Anime Expo 2010 kicked off July 4th weekend with some big talent visiting Los Angeles from the land of the rising sun. Japanese DJ's, musical groups, manga artists, and anime directors gathered in Nokia theater this morning to greet event attendees at opening ceremonies.
But It was a couple of voice actors that stole the show, and one of them wasn't even in Los Angeles yet. Masakazu Morita, voice of Kurosaki Ichigo from the popular anime series Bleach, got everybody's blood pumping this morning as he led the crowd in a cheer of, "Bleeeeach!"
While Katsuyuki Konishi, voice actor of Kamina in the series Gurren Lagaan, via video message from Japan, and in very energetic Kamina style, said that AX attendees will have a great time at the Gurren Lagaan movie premiere Saturday night. He promised that he will be there for the show, and to judge a cosplay contest taking place after his panel.
Other notable crowd favorites were musical artists AKB 48, who are a 63 all-female member musical group passionate about spreading Japanese pop culture to their American fans.
May'n, who is a singer who became popular through the Macross Frontier series character Sheryl Nome. I've talked about Macross Frontier before, and if you like sci-fi action, big robots, and awesome music then I would definitely suggest giving it a watch. May'n will be performing in concert Friday July 2nd, in Nokia Theatre with Megumi Nakajima, and will be singing songs from the Macross Frontier soundtrack.
Today attendees were treated to a concert by AKB 48 in the afternoon, and the last main event for the day was an Anime Music Video Contest. The AMV's are where artists splash together anime scenes and music of their choosing to create something original. There are different categories including: action, drama, and comedy. A replay and results panel for the AMV's will be held on Saturday July 3rd, in the Los Angeles Convention Center incase you missed the first show.
That's the report for Day 1, with guest of honor interviews and panel coverage coming soon.
Logos and videos courtesy of Anime Expo
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