AWA has been at its present location since, let's see, 2003, and it's been fascinating to see the Galleria area go from being a classy upscale mall (1980s) to a potential Olympic venue and convention center (1990s) to a ghostly dead mall attached to a convention center (2000s) to now, a piece of well-preserved retail space next door to a brand new Braves stadium. How will this baseball invasion affect AWA's suburban mall vibe? Well, I guess we'll find out, won't we?
In the meantime you can mark your calendar or use the handy AWA schedule to note when I, your Let's Anime host, will be live and in person doing some anime con panels. And what am I up to?
Well, Thursday night is the SuperHappyFunSell, AWA's garage sale yard sale closet-cleaning event whereby anime fans part with previously-loved DVDs, manga, toys, games, and other former retail items. It's a furious three hours of fire sales, bargains, and the fun of not knowing what's been unearthed from storage units and garages across three or four states.
Friday night Anime Hell is back for its 20th screening at AWA! Two hours of short-form video fun involving Japan, animation, hell, and sometimes all three mixed together. Hell is preceded by Totally Lame Anime at 8 and followed by Midnight Madness at 12 midnight, so pick a comfortable chair, you might be there for a while!
Saturday at 2:30 I'll be taking you through thirty years of Japanese cartoon feature films in American theaters, a live panel version of this Let's Anime column from a few years back. Bring your own popcorn!
Saturday night it's time to come out of your shell and get to know your fellow fans! Yes, the AWA Mixer is back, this time mixed with the Bebop Lounge, to bring adult fans together to mix and mingle and knock back a few Cowboy Bebop-themed drinks. If you're a Let's Anime reader drop in and say hi!
And on Sunday, Neil Nadelman and myself will be exploring what may be the worst Japanese animated television series of all time, Chargeman Ken. Neil just translated the entire series for Discotek and me, well, I have a lot of experience with bad cartoons, so it's sure to be an afternoon of harsh truths and animation failure!
Apart from all my events, AWA is a weekend jam packed with anime excitement - voice actors, manga artists, music performances, costumes, vendors, and all the swirling nonsense that has become the hallmark of the anime convention in general and AWA in particular. Why not drop in and see AWA for yourself?
Anime Weekend Atlanta is September 28 - October 1 at the Cobb Galleria Centre / Renaissance Waverly Hotel, Atlanta GA.
