– Anime Expo® -- North America's largest anime, manga and Japanese pop culture celebration -- officially kicks off Thursday, June 28 with a star-studded Red Carpet and Opening Ceremony at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Anime Expo Official Guests of Honor will greet fans on the red carpet at 6 p.m. with the Opening Ceremony to follow at 7 p.m.Now in its 21st year, Anime Expo 2012 (AX) will present some of today's most exciting anime, manga, musical, game and fashion artists from Japan and the U.S.; main event concerts and contests such as the crowd favorite Masquerade; new and exciting interactive offerings and even Lounge 21, where over-21 attendees can enjoy wine, beer and cocktails.Announced Guests of Honors include composer Yuki Kajiura/”FictionJunction;” anime-inspired heavy metal band ANIMETAL USA; Culture Japan's Danny Choo; Fate/Zero” creative team Hikaru Konda, Ei Aoki and Rikiya Koyama; Madhouse creative team Asaka Morio, Kunihiko Hamada and Takuya Tsunoki; animation director Tatsuo Sato; voice actors Ryo Horikawa, Nobuhiko Okamoto, Jamie Marchi, Monica Rial, Steve Blum, Joel McDonald and Ian Sinclair; Japanese pop star LiSA, Lolita fashion designer Cyril Lumboy, Lolita model Misako Aoki; Tokyo-based Gallery of Fantastic Art and popular cosplayer Jessica Nigri.The following are highlights of the AX Main Events, all to be held in Hall G of LACC:6:00 – 6:40 p.m. Red Carpet7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Opening Ceremonies5:30 – 6:30 p.m. ANIMETAL USA Concert9:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. Anime Music Video (AMV) Contest7:00 – 8 p.m. Yuki Kajiura/”Fiction/Junction” Concert2:00 – 3:00 p.m. LiSA Concert3:00 – 4:00 pm. Japan Fashion Mix at AX 2012: Fashion Show hosted by Misako Aoki and Danny Choowith up-and-coming J-pop singer Kyoka8:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. Masquerade12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Art Auction1:00 – 6:00 p.m. SPJA Charity Auction6:00 p.m. Closing CeremoniesNow in its 21st year, Anime Expo is North America's larges celebration of anime, manga and Japanese pop culture. AX 2012 will feature and exciting schedule of exclusive screenings; artists' panels; live concerts; cosplay; dance parties, karaoke, and video competitions; non-stop video gaming and unsurpassed shopping from more than 3,000 vendors. AX 2012 takes place June 29-July 2, 2012 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. To register or for more information, please visit www.anime-expo.org . Connect with Anime Expo on Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube.The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to popularize and educate the America public about anime and manga, as well as provide a forum to facilitate communication between professionals and fans. This organization is more popularly known by its entertainment property, Anime Expo®. For more information, please visit www.spja.org