Virtual cons connect international anime fans
The Fourth of July weekend is usually the weekend of one of the biggest (if not the biggest) anime conventions in North America, Anime Expo. Usually held at the LA Convention Center, which is also home to E3, the convention was canceled this year due to COVID-19.
In its place the AX staff put on a virtual two day convention (Friday and Saturday) including streamed panels and concerts. Coinciding with AX’s online con Funimation, one of the largest anime streaming services, also put on their own virtual con (FunimationCon) over the same two days. As did Aniplex, the Japanese anime production company, who did their own Aniplex Online Fest on Saturday and Sunday.
I spent much of the three days this weekend jumping between these different conventions based on what was more interesting at the time, although I found myself more often putting on Aniplex’s Online Fest. As it offered something that we rarely get to see in the US in official capacities, Japanese staff and voice actors not just talking about their shows, but putting on the sorts of stage shows and stream they normally do in Japan.
While clips of some of these events can be found on YouTube subtitled by fans, unless you are a particularly devoted anime fan they aren’t something you are necessarily going to seek out or know to look for. There is a charm to them, especially those with voice actors, that makes them enjoyable despite actually being marketing events. As the panels are not just about conveying information about the show, but enjoying the chemistry between the actors. Much in the same way you might see in the US during a particularly good interview, or on a show like Hot Ones.
Also since these panels were recorded ahead of time, allowing them to be subtitled and then streamed internationally simultaneously, it allowed for all the anime fans watching to react and take part together online which never really happens.
Luckily for the next week, until 3 am eastern time on July 13th, Aniplex is making all of the panels from the online festival available on YouTube. And so I highly recommend watching trying to watch whatever interests you from it before they go away. Hopefully we'll get more of these sorts of streams that the international audience will be able to watch as well.
I'll leave you with my personal recommendations for panels to stream:
This panel is simply Aoi Koga and Konomi Kohara, who voice Kaguya and Fujiwara respectively on the show, talking about the show and playing some games. The two have a really great rapport, likely from having co-hosted a Kaguya-sama radio show together during both seasons, but it’s also full of some interesting behind the scenes tidbits. I should note the panel has some spoilers for season 2 if you haven’t watched it.
Mamoru Miyano is just a goofy unstoppable ball of energy who seems to drag everyone around at his breakneck pace, but watching him constantly be mystified by Yusuke Onuki’s almost deadpan straight man is delightfully entertaining.
The voice actors for Emma (Sumire Morohoshi), Ray (Mariya Ise), and Norman (Maaya Uchida) talk about their favorite scenes from season 1. This panel is top to bottom spoilers for the first season of Promised Neverland, so you probably shouldn’t watch unless you’ve seen it. But you can really tell from how they talk about the show, and about each other's performances, how much work they put into their roles.
