Ms. Watase and the lucky attendee who outbid everyone else for the special FUSHIGI YUUGI sketch.

SPJA Charity Art Auction

Once again, those with deep pockets attended the 1998 Anime Expo Charity Art Auction. Proceeds go to City of Hope's Heroes for Hope Program, a charity designed to help children with cancer.
This year's auction included a number of one of a kind pieces. A balloon autographed by Mr. Akitaka on a whim sold for $100, surprisingly. A sketch by Matsumoto Leiji sold for a mere $250—a steal, according to several Anime Expo attendees. The color sketch of Saeba Ryo, drawn by artist Hojo Tsukasa (which was used as the design for the AX98 t-shirt) went for just under $1,000. A color sketch of Vash, the main character from TRIGUN, done by creator Naito Yasuhiro, went for over $800.
But this year's steel cage match bidding war erupted over the final item—a color sketch of several FUSHIGI YUUGI characters done by Watase Yu. She had said while working on it earlier that day, "Since this is for charity, I want this to be really good." And good it was, because the winner who walked off with this piece paid $3,200 for it, smashing the $2,500 record set last year for Yuuki Nobuteru's Yuzuriha sketch.

	From left to right: Yoshimatsu Takahiro, Watase Yu, and Kamiya Akira share a laugh during Closing Ceremonies; Ms. Watase fills in the second eye of the AX98 Daruma, signifying the end of a successful convention.

Closing Ceremonies

After the frenzy of the Charity Art Auction, it was time for Anime Expo 1998 to draw to a close. The Guests of Honor were presented to the attendees for one final time, and each commented on the positive experience they had at Anime Expo. The guests enjoyed another warm round of applause from the fans, and then Ms. Watase filled in the other eye of the Daruma, signifying the completion of a successful Anime Expo.

Special thanks to the SPJA Archive for their assistance in providing some of the convention footage.