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The Convention Dimension: 3 Rivers Comicon

DISCLAIMER: I received a press pass to attend this event. The opinions here are still mine. Also, please consider reading this brief article about my various illnesses and such over the last several months. This article is very late, but things have been difficult. Originally, I had also planned to publish these pfotos to Instagram, again, in a more timely manner. Here we are though! At the beginning of June, I attended 3 Rivers Comicon at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh. I was surprised to see this event at the convention center, as I couldn't recall seeing it advertised in years past (I later heard that it was held at the Century III and Waterfront Malls in previous years). American comic book stuff is really not a huge thing on my radar, so it's not a surprise that I missed out on the earlier events. My friend Tyler wanted to check out this convention, so I decided to check it out as well. Anyway, 3 Rivers Comicon is held by local chain New Di...
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Sorry, I Am Having Some Difficulties

So, I just wanted to post this short update to explain the lack of content recently. Halfway thru June I developed some type of strange digestion problem. I was not digesting food correctly. Sometimes food was, uh, leaving my body in a way that looked exactly like how it entered my mouth. It was kind of alarming but not to the point that I sought medical attention. I think this might have come about because I started doing a ton of exercise and started eating differently. The thing is that I also was feeling a little out of it for a while, and, unfortunately, I then caught COVID at the beginning of July. I had it pretty bad, and I thought I needed to go to the hospital. I didn't end up having to do anything like that, but, as someone who is immuno-compromised (type 1 diabetes) I was prescribed Paxlovid. Halfway thru July, I was physically better from COVID... mostly. I have had some serious issues since then, even if a lot of the major problems have gone away. I feel more tired tha...

Tekko Together

EDIT: This article was originally published on June 30th, 2022 but has been updated on July 8th. I was not initially happy with everything. Unfortunately, due to being extremely busy and not feeling well, and now having developed COVID in the last few days, I am only now getting everything together. My apologies! Tekko (formerly Tekkoshocon) is Pittsburgh's anime convention since 2003. In the almost 20 years of existence, Tekko has grown from just a few hundred people in a hotel to over 10,000 attendees inhabiting the David L. Lawrence Convention Center for four days! Despite this growth, Tekko has fallen on some hard times recently, and, should you choose to accept this mission, requires the assistance of the community. COVID has done a number on several conventions, and Tekko is no different. Convention Center regulations have caused what historically been a spring convention to occur in the summer. Now also the DLLCC is requiring significantly more payment upfront, causing Tekko...

Treasure's 30th Anniversary - My Predictions

Japanese game developer Treasure just had its 30th anniversary on June 19th. They've announced that they are releasing some sort of "highly requested title". This will be their first game since 2014's Gaist Crusher God . What could it be? [TREASURE 30th ANNIVERSARY] 2022年6月19日、株式会社トレジャーは会社設立30周年を迎えました! 30周年の今年、ご要望の多い「あの」タイトルを発表できるよう鋭意開発中です。 今後とも、トレジャーをよろしくお願いいたします。 pic.twitter.com/hvQxcesGkj — 株式会社トレジャー (@TreasureCoLtd) June 19, 2022 My first guess is that the new title will be a Gunstar Heroes  game. I actually don't have a particularly strong connection with Treasure, but Gunstar Heroes  seems to be the fan-favorite. Another strong contender is Ikaruga . Either of these is a likely guess! My personal favorite Treasure game is  Mischief Makers , so I'd love to see another one of those. Also, my first Treasure game was the relatively obscure Light Crusader , which was also the first RPG I ever played. Lastly, Sin & Punishment  has recently received some n...

Trigun Stampede - First Announcement

A new Trigun series was just announced for what will be the 25th anniversary of the anime series. It's coming 2023 thru Studio Orange and later Crunchyroll. More info will be available next month. 25 years after the first anime series, #TRIGUN will be reborn in 2023 entitled TRIGUN STAMPEDE, produced by the Japan’s best 3D animation studio Orange ( @cg_orange_inc ) with an all-new staff and cast. https://t.co/HqMU1s6sMN pic.twitter.com/a0R1TGsnMg — 『TRIGUN STAMPEDE』アニメ公式 (@trigun_anime) June 17, 2022 And, yeah so, it looks okay from first glance. It's hard to tell much from just an image, but I have some thoughts about it. For one, I really love Trigun , so I am excited for a new series. It's not clear to me if it is a remake or a new story. I am slightly worried about the art style and that we won't see Johnny Yong Bosch in the dub this time. The series is announced as being a CG show this time; that's not particularly unusual. Ever since I watched Godzilla: Pl...

I Finally Played Final Fantasy VII Remake, But I Need to Talk About the Original First

On March 10th, I finished Final Fantasy VII Remake . It was... weird? I have a lot to say about why it was weird too. I thought about publishing this back when I finished the game, but my own anxiety and PTSD got to me so bad that I felt frozen. I feel a lot better now. Just to warn you, this review will have spoilers for the original Final Fantasy VII and  Final Fantasy VII Remake , in addition to some spoilers from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children  and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII . It will also be published in two parts! You've been warned! Now, I am not particularly beholden to the original Final Fantasy VII . I played it when I was like 12 or 13, several years after it had come out. I remember being excited for the game when I first saw the commercials and the big store displays back in the day, including the infamous cardboard cutout of Cloud and a surfboard. I didn't really know what Final Fantasy VII  was; I just thought the commercial looked epic and co...

The Convention Dimension: Tekko 2021 Day 4 and Closing Thoughts

Richard:  Sunday - the last day! I always feel sad on the last day of a convention; the magical convention world fades away to the workweek, and the last day is often focused on saying "goodbye" to everything. There's a dreariness to it, perhaps a coziness too, but to me, it's mostly grey liminality. Kaiti:  The final con day was a bit of a blur for me. This isn’t unusual, as conventions’ final days often seem like a burst bubble, the crowd and panels all emptier and less intense. But this year it also meant I spent most of it in chronic pain and struggling to keep up. All I really remember is getting another bubble tea, and finding one of my friends from anime fandom days of decades past who was in town to work some booths and guest support. Richard:  Sunday, December 13th at Tekko was not much different, though the flea market is always a rush for me! I zoomed into the building and went right there. There was some seriously awesome stuff, much better than the other ...