Women in Anime by Scarlet
As part of the anime lecture series, it’s pretty standard to have an “images of women in anime” type of panel. This year, two Japanese American professors from University of Utah and Kansai Gaidai University had presentations on magical girl anime. The first professor talked about the history of the magical girl genre. She talked about how the early magical girl series focused on a young girl living a normal life, but is granted magical powers to be a magical witch. The professor also credited the popularity of the western series, Bewitched to this phenomenon. Additionally, she talked about how female protagonists in anime often have maternal roles - case in point - Usagi and Chibiusa in Sailor Moon

The other presenter explored the darker side of the magical girl genre. She went into great depth on Magical Madoka. Though a post-modern take on the recent series, she also talked about how not only it is a post-modern pro-feminist view on magical girls, but also how magical girls are often sexualized. She showed a disturbing art piece where there was a naked Japanese man erect in front of the Japanese wording for “young girl.” She provided examples on though Magical Madoka is a post-modern piece, characters are still sexualized into the Lolita complex.

Discussion followed after the panel wherein one girl blurted, “Sailor Moon is a moron. She has bad grades and is in an abusive relationship and relies on the other sailors to do her job.” To which I countered, “Sailor Moon has emotional and moral intelligence. Test scores do not make a person.” I got your otaku parliamentary debate here, bring it! Otherwise, I found this a very exceptional presentation for the academic lecture series!

Sailor Moon Photoshoot by Scarlet
Though I was dressed up as Super Sailor Mars the previous day, there always is a major turnout for Sailor Moon cosplayers at Anime Expo. The Sailor Moon photoshoot was originally schedule to be at the west hall lobby, but since we were a huge group, it was a fire hazard. So we ended up moving the photoshoot to the Staples Center. There were various versions of Sailor Senshi that showed up. Not much in the villains department though. Unique characters included human Luna, older Chibiusa (the Freaky Friday episode from SuperS), and Sailor V. This was a fun gathering of Moonies and it’s still nice to know that though our annual Sailor Moon panel was rejected from AX programming and panels, that Moonie culture is still going strong.

Liz Lisa Doll and Star Marie by Scarlet
I’ll admit. I was first introduced to Liz Lisa by our new site editor, Ashley (Harmonycloud). Liz Lisa’s fashion is defined by girlish wear for a spring or summer day. Light pastels and youthful, yet conservative looks make up Liz Lisa’s style. Anime Expo had a runaway show that highlighted and showcased what Liz Lisa is all about.

In between runaway sets, we were aslo treated to performances by Star Marie. Star Marie is a three girl fantasy idol unit. They were dolled up in pastel waloli (or kimono Lolita) outfits. They had a very bright and poppy sound. While was not quite familiar with this idol trio, this was certainly a treat. I was sitting next to their manager, Toshi-san, during their performance. Even he was amazed at the glowstick wielding otaku in the audience!

Liz Lisa was also selling their current line in the dealers hall. While I did have that extra bit of money to spend on "gal style," most of the sizes available were for a size zero. Unfortunately, not many Americans can squeeze into a size zero!

Maid Café by Scarlet
One of Anime Expo’s delights is their homegrown maid café. The maid café typically charges extra admission for their event. They usually have two regular performances per day and another one that is a much more adult oriented show. Unlike other cons, it is not an open maid café. You would have to purchase a reservation beforehand. Admission get you a table, two personal maids, and games. Table games consisted of jenga and Apples to Apples. Food was not served at this event because of convention center regulations. However, there were performances by the maids. Anytime a team lost in jenga and made the tower fall, they would do a punshiment dance on stage. One such group had to do the Macarena in front of everyone. Admission also got you a maid café tote bag and a mug. There was also a raffle in which attendees can win a maid themed TCG game – it’s like magic the gathering, but you run a mansion and have to organize your maids!

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