Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "jodon bellofatto"

SacAnime's growing pains

2013-01-09T11:12:17Z

A new year, a new venue and a new experience were all part of the winter SacAnime held at the Sacramento Convention Center and the Sheraton Grand Hotel Jan. 4-6.

SacAnime has outgrown several venues and the larger venue attracted a bigger audience. A larger crowd than the 7,700 who attended the summer convention held at the Woodlake Hotel was expected.

SacAnime fans from northern California and beyond gathered for the three-day weekend event dressed in their favorite cosplay outfit. Many planned their wardrobe months in advance and some came with three prepared costumes, one for each day of the event.

Alex Martin drove from Alameda with some friends and could not hold his excitement, saying his parents gave him a birthday present that included hotel and admission to SacAnime.

“I've worked on my two Soul Eater and a ninja outfits since Halloween and am stoked to meet others with similar costumes. I was so excited I talked my parents into letting me pre-register and pick up my pass the day before SacAnime opened,” Martin said.

Several fun events were included in the new venue, including the return of the Viewing Room that showed anime and other videos for most of the day during the weekend.

Friday and Saturday included dance workshops that included lessons in salsa, tango, foxtrot and waltzing. The lessons helped guests prepare for another new event: the Starlight Ball. Both the lessons and the ball itself were very popular and the Starlight Ball sold out. The ball gave guests the opportunity to attend a formal attire event.

The rave venue, now known as Late Nite Electronik Dance, was just as popular but was held at a large hall. The hall housed late night dancing on Friday and Saturday night.

Kazha, a Japanese rock band, returned to the SacAnime Concert Series. Kazuha Oda's vocals delighted the audience with songs that included “Wake Up,” “I Still Remember” and others. Band members Hideki Matsushige and Zen Takamura's hard rock sounds were well complemented by new drummer Kazumaru.

Kazha closed their show on Friday night with the popular, “Breath Through Your Dreams,” which highlighted the band's world music fusion and diverse sound. Kazha was available for autographs and held a Q&A panel session.

Besides the new events, SacAnime brought back many guests, vendors and events from previous years. Vendors, artists and featured tables filled the Vendor Hall and the large space was busy during the event.

The J-Fashion Show returned and showcased both professional and amateur designers and models on stage. Prince Noir, winner of the past two J-Fashion events, returned to showcase their wonderful designs. As winner of the last contest, Prince Noir was awarded a vendor table for the winter SacAnime, and because they were previous winners, they were not eligible to compete.

Carlyfornia Love was the gracious and charming host for J-Fashion and introduced an assortment of Asian-inspired fashion.

Several participants also had tables at the larger and much-improved Exhibitor's Hall. One of those tables was occupied by Scattered Comics. Visitors were treated to autographed free limited prints signed by Shadow Hunters characters. The Shadow Hunters 2013 calendar was also available and fans were given the opportunity to pose with their favorite characters for photos.

In appreciation and honor of its anime roots, SacAnime included several special guests from Japan. Mai Aizawa, a Japanese voice actress who might be best known for her role as Natsumi Murakami in the anime series, Mahō Sensei Negima, was one such guest.

Toshio Furukawa, known for his voice acting roles as Ataru of Urusei Yatsura, Inumaru of Gosenzo-sama Banbanzai and Piccolo of Dragonball, was also available for autographs.

Anime designer Tsuyoshi Nonaka held a Q&A session that used a Japanese translator. Nonaka seemed to have some command of the English language but relied on the translator to help things flow. Nonaka has also served as a toy designer and planner for Bandai Co. LTD (Japan) for over 20 years. Nonaka is probably best known for his work in shows from Ultraman Tiga and Kamen Rider.

Artists from Japan have been requested by many fans, and SacAnime heeded their advice by bringing in these artists to give fans a perspective of Japanese style and culture and a fresh look into the roots of the country that created anime as we know it.

Long lines are still a norm for autographs. SacAnime brought artists such as Kevin Conroy, Grey DeLisle, Maile Flanagan, Tony Oliver, Hynden Walch, Liam O'Brien and others to share their experience as voice actors and serve in panels and autograph sessions.

SacAnime staff was very helpful in keeping walking lanes open, helping in registration, checking credentials and providing directions for visitors, among other things. SacAnime is still one of the better-organized events of its size and cordial attendees create a friendly community that has grown over the years.

The convention has something for all anime fans and there is so much to do that attendees, coordinators, staff and vendors appear to be exhausted one day, only to return the next with a bright outlook. That bright outlook is something that SacAnime appears to have claimed as its own, as they continue to attract larger audiences.

Sunday's closing ceremonies allowed remaining fans to view the Anime Music Video (AMV) contest winners and to voice their concerns regarding the event.

Director of Programming Jodon Bellofatto reviewed several factors about the first SacAnime held at the new venue. The theme of the event was “Growing Pains” and Bellofatto shared that 7,500 attendees had been counted as of Saturday. Many estimates indicated that over 10,000 people attended the convention.

Bellofatto talked about the difference in attendance between summer and winter, saying the summer event draws more fans.
“They are still crunching the numbers. I can tell you things that I do know. We ran out of program books; we ran out of weekend badges. We had to run over to Kinko’s and have them print us out some more. We ran out of a whole bunch of different things,” Bellofatto said. “I haven’t gotten Sunday's numbers or the final tally. We'll make an announcement on our website once we have a true number, but our very rough estimate for this weekend, so far not including Sunday, is 7,500 attendees.”

Other findings discussed were how SacAnime would be received by new neighbors. Bellofatto shared that traffic slowed as people tried to drive by the event and marvel at the number and dress style of SacAnime attendees.

Nearby businesses were not expecting the large crowds and wish they had known about the event. Some businesses expressed a desire to partner with SacAnime, keep doors open longer and offer discounts to attendees.

Bellofatto shared comments from the Sacramento Police Department who paid a visit, saying, “This reflects on you, guys; you should be very proud of this, you guys should be very happy to hear that representatives from Sac PD came by all three days and sometimes twice a day to check on us. They were very happy with what they saw at the show. They think you're a great crowd. They think you're very well-behaved; they have no complaints.”

The Sheraton did not know what to expect with SacAnime and its fans, and were very flexible and accommodating. They were caught off guard as to how many would attend and book rooms and will be looking to make more rooms available for the next convention. Nearby Marriott and other hotels accommodated the overflow. SacAnime will be working on getting favorable room rates at the Hyatt as well for the summer convention.

Work for the next con has already begun, and Bellofatto shared that the size of the Exhibitor's Hall will again be increased. The third floor of the Convention Center, which was closed for the winter event, will be made available to SacAnime during the summer.

The Home and Garden Show shared the Convention Center during the weekend and it was discussed that the Greek Food Festival will be sharing the center with SacAnime. A badge for either event will be good for either gathering as well, but the logistics are still being worked on.
Concerns about the event centered around parking, which seems to have caused confusion in some cases. Other concerns about the event were discussed but did not seem to have detracted from the overall effectiveness of the event.

SacAnime returns to the Convention Center Aug. 30 – Sept. 1, Memorial Day weekend. Rooms can now be booked at the Sheraton. Early bookings provide extra perks, but rooms must be booked by January 31 for the initial release of rooms.

SacAnime is an all-ages event that allows a fun weekend for attendees. Follow the SacAnime website for further details on rooms, guests and other events. The webpage also includes a forum where visitors can discuss parking, carpool, cosplay gathering information, concerns and other valuable information.

Editor’s note: The “News Digest” goes out every Tuesday morning and highlights our best stories, photos and videos from the week prior. Sign me up.

SacAnime Summer 2012

2012-09-05T17:37:08Z

SacAnime Summer 2012, for the last time, was held at the Woodlake Hotel Aug. 31 to Sept. 2.

Competing with several other events in Sacramento Labor Day weekend, SacAnime successfully competed for a large audience. Fans gathered to enjoy a full three days of anime, cosplay, video games, workshops, panels, autograph sessions, karaoke, and many more activities dealing with Asian pop culture.

SacAnime has outgrown its previous venues, including the initial gathering in 2005 at the Sunrise Mall, and attendance continues to grow. In September of last year 4,800 attended the event. Winter 2012 attendance grew to approximately 5,000 and SacAnime reports that over 7,700 fans attended this past weekend.

The event is well-organized and the SacAnime staff takes suggestions to heart and does what it can to fix complaints. At each closing ceremony fans are encouraged to talk about what they liked about the event and what they would like to see at future events, including what SacAnime can do to make the event better. The show is geared to the fan base, which has made the event a successful celebration and gathering.

All things dealing with Japanese pop culture have become very popular and a vendor room full of this type of merchandise was available for SacAnime fans. Over 70 tables were set up throughout the venue for dealers and exhibitors and the vendor room was full throughout the day.

Voice actor guests included Jennifer Hale, Johnny Yong Bosch, Roger Craig Smith, Travis Willingham, Michelle Ruff, Billy Martinez and Laura Bailey. These entertainers held panels that included audience participation and Q&A sessions. They also patiently and eagerly sat at autograph tables where lines stared inside the halls of the Woodlake and made their way outside.

These autograph sessions are very taxing for voice actors, entertainers and fans. SacAnime, however, continues to listen to fan suggestions on helping this become a smoother process.

SacAnime has some of the most loyal followers who are very cordial and attentive. At the heart of the event is the great community of anime fans who plan for the event months in advance. The weekend event allows for fans to attend each day or just one of the dates. The most popular day seems to be Saturday when the majority of attendees come to enjoy cosplay.

Fans make friends at the event that last for years. One demonstration of fan camaraderie was shown by a memorial event held for 21-year-old Harison Randall, who was struck by a hit-and-run as he walked with his girlfriend and her dogs on July 29.

Randall’s family was on hand at several events and fans came together to donate funds to help the family with medical and funeral expenses. Fan support was overwhelming.

A video honoring Randall played at the memorial service. Soon after that, several Randall family members shared their experiences and memories of him. Fans were invited to also share their memories and a long line formed.

Many who came to the microphone to say a few words about Randall noted they hardly knew him but remembered saying hi or meeting him, if only briefly. It was heart touching just to see the SacAnime community come together to honor one of their own.

The weekend’s events also included live outdoor concerts performed by returning musical guests, Eyeshine and akai SKY. Other popular segments included a fashion show, video game tournaments, the artists’ alley, workshops, panels and the Cosplay Masquerade. Yet another event that continues to grow is Café Hoshi, where now several café shows are being hosted throughout the weekend.

There was so much to see, do and experience at SacAnime. The SacAnime staff is to be commended for their organization and the quality of guests they select for each of the events. Director of Programming Jodon Bellofatto, along with Dan Houck, Jason Dube, Chris Costagnetto, Topher Nguyen, Katie Bair, Adreena Smith and Jonas Cassation coordinated a successful event, as shown by the record attendance.

Bellofatto shared that volunteers are also a big part of SacAnime and encouraged those in attendance to continue to take advantage of the many volunteering opportunities.

Obviously this convention would not be possible without the attendees as well.

The Anime Music Video Contest winners were announced and Bellofatto noted that the number of entries has grown to where the next contest will be broken down into categories.

As soon as the 2012 summer event ended on Sunday, Bellofatto announced special guests scheduled to attend in 2013. Bellofatto also noted that SacAnime 2013’s event at the Convention Center will include several events at the Sheraton Hotel, where they have sealed a hotel room package for attendees.

Log on to SacAnime to view program details as they occur. The Sacramento Convention Center and the Sheraton Grand Sacramento will host SacAnime Winter 2013 Jan. 4-6.

(Please note, ,ore photos from the event can be found here.

Winter 2012 SacAnime

2012-01-18T07:44:55Z

The Woodlake Hotel, located on 500 Leisure Lane in Sacramento, hosted this weekend’s Winter 2012 SacAnime convention. Formerly known as the Radisson Hotel, the Woodlake Hotel opened its doors to over 5,000 visitors who came to see several of their favorite voice actors and celebrity panels, enjoy Café Hoshi, play games, and attend how-to workshops, music video contests, and live concerts. Most important of all was the time spent enjoying each other’s company.

The event began on Friday morning and had many well organized activities for the thousands of fans that attended.

The multi-talented Vic Mignogna was the first guest to participate in a question-and-answer (Q&A) session with polite fans who waited in anticipation of their voice actor heroes. Mignogna is well-known for his roles as Vega in Street Fighter II, Edward Elric in Fullmetal Alchemists, Dark in DN Angel, Kurz in Full Metal Panic, Broly in Dragonball Z, Hikaru in Macross, Takanaga in Wallflower and many other roles.

Presently, Mignogna is involved with the new Iron Man and Wolverine series on G4. His impressive résumé in the anime world is well-known. Mignogna is also a music composer, singer and producer. As the SacAnime Concert Series opened on Friday night he was the opening act and sang a few songs to commence the concert.

During his Q&A, a fan gave Mignogna a phaser from Star Trek II and a hand written script modeled from the Real Fans of Genius web series.

In describing the Real Fans of Genius Mignogna said, “Steve Blum and I decided that we were going to make a bunch of parodies about Real Men of Genius similar to the Bud Light commercials. We made a whole bunch of them that were based on the kind of people you would meet at an anime convention. Steve Blum did the narration and I did the singing parts and I even created the music track underneath it. It sounds exactly like the originals, they’re all on YouTube.” Mignogna noted that the fan had written him an email that he had written another parody. After they finished Mignogna said, “That was awesome. Thank you!” and hugged the fan.

Mignogna’s interaction with his fans was quite remarkable and made his fans feel appreciated. Fans asked for suggestions on voice acting, asked questions about his other live and anime works, and other personal questions. He answered them all in kind, patient and encouraging words.

“I never even planned to be a voice actor. I have been acting ever since I can remember and I was involved doing church plays, school plays, Community Theater, drama camps and anything I could do to build up that skill because I loved doing it. I never even thought about voice acting. What’s funny to me, now that I look back on my life, is when I was 15 or 16 years old my friend and I were running around all the time imitating characters from Speed Racer. How surreal that many decades later I would be a voice actor sitting in a chair beside the guy that voiced Speed Racer and be working in the same industry that created Speed Racer and Kimba the White Lion and the things that I loved as a kid. I never planned to be a voice actor that was never my intent. “

Mignogna shared how he became involve in voice acting saying, “I’ll tell you exactly how it happened. I had done all this theater work, my minor in college was theater and I was always acting in something or another and then I was working for a video production in Houston, Texas and a friend of mine that I was working with said, ‘You’ve done a lot of acting haven’t you?’ I said, ‘Yes, a lot.’ ‘You have to go to this place and audition. There’s this company in Houston called ADV films and they buy these Japanese animated shows and they dub them into English and they need actors.’ ‘I was like, you’re kidding, that sounds fun.’ I didn’t ask how much it paid; I didn’t ask anything about that it just sounded like fun. It was another opportunity to act. Voice acting required a different set of skills but it sounded like acting to me. I auditioned and I got cast as Vega in Street Fighter II and that was the first thing I ever did.”

As Mignogna continued to share his voice acting training he said, “For those of you interested in voice acting, acting has 30 percent to do with your voice and 70 percent with acting. Every one of the people you’re going to meet this weekend and 99 percent of the voice actors that I know have huge backgrounds in theater; in acting they’re all actors who got an opportunity to voice act so if you’re interested in voice acting get into acting, drama and theater classes and audition at your schools, universities, community colleges, churches, any place that you can develop those skills.”

Mignogna shared that the markets for voice acting are in Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Vancouver and New York. He also shared that voice over opportunities done mostly for commercials can be found anywhere.

Mignogna does not have an agent and shared that everyone else at the convention has one.

“My understanding is that when an agency takes you as a client they want you to make them money. They’ll send you scripts, radio, commercials, voice over as well as video games, animation. I don’t want to do commercials. I’m afraid, and I know this for a fact, you do what they tell you. Your job is to make money for both.”

Pixar, Simpsons and Family Guy roles are spots Mignogna says he probably won’t get without an agent. Without an agent he knows he’s limiting himself in getting certain roles.

“God has been so good to me that I can hardly stand it.” Mignogna said and continued, “I’m so thankful, I am so profoundly grateful for the opportunities in my life. If nothing else happens I have been more than blessed. I am so grateful for the things I get to do and yeah, I would love to do bigger things but it doesn’t drive me, I’m not obsessed with it.”

According to Mignogna, being rich is overrated.

“I know people who are multi-millionaires who jump out of windows. I know people that hate their lives and they have yachts and houses all over the place; that is not the answer. It’s a lie. It’s cool to have money but at the end of the day when you put your head on your pillow and you’re alone with yourself there is a sense of satisfaction you have and no amount of money can change that.”

Following Mignogna’s Q&A the Gaia Online Variety Hour ensued. Chris Castagnetto, also known as DJ Helsing, hosted the event. During the Variety Hour fans participated in interactive games and it allowed everyone in the audience to participate in at least one event. One of the things that makes SacAnime such a popular event and that keeps fans coming back is the feedback that’s solicited from the audience. In the Gaia Online the host made a point to ask the audience which games they liked in order to bring them back, and which ones to replace.

SacAnime brings people of all ages to the convention. The devotion of fans is tremendous, not only to the characters they dress up as, but also to the celebrities that attend. Many fans stand in line an hour or longer to get autographs. The actors that attend and sit in Q&A sessions and panels are just as devoted to their fans and show their appreciation as they interact with guests.

One of the most apparent things about SacAnime Winter 2012 was the amount of people who attended the panels, Q&A sessions, gaming, workshops, Artist Alley, Sac Café, Sac Club Raves, the Vendor Hall and other gatherings around the hotel. People on hand made up a large all-ages crowd. Many of the attendees were dropped off by parents and I was pleasantly surprised and somewhat astonished as to how well they got along. I think that parents who may worry about dropping off their kids can rest assured that their kids are well behaved and are in good hands with the SacAnime staff.

SacAnime’s Director of Programming, Jodon Bellofatto, hosted the opening ceremonies that were held after several Q&A events in which Vic Mignogna, Quinton Flynn and Tara Strong participated. Bellofatto went over the weekend program and encouraged the audience to visit the gaming rooms and check out the tournaments, attend and participate in the art contest, and view the arts and crafts created by artists.

Bellofatto answered questions and shortly thereafter the AMV contest took place with three categories open for voting: drama, romance and comedy. He noted that winners would be announced on Sunday. One fan asked if they would post the entries online and Bellofatto indicated that they would like to do that if it’s possible.

Friday night’s Sac Anime Concert Series had three acts on hand. Vic Mignogna opened the concert series by singing on the floor with the audience. He never set foot on stage. Mignogna played a couple of songs and introduced Kazha and Lemon Drop Kick.

Kazha is a Japanese band and its spokesperson is Kazuha Oda, who has a history of working with different performers. Earlier in the day I spoke with Oda and asked her a few questions. I learned they are from Tokyo, Japan and it appeared she was the only member of the band who had a command of the English language. Her personality was very pleasant. The other members happily signed autographs and tried to answer questions but relied on Oda to translate.

When asked if they were going to be playing both concerts (Friday and Saturday) she said, “We’re going to be here for the full convention but we’re going to perform tonight and tomorrow night.”

Kazha is made up of four members and has been performing for two years. They have previously performed in the U.S. and have played at other anime conventions but this was their first performance in Sacramento.

With guest drummer Mike Kim, Hideki Matsushige, Shintaro Kasahara and Kazuha Oda took the stage to bring their brand of rock to the concert. They began their set with a melodic pop tune, “Close to You,” that was brought to life by Oda’s smooth vocals. One thing that’s quite noticeable is how well the music moves to the rhythm of Oda’s singing.

Fans were delighted by the Kazha set. After their first song, Oda addressed the audience.

“It’s our first time being in Sacramento and we are so happy. Thank you very much. We are from Tokyo, Japan. Are you guys having fun at SacAnime?”

Fan reaction made Oda smile and she thanked them.

The last act of the night was Lemon Drop Kick. They are based out of Los Angeles and are described as a Japanese rock band influenced by different musical influences and cultures. They energized the crowd and invited several audience members to the stage as they performed.

Lemon Drop Kick had the audience jumping up and down and moving. Their beat included several genres of music including rock, pop, metal and others. They were a great choice to end the evening’s concert series.

A swap meet, a club rave, open gaming and karaoke contests kept the evening alive for guests, who gathered at different spots throughout the hotel to chat about their experiences and share stories.

A designer that I have met before known as Carlyfornia had a station set up to showcase her designs and new items. When asked what new items she was showing at the convention she said, “I brought a lot more steampunk stuff. I brought a lot of fun stuff including furry ears like little kitty stuff, doll clothes and more dolls.”

Carlyfornia will be exhibiting more of her work at the upcoming Animation on Display (AOD) in San Francisco February 18-19. When asked if she had a store front Miss Carlyfornia noted that she doesn’t have one because, as she put it, “I don’t have a storefront because I can’t keep up merchandise because I sell, sell, sell so fast and I’m at a different city almost every weekend. “

One of the last panel events I attended at the convention was “From Fan Art to Creator: How to Make and Publish Your Own Comic.” The panel was hosted by Heather Jaeger and Melissa McCommon.

McCommon and Jaeger were quite enthusiastic about hosting the panel and offered numerous pointers to help the comic publisher want-to-be’s. They covered the various common drawing programs used to create comics as well as the various tablets used to illustrate.

Their passion for comic book creation was quite evident and their knowledge was quite immense, giving audience members a wealth of information to get started and insights into what can make comic publishing a good experience.

Low budget tools, programs and tips were also discussed and they mentioned several programs that are free.

The tips and information passed on by McCommon and Jaeger also included a section called the Language of Panels and what it takes to be successful at sketching, coloring and making story bubbles as well as printing and publishing. The advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing were also discussed and their valuable insight was well received.

The passion for anime comic drawing and illustration as well as passing on their knowledge was priceless. Jaeger and McCommon emphasized the need to draw on a regular basis, motivate yourself, not give up, write, and practice as much as possible.

There is always a lot to do and see at the SacAnime conventions and the staff is to be commended for the topics they choose, the guests they bring in, the panels they put together and the feedback they solicit from attendees. Organization continues to make SacAnime a great event year after year. Fans are the best ambassadors for conventions such as this, and if they continue to follow and attend SacAnime it helps the community grow and flourish.

Bellofatto hosted the closing ceremonies where the AMV winners were announced. Third place went to Yosef Ghiassy for Manly Tears, second place was Erinn Thompson for Say Good-bye to Yesterday and first place went to Shelby Nickles for Oran I’m Sexy and I Know It.
Volunteer positions for the next convention were discussed. Bellofatto also solicited comments from the audience as to what worked and what did not work during the convention and he made note of the comments on a laptop set up on the stage.

One of the final announcements was that because of the large crowds that came to the convention (breaking the 5,000 mark) it was decided that a larger venue was necessary to accommodate the growing crowds and that the 2013 Summer SacAnime was going to be held at the Sacramento Convention Center.

More photos from the SacAnime Winter 2012 convention can be found here.

SacAnime celebrates seven years of fun

2011-09-06T22:02:11Z

A weekend full of live concerts, music video contest, open mike karaoke, a rave, a fashion show, a sushi demo, children’s origami, oriental tea ceremonies, electronic games and tournaments, art showings and contests, sumo wrestling, how-to workshops, celebrity panels, over 60 vendors and many other activities took place in Sacramento. Actually it all happened in one place; at the Radisson Hotel during 2011 Sac Anime.

The event spans over 3 days from 11:00 o’clock to 2 in the morning on Friday and Saturday and the closing ceremonies end at 3:30 on Sunday afternoon.

Everything is well organized and this year the clever people at Sac Anime put in place a phone application where you can download the weekend guide to all activities. The program book could be downloaded to a smart phone.

The guidebook download allowed access to programming details which in turn allowed one to schedule an individual guide via mobile alerts suited for the user. Speaker information, a description of each event, the time and how long it would last as well as room number information was provided.

I attended the opening day which started with an opening ceremony at noon. Sac Anime staff welcomed guests to the con. Jodon Bellofatto, Director of Sac Anime Programming, welcomed guests and described how Sac Anime was going to progress.

Bellofatto started by saying, “I’m very excited to welcome you to our con this weekend. We have all sorts of great things going on. A lot of new things, some of the same things and a lot of great guests for you to enjoy so I hope you’re planning to have a great weekend.”

Bellofatto went through program changes, which were minor, and introduced the smart phone application that could be downloaded by scanning the printed guided book QR code and create your own custom schedules.

New things for Sac Anime were AMV (Sacramento Music Video) and a Matsuri at the hotel courtyard. Bellofatto described the “End of Summer” Matsuri as, “This is like taking a little of Japan and bringing it here. Traditionally End of Summer is designates the end of the year, the end of the season (usually related to the rice harvest)."

Bellofatto mentioned a few special of the demonstrations that would take place at the event such as sword demonstrations, martial arts, traditional tea ceremony, how-to-make sushi, a chop stick challenge and a kimono class showing you how to wear a kimono.

The last main event he mentioned was the Café Hoshi a Sac Anime maid café. Meals were prepared and brought to your table by the staff of Café Hoshi. Entertainment along with lunch was provided for a charge.

A short humorous video showcasing what Café Hoshi had to offer was shown. The last item mentioned was the closing ceremonies and Bellofatto indicated Sac Anime staff has been listening to attendee feedback and creating, upgrading or changing what’s included in the shows especially with the tremendous growth of the event.

Yuri Lowenthal, an award winning author, actor and producer was introduced during the opening ceremonies. Lowenthal welcomed guests and said, “I’ve never been to Sacramento before and it’s already awesome. I’ll be here all weekend talking about voice acting and the shows.” He encourages guests to stop and say hi.

Lowenthal went on to say a few things about the great guests at Sac Anime. Lowenthal is a fine example of the voice actors that are brought to the event to talk about the work they have a great passion about and answer questions from their adoring fans.

Voice actors are a unique breed who, I’ve noticed, love to feed off of the tremendous following they have. I’ve found the voice actors at this event to be very eloquent, dynamic, extremely humorous and very entertaining.

Tara Platt was also introduced and she said, "Like Yuri said we’re very excited to be in Sacramento and neither of us has been here before.” Speakers and other performers usually sign autographs and Platt mentioned they were going to be autographing the book she and Lowenthal co-authored.

Johnny Yong Bosch was the last speaker who spoke at the opening ceremonies. He too welcomed guests. Bosch also plays rhythm guitar and is lead singer for his band Eyeshine. Bosch is very well known for being part of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers where he played the Black Ranger. Bosch is also widely known for his voice acting on anime shows as well as in video games.

Bosch started by talking about his band saying, “We’re playing tonight and tomorrow night so please come check us out.” Bosch also introduced the other members from his band; Maurice Salmin on drums and vocals, Crystal Mesina on bass and Eddie Colmenares on guitar.

Rob Miles reminded attendees to take care of themselves and each other and to try not to let things get out of hand. That has not been an issue at Sac Anime but Miles wanted to get the point of safety across and to let the audience know how much time and effort staff puts into the event.

As always the event was well planned and organization was a main theme. Thousands of guests enjoyed being there one day and many spent the weekend at the Radisson enjoying its amenities and the shows. Many end up creating lasting friendships and enjoy the company of fellow anime enthusiasts.

Most of the people attending wore costume and stayed in character as they met with new and old friends.

A good size crowd was already at the Matsuri event and many activities were taking place. One of the most popular events was the sumo wrestling as friends went against each other as they wore a protective suit emulating sumo wrestlers.

Other children activities delighted the young and young at heart and included chopstick challenges, children’s origami, fan dancing, sword demonstrations, tea ceremonies, a Kurenai concert, a kimono demo and a sushi basics workshop.

Again, things were well organized and volunteers helped with every aspect making this a popular addition to the event.

Past the Matsuri, on the Courtyard Area of the hotel a few hotel rooms were used for an art show, artist alley, video gaming Collectable Card Gaming (CCG) and the Sac Café. During lunch Sac Café became Café Hoshi which hosted a wonderful Maid Café experience.

The video game rooms had several tournaments taking place. There was so much to do, see and experience that it’s hard to take everything in and maybe that’s why many guests return to each Sac Anime held.

One of the first panels included Johnny Yong Bosch and Tara Platt talking about their voice acting experiences. Both are very personable, intelligent and funny and neither has any problems communicating and is very well loved by their fans.

Rob Miles served as moderator and kept the conversation and questions going.

It was interesting to hear Bosch say that his dream was to be an action star and wanted to be like Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee. “Since I was a little kid that was my dream,” Bosch said. He said, “I was training one day and my instructor was reading the paper and he called me over and showed me the article that said; ‘Looking for new Rangers’ and it had a picture of all the Power Rangers standing there. It advertised for a casting call.”

Bosch’s instructor helped him put together a routine which included some jumps, hits and kicks and went to the audition. Competing against thousands of others who in some cases were doing some outstanding martial arts stunts. Bosch said he made the first cut and thought that it was because of his looks and during the second call they were asked to showcase a dance, gymnastics or martial arts. Later they read a monologue and he thought that was it and was ready to go back home.

Bosch said he put on his skinny jeans, which at the time were quite the trend, instead of sweats and was ready to go home when the casting director called several people back and they wanted to see martial arts performed. Wearing his skinny jeans he did a routine and again thought that was the end of it. Bosch told himself, “I guess that’s that. I’m going to college.” Laughter from the room followed. He registered for college and after about a week there he was asked to fly back to California. As they showcased their talents once again the final picks were made and Bosch was given a role.

As the Power Rangers once again selected new actors for the roles Bosch looked for another project to concentrate on and had a guitar that he promised himself he would learn to play. After hitting bock bottom he taught himself to play the guitar and channeled his feelings or emotions through music. The rest, as they say, is history and Eyeshine was formed.

Tara Platt who is best known for the voice of Wonder Woman (DC vs. MK), Dream Girl (legion of Superheroes) and other characters sat at the table with Bosch and Miles. She is also a film, TV, animation and theater performer. Platt spoke about her projects and then a question and answer ensued giving the audience more insight into the voice actors.

After the panel discussion Platt and Bosch signed autographs outside the Main Events stage. Some questions and answers were intriguing while others questions were asked just to find out more about their experiences as voice actors.

A Sushi Basic workshop with Chef Cropper was another treat new for this event. The Davis chef talked about traditional sushi and ways to prepare it. Cropper also talked about places that have fresh fish and vegetables used for sushi. He discussed ways to cook rice and handed out Japanese cooking materials that included sushi recipes.

Cropper has visited Japan and learned some of their cooking hints, tricks, styles, techniques and recipes. He talked about the best fish to use which included salmon, eel, octopus, crab and other marine life delicacies. The trick of using a wet knife to cut California rice sushi was shared and some freshly prepared sushi was passed out to the audience. The sushi samples were delicious.

The Vendor Hall was packed with vendors and visitors. On several occasions fire code capacity may have been at capacity and sometimes you had to walk sideways to get through the humanity at the hall.

One of the Vendor Hall booths featured Carly Breslin’s work. The design, modeling and cosplay artist is better known as Miss Carlyfornia. Her booth contained many of her creations including full outfits. Carlyfornia Love’s station contained handmade jewelry and a rack full of outfits including some for dolls. Everything on display was hand made by the artist whose work is nothing less than extraordinary created with much detail.

Carlyfornia Love’s enthusiasm for her work is really great to see. She’s always willing to talk to guests and her winning personality came across as guests stopped to look at her work and chat.

The Scattered Comics station was manned by Jason Dube as he debuted his newest Panda Days comic book. When asked about his newest book and how long it took to complete he said, “This particular work took a little longer than normal. I just had a baby; well my wife had the baby, so it took a little bit longer.” Dube indicated it took him about 6 months to complete. “I have a couple of other books that are coming out this month too,” Dube said. He’s a very busy person who thoroughly enjoys his job. He is also the Director of Artist Alley for Sac Anime which celebrated its 7th year.

Scattered number 3 and Shadow Hunter’s premier issue will be his next pieces of work that will be on sale for fans to enjoy later this month. Jason Dube has been doing comics full time for 4 years and puts in long hours to promote his business which is his passion. Dube concluded by saying, “I’ve been self publishing comic books, off and on as a part time job, for 11 years,” and his work as a full time author and illustrator continues to grow.

The J-Fashion show brought local designers to display their creations. Carlyfornia Love, Prince Noir and others showcased their best Asian fashion inspired designs. A fashionable group with Synchro MG was on hand to help promote their work as well.

Sac Anime fashion was highlighted not only during the fashion show but all throughout the weekend as attendees showed off their costume creation abilities as they walked from one side of the venue to the other or stay around waiting for workshops, panels and various events. Many attendees stayed true to their character and posed to showcase their work.

The Sac Anime Concert Series included three live bands on Friday night. The akai SKY foursome kicked of the live music performances and they provided raw energy to the stage and the floor. They are a San Francisco based band that had many on the floor dancing.

Johnny Yong Bosch brought his band Eyeshine to the stage and they provided quite an animated show but they must have overloaded the system as the power went out.

Once the lights came back on their powerful performance continued and as true professionals they did not let the power outage slow them down as they finished their set.

The Slants ended the night’s live events as the hard hitting group put their best foot forward providing a great performance.

The evening’s activities ended with the Sac Club Rave that was scheduled to end at 2 in the morning.

The three day event continues to grow every year and has continued to be successful due to the dedication of the Sac Anime staff and volunteers. Organization is instrumental to their success and Sac Anime has provided a safe, fun and relaxed atmosphere for fans that attend the event. Log on to the Sac Anime site to view upcoming events and read up on comments from celebrities and fans.

Staff is already preparing for the next Sac Anime event scheduled for January 2012.

(Note: please click on this link for other pictures.)