In the early 2010s, a lot of small anime conventions were starting up in California. There was AM2, the Anaheim anime convention headed by a former Anime Expo employee. Japan Expo tried to open a US branch that, after 2 years, failed. And then there was KintokiCon, a very tiny convention in Sacramento, CA that popped up in 2011 & ended all operations after its second convention in 2013.

What put this convention on the map for me was Koge Donbo being a guest of honor. With her characters being so bright eyed and cheery, I thought that perhaps this was a reflection of their creator. I was excited to meet Koge Donbo, and I even went so far as to pick up some artwork (Episode 1, Scene 82 Puchiko layout) from the Di Gi Charat anime to share with her.

On the second day of the convention, Koge Donbo held a panel where she spoke about her experience as a mangaka. The small panel room in this hotel was packed to capacity, and unlike many cons where the Q&A portion is entirely scripted, this one wasn't. I asked her if she had kept any of the artwork from the anime version of Di Gi Charat and if so, what was her favorite thing.

Her disposition changed. She became frustrated and responded that not only was she not consulted on the series, but that they gave her nothing from it.

So, here I was, artwork from her show in my hand...standing in front of the creator who was upset that she had nothing from the series that she created.

You know I couldn't let that happen.

The autograph session was later that afternoon. Koge Donbo was experiencing some morning sickness, and we were told in line that it would be a simple autograph and that's it. When I went in to meet her, I handed her the artwork and through one of the nicest translators ever (that would be you, AJ!), told her that she should own something from the series that she created instead of me. She was really touched by the gift.

Anyways, long story short, thanks to AJ's efforts, a couple of us were able to buy some artwork from Koge Donbo. However, due to her editor misplacing it, what we should have received sometime in 2013 was not received until over a year later.


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