Tora Con 2017

So I didn't make it into the Artist Alley to sell my books, but I did get to host a panel where I showed my trailer with Steve Blum's voiceover and my video game...to a grand total of six people including three staff and volunteers and my artist Alex Demchak, and the guy who recorded the voiceover with Steve Blum, so not too much progress. Alex and I talked about the graphic novel version of 7th Moon, and it seems progress is being made, slowly but steadily. I also got to check out their maid cafe, a vocaloid concert, and took in a few other panels including the Tora Idol contest where some otaku competed in a Japanese singing contest...some were good...

Most interesting was a panel on yokai and pokemon. I learned that there is a type of catfish that is named after a yokai and lives int he waters off of Fukushima that abandoned the area just before the tsunami, because apparently they knew, and now scientists are watching the catfish in case this happens again. I also found out that Jynx is not in fact a negro minstrel caricature, but in fact a caricature of white women from Hollywood who dye their hair blond, get collagen injections in their lips and get dark tans, so it's still racist, just in a different way than we thought. but most interesting was a revelation about Shishigami, the deer god that inspired a pokemon, but more importantl was a central character in Princess Mononoke. Now, we all know Princess Mononoke is an environmental fable, but it takes a new level in Japan for those who understand the significance of the deer god, Shishigami, which is their most ancient god, predating the gods of Shinto. Here's the big deal, since the deer god is represents the most ancient roots of Japan, the deer god in Princess Mononoke is not just another nature god like Moro, Nago, and Okkoto, this is the supreme deity of nature, lording over the other three on a scale that can not be understood by the uninformed western audiences. Shishigami doesn't just represent nature, he represents the Japan that is being taken over by the Shogunate. This isn't just the end of nature, it's the end of an era of Jpanese history. This also makes the relationship between Ashitaka and Yakul his elk a litle more meaningful, since Yakul is a deer, he is akin to Shishigami, possibly an avatar, and the fact that they get along and are unconditionally loyal to each other despite the otherwise antagonistic relationship between man and nature demonstrates that Ashitaka is uniquely allied with nature, which was already apparent, but now it means even more because it shows Ashitaka's traditional background.

Okay, now I'll leave you with some pictures of cosplayers and a video from the maid cafe.