「第五回 日本語で、おK」 Nihongo de, okay?

This is an invitation to the Fifth International Otaku Conference, Nihongo de OK.

We are otaku from Japan who attend Anime Expo. We've always wanted to have more casual interaction with American fans of Japanese entertainment, and this is what we came up with.

Is there anyone interested in talking about otaku matters with visitors from Japan over food and drinks? If you want to converse in Japanese or improve your Japanese skills while exchanging the latest information, please feel free to come have a good time. There will be other Americans with us, so there'll be no reason to feel left out.

Although conversation will be primarily in Japanese, we'll also have people who can interpret, so don't worry if your Japanese isn't that good.

We'll talk about new and old anime, Akihabara, light novels, games, doujinshi, VOCALOIDs, and whatever else interests you.

On the day of the meeting, look for the person holding the 「日本語で、おK」 sign at the hotel TBA, and ask him, 「にほんごで、おっけー？」 (Nihongo de, okay?).

When he responds “OK,” please join the conversation. Let’s all have a good time!

※This meeting is being planned and held by AX attendees. It has no relation to any company or to AX events.

We had about 30 attendees, including approximately equal numbers of Americans, Japanese living in America, and visitors from Japan.

We would have been satisfied with only 10 people, so we were pleasantly suprised when it turned into such a lively gathering.

With unexpected visitors, cosplayers from Japan, and manga artists who had been invited to the convention, it was quite a diverse group.

We brought many manga, anime magazines, and other interesting things from Japan, and the conversation ranged from anime and manga to cosplay and games.

It was a little awkward at first, since most people didn't know each other, but in 30 minutes we were all talking like friends.

There were plenty of English-speaking Japanese who would help the Americans understand what was being said, so even the people who couldn't speak Japanese didn't feel left out.

When we took a commemorative photo, so many people brought out their cameras that it was hard to keep our pose long enough to get through them all.

The meeting was help at the poolside bar of the Figueroa Hotel, close to the LACC. Other than the glare of the setting sun, it was a great place to have a leisurely gathering.

Hello, my name is Masa. I'm an anime otaku who will be attending AX for the Sixth time this year.

I've been watching anime for a long time now, so I even know all of the old anime like Space Battleship Yamato, Mobile Suit Gundam, and Super Dimensional Fortress Macross. Akihabara is on my commuting route, so I can tell you anything you'd want to know about it.

I started attending AX after learning about how much love there is for Japanese subculture, such as anime, manga, games, and cosplay. I wanted to see what American fans were like in person.

Since I started going to AX, I've made many new friends. I hope very much that you'll be able to come, so that you, too, can make friends overseas who share your hobbies.