Ok, Elizabeth (Shinji Takamatsu) panel report time!!  Panel was at least half full, not too bad considering how short the lines are for production guests in general…

Started with PR guy introducing Takamatsu and going over his resume. Gintama & Nichibros got the most cheers (as they should)

Went straight to a screening of Magical Boys ep 1. Takamatsu commented on twitter that it was interesting to see the different in reactions from overseas fans… (my guesses) People were quiet in the beginning during the chikuwabu convo (understandably); magical girl parodies & zombie teacher bits got a lot of laughs

Next was an “official” interview about the show lead by the PR guy:

Q: “Why magical boys?”
A: “Because it’s funny lol”

Q: “The characters are named after famous onsens?”
A: “Well, the characters bond via group bathing, so I wanted to use that as a symbol of their friendship”

Q: “There are really unique monsters every episode, how did that come about?”
A: “I used food to show the characters' mental state… also because it’s funny lol”

Q:  “There seems to be a lot of male friendship in the series, how would you define that?”
A: “To make it clear this is NOT a BL series, their relationship is totally platonic…  even though they bond while bathing naked together lololol”
“(and because it’s funny lol)”

Q: “What are the differences/challenges in making an original anime?”
A: “With adaptions, you want to respect the original work & make it as close as possible. With an original there’s no precedent, so deciding which way the story will go and how the characters will turn out is probably the most difficult part”
“(and choosing the funniest things to put in lol)”

Q: “For magical boys, not only were you the director but you had a hand in the screenplay, storyboarding, sound direction, etc. Which role do you enjoy most?”
A: “In the end we want to make a product to bring to the fans, so each role is fun, but I think supervising director is the most fun because I get to put every little piece together into a complete whole.”
“…I won’t make a joke this time”

Q: “For those who haven’t watched Magical Boys, please give some reasons to watch/highlights”
A: “For those who have only watch the 1st ep here, I encourage to watch becase the series becomes more developed whether it be the monsters or character personalities, and there’s a very unexpected ending, which I would love to have you watch and let me know what you think.”

Fan Q&A time, first person in line wanted to ask about Nichibros, but the staff had to remind everyone only q’s about Magical Boys are allowed :((((  Poor girl didn’t know what to ask after that, so she just said “Um, thanks for making Nichibros!”

Q: “In a series like this you were focusing on the comedy, but there was one character that had serious moments too, how do you balance that comedy and drama when you make a show?”
A: “So this show mainly is a comedy, but there is a bit of serious moments if you keep watching. You find out about the main character & the student council’s past, but since this is mainly a comedy, you get more comedy”
(I think this person sneaked Gintama into their question lol, but I couldn’t hear too well)

Next person thanked him for his Gundam work and complimented Magical Boys… then tried to ask about Nichibros and got shot down, whoops

Q: “I think this show would have great mass appeal, why hasn’t Pony Canyon dubbed it?”
A: “No plans at the moment, but if we get more feedback like yours, it would help us consider it”

Q: “I wanted to ask more about the business aspect, what were some of the challenges when making this anime?”
(the producer was sitting next to him, so she answered instead)
A: “When we were casting the main characters, we wanted actors who could also sing, wear the outfits and have live concerts in character. It was really fun and hope to do it with other works in the future, but it was also a challenge”

Q: “Thanks for Gintama and your others works, I really enjoyed everything you worked on including this title. There’s a character song sung by the student council that very Gintama-ish, and it fits them really well.  I wanted to know your role in production of the song”
A: “I was not directly involved in the character songs, I actually entrusted everything to the composer & lyricist, but I was happy to see the staff loved this title so much that they came up with songs that were so appropriate and fitting.”

Then the entire audience got to play rock-paper-scissors with Takamatsu (lol ok??? that was interesting), and the winner got a signed copy of the script.

Parting words:

“This was my first Otakon, but I didn’t realize how many fans out were out there of anime, and how many of those fans have seen the titles I’ve worked on. I don’t know what to say other than thank you and I’m so grateful to you all.  I want to encourage you to keep watching, not just my anime, but please come and support me and by buying [the rest is drowned out by laughter lol]”

Then PR guy pimped their Magical Boys release and their Yuki Yuna panel. The end!