Hello Everyone nice site you have here, needs a little bit more activity in the forums. Anyway my name is Kevin, I'm one of your newest site affiliates. So I'm here to help show my support for the site. Nice to meet everyone.

That's no understatement there buddy. I'm trying my best, but I'm having trouble getting dedicated members. Well, you know, the more in the forum, the more will come, so you joining is helping out.

Anyway, welcome to the Forums, and I'm glad to have you as an an affiliate.

Well, I second Kevin's call for more forum activity, and while I'm at it, I might as well introduce myself to the site. I'm a friend/associate of many of the members here from school which led me here. I might not have the lengthy experience with anime that most here can boast, but what I know I know well and someone has to be the eager learner in the group after all. Come to think of it, those characters end up suceeding the main protagonist by the end, so it's a role I'm happy with for the time being.

Guten Abend! After nearly forgetting that I submitted a forum account request nearly a month ago, I got the approval today and remebered to check this place out. (I think the esteemed moderator was on vacation or spending several weeks dead for tax purposes...)

I met the moderator Mr. Vo at "Anime Next" a month ago or so, and he suggested I stop by. I was a panelist at Anime Next along with my friends Robert Fenelon and Brian Price. We presented the following panels:

* Friday: "These Are A Few of Our Favorite Scenes"
* Saturday: "Anime and the Revolving Door of Culture"
* Sunday: "Totally Subversive Toons" & "Spot the Reference" (educational game)

Rob and I are old-timey 40-ish fans who have been involved in anime in some form since the very early 80s. By way of fannish street cred, if you want to hear us going on at length about all the cool and/or stupid crap we've done over the years, you can listen to our interviews on the Anime World Order podcast, episodes 64 and 64b, and also some comments in the group interview with British anime author and lecturer Helen McCarthy in the bonus episode.

Brief curriculum vitae: I directed the masquerades at the first several Anime Expo conventions from 1992-95, as well as that of AX's predecessor AnimeCon'91 in San Jose (Rob and I talk at length about this in the podcasts). I have some video broadcast on Japanese TV of cosplayers after AX93 on my YouTube page... this is of some small note because it was at the filming of this broadcast that Tavisha Wolfgarth and Rikki Simmons decided to create Tavicat comics (Rikki also went on to do the voice of "Gir" in "Invade Zim"). I am in the background in the rooftop group shot in this video in my costume as an admiral from "Legend of the Galactic Heroes", the SF anime which I have become known as a major pusher of.

Rob has been directing anime programming at anime conventions since the early 80s when he ran Anime programming at Lunacon in New York. He published the first professionally published anime magazine in the United States, "Anime Zine" (well before Animag which ultimately became Animerica). He has been a cultural consultant and worked with the original producer of the most popular anime in Japanese history, Space Battleship Yamato. (Of course, I am pleased to note that you include the Yamato in your banner logo, along with more recent anime like "Death Note"...)

Im amazed i still have mod priviliges.

Haha, me too, Kevin. Me too.

Oh, and I totally forgot to say hi to Rheinhard!

Hey Walter! Nice introduction. It was great meeting you, Rob, and Brian at AnimeNEXT, so I hope to run into you guys yet again sometime. Also, that avatar is awesome.

(Who am I kidding? Nobody comes on these forums after the first post)

Perhaps we need something we can all mutally discuss?