Anime Weekend Atlanta 11 Cosplay 2005

Stan Dahlin opened the con while Dave Merrill tossed out candy to the crowd, an AWA tradition.

Peelander-Z, a sort of Japanese punk band/acrobatics group was the first of the special guests to be introduced.

Yoko Ishida, singer of many anime songs and currently on her Anime Fusion Tour, was next on the list of introductions.

The rest of the guests, mostly English voice actors, were introduced more or less as a group sitting out in the audience. It would have been nice if they could have had a chance to come up on stage as well.

At least Lauren Goodnight, voice actor and singer, had an opportunity for a special introduction.

As a special surprise, Yoko Ishida and the Para-Para Girls sang and danced two anime opening numbers at the end of the ceremonies.

I had burned a special anime mix for our trip up to Atlanta. The song in the number one spot was the TV size version of the OP from one of my favorite anime series. I really love this particular show because of the wonderful relationship between the two lead characters, both strong individuals in their own right. Now I admit that I don't always know who writes and sings which songs, so just imagine my shock and delighted surprise when I hear the opening strands to this very song and Yoko-san starts to sing "Eternal Flower", the OP to "Ai Yuri Aoshi". It was glorious!!

Later that afternoon, Yoko-san and the Para-Para girls hosted a question and answer panel where she introduced herself and the Anime Fusion Tour which had the goal of sharing anime, Parapara and J-pop music with America and non-anime fans in general.

Of course, there was the usual "What's your favorite music, anime, movie, pocky, etc.?" questions, but one or two were pretty funny. One fan stood up and asked the question that I'm sure was on the mind of all otaku fans. Could he have a hug from Yoko-san and the dancers? The manager, who translated the questions and answers between Yoko-san and the audience, laughed and said that even he didn't get a hug. Yoko-san quietly said "That's true" and the whole audience just broke up with laughter.

After the Q&A, Yoko-san and the dancers had an autograph session. I had asked Jayme's friend to take a photo of me getting a signature, but then she suggested that I stand behind Yoko-san and she would take that instead. Thank you, Patty!!

Below is the result as I clutched my precious signed CDs.