Happy Birthday U.S.A.! While the rest of the general population is off grilling, heading to the beach or poppin’ open a beer, there are some of us (who are not camped out at the Staples Center for Michael Jackson memorial concert tickets) getting ready to check out Day 3 of Anime Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Southern California.

What’s on tap for today? For me, it’s all about seeing manga artist Yasuhiro Nightow talk ‘bout Trigun, but for many, it’s a day for dressing up for the Masquerade and checking out a huge Power Rangers reunion. Oh America. You are so strange and wonderful. Here's the rest of today's manga-centric must-sees / must-do's:

It’s Friday morning at Anime Expo 2009, so that means it’s time for CMX Manga’s industry panel. The CMX crew, including Jim Chadwick, Asako Suzuki and Larry Berry came out to share what’s new and coming soon for the rest of 2009, and give readers a peek of what’s in store for the first half of 2010 too. In all, they featured 12 new titles, with almost eight of them with a shojo / romance focus, and the remaining four for the boys (and men). While they promised more announcements at San Diego Comic-Con later this month, this panel did give fans peek at what’s coming up through June 2010.

Last year, CMX seemed to have several titles about forlorn girls who experienced tragedy. This year’s shojo theme seemed to be princesses who rebel against arranged marriages. Coincidence? Not sure! On the bright side for fans clamoring for more all-ages manga, CMX is adding three new shojo titles that even preteens can enjoy: A Tale of An Unknown Country, The Lizard Prince and The World I Create . Read on and see what else is coming soon from CMX.

Last night, the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Anime (SPJA), the organization that puts on Anime Expo, announced the winners of their annual industry awards. Not too many surprises here, as the 2009 SPJA Industry Awards roster of winners includes many fan favorites, including Bleach, Gurren Lagann, Death Note and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. The various incarnations of the Bleach anime did very well, with five wins out of 22 categories, a feat only matched by the Death Note anime, which also won in five categories. The only other anime that came close was Gurren Lagann from GAINAX, which earned nods in three categories.

But the stuff I was watching most was the manga awards – and the spoils were evenly split between Del Rey Manga (who has no official presence here at Anime Expo) and VIZ Media, with two awards each.

• Best Manga – Action: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle by CLAMP (Del Rey Manga)
• Best Manga – Comedy: Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima (Del Rey Manga)
• Best Manga – Drama: Monster by Naoki Urasawa (VIZ Signature / VIZ Media)
• Best Magazine: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

It’s Day Two of Anime Expo, and while yesterday was full of noteworthy events, today is the day when the three-day holiday weekend officially kicks into gear. There’s the much-anticipated Morning Musume concert, an appearance by Afro Samurai’s creator, Takashi Okazaki, manga publishers panels from CMX Manga, VIZ Media and Bandai Entertainment and an industry-only panel on commercial potential of manga that’s made in America. There's much more, of course, so here’s my manga-centric list of Friday’s highlights.

FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2009

• 9:00 am - 9:50 am: Bandai Entertainment Industry Panel, Room LP 1 / Petree Hall
  So you want to know what’s new and coming soon in anime and manga from Bandai Entertainment? President Ken Iyadomi and Marketing Dude Robert Napton will be there to give you the scoop.
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