Sakura Con 2002 Report

While Matt Greenfield was having a wonderful time down at Fanime 2002 in Santa Monica Ken Wiatrek DLW and I were up attending the Pacific Northwest?s foremost anime event the 5th annual Sakura Con in Seattle Washington. The convention ran April 26 ? 28th at the Seattle Airport Hilton which was quite well suited to handle the large influx of eager fans that were lined up to partake in all of the exciting activities and events that the convention had to offer. With the rise in the popularity of Japanese animation and related commodities within the United States it?s absolutely astounding to see the kind of growth and success that Sakura Con has experienced since the initial BAKA!-Con in 1998.

Sakura Con itself was an absolutely fantastic fan-friendly convention. The planning and organization that went in to Sakura Con really paid off this year and our experience there left us with a wonderful impression of the convention. One of the highlights of attending a convention like this is that you get to meet some really great people. Hanging out with the Original Dirty Pair Jessica Calvello (Who is also enduring the role of Excel in Excel Saga) and Pam Lauer as well as Golden Boy?s Doug Smith left us with many hours of entertainment. While at the convention we showed off a little Excel Saga as well as the first episode of the upcoming new Sakura Wars OVA after Cosplay. The fan-reaction to those screenings was absolutely incredible as the audience was cheering on the characters whenever something exciting happened on screen. It?s actually quite gratifying to watch the fan?s faces light up in response to ADV?s work like that or when you hand them a free poster or T-shirt.

Overall this year?s Sakura Con was an enjoyable experience for the ADV attendees. On behalf of ADV I?d like to thank the hard-working Sakura Con personnel and everyone in attendance for making ADV?s Sakura Con experience a memorable one.

See you next year
Mark Clark
Online Content Producer
ADV Films

Posted on Wednesday, May 08, 2002 (Archive on Saturday, June 08, 2002)