Watase Yu Guest Of Honor Panel Saturday morning got off to a rousing start with the ever-popular Watase Yu's panel. Since her visit last time, Ms. Watase has finished her latest manga, AYASHI NO CERES, and has helped in the anime production of the new TV series based on it. She surprised many con goers by having the first two episodes of AYASHI NO CERES TV series, shown English subtitled exclusively for Anime Expo 2000, at the start of her panel, marking another Anime Expo exclusive debut. The first two episodes of AYASHI NO CERES, center around two twins, Aya and Aki, and the dramatic events that happen on their sixteenth birthday. Aya finds out that she is in fact an Angel, and must deal with her grandfather's deadly henchmen now trying to kill her. The series is filled with many of the trademark bishonen (pretty young guys) that Ms. Watase's works are known for (ala FUSHIGI YUGI). In fact, when the handsome guys first appeared in the episode, most of the women in the audience screamed in approval, causing a delighted, yet embarrassed Ms. Watase to hide her face from the audience. From here, the Q&A panel began:

Q: Is Nuriko gay?

WY: [laughs] I don't think so, but now that I think about it, maybe [laughs].

Q: What exactly is Tasuki and Koji's relationship?

WY: [laughs] They are just good friends.

Q: Where did you get the ideas for FUSHIGI YUGI and AYASHI NO CERES?

WY: Both ideas were mentioned in books that I was reading at the time.

Q: What are your future plans?

WY: I'm currently working on a contemporary high school comedy. I'd like to take on a new world view; something I haven't done before.

Q: Any plans to animate the FUSHIGI YUGI character novels?

WY: There are no plans, but perhaps Studio Pierrot might want to animate them, so maybe.

Q: Is Tasuki's love for Miaka like Tamahome's love for Miaka?

WY: No, Tasuki's love is more like that between brother and sister. (to which many girls in the audience cheered.)

Q: Do you have an alter-ego in any of your characters?

WY: No alter-ego, but there are aspects of me in some of the characters.

Q: Why does Yuhi (AYASHI NO CERES) not recognize that Shiro is a girl?

WY: Because he only has eyes for Aya.

Q: Why did you become a manga artist?

WY: Because I could only draw when I was little [smiles].

Q: Do you draw your manga with the anime version in mind?

WY: I'd like to, but that's not what I do now.

Q: How do you feel about fans interpreting your works (on the net, dojinshi, etc.)?

WY: I know fans do it because they love the work, so that is good, but there are copyright issues, so please be careful about what you do.

Q: Do you have any influences from anime or manga?

WY: Well, I had no money to buy manga when I was small [smiles]. But I watched lots of anime, since anime was on TV, all I needed to do was flip on the TV set and it was there. But, in junior high, Takahashi Rumiko (RANMA 1/2, MAISON IKKOKU) was a big influence.
(audience cheers at this point.)

Q: Are you in a relationship right now?

WY: [laughs] No.

Q: How do you come up with really cute guys?

WY: I don't know if they're really cute, but I try to diversify to please the fans.
(female fans cheer wildly upon her comment.)

Q: Does the romantic events in your works come from personal experience?

WY: [laughs] There's some wishful thinking... but real life relationships are not as dramatic, so I use my manga work as an alternative.

Q: Why did you decide to go with a shonen manga style for your next project?

WY: I originally wanted to go for shonen manga work, but chickened out, so now I want to try.