Anime Expo 2009 is coming up this weekend, July 2-5, in Los Angeles. And Right Stuf, Inc., the anime producer, distributor, and retailer, as well as Nozomi Entertainment, its production division, have a lot in store for fans. Most of what they’re doing are either premieres of new series or screenings of episodes from existing ones, but there are a couple of panels planned as well.

Kicking things off the very first evening, Thursday, July 2nd, in Room LP1, will be Right Stuf president and CEO Shawn Kleckner, giving anime fans a peek at the company’s latest acquisitions, and talking about the DVD release of Gakuen Alice and the remastering of The Irresponsible Captain Tylor and Rental Magica. There will also be a Q&A session, so bring your list of questions.

Gakuen Alice and The Irresponsible Captain Tylor will also be premiered on Saturday, July 4, at 5:00 p.m. in Room LP2.

And Nozomi Entertainment will be showing lots and lots of other videos as well. You’ll want to check the schedules for times and locations, but to whet your appetite, here are some of the titles: ARIA: The ANIMATION, Emma: A Victorian Romance, Maria Watches Over Us (Maria-sama ga Miteru), Ninja Nonsense, The Third: The Girl With the Blue Eye, and Toward the Terra Movie.

Right Stuf/Nozomi will also be participating in another panel that will be closed to the public. However, if you’re involved in the media or are part of the industry, it may be for you. On Friday, July 3, at 11:30 a.m. in Room LP3, Shawn Kleckner will have a look at the state of the North American anime industry from the perspective of both a publisher and a retailer.

If you can’t get to Anime Expo 2009, but want to follow the news as it happens, you can check in at the Right Stuf website, the Anime Today forums, or keep up on the Anime Today Twitter feed.

Source: Right Stuff newsletter, June 29, 2009