Anime Expo 2012

Cardfight!! Vanguard Panel

The English-language producers for the Cardfight!! Vanguard CCG were on hand to showcase some upcoming release dates and tournament dates, and introduce their fans to two of their prominent illustrators - Foo Midori, and Yosuke Adachi.

The illustrators were then asked a few questions about their experience as illustrators. "When I was a college student I wanted to become a manga artist," said Foo Midori, "but in order to earn some money I started to draw illustrations. A publisher had seen my art from my personal website with an art gallery." Yosuke Adachi added, "I love to play RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons, so I draw my characters and monsters like that. I love drawing. Therefore I became an illustrator."

The producers asked their illustrators what the demands of their job is. "The hardest part," said Midori, "is that all the projects have different deadlines - right now I have about 30 projects at once - and my daily routine gets out of whack, and my body can start breaking down and making me sick." Adachi said, "There are so many good illustrators that are threatening to take my job. Young illustrators today are very powerful, and motivated, and skillfull. They've given me a hard time. Like Foo, she's better than me. *laughs*"

Then the illustrators were asked about their specific approach to designing a card game. Midori said, "I like high fantasy illustrations, fantasy-type species, like elves, and other human-types that don't exist in real life." Adachi was the opposite - "I like to approach it like anime, especially battle, action, and robots. I like illustrations with gorgeous, powerful action." Then they were asked if they had ever played Cardfight!! Vanguard. "No! *laughs*" said Midori. "I'm not very good with card games or puzzle games, or anything that requires a lot of mathematical thinking! I need to have Mr. Adachi teach me how to play!" Adachi said, "I love to play Vanguard! Today there was an event where I played two games. I lost them both. I'll have my revenge tomorrow. I think Vanguard is a very simple game to learn compared to other card games. It's easy to introduce to other players, and to invite friends to play."

The producers then listed a series of announcements that had yet to be posted on the official English-language website. They outlined three new booster packs: "Demonic Lord Invasion," which retails August 11th, "Rampage of the Beast Kings" on September 29th, "The Banquet of Diva" on November 10th, and "Eclipse of Illusionary Souls" on December 15th.

Then they outlined dates for their North American Cardfight!! Vanguard Championships. September 1st in Toronto, September 8th in Dallas, September 15th in Mexico City and Seattle, September 22nd in Chicago, October 8th in New York City, October 13th in Atlanta, and November 3rd in Los Angeles. The Championship Finals will be held on November 4th in Los Angeles, and they announced that everyone who qualifies for the Finals will win a free trip to Japan.

The producers asked their guests to offer their fans a few parting words. "Thank you very much. I hope you enjoy your four days in Anime Expo, and you'll also play Vanguard as well," said Midori. Adachi had the last words, with "Thank you for coming. Thank you Bushiroad for bringing me to Anime Expo. I've wanted to come to Anime Expo for a long time, it's the biggest event for anime, and to finally join this event, made me very excited. Thank you!"