Not having much to do(and not wanting to join in the endless 'Caramelldansen' raids), I attended a few of the artists panels in the hopes of obtaining an autograph from these illustrious directors/artists. While I managed to snag a ticket to Mr. Ando's signing, it was scheduled for the same time that Akemi Takada(character designer for several anime including 'Kimigure Orange Road') was having her panel. Fortunately, I had a super spiffy roomie, Amy, who was kind enough to stand in line and get my shikishi signed for me. I was absolutely surprised when she not only came back with the signed shikishi, but this poster as well.

Of all the artists that I had the priviledge of meeting this year, it was Masahiro Ando that blew me away in all around professionalism. Instead of exhibiting the finicky attitude that many well-known artists were famous for, Ando was very relaxed and very giving. According to Amy, during the signature panel on Saturday, Ando allowed every partipant to choose whatever main movie character they wanted to have drawn on their item. I was so impressed by his demeanor that I went back on Sunday to stand in line for his signature. Even on Sunday, Ando and Minami were still handing out posters, drawing and signing up a storm. But, on Sunday, Ando didn't limit his artwork to just his recent production, but rather, would draw anything from any of his previous projects. I'll update with that artwork later.