Powering through with just only a couple hours of sleep, I once again arrived at the Los Angeles convention center on July 2nd for the second day of Anime Expo. Though I arrived early, I was not the only one. In fact, that is an understatement. Before the exhibition hall is even open or panels available, hundreds upon hundreds of people have already gathered at the front inside of the center. Looking down from the third floor, I can see the whole area packed with a myriad of attendees.
Noticing that I lacked cosplay photos, I was on the lookout for well-made ones while transitioning between panels. I spotted quite a number of them including Naruhodo from Gyakuten Saiban, Felt from Re:Zero, D.va from Overwatch, and even Sydney from Final Fantasy XV. My favorite was a cosplay euphemizing that your waifu is trash. The most impressive cosplay, however, was Rachnera from Monster Musume, which was done by Canadian cosplayer Marie-Claude Bourbonnais.
At the Pony Canyon panel, the staff were promoting various released and upcoming series. The ones most focused on was Rokka no Yuusha that aired a few months ago and Kuromukuro, a recent ongoing series that will be released on Netflix on July 4. During a Q&A session, told the staff of Pony Canyon that I was a fan of Rokka no Yuusha for many years and was glad when an anime adaptation was announced. I then asked why compared to the original novel, the anime was more lighthearted and adventure-ish. The response I received was a well-justified one: because anime is experienced visually, the adaption focuses more on that visual aspect to explain and portray the series’ story.
My most anticipated event was the Tales of Panel which showcases the screening of first two episodes of the upcoming Tales of Zestiria the X anime along with information about games Tales of Berseria and Tales of Link. As a fan of the Tales of franchise, I was not disappointed at the least about the anime. The presentation and execution was nothing short of stellar, and seeing that ufotable is animating it, Tales of Zestiria the X never lacks aesthetic beauty.
Overall, it was another great day spent, especially when viewing Tales of Zestiria the X beforing official airing. Though I am somewhat disappointed that a lot of panels and events I want to attend conflict with other events, the quality of the panels and events that I do go to are always very commendable. Hopefully, my sentiments are shared with other Anime Expo attendees.