I am so excited that Stan Sakai has agreed to come to Anime Los Angeles as our Artist Guest of Honor. Sure, he has won a few Eisner awards (3 so far), at least one Parents Choice Award plus several other awards to boot, but who’s counting.

Long before Anime and Manga hit the mainstream in the Midwest where I grew up, Stan Sakai was entertaining me with the stories of the rabbit ronin Usagi Yojimbo.

Stan’s ability to weave interesting and colorful stories has made Usagi Yojimbo a favorite of mine for some time. Of course, the real magic of Stan’s work is that I have ended up learning a great deal about Japanese history, culture and traditions along the way.

You can look up the Wikipedia entry for Stan Sakai to find out about him. But if you really want to know him, pick up and read Usagi Yojimbo. I recommend that you do. You will soon find yourself submersed into a wonderful, entertaining and rich world where you will actually believe that rabbit ronins exist.

Joyce Hooper
Vice-Chair
Anime Los Angeles