Tag: voice actors

Sangawa, 2017

On Friday and Saturday, 12/8 and 12/9, my brother and I had Sangawa, the Japanese Cultural Society, the 18+ convention at the Double Tree Hotel, near our city.  The voice actors attending were Colleen Clinkenbeard and Robert McCullom.  After a very busy day at my dentist office (where I did not get lunch at all, BTW), my brother and I spruced up and left to go to the hotel.  We missed opening ceremonies, but we didn’t care about that.  We bumped into a few people we had met at previous conventions and decided to hang with them for a little while.

The staff ‘quietly’ advertised the fact that they had gambling in one of the rooms and we went to go check it out.  It was just a few games with prizes like a samurai mask, or a Japanese tea set or a sake set.  My younger brother and our acquaintance played a few games and bought tickets to see if they could win any of the raffles.  After that, we checked out the ‘dealer’s room’ or the small market place.  It was interesting, but not as diverse as the market at Tekko.  However, I bought a few Soul Eater plushies to put on the rest between the seats and back windshield of my car.  My brother actually cracked and got a Ryuk Funko Pop bobble-head.  Then, the Sangawa Social started, and he went off on his own, and I went with my very fancy tumbler into the room and started drinking.  I was warned off a witch’s brew of sake and cinnamon fireball, but then (regrettably) I started to get a headache.  I cut my alcohol intake and just had water.  I was kind of glad, only because I saw several people already going loopy from just a couple of glasses.  My brother found me not long after and we left a little before midnight.

The next day, we arrived around 9:30 and immediately got into line to have our stuff autographed by Colleen and Robert.  I got my FMAB poster signed by both of them, as well as my Fairy Tale.  After the signing, we went through our schedule to see what we wanted to do.  There were a couple of panels we went to see, a Q&A for both actors, and then we played a Jackbox game in one of the game rooms.  We all became a bunch of liars on Fibbage.  Saturday was actually kind of boring after the Fireside Chat with both Colleen and Robert.  My brother and I went home after that.  However, we have higher hopes for next year and I hope to see them come to fruition.

And on that note, it’s been real!

Sangawa 2015

I love these anime conventions!  They’re quite a bit of fun!  I first heard about Sangawa through Tekko, as it is organized and run by the same people.  It is an 18+ event, as there is alcohol involved and more adult themed anime and manga.  Fun, right?!  However, in 2015, I was still one year shy of being able to drink, so I only really went because Vic Mignogna, a popular anime voice actor, was going to be there.  My younger brother and a friend of ours agreed that we should go and meet him and get pictures and autographs.

They hold this particular convention in early December every year at a fancy hotel close to the city.  It is a smaller venue than Tekko, which makes it so much more intimate.  Especially after you’ve been drinking several different types of sake (Sangawa 2016/story for another day).  At this Sangawa, I wore an Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood) T-shirt, and stood at the back of the room with my brother at the opening ‘ceremony’.  As we were standing there, a blond man in a black T-shirt walked by us.  I did a double take, poked my brother, and whispered, “That was the pipsqueak.”  He looked at him closer and grinned.  Vic Mignogna welcomed everyone with an unquenchable exuberance.  It was infectious and it made me happy to see it.  Throughout the night, we would sit on panels, go to the video or gaming room, and we even stuck our heads in the small market space.  That room was definitely several sizes smaller than it is at Tekko.

Around 11:00, Vic had a private screening of one of his Star Trek Continued episodes.  My brother and I sat in the front, and that was when I saw something on the menu screen that puzzled me.  I raised my hand like a kid in class and said, “Excuse me?”

Vic Mignogna came over to me and asked, “What is it, sweetie?”  I asked him my question about the menu and he got a slightly shocked look on his face.  “Spoilers!” he said, before he covered my eyes and asked somebody to place something in front of the projector.  Needless to say, I was surprised to have his hand over my eyes for several seconds.  He thanked me for pointing it out when he removed his hand.

“You’re welcome,” was all I could really say.  The screening was fun, but by the end, I had to call it a night.  My brother, our friend, and myself returned the next day and got pictures and autographs.  I got Vic’s autograph on both my FMA Brotherhood DVD’s and a poster.  It was a fun time, and I am going again this year.  The voice actress for Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye (FMA Brotherhood), and the voice actor for the Armored Titan (Attack On Titan) will be the guests this year.  It should be interesting… especially since alcohol will be involved (again).

And on that note, it’s been real!