Anime Expo 2012

Aniplex of America

Panelists: E.J. Rivera, Yosuke Kodaka

Starting with a reel of some of their popular properties, like Fate/Zero and Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Aniplex of America greeted fans at their Friday panel with a reminder to swing by their exhibit hall booth to pick up freebies, like a paper Kyubey mask, postcards, and Fate/Zero command seal hand stamps. Marketing Specialist E.J. Rivera also ran through a list of some of the special guests that Aniplex brought to Anime Expo, including some of the Japanese voice talents behind shows like Blue Exorcist and Fate/Zero, musical guests like LiSA, and members of the Fate/Zero production team.

Created especially for North American fans, Aniplex of America is streaming a web series online that follows Rivera (“The Aniplex Guy”) as he visits “otaku” locations, such as various Akihabara stores and the Good Smile Cafe, which recently had a Madoka Magica theme with Kyubey curry.

The panelists also showed trailers for some of their currently available titles, starting with Blue Exorcist, followed by Madoka Magica and Fate/Zero. While the first season of Fate/Zero is already available, the second season is available for pre-order, and will be released this September. Fans who purchase DVDs of some of these series at the Aniplex Booth at Anime Expo will also receive special items, such as posters printed exclusively for the event. They also showed trailers for upcoming releases, like Oreimo, which was originally released last year on Blu-ray, but will be re-released on DVD on July 10, and also Baccano!, which is being re-released in a complete Blu-ray set on July 31. Also shown were trailers for The Garden of Sinners movie series, which will be available in a limited edition DVD boxset this fall, and Bakemonogatari, which will be available in a complete Blu-ray boxset this fall.

Aniplex of America also had a couple of special announcements to make. They will be releasing Mikunopolis in Los Angeles, the Hatsune Miku concert that took place during last year's Anime Expo. Blue Exorcist will also be dubbed and be made available as part of Viz Media's Neon Alley service, with the first episode starting in September. Bryce Papenbrook will be playing the part of Rin Okumura, and Johnny Yong Bosch will be playing the part of Yukio Okumura.