Welcome to the proceedings of the 5th Paci?c Rim Conference on Multimedia (PCM 2004) held in Tokyo Waterfront City, Japan, November 30-December 3, 2004. Following the success of the preceding conferences, PCM 2000 in Sydney, PCM 2001 in Beijing, PCM 2002 in Hsinchu, and PCM 2003 in Singapore, the ?fth PCM brought together the researchers, developers, practitioners, and educators in the ?eld of multimedia. Theoretical breakthroughs and practical systems were presented at this conference, thanks to the support of the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society, IEEE Region 10 and IEEE Japan Council, ACM SIGMM, IEICE and ITE. PCM2004featuredacomprehensiveprogramincludingkeynotetalks, regular paperpresentations, posters, demos, andspecialsessions.Wereceived385papers andthenumberofsubmissionswasthelargestamongrecentPCMs.Amongsuch a large number of submissions, we accepted only 94 oral presentations and 176 poster presentations. Seven special sessions were also organized by world-leading researchers. We kindly acknowledge the great support provided in the reviewing of submissions by the program committee members, as well as the additional reviewers who generously gave their time. The many useful comments provided by the reviewing process must have been very valuable for the authors' work. Thisconferencewouldneverhavehappenedwithoutthehelpofmanypeople. We greatly appreciate the support of our strong organizing committee chairs and advisory chairs. Among the chairs, special thanks go to Dr. Ichiro Ide and Dr. Takeshi Naemura who smoothly handled publication of the proceedings with Springer. Dr. Kazuya Kodama did a fabulous job as our Web master.

Welcome to the proceedings of the 5th Paci?c Rim Conference on Multimedia (PCM 2004) held in Tokyo Waterfront City, Japan, November 30 December 3, 2004. Following the success of the preceding conferences, PCM 2000 in Sydney, PCM 2001 in Beijing, PCM 2002 in Hsinchu, and PCM 2003 in Singapore, the ?fth PCM brought together the researchers, developers, practitioners, and educators in the ?eld of multimedia. Theoretical breakthroughs and practical systems were presented at this conference, thanks to the support of the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society, IEEE Region 10 and IEEE Japan Council, ACM SIGMM, IEICE and ITE. PCM2004featuredacomprehensiveprogramincludingkeynotetalks, regular paperpresentations, posters, demos, andspecialsessions.Wereceived385papers andthenumberofsubmissionswasthelargestamongrecentPCMs.Amongsuch a large number of submissions, we accepted only 94 oral presentations and 176 poster presentations. Seven special sessions were also organized by world-leading researchers. We kindly acknowledge the great support provided in the reviewing of submissions by the program committee members, as well as the additional reviewers who generously gave their time. The many useful comments provided by the reviewing process must have been very valuable for the authors work. Thisconferencewouldneverhavehappenedwithoutthehelpofmanypeople. We greatly appreciate the support of our strong organizing committee chairs and advisory chairs. Among the chairs, special thanks go to Dr. Ichiro Ide and Dr. Takeshi Naemura who smoothly handled publication of the proceedings with Springer. Dr. Kazuya Kodama did a fabulous job as our Web master."

Welcome to the proceedings of the 5th Paci?c Rim Conference on Multimedia (PCM 2004) held in Tokyo Waterfront City, Japan, November 30-December 3, 2004. Following the success of the preceding conferences, PCM 2000 in Sydney, PCM 2001 in Beijing, PCM 2002 in Hsinchu, and PCM 2003 in Singapore, the ?fth PCM brought together the researchers, developers, practitioners, and educators in the ?eld of multimedia. Theoretical breakthroughs and practical systems were presented at this conference, thanks to the support of the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society, IEEE Region 10 and IEEE Japan Council, ACM SIGMM, IEICE and ITE. PCM2004featuredacomprehensiveprogramincludingkeynotetalks, regular paperpresentations, posters, demos, andspecialsessions.Wereceived385papers andthenumberofsubmissionswasthelargestamongrecentPCMs.Amongsuch a large number of submissions, we accepted only 94 oral presentations and 176 poster presentations. Seven special sessions were also organized by world-leading researchers. We kindly acknowledge the great support provided in the reviewing of submissions by the program committee members, as well as the additional reviewers who generously gave their time. The many useful comments provided by the reviewing process must have been very valuable for the authors' work. Thisconferencewouldneverhavehappenedwithoutthehelpofmanypeople. We greatly appreciate the support of our strong organizing committee chairs and advisory chairs. Among the chairs, special thanks go to Dr. Ichiro Ide and Dr. Takeshi Naemura who smoothly handled publication of the proceedings with Springer. Dr. Kazuya Kodama did a fabulous job as our Web master.

Episodes 73-96 of the anime series following the adventures of a young girl who is determined to join an organisation of wizards. Membership of the organisation known as 'Fairy Tail' is Lucy Heartfilia (voice of Aya Hirano)'s goal when she runs away from home, but she will have to face many challenges if she is to realise her dream. The episodes are: 'Rainbow Cherry Blossoms', 'Wendy's First Big Job!?', '24-Hour Endurance Road Race', 'Gildarts', 'Earth Land', 'Edolas', 'Fairy Hunter', 'Key of Hope', 'Fireball', 'Welcome Home', 'Extalia', 'Fly, to Our Friends!', 'Code ETD', 'Erza Vs. Erza', 'We're Talking About Lives Here!!!!', 'For Pride's Sake, the River of Stars', 'The Apocalyptic Dragon Chain Cannon', 'The Boy Back Then', 'Dragon Sense', 'O Living Ones', 'I'm Standing Right Here', 'Bye-Bye Edolas', 'Lisanna' and 'He Who Extinguishes Life'.

Episodes 97-108 of the anime series following the adventures of a young girl who is determined to join an organisation of wizards. Membership of the organisation known as 'Fairy Tail' is Lucy Heartfilia (voice of Aya Hirano)'s goal when she runs away from home. A boy she meets in a nearby town, Natsu Dragneel (Tetsuya Kakihara), and his talking cat, Happy (Rie Kugimiya), appear to offer a way in to the powerful guild. Can she realise her dreams and become a wizard to be reckoned with? The episodes are: 'Best Partners', 'Who's the Lucky One', 'Natsu Vs Gildarts', 'Mest', 'Black Wizard', 'Iron Soul', 'Makarov Charges', 'Lost Magic', 'Fire Dragon Vs Flame God', 'Grand Magic World', 'Arc of Embodiment' and 'Human Gate'.

All 24 episodes from the first series of the anime about a schoolboy whose life changes when he meets a group of mysterious girls. Unhappy at school and depressed over his alcoholic father, Tomoya Okazaki (voice of Yuichi Nakamura) doesn't have much hope for his future prospects. When he meets five unusual girls, each with their own problems, he gains a new outlook on life.

Episodes 1-24 of the anime series following the adventures of a young girl who is determined to join an organisation of wizards. Membership of the organisation, known as 'Fairy Tail', is Lucy Heartfilia (voice of Aya Hirano)'s goal when she runs away from home, but she will have to face many challenges if she is to realise her dream. The episodes are: 'Fairy Tale', 'The Fire Dragon, the Monkey and the Ox', 'Infiltrate the Everlue Mansion', 'Dear Kaby', 'The Armoured Mage', 'Fairies in the Wind', 'Flame and Wind', 'The Strongest Team', 'Natsu Eats a Village', 'Natsu vs Erza', 'The Cursed Island', 'Moon Drip', 'Natsu vs Yuka the Wave User', 'Just Do Whatever!', 'Eternal Magic', 'The Final Showdown On Galuna Island', 'Burst', 'Reach the Sky Above', 'Changeling', 'Natsu and the Dragon Egg', 'The Phantom Lord', 'Lucy Heartfilia', '15 Minutes' and 'To Keep from Seeing Those Tears'.

Episodes 85-96 of the anime series following the adventures of a young girl who is determined to join an organisation of wizards. Membership of the organisation, known as 'Fairy Tail', is Lucy Heartfilia (voice of Aya Hirano)'s goal when she runs away from home. A boy she meets in a nearby town, Natsu Dragneel (Tetsuya Kakihara), and his talking cat, Happy (Rie Kugimiya), appear to offer a way in to the powerful guild. Can she realise her dreams and become a wizard to be reckoned with? The episodes comprise: 'Code ETD', 'Erza Vs. Erza', 'We're Talking About Lives Here!', 'For Pride's Sake, the River of Stars', 'The Apocalyptic Dragon Chain Cannon', 'The Boy Back Then', 'Dragon Sense', 'O Living Ones', 'I'm Standing Right Here', 'Bye-Bye Edolas', 'Lisanna' and 'He Who Extinguishes Life'.

Episodes 49-72 of the anime series following the adventures of a young girl who is determined to join an organisation of wizards. Membership of the organisation known as 'Fairy Tail' is Lucy Heartfilia (voice of Aya Hirano)'s goal when she runs away from home, but she will have to face many challenges if she is to realise her dream. The episodes are: 'The Day of Fated Meeting', 'Special Request - Watch Out for the Guy You Like!', 'Love and Lucky', 'Allied Forces, Assemble!', 'Oración Seis Appears!', 'Sky Maiden', 'The Girl and the Ghost', 'Dead Grand Prix', 'Darkness', 'Spirit Vs Spirit', 'Recollections of Jellal', 'March to Destruction', 'Super Air Battle! Natsu Vs Cobra', 'Jura of the Ten Wizard Saint', 'Only Your Words', 'Zero', 'From Pegasus to Fairies', 'The Power of Feelings', 'I'm With You', 'A Guild for Only One', 'Call of the Dragon', 'Natsu Vs Gray!!', 'Friendship Will Overcome the Dead' and 'Fairy Tail Wizards'.

Episodes 1-24 of the anime series following the adventures of a young girl who is determined to join an organisation of wizards. Membership of the organisation, known as 'Fairy Tail', is Lucy Heartfilia (voice of Aya Hirano)'s goal when she runs away from home, but she will have to face many challenges if she is to realise her dream. The episodes are: 'Fairy Tale', 'The Fire Dragon, the Monkey and the Ox', 'Infiltrate the Everlue Mansion', 'Dear Kaby', 'The Armoured Mage', 'Fairies in the Wind', 'Flame and Wind', 'The Strongest Team', 'Natsu Eats a Village', 'Natsu vs Erza', 'The Cursed Island', 'Moon Drip', 'Natsu vs Yuka the Wave User', 'Just Do Whatever!', 'Eternal Magic', 'The Final Showdown On Galuna Island', 'Burst', 'Reach the Sky Above', 'Changeling', 'Natsu and the Dragon Egg', 'The Phantom Lord', 'Lucy Heartfilia', '15 Minutes' and 'To Keep from Seeing Those Tears'.

Episodes 25-48 of the anime series following the adventures of a young girl who is determined to join an organisation of wizards. Membership of the organisation, known as 'Fairy Tail', is Lucy Heartfilia (voice of Aya Hirano)'s goal when she runs away from home, but she will have to face many challenges if she is to realise her dream. The episodes are: 'A Flower Blooms in the Rain', 'Wings of Flame', 'The Two Dragon Slayers', 'Fairy Law', 'My Resolve', 'Next Generation', 'A Star Removed from the Sky', 'Celestial Spirit King', 'The Tower of Heaven', 'Jellal', 'Voice of Darkness', 'Heaven's Game', 'Armour of the Heart', 'Destiny', 'Give Our Prayers to the Sacred Light', 'Titania Falls', 'Home', 'Battle of Fairy Tail', 'Defeat Your Friends to Save Your Friends', 'Thunder Palace', 'Advent of Satan', 'Clash at Kardia Cathedral!', 'Triple Dragons' and 'Fantasia'.

Masaya Fujimori directs this feature spin-off from the anime series based on the manga by Hiro Mashima. With Lucy Heartfilia (voice of Aya Hirano) now a fully-fledged member of Fairy Tail, a guild of wizards dedicated to doing good, she is drawn into a quest that also involves Natsu (Tetsuya Kakihara), Gray (Yuichi Nakamura), Erza (Sayaka Ohara), Wendy (Satomi Sato), Happy (Rie Kugimiya) and Carla (Yui Horie). A young girl has woken up suffering from amnesia but with a strong distrust of wizards. When an evil prince unveils his plan to sacrifice the girl, Lucy and her fellow Fairy Tail members must protect her from his designs and face up to the wider danger he poses to the world.

All 25 episodes from the continuation of the anime series following the adventures of Tomoya Okazaki (voice of Yuichi Nakamura), an unhappy high school student, and his friend, Nagisa Furukawa (Mai Nakahara). The episodes are: 'The Goodbye at the End of Summer', 'Search for False Love', 'Disagreeing Hearts', 'With the Same Smile As That Day', 'The Season You Were In', 'Forever By Your Side', 'Her Whereabouts', 'Valiant Fight', 'En Route On the Sloped Road', 'Season of Beginnings', 'The Promised Founder's Festival', 'Sudden Events', 'Graduation', 'A New Family', 'In the Remains of Summer', 'White Darkness', 'Summertime', 'The Ends of the Earth', 'The Road Home', 'The Tidal Breeze's Mischief', 'The End of the World', 'Small Palms', 'The Event from One Year Before', 'Under the Green Tree' and 'Another World - Kyou Chapter'.

Anime following the attempts of a vampire queen to establish a colony in Japan. Mina Tepes, the queen of the vampires, makes a deal with the Japanese government to create a specific zone for vampires in order to allow them to emerge from years in the wilderness. Inevitably, however, there are some who are unhappy with the plan and attempt to unseat the queen. They haven't reckoned on her loyal protector, Akira, who swore an oath to Mina as a child and now rises to fulfill his destiny as protector of the vampire queen.