Enter Line Con. By the dawn of the first day, four day tickets for Anime Expo were already sold out - a first ever for the convention's 25 year history. Anime Expo lines were spilling to the flower district with people waiting as long as three hours before they can get in. While it was much breezier than previous years, it was still a pain for attendees to get their badge and be able to experience the con.

Mari Ijima Concert by Jared the Greek
One of the fun parts of Anime Expo is that on occasion they hold smaller concerts in the main events room during the convention. Often times this gives you a more intimate way of seeing various performers without rushing for tickets. Long time AX guest and voice of Minmei from Macross Mari Ijima performed several iconic songs from her role including "Do You Remember Love" and "My Boyfriend is a Pilot". The convention staff was handing out glowsticks before the show and everyone was shaking them along with the music. It was a fun show that was a great way to start up the convention. If you have the chance to see Mari Ijima live you should as she is a great performer and her stories about her career are really interesting.

Card Captor Sakura Premiere by Jared the Greek
One of the premieres that had people buzzing was the new Cardcaptor Sakura continuation "Clear Card Prologue". The main events room was packed with people curious to see what adventures Sakura would find herself in this time. The story picks up as the original story ends, but adds more to the conclusion making it a very emotional watch. Then everyone was shocked to see an after credits segment that got the show audience going crazy. It was an enjoyable watch, but some people in the audience freaked out over every other line disrupting the experience. Another highlight of the show was hearing the production staff talk about the project. It was clear that a large amount of love was put into this project and the team was excited to see it become a major part of more people's lives. At the end of the premiere everyone in the audience was given a code for a digital copy of the first part of the manga which was a nice bonus.

Welcome to the Ballroom Panel and Live Drawing by Eri Kagami
The first episode isn't even out yet and there's much hype for the dancesport themed anime! Anime Expo invited artists and creators from the newest summer anime series for a live Q&A and live drawing. While the manga has been out for some time, fans of the manga asked the artists questions about bringing dancesport style and technique to life. Pony Canyon, the animation studio for this new series, also gave out free stickers to those in attendance. The booth even had an actual dance floor to teach ballroom lessons by Bay Area cosplay and gamer legend, Brain Age Guy.

Fandom Saved my Life: Exploring Mental Illness Through Fandom by Eri Kagami
Fandom can heal. Fandom can also blind. In recent years, conventions have had "fandom issues" related panels at cons. While these issues are important to discuss, they also need to be handled carefully. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Hosted by cosplay senpais, Kiba Cosplay and Queersplay, the panel attempted to cover mental health and how fandom can be a helpful coping device. Kiba Cosplay is known for being service animal and has been cosplay senpai for the past few years. Kiba's owner talked about her anxiety and how Kiba has helped her navigate through cons as well as getting through each day. I thought Kiba Cosplay was the strongest and most insightful speaker of the panel.

I did like how each person in Queersplay told their personal story. I know the importance of sharing one's truth so that others may listen and find common ground. However, the panel derailed to TMI and each of them talking more about LBGTQ+ issues. While there is intersection between LBGTQ+ issues and mental health, it took away time that could have been used to talk about mental health myths particularly in cases like depression, spectrum disorders, anxiety, etc. It's one thing to tell a personal story and hoping your audience can relate, it's also the responsibility of the panelists to discuss the topic at hand. I can cite times where I had friends who had panic attacks at cons and passerby's were generally rude. In one case, a thirsty photographer told me I was in the way of his shot, despite I needed a quiet place to breathe.

This panel had potential in helping others cope and navigate through life with fandom was a coping and strengthening device, but failed to deliver the message. The panel failed to address many important factors - we live in age where depression and mental illness posts are reblogged, but there is very little action. There have been cases in the Steven Universe and Sailor Moon fandom where the fandom was too much that the toxicity drove certain fandom members to suicide attempts. I did not leave because I found the content triggering, I left because this was not productive in making cons safer spaces. Should Anime Expo consider having this panel again, they need to have better presenters, or at least have someone run through the presentation slides and content. Having the wrong people discuss this issue is very dangerous, especially when you have a full panel room.

And this my friends, is the very danger and an example of what's wrong when you let cosfame take over.

Saturday had a lot of panels going on. It's almost impossible to get the full feel of Anime Expo in one day. We started our day early by trying to get to the dealers hall and we ended around 7PM. Even though there was much nightlife at the con, for us 30-somethings, sometimes you just want to unwind at the hotel and perhaps get a sneak peak of the karaoke shows at the JW.

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