Ever late, but still on time, I arrived with my entourage (mother, brothers, and nephew) to the Shounen Jump Premier Party one hour prior to the event ending. Our initial disappointment about the situation, (Akira Toriyama was the special guest of honor earlier that afternoon and we missed it) was soon gone, because for a full 60 minutes we had one of the most memorable experiences in anime fandom!
Upon arrival my nephew, Jeremiah, who is eight, was entered into a drawing contest. He had ten minutes to draw an anime character, any character. He was given a complimentary copy of Shonen Jump and immediately began to sketch out the master of the game himself, YU-GI-OH!
While Jeremiah drew away, my brothers and I scoped out the joint for any remaining activities. Yu-Yu Hakosho was playing, and in the party room autographs and Dragonball Z promo cards were being distributed. Autographs were being signed by two very well known voice-actors, from the dubbed Dragonball Z series, Laura Bailey and Christopher Sabat. Both Bailey and Sabat were very friendly and were having lots of fun meeting the fans!
Bailey is the voice behind Chibi Trunks, as well as characters from the dubbed versions of Dragonball and Blue Gender. But you may also recognize Bailey’s voice from the mega hit video game Bloodrayne, Bailey voices the star of the game Agent Rayne, herself! While Sabat is Dragonball Z. He voices probably about fifty percent of the male voices in the dubbed version. Here is just a brief list: Majin Vegita, Piccolo, Yamcha, Mr. Popo, Kamisama, Kuririn, and Zarbon. Who knew one person could be so talented? Not since Mel Blanc have I heard of any one person with such a diverse talent!
Oh, I almost forgot about Jeremiah and my mother (who stayed behind to make sure his entry was submitted). Well, I am proud to say that as the one who introduced the boy to anime and manga, he won hands down!!! The prize? A DVD of Yu Yu Hakasho! So needless to say, that even though we missed Toriayam-sama, our day was not a loss at all! Celebrities, an art contest and complimentary copies of Shounen Jump? Who could ask for anything more in a mere sixty minutes? What a great way to launch a great series.
Send your comments and or questions about this article to JenniferJ@ybfree.com.