consider importing it. (Does anyone have a suggestion for a good site for importing games?) Yay for Gatchaman!

(Thanks to theBBPS for bringing this to my attention.)

Update: It’s available for the rest of us!

It’s time to welcome Hidden Leaf’s loudest ninja.

Naruto Shippuden – It’s one of your favorite anime shows and one of mine, and it’s now available to watch on Crunchyroll. (This is the original Japanese episodes with English subtitles!) In addition, simulcast of the most recent episode one hour after Japan broadcast will be available starting January 8, 2009. Crunchyroll will be launching 8 old episodes and 1 simulcast (the newest episode) every week from now on. Crunchyroll is now one of the few places online to watch anime legitimately – if you have to watch something, please do it on Crunchyroll to support the anime industry. Only with your support can they keep showing more entertaining anime!

The marketing for this new beverage, which was inspired by the genre of adult Japanese animation, says it’s a perfect caffeine rush for gamers, cosplayers and comic book fans. I think it’s a bit silly, but I’m sure it’ll garner a lot of attention.

“Obviously I don’t take the brand very seriously… we can’t. The best I can do is develop products that I’d want to buy myself and frankly this is the right combination of ridiculous and delicious.” -brand creator, Dekker Dreyer.

Each 12oz glass bottle of Tentacle Grape comes with a collectors’ edition label limited to the first thousand cases. Six packs are currently available for pre-order for $15.99 plus shipping. Orders before January 5th 2009 will be eligible for complimentary Tentacle Grape branded bumper stickers and more. Expect additional flavors and label designs in the third quarter of 2009. How about Cthulhu Cherry?

How much do you enjoy your favorite game and anime characters? Enough to eat them? Now you can. Along with Link, there’s also Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario mushrooms, Totoro, Princess Mononoke and Katamari Damacy! A big thanks to the creatively fun AnnaTheRed’s bento factory and her lucky boyfriend who gets all these for lunch!

Halloween is a perfect time to check out all the spooky manga titles from VIZ Media. Cowa! by famed creator Akira Toriyama, delivers a more comedic and kid-friendly supernatural story with a main character that you should watch out when he transforms….

A spooktacular manga story that is suitable for all ages. COWA! introduces readers to Paifu, a half-vampire half-werekoala, who is always getting into trouble with his best buddy, Jose Rodriguez the ghost. But when the Monster Flu sweeps through town, the fun and games are over. If the monsters don’t get the medicine soon, everyone will die! With all the adults sick, it’s up to the kids to save the day!

As the season of witches, vampires, costumes and candy approaches, be sure to check out Cowa!