Anime Expo 2012 – The Pregame Edition

Last year’s Anime Expo saw me running around getting all tired and worn-out in the best way possible. The deluge of guests like Kalafina and events like the Mikunopolis concert all seemed to pass by in a blur. As they say, time flies when you’re having fun (or working hard) and there certainly was a lot of fun and hard work to be had all around when you’re trying to hit up as many panels as possible as well as running your own [like the Yuki Kajiura panel I ran (Part 5 still needs to be uploaded)].

When I compared this year’s offerings to last year’s, I fully expect this year’s convention to be a bit more laid-back and relaxing. Whether that’s due to the X-Games coming into town during the same weekend and limiting the number of venues available to Anime Expo or what, I’m not so sure, but fewer must-see guests do grant me a bit more breathing room and I can’t say I’m too displeased. You really can’t go wrong in bringing Yuki Kajiura along with FictionJunction over since their music falls into most anime fans’ sensibilities even if this does make it 2 years in a row where something Kajiura-related has popped up at Anime Expo. LiSA, the singer behind such masterpieces as “Thousand Enemies” from Angel Beats, will be more of a curiosity because if there’s anything her live events have demonstrated, she just doesn’t sing all that well. Perhaps her energy on stage will make up for that like it did with Nirgilis. We’ll see.

Finally, there’s also something about a panel I’m running too, so let me lay out what’s in store for me for this upcoming weekend.

Day 0

There’s nothing more fun than meeting up with people I haven’t seen in over a year, and it looks like last year’s outing has made people want the Day 0 dinner thing to become a tradition. I’m still taking last-minute RSVPs, so if you want in, just sign up by entering your name into the Google Spreadsheet.

Day 1

Absolutely nothing! At work for the day, so I’ll be missing out on things like the Yuki Kajiura panel as well as the AniMetal concert. I am somewhat curious about what the latter will entail though, so if someone can fill me in on the performance, that would be great!

Day 2

I might sit in on the AniMetal panel if sheer curiosity as to what they’re all about takes over and no one plans any meetups between then and the LiSA panel in the late afternoon. Maybe some Fate/Zero thrown in somewhere in there too? After that, it’s off to the Yuki Kajiura concert where she’ll hopefully do some solo performances in addition to songs in conjunction with FictionJunction.

Day 3

The entire day is actually nice and free with only the LiSA concert being the big thing to plan the day around. Again, also available for meetups if/when they occur.

Day 4

The timing wasn’t really great, but there will be an Anime Instrumentality panel this year and its topic area will be relatively broader compared to last year’s Kajiura panel. The gist of it is that there will be many videos shown and much discussion of music. For those who are interested in attending, the information for the panel is as follows:

Time: 1:30pm
Day: July 2nd (Monday)
Location: LP2 (LACC 502 AB)

Hope to see at least some people there even if it’s the last day of the convention!

Comparatively speaking, there will be less blood, sweat, and tears to be had this year, which is just as well since I seem to be busier and busier. Nevertheless, I am looking to meet up with people (that’s honestly the best part of a convention), listening to some music artists talk about their experiences, and soaking in some tunes amidst a large crowd of fans. So for those who aren’t able to make it, do look forward to the concert reports as well as the slew of videos and commentary. And those of you who’ll be there, I look forward to meeting new and familiar faces!