Khaotic Kon!

Right here in Tampa! Right this weekend! It's Khaotic Kon! Featuring special events such as the Murder Mystery Theater, Hetalia Nation, and Evil Shinding of Ma-Intent. And of course, old con favorites such as Anime Music Video and Cosplay contests. Join us for Tampa's first springtime anime convention!

Khaotic Kon

The Return of Shadocon!

Yeppers, Shadocon is back! Same place and all- at the Crowne Plaza Hotel right here in Tampa. Meet some of your favorite voice actors. Dance the night away at the Final Fantasy Ball! Enjoy .hack//SIGN the Musical. Play video games, sing along with anime music videos, participate in the panels, and gaze at the costumes in the cosplay contest- and much more! Right here, this weekend- at Shadocon!

Shadocon

Tokyo-a-Go-Go hits Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library

JBK teens kicked off their Summer Reading programs as the first stop for the Tokyo-a-Go-Go teen summer program. The JBK Teen Anime/Manga Club held a special event on June 9, which incorporated wide range of activities, including

Sumo Wrestling photos

Your Name in Japanese

Screening a Few Anime Favorites

We also enjoyed a few Chopstick Races and fun snacks like pocky, fruit jellies and ramen.

Thanks to Youth Services for the fun activity ideas and to the Friends of the Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library for their ongoing support for our teen programs!

JBK Teen Anime/Manga Club Wins Free Stuf

The Teen Anime/Manga Club at Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library is small but active, and this month they were pretty lucky too!

RightStuf.com's Stuf for Clubs program sends us a monthly email newsletter that gives us news about upcoming anime. Stuf for Clubs also hosts a monthly giveaway drawing for clubs that respond back to their poll question. In April, the winner was Jimmie B. Keel!

We answered the question "Which anime series features your favorite opening or ending theme?" with the teens' pick, the series "Paranoia Agent."

Our reward for being the lucky winners of the April drawing... a free copy of the Super Gals Complete Collection (Seasons 1 & 2).

Needless to say, our teens were pretty excited to win!

Want to check out the Teen Anime/Manga Club at Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library? Drop by on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 5:30pm. Or check here for an anime club at a library near you!

February Teen Events @ Jan Platt Regional Library (South Tampa)

[Click on flyers to view fullscreen]

Hi! I’m John and I’m a new Librarian at the Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library in South Tampa. I'm writing today to tell you about our programs for teens (middle & high-school) at the library this month (February, 2011). We just started a new Teen Advisory Board (aka TAB)!!! Our next TAB meeting is on Saturday February 26th at 3pm. Have ideas for teen events and clubs at the library? Bring them to share! Enjoy snacks, laughter and fun while planning events and creating videos, podcasts, photos and more. TAB members also earn community service hours toward graduation, scholarships and more! Click here for more info about what TABs do for the library and what TAB can do for you! Directly after our TAB meeting we have our Teen Book Club (pick up your copy today @ Jan Platt Library!) We will be hanging out and discussing the first book in the Ranger's Apprentice series : The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan. "When fifteen-year-old Will is rejected by battleschool, he becomes the reluctant apprentice to the mysterious Ranger Halt, and winds up protecting the kingdom from danger." Check out a copy today! Our GameZone meets on Tuesdays from 4:00 – 5:15pm. Come hangout and play Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 2 at the library on our large projection screens. Some of our video games titles are: Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Guitar Hero Series and Rock Band. See you after school for some gaming fun! On Wednesdays, February 2nd and 15th from 4:30—5:30 pm we will have our Teen Anime/Manga Club will be meeting and screening Anime titles and talking about all things Anime/Manga. On Alternate Wednesdays, February 9th and 23rd from 4:30 - 5:30 pm we have our Teen "Go" Board Game Club. Come learn and play one of the oldest games in the world: the ancient East Asian board game “Go.” A popular Anime/Manga series called “Hikaru No Go” has made many very curious about how to play the game. Now you can learn and play with your friends. The rules are simple, the strategy complex. Learn in minutes, play for a lifetime. Go Links: What Is the Game of Go? - from the American Go Association The Interactive Way To Go goproblems.com - Interactive go problem database and community Start reading Hikary No Go manga today! & Pick up some flyers to share with your friends!

2011 Great Graphic Novels for Teens

Check out these new lists from The Young Adult Library Services Assn. (YALSA)!

2011 Great Graphic Novels for Teens

2011 Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens















See More: YALSA's Book Awards & Booklists

Bakuman. Volume 1, Dreams and reality / story by Tsugumi Ohba ; art by Takeshi Obata (Viz Media, 2010)

Average student Moritaka Mashiro enjoys drawing for fun. When his classmate and aspiring writer Akito Takagi discovers his talent, he begs Moritaka to team up with him as a manga-creating duo. But what exactly does it take to make it in the manga-publishing world? Moritaka is hesitant to seriously consider Akito's proposal because he knows how difficult reaching the professional level can be. Still, encouragement from persistent Akito and motivation from his crush push Moritaka to test his limits!

Free Anime!

Straight from the folks at Funimation:

FUNimation is premiering Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood – Episodes 27 – 39 (DUB) on iTunes before you can see it anywhere else, AND we’re giving you episodes 1 and 27 for FREE! That way you don’t have to wait for the DVD/BD release on December 28th to check it out. Head over to iTunes.com/FUNimation to download them now!

The freebies don’t stop there either. You can also get the first episodes of Trigun and Soul Eater for FREE on iTunes.

So if you're jonesing for some anime to watch on the iPad, iPhone, iPod touch or computer this holiday break, this looks like a good stop. 

And don't forget to drop by your local library to stock up on anime dvds and manga over the break!

New Teen Events @ Jan Platt Regional Library (South Tampa)

Hi!
I’m John and I’m a Teen Librarian just starting at the Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library in South Tampa. I’m very excited about some new events and clubs that will be starting in January:




We are starting a Teen Advisory Board (aka TAB)!!! Our first TAB meeting is on Saturday January 22nd at 3pm. Have ideas for teen events and clubs at the library, bring them to share. Click here for more info about what TABs do for the library and what TAB can do for you!



Directly after the first meeting of our new TAB group, we will have the first meeting of our Teen Book Club (pick up your copy today @ Jan Platt Library !) We will be hanging out and discussing the book Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.

"Tally Youngblood lives in a futuristic society that acculturates its citizens to believe that they are ugly until age 16 when they'll undergo an operation that will change them into pleasure-seeking "pretties." Anticipating this happy transformation, Tally meets Shay, another female ugly, who shares her enjoyment of hoverboarding and risky pranks. But Shay also disdains the false values and programmed conformity of the society and urges Tally to defect with her to the Smoke, a distant settlement of simple-living conscientious objectors." -- School Library Journal

Sound Good ! See You There !





We will continue our GameZone on Tuesdays from 4:00 – 5:15pm. Come hangout and play Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 2 at the library on our large projection screens. Some of our video games titles are: Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Guitar Hero Series and Rock Band. See you after school for some gaming fun!










On Wednesdays, January 5th and 19th from 4:30—5:30 pm we will have our Teen Anime/Manga Club will be meeting and screening Anime titles and talking about all things Anime/Manga.






On Alternate Wednesdays, January 12th & 26th from 4:30 - 5:30 pm we will have the first meetings on our Teen "Go" Board Game Club. Come learn and play one of the oldest games in the world: the ancient East Asian board game “Go.” A popular Anime/Manga series called “Hikaru No Go” has made many very curious about how to play the game. Now you can learn and play with your friends. The rules are simple, the strategy complex. Learn in minutes, play for a lifetime.

Links:

What Is the Game of Go? - from the American Go Association

The Interactive Way To Go

goproblems.com - Interactive go problem database and community

ShadoCon

If you thought anime convention season was over...guess again!

Yeppers, Tampa has a brand new autumn con! It's ShadoCon's first year. If you like cosplay, anime music videos, anime panels, voice actor guests, contests, or just plain meeting other fellow otakus, ShadoCon is the place for you! There will even be a Final Fantasy Ball, a Talent Search competition, and a Breakdance Breakdown.

ShadoCon will take place on November 5-7 at the Crowne Plaza in Tampa.

ShadoCon

Manga? On my computer? Sign me up!

TOKYOPOP, one of the major anime & manga publishers in the US, recently posted this on their Facebook page:

Read TOKYOPOP online- legitimately and for free! OverDrive, a distributor of eBooks, provides TOKYOPOP eBooks to some libraries. Use the search function to see if your library uses OverDrive. Yeah for libraries!

Well, conveniently enough, we ARE one of the libraries that uses OverDrive to provide eBooks & audiobooks to our patrons...

So manga fans, head over to our OverDrive site and search for "Tokyopop" to see the manga YOU can check out and read from the comfort of your computer or eReader without even setting foot in the library.

Metrocon 2010

Guess what everybody! Metrocon will be here again this weekend! Yeppers, this Friday through Sunday the 23rd-25th of July, Metrocon will be taking place at the Tampa Bay Convention Center.

For more information, check out the Metrocon website at:

http://www.metroconventions.com/

Hey, Anime Fans! Want to learn Japanese?

Ever wondered what a particular Japanese word or phrase you see or hear all the time means? Wonder no longer! Popular manga publisher TokyoPop has a crash course in some basic Japanese, starting with some Japanese greetings...

Learn to Say "Hello" in Japanese!

And don't forget to take use your new skills when checking out some new anime & manga at your library!

Calling all Anime/Manga fans!

Can't get enough anime? Mad for manga? Want to meet other teens who share your obsession? Many HCPLC libraries now have anime and manga clubs where you can do just that. Club members watch new anime, talk about their favorite manga series, share their artwork, and more.

Upcoming Anime Club Meetings:

**TODAY!** Brandon Regional Library - Thursday, March 11 & April 8 at 5:00 PM

**TODAY!** Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library - Thursday, March 11 & April 8 at 5:30 PM

Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library - Wednesdays at 4:30 PM

Temple Terrace Public Library - Thursday, March 18 at 6:00 PM

78th Street Community Library - Wednesday, March 31 at 3:00 PM

Anime Club at 78th Street Community Library

When: Wednesday, November the 18th, at 4PM.

Where: 78th Street Community Library, 7625 Palm River Road, Tampa.

What: Anime Club!

Yes, boys and girls! The 78th Street Community Libary now has an anime club! Join us for our second meeting on Wednesday the 18th at 4. If you like anime, this is the place for you!

ASTRO BOY!

You may have already seen the movie, but, did you read the book?

Before Astro boy made it to the 'bit screen,' it was in your library as a Graphic Novel.

Not sure if the movie will be worth you time? Check out an Astro Boy DVD or Graphic Novel from your library. If there none on the shelf, place it on hold, have it sent to your library with your name on it.

Watch the trailer         Read the books

Fantasy & Faeries & Earth

Want to Read a book about Faeries? How about a trilogy about girls who haven't had an 'easy' life? Try the books in this series.

Read Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr...

Aislinn was told, never let the Faeries that surround her know that she can see them. The only problem is, now they are stalking her, is she being hunted by Summer King Faerie. Aislinn must come to grips with love, immortality.

Read Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr...

Leslie, Aislinn's friend, is drawn into the Faerie world by a dark, shadowy presence. it seems every one wants to claim her, even the Tattoo that she wants to use to claim her independence. The power struggles of the Faerie world draw her in. Her life, full of turmoil, and a shadow presence, She is offered and escape, but should she...

Read Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr...

Seth never expected he would want to settle down with anyone—but that was before Aislinn. She is everything he'd ever dreamed of, and he wants to be with her forever. Forever takes on new meaning, though, when your girlfriend is an immortal faery queen.
Aislinn never expected to rule the very creatures who'd always terrified her—but that was before Keenan. He stole her mortality to make her a monarch, and now she faces challenges and enticements beyond any she'd ever imagined.
In Melissa Marr's third mesmerizing tale of Faerie, Seth and Aislinn struggle to stay true to themselves and each other in a milieu of shadowy rules and shifting allegiances, where old friends become new enemies and one wrong move could plunge the Earth into chaos.

These are not your typical fairy tales.

It's a whole other story in manga...

Avatar: The Last Air Bender

If you are like me you were glued to your TV watching the "Nick" series. Avatar: the last Airbender. In my house Aang, Appa, Kitara, Sokka... well you know the rest, they are household names. We eat it up. We checked out the books and watched the DVD's for missing episodes. (Did you?).

You've got 1 year to read the books and get familiar with the series because... Next summer they will release the movie in theaters. "The Last Airbender"

For those who don't know what I'm talking about... The story follows the adventures of Aang, a ten year old successor to a long line of Avatars, who must put his childhood ways aside and stop the Fire Nation from enslaving the Water, Earth and Air nations. (But it is so much more interesting than it sounds).

While you wait for the movie... Play the game at Nick.com and check out the books and DVD's. from your library.

Metrocon is here!

What: Florida's Biggest Anime Convention!
Where: Tampa Convention Center
When: June 19-21

For more information, visit the Metrocon website at:

www.metroconventions.com

Enjoy!

Most popular manga today...

Overall top manga

Ladies first: Top Shoujo Manga

And now for the blokes: Top Shonen Manga

Here is my favorite licensed manga: Magic Knight Rayearth part I and part II.

And my other favorite manga is La Rose de Versailles. I read it in French. Hopefully someday it will be licensed in the USA too.