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AX Lite Event to Feature 'Sneak Peek' at Star Wars: Visions Anthology Anime

The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA) announced on Monday that the "Anime Expo Lite" virtual event will feature a 30-minute "sneak preview" of the Star Wars: Visions anime anthology project on July 3 at 3:00 p.m. PDT (6:00 p.m. EDT).

Anime Expo describes the series:

Lucasfilm's Star Wars: Visions is an upcoming anthology of animated shorts celebrating Star Wars through the lens of the world's best anime creators and storytellers. Tune in for a sneak peek that will leave you excited for this all-new vision of the galaxy far, far away!

The project will feature 10 anime short films, and will feature "several of the leading Japanese anime studios offering a fresh and diverse cultural perspective" to the Star Wars franchise.

Disney stated the project will feature shorts set in the Star Wars universe, with the "world's best Japanese anime creators" attached to the project. The project will launch in 2021.

The SPJA also announced recently that the event will host voice actor Yūki Ono and producer Hiroto Kuramasu as part of the CYBIRD TV Special Edition panel on July 3 at 5:45 p.m. PDT. It will also host the VTubers Ironmouse, Projekt Melody, Nyanners, Silvervale, Zentreya, and Froot from VShojo in panels from July 3 through July 4. The event will also host a "Doodle with Studio Trigger" panel featuring Shigeto Koyama and SUSHIO on July 4 at 7:30 p.m. PDT.

Anime Expo Lite 2021 will be held on July 3-July 4 from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. PDT (3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. EDT) each day. Tickets to the event will cost US$5, with all proceeds going to the Hate is a Virus commUNITY Action Fund. Tickets are available to purchase now on the TIXR website. Those who purchase a ticket can also watch the streams on a video-on-demand (VOD) basis from July 5-16 in addition to the livestreamed event. SPJA stated that ticketholders will also be able to "access additional programming" on the VOD service.

Anime Expo Lite 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of the Anime Expo convention. The event will feature streamed content from companies such as Bushiroad, Bandai Namco Arts, Crunchyroll, Right Stuf Anime, Viz Media, Sekai Project, WayForward, and more. The event will include panel discussions, industry announcements, live content, "exclusive content from Japan," Q&As, "community & educational segments," and "community features."

Source: Press release (link 2, link 3, link 4)