There was an important, subtle change in Anime Expo in 2000. It was nothing you could see unless you looked closely at the people who attended. It wasn't obvious, since the people who made the change didn't advertise their presence or try to bring attention to themselves. 

The convention took a step toward being the major cross-Pacific industry event. There were more officials from Japanese animation and entertainment companies on hand than ever before, a sign that those companies are looking to the American market for business and profits in the era after Pokemon and Sailor Moon. Most of those officials were dressed like the other fans at Anime Expo, casually wearing T-shirts and jeans instead of dark business suits. You have to look very closely at the badges they wore to tell who those people were and who they represented; large delegations from Studio Hard, Studio Pierrot and AIC were just a few of the important people from Japan who attended the convention.

This change won't mean that Anime Expo will turn into a professional trade show like the VSDA or NATPE conventions - there are too many fans on hand who had too much fun to let that happen. What will happen is that American and Japanese anime businesses will make greater use of Anime Expo to entertain guests, make contacts, cut deals and launch new concepts. (One industry friend noted that Anime Expo is great fun for the Japanese guests of honor, but it's work for the others in the animation industry.)

The test drive for Expo's change came in 1998, when Madhouse brought Yasuhiro Nightow and the Trigun series to California. A year later, Trigun was released in the U.S. Last year, Bandai used Anime Expo to launch Gundam Wing. This year saw the Escaflowne TV announcement. Next year promises more of the same, probably in a new location for the convention.

When Anime Expo officials mentioned the Disneyland Hotel location at the closing ceremonies, a bunch of fans shouted "No more Disney!" They'll probably get their wish, but not because of anything that happened at the convention. The event has outgrown the Disneyland location and most places in Southern California. "We keep getting so big so fast that we're running out of places to go," said Mike Tatsugawa. He had predicted 10,000 would attend Anime Expo, and tentative figures on Monday showed that 9,700 were on hand.

So they'll probably move from Anaheim to the Long Beach, Calif. convention center, on the same sort of four-day weekend around Independence Day, but Thursday through Sunday in 2001. (The author, an auto racing fan, notes that the resurgence of downtown Long Beach can be traced to the success of the Long Beach Grand Prix street race which began in 1975.)

As Anime Expo began at the Disneyland Hotel in California, police had to talk a man at a Walt Disney World resort in Florida into releasing his son and a waiter after he held the two hostage at gunpoint. There were no such dramatics at the anime convention, even with the removal of adult material from the exhibit hall and the disappearance of the dealer who was caught selling porn.

The "censorship story" probably will get some online attention, but it got little attention at the convention. All of the things happened at night, and the only people who noticed were those involved. Unless you knew what to look for (such as the empty booths), there was no way to tell what happened. The incident didn't stop hordes of fans from crowding the exhibit hall. And the remaining dealers sold most of their inventory (one dealer had to call for additional merchandise from affiliated stores when they started to run short of videos).

The only Disney restriction noted by this author was an order that no costumers be allowed in the Disneyland park. Otherwise, costumers had the unlimited run of the convention center, the Disney hotels and the large courtyard, filled with a pool and party rooms, between the main hotels.

Just before the closing ceremonies on Monday afternoon, the author spotted a brief meeting between convention and Disney officials in a hallway. The words "congratulations" were heard, so someone must have come away happy with the weekend.

The author had no gripes with the management of the Disney properties in California. He wished the room rates were lower (his room was no better than rooms priced half as much in other hotels), but the hotel staff seemed competent and unobtrusive. The author also has no grudges against Disney and its entertainment style. He grew up with Disney movies in theaters and the Mickey Mouse Club on TV, so there might be some false nostalgia taking over there.

If you would understand Disney, you must understand the most important story in the company's history, the story of Oswald the Rabbit. Walter Elias Disney's first break in the American animation industry came in the 1920's when he created "Oswald" shorts for another company. Just when Disney thought he had control of the character, the distributor took Oswald from his studio and gave the series to another animator. 

Losing Oswald did two things to Walt Disney. First, it led him to create a new character, Mortimer Mouse (later renamed Mickey). Second, it led Disney to maintain tight control of all of his properties. Rights and licenses are carefully handled, and the company distributes all of their films and videos. 

Japanese animators could learn something from Disney's corporate controls of characters and rights. Most anime companies depend on sponsors and producers to fund their projects, and those outside companies in turn get control of the series and their characters - leaving the animation companies with a small cut of the proceeds.

There's also a supreme irony that Disney was one of the companies that sued against the sale of Sony's Betamax VCR's, lost the suit, then went on to found one of the world's largest home video sales operations. That part of the company helped launch the direct-sale home video sales model that is used now by the American anime industry.

Finally, the SPJA awards:

Best Male Character, Japanese Release - Kenshin, Rurouni Kenshin
Best Male Character, U.S. Release - Vash the Stampede, Trigun
Best Female Character, Japanese and U.S. Release - Lina Inverse, Slayers
Best Non-Human Character, Japanese Release - Cerebos, Card Captor Sakura
Best Non-Human Character, U.S. Release - Ryo-ohki, Tenchi-Muyo
Best Music Album, Japanese Release - Cowboy Bebop Blue
Best Music Album, U.S. Release - Princess Mononoke Soundtrack
Best Manga, Japanese Release - Rurouni Kenshin
Best Manga, U.S. Release - Oh My Goddess!
Best Film, Japanese Release - Revolutionary Girl Utena movie
Best Sub/Dub, U.S. Release - Princess Mononoke
Best OVA, Japanese Release - Rurouni Kenshin
Best OVA, U.S. Release - Blue Submarine No. 6
Best TV Series, Japanese Release - Card Captor Sakura
Best Film, U.S. Release - Titan AE
Best Japanese Publication - Animage
Best English-Language Publication - Animerica
Best Film Debut at Anime Expo - Escaflowne: A Girl of Gaea
Best Sub/Dub Company - Pioneer Entertainment