Linus Lam's Coverage of AnimeExpo2000

Panels! Panels! Panels! More panels than you can shake a stick at and then some! AX2000 offered a huge four-day weekend variety of panels galore featuring many esteemed Guests of Honor, noted fans, and industry representatives from as far as Japan all heading healthy discussions on various exciting anime and manga-related topics ranging from new shows, fan activities, industry follow-ups, historical perspectives, and other forms of fan entertainment lasting well into the night. Packed full of attendees, every single panel or activity offered something to learn from, whether you were into the discussion subject or not, as shown below with a brief description of each session.

AnimeExpo2000
Friday Panels Gallery 2


Escaflowne Movie discussion panel where attendees received a double-dose of Esca-info from director Mr. Kazuki Akane and surprise guest and the movie's character designer Mr. Nobuteru Yuki. Following the discussion, fans got a chance to watch the world premiere showing of Escaflowne the Movie: A Girl in Gaia.	Mr. Keiji Gotoh's (right) focus panel where he discussed his design works from Martian Successor Nadesico, Bakuretsu Hunters, and the new series Gatekeepers.

Mr. Kazuto Nakazawa's (right) focus panel where he discussed his involvement with El Hazard OVA series, Tenchi in Tokyo, his personal likening for drinking and partying, and new projects for the fall season.	Did you know where to sign up for Masquerade? OK, so it wasn't a panel, but it was definitely an important room to get to to confirm your participation in the Masquerade Contest on Friday!

Maison Ikkoku panel showed all-time favorite clips of the long-running TV series by Rumiko Takahashi and discussed at length the characters and mini-plots woven into this memorable romantic comedy.	Shitajiki panel: what are they? Shitajikis are those cool plastic collectible boards you can write on that offer a wealth of pictures from your favorite anime shows. Here attendees learned from moderator Abel Solis what shitajikis look like, where to buy them, and how to take care of them.

The follow-up discussion session after the Escaflowne Movie. Shown above are some notable figures from the past (left to right): Mr. Ken Iyadomi of Bandai Entertainment (AX92 GoH), Minoru Takanashi (producer at Bandai), surprise guest Mr. Nobuteru Yuki (AX94 and AX97 GoH) offering answers to many questions with movie director Mr. Kazuki Akane (speaking into mic).	The EX Online panel, moderated by its staff writers and members (left to right): Scott Frazier (AX94 and AX95 GoH), Scanner Luce, Charles McCarter, Chadwick Ngan, and David Ho (RIAP). Attendees could get some hot info on the future of EX as it dives into more industry news, guest interviews, and visual enhancements that make it the #1 online anime and manga newsletter in the entire world.