Scarlet Rhapsody typically does panels at anime conventions. We woke up in the morning bright and early to make it to our 9AM panel. Luckily, we did not run into any traffic on the freeway. However, it was a pain finding for parking. Unfortunately, we could not park in West Hall, so it was a mad dash to get from South Hall to West Hall by 9AM.

Moon Prism Poptarts R by Victoria

The "R" is for Returns! I had to go through a very adverse process to get this panel to be on the schedule for Anime Expo. Long story short, it was initially rejected. Despite the fact that Sailor Moon is celebrating their 20th anniversary, it was rejected by programming. I was able to appeal and compromise to have an early 9AM timselot. The downside is that we were parked in South Hall and we were running late. With less than 10 minutes to get from South Hall to West Hall, we made it on the dot.

We had some issues setting up the laptop to the projector. However, we did have a lite audience for the 9AM panel. As an incentive, I gave away free poptarts at the end of the panel. The panel had new information and discussion on the early Sailor Moon fandom in the late 90s and early 2000s. We were also quite surprised that people still remembered Anipike as the main hub for all anime resources! Otherwise, the panel turned out well. We wished we could have had more time and had better timeslot, but just like Sailor Moon's early days in the USA, we were given the suddent death slot.

Mad props to the technical staff at Petree Hall for getting everything set up and providing top notch customer service.

 

Sailor Moon Gathering by Victoria

No Anime Expo is complete without the Sailor Moon cosplayers. Compared to last month's Fanime, the turnout to the Sailor Moon gathering was very lite. However, we did have people show up to take photos and cosplayers who were rocking their favorite Sailor Moon character. Jared was dressed as Professor Tomoe and I was debuting my Super Sailor Mars. This was a fairly decent turnout. However, we did not have a gathering leader. People thought I was the gathering leader. Luckily, Super Sailor Jupiter and Sailor V decided to take charge of the gathering. (I would have, but my voice was shot since the previous day)

The gathering was held in West Hall, far away from the hecticness that is South Hall. Luckily, we were indoors and did not have to worry about the heat. Once we were done with taking photos, we all went our own merry way to lunch.

Food Trucks Part 2: Bacon Boogalo by Jared

The food trucks also returned on day two with a couple new trucks and a much larger crowd. While it was still nice to get a cheap and quick meal, the large crowd made it difficult to get around the area. It was nice to see that the food trucks had gotten so popular, but between the people and the weather it made it a rough trip for those hoping to get a quick lunch. Some truck took longer than others and the lack of shade made wait painful for cosplayers mixed in the large group of people. The team was so worn out from this trip that we did not make a return trip to the food truck area for the rest of the convention.

 

AMV Chef by Victoria

One of the strongest programming tracks at Anime Expo 2012 was the anime music videos (AMVs). There were several interesting AMV related panels and presentations including trailers, AMVs that introduced otaku to new anime, and of course, the contests. AMV Chef is much like Iron Chef. Contestants are chosen to edit a music video in a short amount of time. Prior to the convention, contestants are given names of anime that they will be working with. In this case, contestants were given Macross Plus and Redline. It is not until at con they learn about a third "ingredient" to add to the mix. In this case, it was to use clips from the live action Speed Racer movie.

We were able to catch the two finalists for AMV chef. Both contestants went for the high octane action angle. Given that these shows are fast paced and full of adrenaline, it made sense to go for the more action-y route. I ended up liking what both finalists produced in a short amount of time.

 

Town Hall for Anime Podcasters by Jared

One of the more interesting workshops was the anime podcaster town hall. Several people from different podcasts and videocasts gathered to share ideas and discuss the challenges with developing a voice and an audience. While there was only a small group of people at the workshop, but there was plenty of questions, suggestions, and conversation. It was nice to hear the concerns of others in the podcasting world and the discussion ranged from getting started to how to network with others in the podcasting field. Conventions need more gatherings and workshops built around this aspect of fandom as it is a great way to network and expand skill sets.

 

Auditioning for Bang Zoom: Rock You Like a Voice Actor by Victoria

AX Idol was postponed for the 2012 show. In lieu of the voice acting and singing contest, Bang Zoom decided to hold auditions from Friday to Sunday on the showroom hall. Tony Oliver was hosting this open and public auditions for aspiring voice actors. Bang Zoom is one of the leading recording studios for anime voice acting. They have worked on current shows like Madoka and K-On. They are always looking for new talent. Over 200 hopefuls auditioned in front of the mic.

The audition process was different than I had expected. I thought we were going to do a lip flap live read in a makeshift booth. However, each gender was given a choice of three different voices to go for. We were given the characters minutes before going up to the microphone. These weren't established anime or video characters. We were given something from a very obscure source. It was actually pretty fun because it allowed you to use your imagination.

I was one of the later people to go up in front of the microphone. I decided to go for the sultry female vampire. While Tony Oliver has heard my "moe" range, I decided go for my deeper range that I used for Chat Noir shows (and I was fighting allergies). I said my lines in front of the mic and I got a "very good" from Tony. It is unknown when contestants are going to recieve their results, but it would be nice to recieve constructive feedback. This was really fun and I hope Bang Zoom does this again next year. It was an apt substitute for AX Idol, but I certainly hope that AX Idol does make a comeback in 2013. Thank you for the opportunity, Bang Zoom!

 

Anime TV by Jared

As the show comes to an end the Anime TV panel allowed fans to celebrate the show one last time. The panel featured clips from the various seasons of the show in addition to the cast members talking about some of their favorite moments. The panel eventually started going into more meta-topics such as what is the definition of anime and the current shifts in the industry. While there were no solid answers it did give fans the chance to reflect on fandom. This was a great panel and an enjoyable way to bring a close to the fan favorite web series. While the cast said that they may come back again, it will likely not happen while the industry is in decline.

 

Tomorrow was going to be our big masquerade day. Unfortunately, there was not much going on at con after 6PM. With very little choices for a sit down dinner to pass the time, we thought it would be appropriate to go home. The usual places for a sit down dinner were closed off due to the X Games. We ended up picking up burger and fries from a local grab and go. For the rest of the night, we worked hard on ironing out last minute prep for masquerade.

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