Anime Expo 2012 came and went and I find myself not only exhausted but also excited by the number of anime titles and hot properties we can come to expect this year as well as 2013. This year, the Los Angeles Convention Center appeared more swamped with anime fans from all over including friends of ours from Japan. It’s good to see how much love for anime and all things Japanese has really grown.
I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all those myself, Faith McAdams and Felicia Day have met during our coverage and the words of love from our readers we encountered throughout the event. It means the world to us to hear that you enjoy the site and yes we love hugs so thank you Emily and Brina for the warm hugs. Both of them looked awesome as One Piece’s Nico Robin and Nami.
We had fun touring the exhibit halls to see VIZ Media, NIS America, Namco Bandai and FUNimation in one place. It was also fun to see FUNimation promote Panty and Stockings with a stripper pole and lovely girls representing the characters from that series. You can’t go wrong with a stripper pole, right?
There were also a number of awesome panels including one for Bang Zoom! Entertainment that included the talented Michelle Ruff (voice of Rukia Kuchiki in Bleach and Chi in Chobits just to name a few of her roles) as well as a live interview with Yuri Lowenthal (voice of Sasuke in Naruto) and his wife Tara Platt (voice of Temari in Naruto).
Of course, one of my favorite things about Anime Expo is seeing all the cosplayers and this year brought in a number of impressive cosplayers … one of which came as the Going Merry from One Piece. I’m not kidding, somebody actually made a costume of the entire ship as you can see from this picture.
If you have never been to Anime Expo or any anime convention, I highly recommend it. No other place is packed with so much love for this medium and it’s always a good thing to share love for anime and manga with others who love it just as much as you do. It’s certainly a good thing and one that I hope will continue many years from now.
Caught! Our own Felicia Day hard at work sending us pics from the showroom floor.
Animanga Nation 