Aya Hirano, Yuko Goto, and Minori Chihara known most famously for their work The concert was held on Saturday night initially scheduled at 4:30 PM; however, the concert actually didn't start until around 6.
The concert format generally went from a song to a brief Q and A session, then usually a dubbing demonstration. We were introduced to a representative from Bang Zoom Entertainment who would be the translator for the show. Our host for the show was Patricia Ja Le from the ASOS Brigade. There was also a no photography or filming policy enforced during the concert. There were 2 Anime Expo staff members patrolling the sides of each section.
Yoko Goto was the first to start the concert with her song "Shinzen Akatsuki," the intro song to the Adventures of Asahina Mikuru Episode 00. After the song, she told the audience she was very nervous before the concert as she was asked to start the concert. The American voice actor for Mikuru, Stephanie Sheh, came out and did a dubbing demonstration, Mikuru Beam from episode 00 and the classified segments from episode 3, with Goto-san. Goto-san commented that during the recording sessions for the series, she was on a very tight schedule and did them without rest.
Aya Hirano came out next singing the series' opening, "Bouken Desho Desho." Haruhi's American voice actor, Wendee Lee did a live dubbing of episode 1, the scene of Haruhi's class introduction. Aya-san mentions that she used to live in the United States until she was 3, back then she was fluent in English, but forgot it over time.
Minori Chihara sang 2 songs next, "Yiki, Muon, Madobe Nite," and "Select." Minori-san dubbed the scene where Yuki explains who she is from episode 5 (broadcast order). She explained that this was one of the most difficult lines for her to do. She was always practicing whenever she had free time. Sometimes she would be too slow, or too fast as the speed of some words varied. Michelle Ruff, the American voice actor for Yuki, was unable to attend so Johnny Yong Bosch, the American voice actor for Itsuki did a dubbing demonstration with her.
Aya-san came out again with a deafening roar from the crowd. She performed "God Knows" and "Lost My Music."
The dance contest winners of the Hare Hare Yukai came out, 3 groups total, along with the ASOS Brigade, to dance alongside Yuko-san, Aya-san, and Chihara-san. After the performance, the crowd hooted and shouted, and an encore followed.
We bought our premier tickets when it first opened and we were sitting in the second row. There were the occasional technical difficulties including the script, but as the 9,000 seated SOS Brigade fans can testify, it was a blast.
