Last week I went to Anime Expo (AX) for the first time since 2018, a good five years. It does feel bigger and more crowded than before.
I only took a few photos on Saturday, day one of the four day event. I’m getting a bit older, slower, and I had my niece and nephew with me. So much of my convention going experience revolves around these two kids now. Seeing them experience things makes me happy. The hustle to get photos is much more difficult these days.
I also spent more time in the artist alley, exhibit hall, and entertainment hall where I played some Street Fighter with my niece.
Anime Expo does have a discord: discord.gg/AnimeExpo
The AX landing page image/wallpaper is also amazing. I tried to get this as a deskmat in the merch store, but it sold out on the first day! I do not know who the artist is.
Cosplay
As always, the cosplay was amazing. Although it seems a lot of the cosplay has spilled outside near the parking lot and bushes, where cosplayers and photographers can escape the super big crowds in the lobby, and focus more on poses and great shots.
Full set of photos can be found here.
Final Thoughts
My sister summed it up pretty well: the anime fan community just gets bigger as many of the original con-goers get older, have families/kids, and still go.
Every time I go, it becomes more apparent that I do not know my anime/mange anymore, as there’s so much more than twenty-some years ago. And that’s a good thing.
There was a time when I was a younger anime/manga fan, where my options to watch anime were:
- Get PAL VHS tapes from Thailand to watch on a compatible player in the US.
- Get VHS tapes from conventions, local colleges, or online where we mailed tapes to each other/strangers for copies.
Anime has become mainstream and readily available to fans via streaming/Internet.