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Panels, panels, and more
panels, and did we forget discussion time for Q&As? From voice acting sessions to
anime clubs, Guests of Honor to game shows, AX2004 had more panels and events than even the
craziest single attendee could even attend. With so much stuff to see and do, it proved
extremely challenging to provide coverage on most of the panels, but LLNN managed to capture
some of the highlights of weekend. |
Anime
Expo 2004 |
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 Guest Focus Panels: With tons of guests of honor adorning the AX
weekend with panels and autograph signings, one big guest stood out this year: Seki Tomokazu. A very popular Japanese voice actor with over 50 titles to his credit, Seki has played vocal roles as Van Fanel in "Escaflowne", Ikumi in "Infinite Ryvius", Junpei Ryuzoj in "Those Who Hunt Elves", Kyou Sohma in "Fruits Basket", Ashton Anchors in "Star Ocean", Ken Hidaka in "Weiß Kreuz", Igunis in "Wedding Peach", Hiromu Oshima in "Chobits", Chichiri in "Fushigi Yuugi", Keisuke Takahashi in "Initial D", and many others. Panel highlights included future shows he is working on, fan favorite phrases for the audience, and a big autograph session. |
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| Voice Acting: Galaxy Angel: Akira Kamiya and his team of NEEC students held
an interactive voice acting session for the American fans to join with the Japanese students in performing scripts to the upcoming Galaxy Angels anime. Attendees got a chance to learn how difficult it is to really get behind the mic and become the character, sync with the screen time, act out different roles, and rehearse all the lines for the sound engineers. |
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| Laserdiscs for the Modern
Age: Veterans of the anime
collecting groups came together to discuss and trade interests about the media they grew up
with. Topics included various LD and DVD players, favorite anime to play, AC-3 sound
capabilities for the ultimate anime screening experience, finding used players on eBay, and
much more. |
Anime Singled Out: It's the anime fan dating show of the
weekend. With plenty of opportunities to find the special goofy someone for
entertainment value, trivia involved all sorts of favorite anime-related activities and then
some. |
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| Yaoi and Shounen-Ai Fandom: It's a growing interest in the anime and manga
world, and panelists were on hand to explain and discuss topics including mature themes of
yaoi, how Americans approve of yaoi, and watching more of Gravitation, Ghost, Saiyuki, and
Yami no Matsue to really understand what yaoi is all about. |
.Hack: U.S. PCB
Productions: Make no mistake that
American companies are really serious about pushing more anime towards the hungry fans, and
the entire cast and crew of .Hack series proved their commitment. With over 20 voice
acting and directorial and producer celebrities showing up, .Hack is sure to be another big
success for the United States. |
[Panels and Discussions Gallery 1] [Panels and Discussions Gallery 2]