Day Three
I awoke late on Sunday morning because the alarm failed to go off at the appointed time. Or that is to say, it did go off but was so quiet that I failed to hear it. Needless to say by the time I woke up, the panel I had planned on attending Sunday morning was already halfway over. Instead, I decided to take my time getting ready and actually eat breakfast that morning. True to my decision on the first day of the con, I had eaten practically nothing for the rest of the trip, existing on barely one meal a day and confined myself to $2.00 meals at places like Jack in the Box instead of con food.

By the time the Bang Zoom panel ended, seating for the Sakamoto Maaya concert had pretty much ended, but since I was press it was easy for me to sneak in through the VIP entrance and find my seat in the second row. Maaya hadn't appeared yet, and the stage was bare except for one large screen in the center and the two screens that flanked the stage. The crowd was restless, chanting Maaya's name. Finally, the star appeared, wearing a simple, white tank top with a silver, bolero-style sleeveless jacket, torn jeans and a sparkly gold scarf-belt. Behind her, the screen swirled hypnotic, pixilated backgrounds and clips from her videos as she sang. During her first few songs, her sweet, clear voice shook a little from nervousness. In between, she paused to talk to the audience in English, sharing with them that she was nervous and amazed at the amount of fans that had come to see her.

Charming and charismatic, the crowd worshipped the petite star, peppering her with shouts of "I love you!"and "Will you marry me?" while she laughed and replied, "I love you maybe, too!" Singing popular songs from anime that she had done over the years, the concert started off with Yakusoku wa Irani from Vision of Escaflowne, followed by Platinum from Card Captor Sakura. She then entranced the audience with Mameshiba from Arjuna and Kiseki no Umi from Record of Lodoss War. Pausing again to talk to her fans, Maaya's voice soared on Yubiwa from Escaflowne. Gravity from Wolf's Rain was a gorgeous treat as it was crooned by her in clear English. Wrapping things up with Gift from CLAMP School Detectives and Pocket wo Kara ni Shite again from Escaflowne, Maaya left the stage, to appear only moments later when the crowd began to clamor for an encore. All smiles, she sang Kaze ga Fuki Hi from Vision of Escaflowne, telling the audience that singing it always made her feel happy and she hoped that it would make the audience feel happy, as well.

After the concert, the next stop for many con-goers was the Hellsing Ultimate OVA panel. Located right next to the main event hall, it was just a mere matter of pushing through the crowd to the room. The previous panel was running long, but that didn't stop impetuous Hellsing fans from infiltrating the panel and snagging choice seats as they were vacated by previous occupants. I managed to get a front row center seat, even without the aid of a press pass at what turned out to possibly be the most popular panel at Anime Expo.

Ueda also stated that the original voice actors for Alucard, Seres and Integra will be returning. Musically, however, he stated that the OVA will be going in a different direction with orchestral songs, and though no formal announcement has been made, he mentioned composer Matsuo Hayato. Other changes include a change to Seres' uniform back to its original yellow color with the higher budget OVA. Also, the super deformed art style used at times in the manga will also be used periodically in the OVA, as well.

When asked questions about Hellsing, creator Hirano Kouta most often replied that he just made it up to meet deadlines. However, when asked why it was set in London, he said it was because he'd stayed in a hotel there, and the staff had been very rude to him, so it was to get revenge. He also stated that, because of the looming deadline, Seres' name is arbitrary and made up; he didn't even know if it makes sense as an English name. Also, when a curious fan asked why Seres' breasts suddenly got bigger when she was made into a vampire, he replied, "Because I like big boobs." Fudentani got revenge on the deadline-fearing manga-ka, however, when a fan asked about the Young Walter stories being translated. Asking the crowd if they would like more of Young Walter, he promised that there would be coming this fall... much to Hirano's horror. Fudentani stated that there would be no merchandising of the Millennium Group, as even in Japan they couldn't sell anything Nazi-related.

During the panel, I was already starting to feel a little sick, and afterward it only got worse. Making my way out of the crowd and beingg sure to get my Hellsing postcard and stickers, I promptly took some medication and went to find my seat for the upcoming Masquerade. Unfortunately, it was just not meant to be. The medicine I had taken wasn't helping in the least, so I made a desperate escape to my car, where I ended up falling asleep until the boom of fireworks over Disneyland woke me up some time later. Shakily, I made my way back to Glendale to try and get a full night's recovery for the interviews the next day.

Day Four
On Monday, I awoke feeling somewhat better but nervous as it was the day for my interviews with Sakamoto Maaya and KOTOKO. I managed to eat a little bit of breakfast, then took some time getting ready to make sure I looked appropriately professional. Or so I hoped. Traffic on the Fourth of July was perhaps the best that I had ever seen it while I was down there, thus I made it to the convention center in record time.

Making my way up to the Hilton Suite that Geneon was using for its base of operations, I found myself warmly received and invited to sit, relax and help myself to a huge buffet of sandwiches and deserts as I waited. While it all looked rather tasty, and several other members of the press and Geneon staff as well as Geneon guests from Japan tucked in, I couldn't even look at the food. Instead, I was preoccupied with searching for my camera, which had somehow gone missing at the worst possible time.

Soon, it was time for my interview with Sakamoto Maaya. With tape recorder in hand, I went in. Maaya and her translator sat comfortably on a sofa, and I took a chair across from them. She was every bit as nice and personable as she had seemed at her concert and instantly put me at ease. The interview was a piece of cake, and after a few minutes all of my nerves melted away and I was surprised when a Geneon representative told me that I should start to wrap it up. As I was packing up to leave, she stopped me and asked if I was at her concert. When I said that I was, she smiled and said in her clear but hesitant English, "You were on the side in the front, I saw you."

After that, I wasn't the least bit nervous about KOTOKO's interview, though I had to wait a bit between the two. As I waited, Hirano Kouta returned from what looked like a trip to the exhibit hall, where he had been doing what every anime fan does at a convention: shopping. I also managed to get myself a Hellsing Ultimate OVA poster while I sat... and no, I didn't steal it. When I went in and spoke with KOTOKO, I sat across a table with her, her I've Sound manager and her translator. Like Maaya, KOTOKO was very nice and polite. As the interview progressed, we started having a fun with it, laughing, joking and generally having a good time.

When the interviews were over, Geneon sent me off with a press kit that included a hard copy of their press releases concerning new licenses and a big, white beach towel with the Geneon logo. I felt elated, though still slightly worried about my camera. However, as I walked Artist's Alley, I started to feel sick again, and after purchasing a fanart Souma Kyo poster and checking lost & found, I decided it would be best if I skipped closing ceremonies and go back home as to avoid another possible sleeping-in-my-car incident.

Leaving Anime Expo 2005 was a moment of mixed emotions. On one level, I would have liked the convention to have continued for another several days, with more panels and more events, but on another level I was exhausted and ready to start the long journey homeward. Little did I know, this wasn't to be the last I'd see of the Anaheim Convention center during this trip...

The next day, with my camera still missing after tearful search of my car, my bags and the entire apartment at which I had been staying, I was frantic. Not only were all of my convention pictures stored on that camera, but the camera was no cheap toy, either. Luckily, a call to the convention center lost & found revealed that some honest convention attendee had found it and turned it in. Though the trip through Los Angeles to the convention hall and back again added three hours to the seven hour trip home, I was still ecstatic to have the camera back in my possession. To whomever found the camera and turned it in completely intact, you are my official hero of Anime Expo 2005.

Return to Anime Expo 2005: Part I...