Before the opening ceremonies, fans were greeted by this display in the
center of the dealers' room. Looks as if the Walt Disney Co. is taking
no chances when it comes to promoting this Hayao Miyazaki film - and the
Disney name has been affixed to Spirited Away. |
Is it a coincidence that the new House of Anime van is painted to look
like a stock car, complete with sponsor decals (in this case the names
of product suppliers like Banpresto) on the front fender? |
One of the groups that shared the convention center with Anime Weekend
Atlanta was a sewing supply organization. costumers found that it was a
wholesalers' only event, which kept them from restocking at the last moment. |
The other group was the Atlanta school system, which bused students to
the center for testing. The hall used by the schools was right next to
an AWA registration line, and the schools had Atlanta police on hand to
make sure the students didn't escape into the anime convention. |
Dave Merrill of the convention staff threw candy into the audience to start
the convention, but no Magic card was burned in 2002, ending a long tradition.
He took the conventional path of banging a gavel on the podium. |
First guest up for introductions was Peter Fernandez, the original voice
of the dubbed Speed Racer. |
