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Japanese Cosplayers: While cosplayers in America are moving up in the chain of quality and visual success, they still have a ways to go when compared to Japanese cosplayers in terms of exquisite weekend gatherings, such as those featured in Japan nearly every week. For the Japanese cosplayer, it's even more of a lifestyle to plan for and attend major events like Comiket, Cospa, gatherings in Harajuku, and numerous other events. Highlights also included cosplay resources, photography concerns, being recognized by friends and coworkers, favorite costumes, and relationships with other cosplay groups throughout the year.
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Anime Trivia Game Show: It's time to test that anime knowledge to the limit as fans got a chance to prove their worth and see who comes out on top. Trivia questions ranged from extremely difficult to easy enough that the audience could throw jeers at the contestant, but it's all in good fun. Such subjects included: Cowboy Bebop, Marmalade Boy, Captain Tylor, Haunted Junction, Captain Tsubasa, Ayashi no Ceres, Gundam Wing Endless Waltz, Key the Metal Idol, Escaflowne, El Hazard, Magical Knights Rayearth, and much more.
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Q&A with Crispin Freeman: Crispin Freeman is always an inspiration for young and old anime fans in the fan community as well as within the voice acting industry. For this reason, he has brought up interesting concerns about plot development, and his views about character analysis and recurring themes have led him to subjects of mythology in anime shows. Focusing on the dramatic aspects details included delivery on sadness, fright, despair, truth and consequences, ethical concerns, and limits of morals.
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J-Rock: J-Rock is not all about heartbreak, it's about pushing the edge of style and fashion in the increasingly media-driven rock music video world. Panelists Rachael and Lisa talked about web resources, use of drama, fabrics for cosplay, and band doujinshis. Additional neat highlights included what bands influence Japanese and American fans: Americans liked Koji, Gackt, Hide, and Malice Mizer, whereas Japanese fans liked the Ramones, Kiss, Iggy Pop, David Bowie, and X-Japan.
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State of the Anime Industry: Representatives from ADVision, Right Stuf International, and Manga Entertainment were on hand to discuss the present and future of anime and how it might evolve with the embracement of computer graphics. Highlights included early involvement of CG during AnimeCon91, keeping fandom alive, bringing in more vendors, observing the movement of more anime conventions, being optimistic about CG like Final Fantasy Movie, and much more.
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Ironcat Boys: How to Talk to Women the Right Way: The Boys at Studio Ironcat get to the point very quickly: don't expect to hook up with girls at an anime convention. Emphasis was placed on common sense, having respect, being polite and friendly, and most importantly taking control of your grooming. While cosplay helps a bit, girls generally do not like crazy otakus or hanging out with anyone even remotely questionable. The panel also went into J-Rock, goth fashions, lolita, implants, and some issues that actually scare guys away; possibly a good thing for most female fans.
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