This weekend, Dec. 17-18, I’m hitching a ride on a bus as a band roadie for Random Ninjas up to the 3rd annual Japantown Anime Faire in San Francisco. I’m what people would call a Narutard, or (over)zealous fan of the Naruto anime series, so as always, I’m hoping to browse through the exhibit hall and find some fun paraphernalia like Naruto ninja gloves or trinkets with pictures of my favorite character, Hyuuga Hinata. There’ll be cool drawings at Artist Alley, Japanese refreshers at Intro to Nihongo Workshop and plenty of cosplayers to take pics of. Most of all, I’m excited about the live performances. Having watched Robotech religiously as a child here in America, it’ll be fun to witness a performance by Mari Ijima, voice actress for Lynn Minmei, from the Macross series. Stephanie Yanez, the winner for Anime Expo’s AX Idol Performing Artist from 2004, will also be showing off some of her award-winning vocal talents. This will be my first chance to check out a performance by akai SKY, a San Francisco-based band performing J-rock and anime music, and, of course, I can’t wait to rock out with SoCal’s Random Ninjas and their full outfit of martial artists.
And there’s the awesome J-Town itself! From reliving scenes from Ranma with an okonomiyaki meal, to taking pictures by the beautiful pagoda, to shopping for a kimono in the plethora of Japanese shops, there’s much more than just the anime craziness. If I’m lucky, I’ll get to slip away from the anime festivities to visit Golden Gate Park and take pictures in its Japanese Tea Garden –– in full ninja attire of course. jtaf.project760.com