Normally on a July 4th weekend we'd be down in Los Angeles with 100,000 other fans for none other than Anime Expo. COVID19 has put a wrench in convention plans for the year but that doesn't mean absolutely nothing will be going on. Anime Expo, Funimation, Aniplex, and a Canadian named Kurotsuki have taken it upon themselves to hold events online. We'll be focusing on the SPJA's "Anime Expo Lite," being held on July 3-4, for this article.

Anime Expo Lite will be streamed on both Twitch and YouTube starting at noon PDT. All times are PDT which gives a little bit of wiggle room to work with. Please view the schedules HERE and HERE.

Anime Expo Lite's schedule is more general than some of the other events this weekend. That's to be expected given that Anime Expo is more of an aggregator (so to speak) than a content producer (like Funimation and Aniplex). That is not to say that their programming is a slouch. They've got some cool stuff like a visit to Good Smile Company's Akihabara HQ, an audition final for the theme song of DEEMO THE MOVIE (composer Yuki Kajiura and producer Yasunori Mori will be on hand), a live drawing session by the legendary Yoshitaka Amano, and a premiere look at the upcoming GIBIATE which features designs by Amano. The crown jewel of Anime Expo Lite will be the featured musical performances of GRANRODEO, KOTOKO, Maaya Uchida, Yoko Takahashi, and Yoshino Nanjo. I'm not sure if this will be new content or previously recorded content.  Since they're making shirts you can purchase maybe it's the former.

There are a suspicious amount of filler segments titled "cultural content," however. Better than dead air, right? Plus I'm sure it'll be interesting. Culture is one of the things we might see off-hand in anime and manga but not get real explanations for.

Check out Anime Expo Lite's website HERE for details on everything including descriptions of the panels. Make sure to look at the Exhibitor and Artist Alley sections, too!  They can really use your help as they've basically lost their entire convention seasons from March onward.  

Happy Fourth to all of you and hopefully we'll see you in person next year. Stay safe and keep healthy. COVID19 isn't a joke and we all need to do our part. None of us can fail to make a contribution to the general result.