Day two of Anime Expo. We had the whole team ready to go – Jared, Stan, and Deb were joining the then-solo Eri Kagami. It was a magical, yet overcast Friday. Sailor Moon Day was in full swing. The Sailor Moon S dub actors were revealed as our black Jetta cruised down the 110 freeway into downtown Los Angeles. “How do you feel Johan (Monster) voicing Professor Tomoe?” I asked.

Dealers Hall by Eri Kagami
Anime Expo’s dealers hall is very daunting; a mix of industry booths and anime vendors. Sentai Filmworks, Funimation, Pony Canyon, Daisuki, and Viz dominated the front of the exhibit hall. This time around, Hall G was being utilized to accommodate more dealers. Hall G was originally meant for main events in previous years. The towering industry booths can make one believe that Anime Expo is a trade show on the surface. However, the big difference is that you can buy goods at these booths. While industry giants showed off their latest releases, I could still grab a Sailor Moon R shirt and tote from Viz. Additionally, gaming companies were very much present on the floor. Japanese RPG’s and mobile games also dominated the South Hall exhibitor space. My personal favorite booth had to be Voltage. They are best known for their otome games (dating games meant for an older female audience). You can pose with booth gents at a chapel set up.

As far as Anime Expo exclusives go, Bushiroad had some Love Live School Idol Festival wall scrolls, notebooks, keychains, etc at the booth. Natsume's Harvest Moon had a few deals wherein if you bought the new game, you could get a free Harvest Moon plush. Daisuki offered some exclusive Fate and Sailor Moon figures. I do find it interesting that they didn’t have the Zoisite disguised as Sailor Moon available until San Diego Comic Con where the figure could have made a killing at Anime Expo.

Anime Expo also had the usual anime and cosplay vendors. As a J-fashion fan, I appreciated seeing some otome and Lolita style dresses available from various booths. I was hoping one Tralala booth would have the exclusive Sailor Moon Crystal tie ins. Additionally, you could also grab some Lolita and steampunk accessories in the dealers hall as well. For figure collectors, this was heaven.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventures Premiere by Eri Kagami
Jojo fans filled up Petree Hall, the largest programming room at Anime Expo, in anticipation for the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures dub premiere. Two episodes would be shown; one from Phantom Blood and the other from Battle Tendency. Thus, this covered two generations of Jojo. Last year, the Stardust Crusader’s dub premiered at Anime Expo and Otakon. This time around, we had the series director, Naokatsu Tsuda present for Q&A after the showing. “I thought this was going to be a kids show,” said someone in the audience behind us as they were watching the Dio and Jonathan battle in Phantom Blood. The dub for Phantom Blood seemed too over the top much like a Monty Python skit. While Jojo does get over the top, even scenes that were meant to be serious were underplayed by American actors trying too hard to sound British. The next episode was Joseph’s introduction. Joseph is voiced by Ben Diskin and his street wise buddy is voiced by Robbie Daymond. Robbie was an amazing Smokey. Ben Diskin’s British accent was a tad districting; I liked his emotion and delivery, but considering he’s New York’s Jojo, I was expecting more of a casual, streetwise American accent than a British one. However, the script and dialogue seemed to work perfect.

We had a Q&A after the panel with Ben Diskin and the voice director for the American adaption of the popular franchise. Naokatsu Tsuda joined the two. Q&A was very limited. Since Jojo is a popular franchise, fans lined up immediately. However, some questions required answered and attention longer than others. I wish there was a way to have Q&A moving efficiently.  Questions about series four getting an animated adaptation were brought up. Favorite stands and choices for ending songs were also discussed too. Araki did have say in the choices for closing songs; they were on his playlist as he was working on the series.

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