Dubs Time Forgot
Sunday morning kicked off with awesomely bad dubs from the 80s. This early morning panel highlighted a not-so-forgotten time when anime had low quality dubbing. Many of the examples shown were from the 70s and 80s. In this case, we saw highlights from the Ultraman animation (both Japanese anime and the Hannah Barbera adaptation), Blue Sonnet, and Winds of Change. Winds of Change was a very interesting one. It was a animated version of Clash of the Titans. It was produced by Sanrio. It had very cutesy character designs; almost out of Precious Moments, but the story still had a naked Medussa. We were treated to some really bad dubs; this presentation is a reminder of why we should appreciate the companies we have right now. This flashback was a nice ride to the past and enjoy some bad dubs.

Gripe Session
The one panel you will see on the last day of most conventions is the traditional gripe session, wherein con goers talk to staff about the problems the convention had that year. This year the staff got lucky as the majority of the people who came up to comment began talking about how good the convention was. I guess this event was darn near perfect, what luck that we could attend. The primary complaints were about lines, issues with autograph times, and one guy who brought up the very weak panel schedule as this year had no Tokusatsu, Gundam, or genre-specific panels. Most of the answers seemed half hearted and it was not clear if the staff was really paying attention. After the panel the staff did stick around for a bit in order to talk with attendees one on one in order to see what other advice they could ignore.

What Anime Fans Do Why and How
The last of the lecture series at Anime Expo, this session was still filled to capacity. Though it was Sunday, otaku wanted to know what exactly do they do. This presentation had two lecturers; Leavitt (USC) and Brenner (Cornell). Professor Leavitt covered the current Tumblr phenomenon. Using infographics to back up his claims, he went into great depth to talk about how Tumblr connects fandoms and how fandom is shared with others. Re-shares of graphics and texts show the share-ability and connection between how fans get information and share their feelings on their fandoms via Tumblr.

The second presentation by Brenner (Cornell) focused on cosplay economics. This was focused on how cosplayers spend money and make money. The first part covered the rise of cosplay resources such as wig dealers. Then he also covered how cosplayers can also make money by performing commissions for other cosplayers, selling prints, opening up a business, etc. He cited examples from Yaya Han, Jessica Nigri, and Yuffie Bunny. He expressed interest in having Yaya and Jessica Nigri to talk about their experience in the cosplay business, but due to time constaints, they were unable to make it. He also talked about how cosplayers like Vampy are hosting after parties and how dealers hall exhibits are hiring cosplayers to help promote new anime. If you missed the panel and want to see all of Brenner’s sides, you can find them at this blog.

Artist Alley and Dealers Hall by Jared
One of the biggest draws at larger conventions is the dealer hall, this year Anime Expo put together a good mix of different booths. From video games to figures there were plenty of options and with the room as big as it is there were booths that could easily be overlooked. For example, Toei had a booth and most people had no idea they were at the con. It was nice to see NIS return as this is one of the few conventions they attend to sell their merchandise at a discount from the website. While there were plenty of figure dealers it seemed like many booths had the same old figures, but it was nice to see a Phantas-moon on sale. There were also booths dedicated to cosplay and fashion giving several choices for those who need those last minute supplies for their costume. Odds are whatever you were looking for you could find this year.

Leaving Anime Expo by Scarlet
Anime Expo was coming to a close. The attendees were making their way home. A dealer at the Entertainment Hall was giving away Monkey D. Luffy hats to everyone. That’s one way to giveaway extra stock! South Hall was slowly becoming much more empty as the dealers hall was letting out. West Hall seemed like a nice place to hang out while waiting for friends to get out of closing ceremonies. It’s always bittersweet to say farewell to friends knowing you have to be on a red eye flight home. Anime Expo closed another chapter and the crew went to their usual after-con Curry House dinner.

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