Have you seen Totoro as a fried turkey? Or Jake the Dog carrying Cloud's sword? Or how a datingsim comes to life in a Disney series? The influence of anime is seen more and more in western animation. Writers, directors and other creators have grown among anime and this has clearly influenced their work. We will take you to some obscure anime references and show you, how the East and the West meet in animation today.

"Free! is not a sports series" -this is how I have often described KyoAni's "Swimming" anime's relationship with the sports anime genre. But is this true afterall? Why do the sport anime cliche's seen in Free! feel both foreign and familiar at the same time? This programme opens up the importance of the target audience to storytelling, genre cliches and fujoshi-baiting through comparisons and analysis. Warning: contains some terrible videomaterial from ping pong to bicycling as well as a dash of even worse humor.

Can you recognize anime series' songs from the first few notes? Are there no theme's or opening songs that you don't know? Come test yourself in the Anime song quiz! Your mission is to recognize 20 songs: is it a theme, an opening or an ending, what series is the song from and of course, what's the songs name? Up to 50 people can participate! The best result will be rewarded!

Are there too few AMV creators in Finlands Anime community? Are Finland's AMV contests and videos yay or nay? Come converse about Finlands current AMV level and discuss other juicy topics surrounding the subject. The Panel includes Korppari, Eloveena and Se Velho.

In anime, moving the characters inside a game world is an effective way to bring out the main characters hidden talents. How do the main characters survive the challenges of the new environment and what possibilities does this new world present? Is this strange world anything like the real world, or does it finally give the characters the chance to be the best they can be? The presentation examines the series, Log Horizon's Shiroe characters thought processes and admires how the characters of Sword Art Online pass their limits. At the same time, we'll ponder what dangers the game world brings with Welcome to the NHK.

Moomin and Metal? Did you say music? Yes! It really is a combination of TV's Moomin soundtrack and heavy metal, for the second time exclusively at Animecon! With an extra long set!

The best of Sumio Shiratori's Moomin background musics re-arranged and presented "live" by a long-haired man who distantly resembles the Magician. You can also find these covers on youtube!

Digressnig from last year, there are some new songs, improved sounds and musicianship! Perhaps even something special will be in store!

You know Cinderella, peach boy, Princess Kaguya...? Throughout the ages humans have read, listened and created stories; all through Asia, Europe and everywhere else in the world. Different fairytales have also affected both anime and manga right from the first series. How are the fairytales familiar to us described in the hands of anime studio's and manga artists? What are Japanese folk tales like? Traditional fairytale elements can be found in many different series, both in straight up adaptions and cartoons directed at children, but also in some very surprising places. All story hungry folk are welcome!

Have you ever wanted to be an anime character? As stretchy as Luffy in One Piece, capable of blowing up planets with Ki energy like Goku in Dragonball, as great a teacher as Onizuka in GTO, or a fanatic athlete like Shin Seijūrōn in Eye Shield 21?

This programme goes through the pros and cons of being an anime character and digs into some deeper questions: can we all be anime characters, and what is stopping us from being like an anime character?

Come listen and talk about living as an anime character! Come laugh and cry, as this programme spares no humor or drama!

The full potential of the traditional baseball series, Ace of Diamond isn't revealed to the viewer at first glance. What does this sport genre representative hold inside it, and why should you watch further than the first few episodes? This programme scratches only the surface of what Ace of Diamond is, ponders its deeper themes and breaks down some myths and prenotions about the series. This programme doesn't contain any big spoilers, so those unfamiliar with the series, as well as fans are both welcome.

Sports anime and manga, that cradle of versitility, has brought us wrestling, swimmer boys, boxing, motor sports and lots more. This programme talks about Finland's favorite sports and some coincidences from Japan. Come acquaint yourself with some new and old series that Finland, as a sports nation, can be proud of.

Once again The Symphony Orchestra of Kuopio presents its eargasmic Anime Music concert! Being presented for the fourth time, this concert has reached a massive favor among young fans of anime. The concert is sold out!

Many Nintendo heroes have gotten their own manga or even an anime. Now we can laugh about Kirby with a machine gun and Luigi dressed up as a Princess thanks to these adaptations. And let us not foret about Kid Icarus, Pokemon and the adventures of Link.

To honor the confirmation about a second season of Noragami, we created a versatile look into the world of Noragami! We'll orientate ourselves with Japan's tales of gods and beliefs and how they have been presented in the series. In depth analysis, relationships between characters and humor Noragami style is in store! Everyone who follows Yato and is interested in Japanese traditios is welcome! Please note that the programme contains spoilers for the manga!

The Prince of Tennis manga series by Takeshi Konomi began in 1999 and is one of the longest continuing sports series to date. Prince of Tennis, or more familiarly, Tenipuri, in its more than 10 years has produced many anime episodes, special releases, movies and a plethora of tie-in products. This programme concentrates on going through the events of the series and its large cast of characters as well as finding reasons why and how Tenipuri is able to keep its watchers so tightly in tow from year to year.

Is Haru's puberty never ending? Why does Rin have such a strong need to beat Haru? And why did Sousuke quit swimming? This Free! lecture delves deeper into the characters and their feelings. We'll examine the first and second season's hissy fits and emotional outbursts for different characters. Please note this lecture contains spoilers and bad humor.

In the 2015 fourth AMV contest, the judges will reward 3 videos and give out 5 honorable mentions. Come watch the videos that made it to the finale and vote for your favorite!

Lassi "Kitsune" Väänänen, Juhani "Anti-Paavi" Kaakinen and Teme "Perkele" Ekman
combine their forces and delve into gaming and what shakes a gamers world. What happens when real world gaming meets anime and manga series' ultra glamorous feeling. Come witness how the Trinity Kopla creates a disillutive look into the realities of gaming. This programme is rated K15.

A very popular budo-variety that originated on the island of Okinawa has become a very popular sport in Japan and all over the world. The beauty and strength of Karate is seen both on the big screen and the pages of manga. But do anime and real life go hand in hand? What kind of karate series can be found? Is the history of Karate what you thought it was? How is Karate interpreted? Are these questions irritating you? These questions, and many more will be answered during this lecture, spiced with humor of course. In addition, we'll discuss martial arts in general. All Karateka's, Kendoka's, wrestlers, boxers and others are welcome!

How much can you get out of a basketball manga, when the creator didn't know the rules of the game all that well in the beginning? A lot, since beneath the characters' unnatural basketball skills and the basic shounen series attitude: "better the world by winning" is a surprisingly touching growth story. The programme bites into the core of the series by comparing the manga and anime adaptations and looks in terror at how mean high school students can be. To finish it off, we'll take a look into the future. And of course we'll debate about who exactly is the best basketball player.

Do you think you can recognize a mangaka by their art style? Can you recognize and name characters from differeng genre's? If your answer is yes, parttake in the manga quiz either alone or with a friend! The Quiz will begin as a group contest, but in the end, there can be only one winner. If you are interested, sign up by sending an email to katariina.makinen@hotmail.com by 1.7.2015. There are a limited amount of slots, so be quick.