80s Anime by Jared
This was a panel with a great idea, but terrible execution.  Looking at the restrictions put on TV series via broadcast standards is an interesting subject.  Looking at popular shows from the 80s is also a great idea.  However, when put together this whole panel became a brief statement about the existence of Broadcast Standards & Practices followed by showing a series of mecha anime openings with no context.  While a long time mecha fan will know many of these shows the host did not elaborate on most of the shows.  The panel felt scattered and the host seemed very unprepared. 

Fandom Ettiquette by Jared
This seemed like a very interesting subject for a panel, but sadly the hosts did not arrive. Instead a member of the staff showed up and ran an impromptu 'ask a staff member' panel. While it was nice having a chat with a staff member, it would have been more interesting to actually see what this panel had to offer.

Cosplay Fashion Show by Eri Kagami
I was not intending on attending the cosplay fashion show, but because of the slow nature of Anime California, I decided to go for it anyway. I was approached by the organizer of this event if I were to be present on Sunday. Her goal of this show was to have cosplayers do a runway show and also help promote them by displaying their social media on screen as they walked. The event was held in a panel room with aisle space for cosplayers to treat like the runway. The hostess was Rago from Kill La Kill and she slayed as MC. She also did trivia in between the walk ons; prizes were random. Because she was cosplaying as the main villain from Kill La Kill, some prizes were great, others were gag prizes. The runway portion of this event ended fairly quick. Because we were making references to Rupaul's Drag Race, the last half hour ended up becoming a lip sync for your life contest.

Fashion Boutique by Eri Kagami
One of the main events of Anime California was the fashion shows. There were two main shows; one for all ages and another one after dark that showcased lingerie and intimate apparel. The fashion boutique was open for an hour at the end of the day Sunday for shoppers to browse around to see if there were any items they wanted to take home. There were designers selling clothes and accessories. Because it was open later in the day as people were leaving, not many people were able to stop by the boutique. The boutique feels like it gets their idea from PMX where there is a dedicated dealer space for fashion designers. I think this would have fared better if this was combined into the Artist Alley / Dealers Hall.

Fandom to Remix by Jared Griego
This was one of the few music themed panels at Anime California. It began by discussing the various electronic music genres and how to present your music to the public. It was then followed by showing examples of various theme songs, effects, and clips being used to create a song. The panel concluded with a discussion about equipment and the importance of knowing the audience. It was a really interesting panel that made me wish I was into composing music because it does seem like a really fun job.

Hidden Gems in Steven Universe by Eri Kagami
This was our third time running Hidden Gems in Steven Universe and our first time presenting this panel in Southern California. The goal of this panel is to discuss classic anime and video game references in Steven Universe. Because this was during the end of the day on Sunday, people were filtering in and out. I understood that people either had rides to catch or they had to leave; our panel had the 3PM Sunday slot. However, we got a very good audience of Steven Universe fans that seemed pretty engaged to learn about classic anime and video games. Prior to the panel, we also had to update some of the references including Evangelion, Initial D, and Ultraman. This had Jared and Stan excited to talk about these titles.

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