Nan Desu Kan

This is our first-annual Crazy-Big Update, where we bring together all kinds of information about the convention, and even make a few announcements to boot. Here you'll find information about our guests, convention and department schedules, our new itinerary system, and more.

Guests

In addition to our previously-announced guests, we have one more guest announcement to make: Rica Matsumoto. Unfortunately, we're still waiting on her official bio and headshot, but we'll get those posted as soon as we can. Meanwhile, here's a brief introduction to tide you over:

Rica Matsumoto

Rica Matsumoto is a Japanese voice actress, singer, and all-around idol.

Rica is best known for her role as Satoshi in Pokémon—the character known to most American audiences as Ash Ketchum. Her other notable roles include Bikki in Fake, Sinunora in Gun Frontier, Sandie in Lupin III: Missed by a Dollar, Warren Trace (and others) in Mobile Suit Gundam Victory, Hibiki in My Dear Marie, James "Jim" Hawking in Outlaw Star, Rumi in Perfect Blue, Raishinshi in Soul Hunter, Nataku in X the Movie, and Futaba Aoi in You're Under Arrest.

As one of the original members of the JAM Project and as a solo artist, Rica has released a number of hit singles and albums. She's provided performances for a number of anime theme songs, including those for EX-Driver, Fake, Pokémon, Panda-Z: The Robonimation, Ruin Explorers, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX.

Previously-Announced Guests

Of course, all of the other guests that we've previously announced are still coming:

• Aaron Dismuke
• Chris Patton
• Cristina Valenzuela
• Jan Scott-Frazier
• Jason and Heather Martin
• Kyle Hebert
• Melodee Spevack
• Michael McConnohie
• Michael Powell
• Miki Nagasawa
• Steve Yun
• Todd Haberkorn
• Tommy Yune
• Wendy Powell

Several of them are returning guests and many are new to NDK, so be sure to give them all a warm welcome!

Schedules

Our schedules have been sent to the printers, which means they're as finalized as they're going to get and we're ready to share them with the world...

Programming

Our Programming Schedule [PDF] has virtually all of the activities at NDK. And our Program Guide [PDF], with the gorgeous artwork from Stephanie Kao on the cover, provides descriptions for those activities as well as additional information about NDK, our guests, and other fun stuff.

You can find paper copies of both the Programming Schedule and Program Guide at the registration desk and at Ops. If you pre-registered, you'll receive a copy of each in the pre-registration bag you'll receive when you pick up your badge.

Video

We have two 24-hour video rooms that open at 2:00 PM on Friday and run until 6:00 PM on Sunday. You can see what we'll be playing throughout the weekend by checking out our Video Schedule [PDF] and get descriptions of what we'll be showing from our Anime Synopses Booklet [PDF] (the pages may seem out of order, but if you print it out on four front-and-back pages, it comes out just right). We'll have paper copies of both of these at the registration desk, at Ops, and in front of each video room.

We're also proud to announce the premiere of Ichi, the live-action movie from FUNimation about a blind woman who wanders the countryside fighting off yakuza and other villains with nothing but her shamisen and her exceptional sword skills. This is the first time the movie's been shown at an anime convention in the US. The premiere will be in HD, and we'll be playing it in Primrose on Friday at 7:30 PM. We'll have an encore presentation of the movie (in SD) on Saturday at 10:00 PM in Long's Peak. The movie is rated R, so please be aware that anyone under 17 not accompanied by a parent or guardian will be turned away at the door. Seating is limited, so be sure to arrive early to find a seat!

Other

Several of our departments run on their own schedules independent of the overall convention schedule. Those schedules are:

Registration

Friday: 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM (Pre-Registrations)

Friday: Noon to 7:00 PM (On-Site Registration)

Saturday: 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM

Sunday: 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Sunday: 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM (Pre-Registration in Main Events)

Dealers Room

Friday: 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM (Pre-Registered Attendees)

Friday: 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM (All Other Attendees)

Saturday: 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM

Sunday: 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Artists Alley

Friday: 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Saturday: 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM

Sunday: 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Art and Model

Friday: 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Saturday: 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM

Sunday: 9:00 AM to Noon

Video Gaming Room

Friday: 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Saturday: 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM

Sunday: 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM

DDR Room

Friday: 6:00 PM to Midnight

Saturday: 9:00 AM to Midnight

Sunday: 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Some of these departments will open earlier or close later than their scheduled times, so if you show up a little early, you may find that they're already open for business.

Itinerary System

We're debuting a new feature to our website this week: an NDK itinerary builder. Built by Xander G., one of the people behind our online pre-registration system, the itinerary builder lets you add most of the activities at NDK—both con-run and attendee-run—to your personal itinerary. We've been busy entering all the activities from our programming schedule and video schedule, so you should find most of the activities we have to offer for your itinerary.

To get started, first register an account if you don't have one already (or login to your account if you do; please note that these are different from forum accounts), then go to the My Itinerary page. From there, you can start adding activities to your itinerary. If you've added multiple activities to your itinerary that are scheduled for the same timeframe, you can resolve any overlaps before finally checking out a printable version of your itinerary, which you can bring with you to the convention.

We've still got a few theming issues to work out, but don't let that stop you from taking advantage of this really cool tool. No other convention has anything like it!

Policies and Rules

We've got a few new rules that everyone should be aware of, plus a few things that everyone should know, whether they're new to NDK or a seasoned veteran:

Anti-Harassment

We have a new anti-harassment policy at NDK this year, and we're taking it very seriously. Unwanted affection, touching, hugging, kissing, and glomping will not be tolerated. If you're caught or reported for violating these rules, you may be banned from the convention. So be sure to ask and make sure it's OK before you touch, hug, kiss, or glomp anyone at the convention.

We also take a zero-tolerance approach to verbal harassment. Using derogatory terms, hate speech, and all manners of verbal abuse could similarly earn you a permanent ban from NDK, so please respect your fellow attendees.

Elevators

We're taking a no-nonsense approach to the elevators this year because our attendees can be really rough on the elevators, which causes the elevators to break down, which in turn causes many people great frustration throughout the weekend. It's only with your help and cooperation that we can keep all of the elevators running smoothly throughout the convention.

In addition to stationing staff members inside the elevators during peak hours, there will be severe consequences for anyone who abuses the elevators. Inappropriate behavior includes riding the elevators for hours on end, overcrowding elevators, jumping up and down while in the elevators, and roughhousing in the elevators. If you're caught doing any of these things, you may be subject to a badge punch or even a ban from the convention. As we said, we're taking this very seriously.

Other Concerns

We've got a bunch of staffers that help run the convention, so if you need anything, flag down a staffer and they'll try to help. And if you see someone causing problems (and taking the fun out of NDK), find someone from our security staff or go to Ops—that little hole in the wall between the hotel registration desk and the convention registration desk—and report what's going on, no matter the time of day (Ops doesn't close during the convention). They'll be happy to take care of any troublemakers so you can get back to enjoying the convention. We've also got a full-time EMS staff in case you or someone you know has a medical emergency.

Have Fun

Finally, the most important part: you need to have fun! Part of that means taking care of yourself: drink plenty of water, get plenty of rest, and bathe (your friends will thank you for that last one). And part of it means doing your best to enjoy all the con has to offer.

We'll see you all at NDK 2009!