Linus Lam's Coverage of Anime North 2001

Panels and Seminars and Workshops, oh my! Anime North 2001 offered a wide variety of panels featuring many esteemed Guests of Honor, noted fans, and representatives from the domestic anime industry all heading healthy discussions on various exciting anime and manga-related topics ranging from new shows, fan activities, historical perspectives, and other forms of fan entertainment lasting throughout the weekend. Packed full of attendees, every single panel or activity offered something to learn from. If only school or work meetings were this stimulating.

Anime North 2001
Panels and Workshops 1


Making Music Videos: Experienced fans used examples such as the well-known El Hazard to talk about timing issues, finding the right scene clips, finding the right music to fit the mood and rhythm, and submitting to anime convention music video contests.	Gay Themes in Anime and Manga: With an abundance examples of gay themes in fan art and fan fictions, panelists also mentioned a surfacing of fan conventions (ShoujoCon, YaoiCon, LesboCon that explore this route of self-expression.

Costuming for Grownups: Derwin Mak (left), Lisa (center), and Tristen Citrine (right) talked about the challenges that adults must confront when delving into the cosplay frontier. It's fun and it definitely grabs attention, but as an adult it must also be done tastefully and with style. Examples of proper use of cosplay materials such a spankies and characters that look really well on an adult were mentioned as well as concerns about where to start purchasing supplies such as wigs, fabrics, and the usual assortment of cosplay goodies for adults on that well-known thing called a budget.

Wandering Iron Author Fan Fiction: A quiet and relaxing place for fan fictioneers, panelists and participating Iron Author contestants read off their stories that included dramas, love stories, lemon parodies, comedies, and interesting crossovers.	Cute Girls Who Kick Butt: For everyone, it's all about Card Captor Sakura, Sailor Senshis, or Wedding Peach, but that's where the cultural differences between Japan and North America come out. Always a concern and an obstacle, panelists spoke out about how North America must face its challenges dealing with lesbian themes, censorship, strong female stereotypes, marketing, and of course, toys.