Every year during the 4th of July weekend, thousands of anime fans converge onto Downtown Los Angeles as Anime Expo, the biggest anime convention of the year in North America is held. With Anime Expo’s significance in the anime convention calendar, not surprisingly some of the biggest anime news of the year is often announced here. The better cartoon show will be having a significant presence in Anime Expo this year, especially as Toonami will be having a panel for the first time. Among other things, we’ll likely hear the announcement of Toonami’s next show there, due to premiere on July 16. Other potential news include more info regarding Ordinal Scale, the formal announcement of Blue Exorcist season 2, and more details of FLCL 2, among others.
Hand-picked from the official schedule, these are some of the upcoming panels that are related to Toonami, and if you’re going to Anime Expo this year, we definitely recommend you checking them out, whether it’s for looking forward to what’s next, hanging out with the creators and other fans, and if nothing else, enjoying just being there. And even if you’re not going this year, we’ll be keeping an eye on what comes out of these panels for any news regarding the future of Toonami and the block’s various programs.
I mentioned a few of these panels on the trending rundown a few weeks back, so I decided to go a step further and look through the official schedule to make you guys a complete list of panels with significant Toonami interest. I’m not sure if I’ll have this segment as a yearly occurrence, or if we’ll do this for other conventions but I will be posting up a similar panel list for the San Diego Comic Con, which I personally will be going to cover on behalf of this site in a few weeks.
Do note that there is a possibility that there can be Toonami related news that can appear in panels that aren’t listed below, so all I can say is to keep on your toes. And if there is a Toonami related panel that we forgot to mention on this list, please feel free to let us know.
Update 7/1 @ 8:50 pm PDT: Included One Punch Matsuri concert with the announcement of One Punch Man’s arrival to Toonami.
Friday
VIZ Media Panel
Time: Friday, 1:30pm – 2:45pm
Room: Hall B
Official Description: Join the VIZ Media crew at our 30th anniversary celebration! We’ll talk about some of your favorite titles like NARUTO, ONE-PUNCH MAN, TOKYO GHOUL and SAILOR MOON. We’ll also be making announcements, showing off exclusive first looks at new titles, giving away prizes and having a grand old time. There might even be jokes!
Aniplex of America Industry Panel
Time: Friday, 4:00pm – 5:00pm
Room: Petree Hall
Official Description: What does “Sword Art Online II”, “DURARARA!!x2”, “Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works]”, “KIZUMONOGATARI”, “KILL la KILL” and “Madoka Magica” all have in common? You guessed it. Those are just some of the many hit titles that Aniplex of America has brought to the fans in North America. Join us as we discuss what awesome things we have coming down the pipeline! From fan-favorite releases, exciting news and all of our exclusive events we’re hosting at this year’s AX. We even have cool prizes that are just waiting to go home with you. Come have fun with us and learn why so many fans agree that, “It’s only the best with Aniplex!”
Toonami Industry Panel
Time: Friday, 7:30pm – 8:30pm
Room: 403 AB
Official Description: Toonami is the iconic programming block that helped introduce anime and many action cartoons to generations of fans. Join the creators of Toonami for a look at what’s been happening and what’s to come!
Saturday
SAO Festival “Meet and Play with the English Cast” Presented by Aniplex of America
Time: Saturday, 12:45pm – 2:45pm
Room: Petree Hall
Official Description: Aniplex of America is back this year with the most entertaining English voice actor panel ever! Join us as the cast members of Sword Art Online share all the juicy details of what happened behind the scenes during their recording sessions. Have fun as the actors play ridiculous games where the points really don’t matter but the losers end up embarrassing themselves in the hilarious penalty round. And don’t forget about our laugh out loud blooper reel that’s so exclusive we can only show it at this panel. This is one SAO party you don’t want to miss!
SUNRISE, BANDAI NAMCO Pictures, and GUNDAM
Time: Saturday, 3:30pm – 5:30pm
Room: 403 AB
Official Description: This is the official panel of SUNRISE and BANDAI NAMCO Pictures (BNP). BANDAI NAMCO Pictures has brought you TIGER & BUNNY and GINTAMA. The producers of your favorite shows–Shin Sasaki (GUNDAM series) and Masayuki Ozaki (TIGER & BUNNY)–will be on hand to give you exclusive behind-the-scenes info on past and upcoming shows! Also, join us for a special Gundam presentation featuring never-before-seen footage!
ONE PUNCH MAN Matsuri at AX
Time: July 2 • 3:30pm – 5:30pm
Room: Hall B
Official Description: The highly anticipated “One Punch Man” is finally here! As the best-selling manga, it has gathered lots of attention from fans all over the world and with the anime becoming a crowd favorite, this is definitely an amazing experience you won’t want to miss. This event will consist of an engaging talk show with special guests: Animation Director Shingo Natsume and Saitama Voice Actor Makoto Furukawa, live performance from JAM Project, and more!
Note: This is a ticketed event. See this page for more details.
Sunday
Official SAILOR MOON Panel
Time: Sunday, 10:00am – 12:00pm
Room: Hall B
Official Description: Let’s kick off another magical SAILOR MOON Day extravaganza with special guests, announcements, loads of sparkle and fun with your friends at VIZ Media. Everyone attending will get a special treat while supplies last!
Funimation Industry Panel
Time: Sunday, 11:45am – 1:45pm
Room: Petree Hall
Official Description: From Akira to Dragon Ball Z, hear the latest news, info, and announcements from North America’s largest anime distributor—Funimation. Live tweet with us using the hashtag #FUNimationPanel for a chance to win prizes!
Blue Exorcist Panel
Time: Sunday, 2:15pm – 3:45pm
Room: Petree Hall
Official Description: Join Aniplex of America this weekend as we celebrate the 5 year Anniversary of the fan-favorite anime series Blue Exorcist! Show your love for the Okumura brothers and enjoy our fun filled panel featuring must-see bloopers, fan favorite countdowns, exclusive giveaways, a very special announcement and much more! Series creator Kazue Kato will also appear as a special guest.
Production IG Industry Panel
Time: Sunday, 4:00pm – 5:00pm
Room: Petree Hall
Official Description: Come join Maki Terashima-Furuta the VP/producer at Production IG USA, as she introduces new and upcoming titles from Production IG with the newest clips and slideshows of shows such as “Attack on Titan: Junior High,” “Joker Game,” “Haikyu!!” “Kuroko’s Basketball,” “Ghost in the Shell The New Movie Virtual Reality Diver,” etc. To be discussed additionally are the new “FLCL 2” show with Cartoon Network, a new collaborative show “Perfect Bones” with Netlix, and the live action movie of “Ghost in the Shell,” currently in production with special guest Ari Arad from the production! Besides the exclusive swag giveaway, this is definitely a panel you would not want to miss! This panel will be followed by a FLCL panel immediately after.
FLCL 2 Guest Panel
Time: Sunday, 5:15pm – 6:15pm
Room: Petree Hall
Official Description: Come join Maki Terashima-Furuta as she hosts the panel with Jason DeMarco from Adult Swim, introducing Kazuya Tsurumaki, the one and only original creator of “FLCL” and Mayumi Shintani, the lovely voice behind Haruko. The first 1,500 attendees will receive a complimentary FLCL poster/postcard only available at AX. This panel will follow immediately after the Production I.G panel you would not want to miss!
Monday
Cowboy Bebop Voice Actor Panel
Time: Monday, 2:15pm – 3:15pm
Room: Petree Hall
Official Description: Steve Blum (Spike Spiegel), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Julia), Melissa Fahn (Ed), Wendee Lee (Faye Valentine), and Beau Billingslea (Jet Black), will participate in a panel together MC’d by Tony Oliver