It’s been a year since the US release of Fate/Grand Order, the highly successful mobile phone game based on the Fate/Series. The game has taken the country and world by storm with a daily revenue estimate of $1.3 million dollars in the US alone and is ranked the #1 Top Grossing Role Playing game on Google Play. What better way to commemorate than with a 1 year anniversary panel at Anime Expo 2018 with special appearances by Ayako Kawasumi, the voice of Type-Moon’s poster child Altria Pendragon, Satoshi Tsuroka, the voice of Arash from Fate/Grand Order and Gil de Rais from Fate/Zero, and Yosuke Shiokawa, the Creative Director of Fate/Grand Order!

Given the explosion of popularity the Fate/Series has experienced over the years thanks to Fate/Grand Order, the panel was expected to be a full house. The panel was 20 minutes behind schedule, however, it finally kicked off with the all-too-familiar login BG music that everyone has heard by now (if they played the game, of course). Guests were cleverly introduced one by one with the use of “summoning” their voiced characters on screen like how one would roll the gacha in-game.

Tsuroka made his first appearance on stage while being escorted by an Arash cosplayer. The crowds went wild, yelling out his signature line “Stella!”. Satoshi introduces himself stating “this is my first time coming to Anime Expo. I am very surprised by how many people love our series. I look forward to having a wonderful time with you!”.

Interestingly, this is Tsuroka’s first time at Anime Expo and he was asked about his thought on the convention. He states that “Even in Japan, I'm not the type of actor to stand in front of so many people, so honestly I'm sincerely surprised. Around the same time yesterday, around the exit yesterday, I checked out the event yesterday and thought, “am I able to talk to some many people?” But I realized I would be with Kawasumi-san, so I would have enough energy. Please cheer me on!".
Kawasumi was second to appear, while also being escorted by an Altria Pendragon cosplayer. Kawasumi greeted the crowd with smiles,"Hello everyone, I am Ayako Kawasumi, the voice of Altria Pendrangon from FGO. Thank you for coming today. It's my third time here and I'm so excited because AX always inspires me. I love you guys!" With that declaration of love, the crowd went wild.

Before coming to Anime Expo, the guests went on a tour around Los Angeles and were asked to take photos of their adventures, and talk about their experiences.

It became clear that the first half of the panel was set to become a talk session with the voice actors, including a live voice acting readings of lines submitted by fans and chosen for the guests. Of course, Tsuroka eventually yells Arash’s signature line “Stella!” and the crowd erupted in cheers.The last half of the panel was set for the much anticipated FGO Summer Festival 2018 - 1st Anniversary event, which includes in-game login reward announcements. The announcements were to be presented by Shiokawa himself.

After Shiokawa’s introduction, he was asked about his feelings about AX this year since his last visit. Shiokawa states "Last year when we came to Anime Expo it only was 1 or 2 months from the launch. Yet you guys gave us a very heartwarming welcome. At the same time, it motivated us to be better and come back with much more for this year. Representing the producing team, we thank you guys so much for your support."
Rewards include free Saint Quartz, a commemorative Craft Essence, daily login bonuses and more. The campaign will run from July 7 to July 17t, 2018.

More details for the rewards can be found here.

Finally, a surprise present from Aniplex USA to the guests of honor came in the form of a cake, featuring servants from adorable the “FGO Learning With Manga!” series drawn by Riyo.

Unfortunately, there was not enough time for a Q&A session like last year. Many players have been clamoring about the current state of the North American servers, so I’m sure it was a disappointment for many. However, as a current player of the Japan servers, my observations are that North America is starting to slowly catch up to Japan with the recent release of the Camelot singularity. Things will certainly improve with time. That’s a wrap for the panel. Please look forward to more improvements and next year’s 2nd Anniversary to be bigger and better!