The Baruch Anime Asylum Convention (BAACon, not to be confused with bacon... *yummy bacon*) is an annual convention hosted by the anime club at Baruch College. This year is the third time they hosted their annual BAACon, so how did they do? Check out my review after the jump.

leetNEET Readers!

Who among you is itching to break free and cut loose, but can’t do so because the nearest convention is weeks away!? Fear not – for I have brought the solution!

Descending from the haven of rock heaven in 2003, led by Amaterasu herself, the US has been graced with a musical showcase that has rocked hard and rocked its patrons even HARDER!

What the hell am I talking about, you ask? I’m talking about the annual rising sun band showcase – JAPAN NITE!

Every year, an eclectic selection of Japanese bands and artists gather for a short but epic concert tour across the good old US-of-A. Awesomely exploding onto the stage at the SXSW music conference in Austin, TX – Japan Nite will once again bring to you solid walls of sound!

It's that time of year again. As March approaches, Vocaloid fans everywhere know to be on the look out for 39's Giving Day. 39's Giving Day, a play on words (since 3 is san and 9 is kyu in Japanese it sounds like "Thank You"), is the annual Vocaloid concert held in Japan using 3D technology. This year's event is extra special though.

This year is the final 39's Giving Day concert and as it's name suggests it will be held on March 9, 2012. But if that isn't enough, Hatsune Miku Live Party 2012 (also called MIKUPA for short) is on March 8 this year, meaning two days of back to back Vocaloid events. While tickets to watch both events live may be gone already, Nico Nico Douga and it's English counterpart, NicoNico, are streaming both concerts. Each concert will set you back about $25 and can be viewed any time between when it airs live and March 16, 2012. If you purchase a ticket to watch both it will only cost you $40.

It's the most wonderful time of the year~! Okay, not really. But it's pre-convention season here in New York, which means that planning is underway for the upcoming anime conventions in our area. On a related note, have you or a friend ever wished that you could do more than just sit in the audience of a panel at a convention? If the answer to that question is yes, then we have a chance you won't want to pass up!

SpringFestNY, the largest free anime convention in the NY Tri-State area, is looking for some amazing fans to host panels at their convention this upcoming March. "We want people who have never hosted a panel in their life to come and spread their passion to all of our friends at SpringFest", says PAS President Adam Edwards. If you're interested in hosting a panel, you can submit your idea via their panel registration form.

For those of you looking for something a little more passive, regular guest registration also started today! You can sign up on their eventbrite page. SpringFestNY has always had a special place for us here at leetNEET since it's the first convention that we ever covered. We'll be there this year too, so come on out and say hello!

For more information about SpringFestNY visit: http://springfestny.com/.

Can't get enough of your favorite Puella Magi and (maybe) one cute contractor? If you live in Japan or plan to visit the country soon at least, you can visit the new Puella Magi Madoka Magica cafe opening in Akihabara on the fifth floor of the Akiba Culture Zone building.

Can't decide whether you should spend the money going to NYCC/NYAF? Check out our staff's review of this year convention and use our experience to your gain.

Hardcoreness Level: Western cartoon lover, casual gamer, artist alley lurker and manga reader
Writer: Poke
When I had started going to the convention at Jacob Javitis, it was before NYAF had merged with NYCC and was solely just an anime convention. It use to be crowded full of anime cosplayers getting WAAAAY to into their character and making out in kissing circles. Now after the merger, the anime lovers were banished all the way up to the 4^th floor with a terrible map that pretty much made it very hard to find. Honestly, if this was suppose to be a combination of East meets West, it failed pretty terribly.

Even though I'm not really an anime fan, it felt like a ripoff to put it as a convention for both comic book lovers and anime. There was clearly a favoritism going on here, not that what they did have at the convention wasn't worth the ticket, but it just felt misleading to say that both areas of interest were equally represented.

Besides the ever dying NYAF of NYCC, there were many awesome panels and exhibitors. I was a little disappointed when the Wacom booth did not have their new product, The Inkling, out for testing but yet Autodesk had an artist already using it at their booth. That really threw me for a loop since I've been dying to get a hold of that pen ever since it was announced.

On the subject of artistic endeavors, artist alley have grown since last year with even more artists showing up and selling their wares. The quality of the art has certainly gotten A LOT better both in terms of comic style and anime style. So if your looking for fanart or just beautifully drawn original art, definitely check out artist alley, there is twice the style to look at since each con got their own alley just for art.

Overall Score: Leet–
Comment: It was really hellish moving around but the sheer amount of stuff made up for it.

There's not a lot of information out yet, but according to a tweet by Crunchyroll at this year's Anime Expo, Crypton - the company behind Vocaloid's KAITO and Miku - might be "investigating possibility of creating English Kaito with original voice".

This piece of news, along with the announcement at last year's New York Comic Con that Hatsune Miku would get an English version if enough fans "liked" her page on Facebook (and the page eventually received more than that number), along with an announcement that work on English Miku would be underway, has established that VOCALOID, long considered an otaku niche, could finally be reaching mainstream status.

We will have more details as they become available.

Good day to all the leetNEET readers of the site. Today I shall be posting a different type of article from the stuff leetNEET usually publishes. I have been recently reading a blog called “Loco In Yokohama” and have been enjoying the posts he has been making. Loco recently made a post called “Accepting Submissions for Hot Fun in the Summertime 2011” in which, he asked for people to offer some recommendations for summer activities in Japan. My first submission was bland and downright terrible. I felt terrible for giving Loco such low quality work, so I have decided to make a second submission, which you are reading right now. Now enough with the intro and onto the submission!

A Day of Fun at Noboribetsu Date Jidaimura

Noboribetsu Date Jidaimura or “Edo Wonderland” as Danny Choo calls it is a place where one can experience the culture of city life in Edo period of Japan. Throughout the theme park, there are many things that will interest people. One of the points of interest is a few of the activities booths. Some have a pretty unique feel to them, capturing some of the essence from the Edo period.

Some of activities at Edo Wonderland

Those activities are not the only thing in Edo Wonderland though, as one can experience the historic representation of being in Edo by the scenery and architecture of the buildings. People will be able to immerse themselves further into the Edo period by looking at dioramas of geishas, samurais, doctors, and regular people living in their homes.

A diorama and some scenery at Edo Wonderland

If you want to fully submerge yourself into your historical experience of Edo, you can even change into traditional clothing and travel around the park for the day in it. Fans of ninjas will be glad to hear that there is a place within Edo Wonderland where you can learn some facts about ninjas and the tools they used.

Ninja Information at Edo Wonderland

Street performances and cultural theaters are also provided for your entertainment. If you’re ever feeling hungry, they provide a couple restaurants featuring food that would be commonly enjoyed in the Edo period. The park also provides a store with packaged snacks if you wish to take some home. After a day at Edo Wonderland, there is a bus stop that takes people to some hotsprings if you wish to relax there.

"Kasumi Ninja House" theater show and some restaurant food at Edo Wonderland

Well, that's my submission for Locohama’s “Hot Fun in Summertime 2011”. I hope everyone has enjoyed reading through this post and has become interested in visiting Edo Wonderland!

Information/Photo Sources: [Danny Choo | Official Website of Noboribetsu Date Jidaimura]

Now excuse me while I go call my father to pick me up from the library, I haven't ate for 8 hours so I need to get the heck out of here and get some food before I shutdown! (Curse you Canadian ISPs and your terrible bandwidth limits, forcing me to go to the library for internet because I went over my limit!)