Editor's note (04/10/08):

This interview was originally part of a single page that contained multiple interviews, and the author's convention experience merged between Q/A segments. We've moved to a new format where each person we interview gets their own page, and our experiences related to the interview appear above the interview transcript. A handful of very minor edits and omissions have been applied for clarity. We realize that some of these older pages will still look funny, but we believe that the consistency achieved makes up for that. At any rate, if you wish to view all of the pages that were originally part of the convention report, click here.

Another year has passed, and Animazement has come and gone once again. At Animazement 2004, I was given the opportunity to speak with another assortment of guests from Japan. Once again, I over-prepared, and was unable to ask all of my questions due to time constraints. However, with the aid of a translator, I was once again also able to ask many questions. Like last year, the interviews were organized in sessions, with a few guests at a time.

In the late afternoon [that Saturday], I sat down with the second press session's attendees: this year's guest of honor, Ms. Chika Sakamoto, and Ms. Yuu Watase. Ms. Sakamoto is, like Mr. Kamiya, one of the most recognized seiyuu in the industry, known for quite a few anime characters, including: Nuriko (Fushigi Yuugi), Yaten Kou (Sailor Moon/Stars), Mei (My Neighbor Totoro), Shun (Here is Greenwood), and Tendon Man (Anpan-man). Ms. Watase is a very well known manga artist, best known for Fushigi Yuugi, Ayashi no Ceres, and Alice 19th. I began with a question to Ms. Sakamoto.