Submitted by Jinnie on May 9, 2013 at 11:52 PM
Hello everyone,
We've tried to stay out of the developments regarding another Colorado anime convention and our dear friends at FUNimation Entertainment (who, in case you missed it, will be returning for NDK 2013!). However, given recent events, we wish to clarify some things that have come up and dispel some misconceptions.
We've had the honor of being your premier anime convention of the Rockies for the past 17 years. In that time, we've had the chance to watch a lot of conventions come and go. We firmly believe each and every convention has added something to the growing and passionate Colorado fanbase. That's why you'll often find mentions and coverage from all of the local conventions on our official social media, it's one way we try and show our support and pride at being part of the local convention scene. (Especially since we just don't have the space for cons to have tables at NDK.) After all, Denver is one of the top 10 nerdiest cities in the country, and we're proud to have helped achieve that status!
During our long years, we've had the chance to develop relationships with various industry partners, including FUNimation, Aniplex, Bandai, Geneon, ADV, Crunchyroll, RightStuf and more. As anime fans ourselves, it certainly means a lot when they can attend. However, to suggest we could exert any influence over our industry partners is utterly ridiculous and more importantly, false. If we could do that, they'd all be at NDK every year at the same time!
NDK is a volunteer convention with a 501(c)(4) registered nonprofit parent, and to claim we have any say over what our staff do in their own time is wholly inaccurate. In fact, NDK staff–from members of the Board of Directors to Area Heads and below–work for numerous conventions in Colorado and across the country. We're proud other conventions have learned what we already knew: our talented staff is the creme of the crop when it comes to working other shows and events. Any convention is lucky to have such gifted members among their ranks, NDK included.
To say we were surprised today at the comments levied by the other anime convention is putting it mildly. We were just as surprised to hear about the lawsuit from several weeks ago that FUNimation had filed via a random tweet from a court records Twitter channel.
But frankly, all of this is none of our business and we have no involvement or interest in either party. To be clear, we at NDK have exactly one focus: making the future of NDK the best it can be.
We'd like to thank everyone for their continued support as we move forward. Stay tuned for guest and industry announcements, coming soon!
Amanda Liebermann
Executive Director
Rocky Mountain Anime Association
