The Animazing Bishoujo Golden Fighter Pilot!
(Accompanying this story is our interviews of the Animazement guests, which can be found here.)
Having been something I've always looked foward to each year, having attended every year since it began in 1998, I was looking foward to Animazement 2003 with a new level of anticipation, knowing I would at last have the opportunity to at last begin my work as a member of the press there. After arriving on Friday, it didn't take me long to walk around and get accustomed to the hotel layout once again and revel in the wonderfully casual atmosphere maintained each year at this ever-growing convention. As always, Animazement was a con that anybody could attend and enjoy, be they a hardcore cosplayer, casual otaku, or someone who just came to hide in the video rooms and game room.
That first afternoon, I had the pleasure of meeting with Yasuo Yamaguchi, Hiroyuki Kitakubo, Yoshinobu Yamakawa, and Kazuto Nakazawa. With the aid of a translator, the handful of us from the press in attendance were able to each get in several questions of the plethora we'd prepared during that hour, which seemed to fly by all too quickly. Later that afternoon, I attended Broccoli and AnimEigo's panels, both of which were fascinating in their own ways, since Broccoli unveiled their plans to start bringing some of Di Gi Charat to North American audiences professionally, while AnimEigo was as cryptic as ever about their plans for the future. That evening I had the pleasure of catching the last half of the Anime Music Video Contest and viewing most of Anime Hell, both of which were handled very well and showcased the video editing talent of many fans, as well as some of the most bizzare, twisted, and hilarious clips of various TV shows and movies from around the world that one could imagine.
I spent the early hours of the second afternoon meeting with Koichi Tsunoda, Hiroaki Sakurai, Asami Sanada, Kyoko Hikami, and Akira Kamiya. I was able to get in more of the questions I'd had to ask with the aid of another couple of translators, and finished my interviews feeling satisfied and pleased with the outcome of each, having been able to meet and converse with some of the most fascinating personalities of the anime industry from Japan. I ended up spending most of the following evening enjoying the video rooms' showcasing of some of the very latest shows from Japan (fansubbed) while Cosplay went on and the traditional Saturday night dance began.
Before I knew it, Sunday had dawned, and when I returned to the con that morning, the feeling of everything winding down was ever present as the otaku gradually trickled out of the hotel and the last minute price slashing began in the Dealer's Room. I couldn't help but almost feel a little sad, knowing it was coming to an end already, but as I have every year, I greatly enjoyed Animazement this year. I'm looking foward to attending again next year.
On the behalf of everyone at Anime Dream, I'd like to extend my thanks to all the guests who took the time out to meet with the press, to all the translators who helped us interview the guests from Japan, and to all the other staff for doing their best to make all this possible. You all made Animazement as wonderful a con as it has been every year in the past.
