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| Shown here is the largest theater of the Convention Center, the
Main Hall, where Opening and Closing Ceremonies, Masquerade, Awards Ceremonies, Art
Auction, Film Premieres, and some Guest of Honor Interviews are held. |
VTech Supervisor checking the simulcast output before AX98's
Opening Ceremonies starts. The simulcast video is relayed to two adjacent video
theaters with wide screen displays, so that attendees wishing to see the large events in
the Main Hall but did not get in early enough can simply go to these smaller theaters and
still see everything. |
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| Even with so much to see and do (anime showings, events and fan
panels, Guest interviews, etc.), you're almost gauranteed to run into a line for
Ceremonies Events. It's the hot place to be when something big is happening. |
Surrounded by a flurry of press and camera and sound setup
activity. Anime Expo CEO Mike Tatsugawa and Special Guest Scott Frazier are all smiles
before Opening Ceremonies. |
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| Opening Ceremonies begins with a rousing taiko drum performance. |
Can't be complete without the cute taiko drum girls. |
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| Shown here is the huge line outside of the
Ceremonies Hall, literally wrapping around towards the parking lot! |
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| Another shot of the line, formed hours before Masquerade, the
second largest legendary event for Anime Expo. |
Masquerade is THE place to be if you're a fan of this kind of
entertainment and don't these fans know it. They lined up 3-4 hours to assure their
early-bird place in line! Such dedication! |
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| Shown here is a close-up shot of one of the
coveted special awards from Anime Expo's SPJA (Society for the Promotion of Japanese
Animation). This particular award is the SPJA Industry Award given to businesses
inside the anime industry who create some of the most popular anime shows and characters. |
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| Like a set of gems, the SPJA Awards glitter and sparkle for all to
see. |
Stage shot of the SPJA Awards Ceremony. Shown here are the
two directors chairs for Best Anime Music Videos, Karaoke Awards, Modeling Awards, Anime
Industry Awards, and the SPJA Charity Check for $16,000 to the City of Hope. |
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| Stage shot of several items displayed for the SPJA Charity Auction.
Items in this arena are anything from books to posters all autographed by past and current
Guests of Honor and sell for hundreds to thousands of dollars. |
Another stage shot of the very popular Auction in progress. A
camera is focused onto the item for auction so the hundreds of auctioning attendees may
see the item up close on any of the huge wall screens. |
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| Amidst a standing ovation, one attendee (in white t-shirt)
successfully outbids two other auctioning attendees for a coveted Fushigi Yuugi color
sketch by AX98 Guest of Honor Ms. Yu Watase. The bid stretched to $3200, well beyond
last year's $2250 limit for a Nobuteru Yuuki sketch. Anime auction bidding history
is made here, folks, at Anime Expo. |
Stage shot of the winning attendee holding her prized color sketch
and shaking hands with the elated Ms. Yu Watase. |
