Anime Expo 1997 - Overview

Overview (continued)

X: The Movie

Anime Expo hosted the US film premiere of X. Japanese representatives hand carried the film from Japan to the Hilton for the showing. The film was shown in 35mm on both Friday and Sunday afternoon to a packed house each time.

The Masquerade

The Masquerade is one of the "signature events" of Anime Expo, and as a result, very little is slotted against it on Saturday night. The line began forming around 6 o'clock, a full two hours before the event was scheduled to begin. Crowds filled the main hall as well as the overflow simulcast rooms to get a glimpse of what costumers had done over the last year. And, miraculously, it started only ten minutes after 8 o'clock.


Left: Shibahara Chiyako (voice actress for Miho in KEY THE METAL IDOL) performs live. Top Right: A hilarious RANMA 1/2 skit. Bottom Right: Jean proposes to Nadia onstage!

This year's Masquerade also included another first. As Jean and Nadia walked out onto the stage, Jean suddenly got down on one knee and asked his beloved to marry him. Yes, Anime Expo had it's first public marriage proposal during the Masquerade. Did she say yes, or did she slap him? (actually, she said "yes.")

Karaoke

Just saying the word can cause chills to run down people's spines—especially if you've ever been to an Anime Expo karaoke before, where the fans bare their souls to tunes like "Zero-G Love," and "Moonlight Densetsu." But this year was different. One of the Guests of Honor participated! Kamiya Akira, known to many fans as the voice of Saeba Ryo in CITY HUNTER and Mitaka Shun in MAISON IKKOKU, arrived in the Karaoke room ready to perform. In addition to performing many of his famous voices, he also sang his new single, "Taiyou no Namida" ("Tears of the Sun").

The Art Auction

The Art Auction raised a record amount of money this year, and the pieces were, as always, very beautiful. At one point, it looked like a riot would erupt when some CITY HUNTER cels autographed by Kamiya Akira were placed on the auction block. Another desirable item was a CITY HUNTER script for the last television episode, signed by both Kamiya and Ikura Kazu, the voice actress for Makimura Kaori. Mr. Ishiguro brought an original, unopened Valkyrie which sold for over $600.


Left: cels from MEITANTEI CONAN, among others. Right: The two sketches donated by Yuuki Nobuteru shatter AX auction records and sell for over $2,000 each.

The two prize pieces were both sketches donated by Guest of Honor Yuuki Nobuteru. One was a sketch of the perennially popular Deedlit from RECORD OF LODOSS WAR. The other was a sketch of Yuzuriha and her wolf, Inuki, from X. The Deedlit sketch sold for just above $2,000, while the X sketch set an Anime Expo record at a whopping $2,250. Mr. Yuuki was surprised and said that he didn't think that his sketches were really worth all that money. Those involved in the bidding certainly did not agree.

Closing Ceremonies

Shibahara Chiyako at the Closing Ceremonies.

After three days of rabid shopping, standing in line for autographs, panels, and films, most of the attendees at Anime Expo were seen leaving on Sunday afternoon. Those who stayed behind for closing ceremonies were treated to a final glimpse of the Guests of Honor, who expressed their thanks at being invited and so well treated and their amazement with the size of the convention. Many of them said they would like to return. There was also an encore performance of the opening animation and the convention wound to a close and the zombie-like staffers began the long process of breaking down the convention site.
Most of the attendees EX talked with said that despite whatever problems they had encountered, they were definitely willing to come back to Anime Expo next year.

Images of Shibahara Chiyako used with permission from Viz Communications. Special thanks to the SPJA Archive division for the footage of the convention.