This week marked the return of the Superstar Anime convention in Virginia Beach, Virginia and brought together anime fans from all over the Tidewater region. 

Additional information about attendance and exhibitor counts are still being tallied at the time of this podcast airing, but the event was well attended, despite COVID-19 protocols that required spaced seating in the panel rooms, masks at all times, and limited numbers of attendees. Both the Virginia Beach Conference Center and Superstar Anime staff worked to enforce the COVID-19 protocols during the convention.

Several cosplay actors incorporated masks into their costumes. For the full episode, click the link below:

Anime voice actors Ian Sinclair (photo below) and John Swasey headlined the show and each answered questions from their fans at separate panels held during the event. Both stated, in answers to separate questions from fans, that it is vital for English-speaking anime voice actors to honor the original Japanese voice actor’s intention and voice in dubbing the anime into English. 

When giving advice to aspiring voice actors, John Swasey of Sir Crocodile and Lord Death fame, said, “Always listen to what the Japanese actor did first.”

When asked what the toughest part of being a voice actor in anime was, Swasey said, “accents,” adding, “The voice has to sound like it’s coming from the heart.” He patted his chest over his heart as he said so. “Technique speaking, accents are most difficult.”

Ian Sinclair, whose credits include Dragon Ball Z, Borderlands, and Street Fighter, among others, related to the crowd at his panel that the “Anime industry kinda works at home now.” 

Other panels included an anime theme song quiz and a cosplay contest.

For updates on other news events, as well as the Coffee in Space Podcast, click HERE to sign up for the newsletter.