Anime Expo 2018 Recap
©Photo courtesy of Jellyfish Tears
LOS ANGELES, CA (July 5-8, 2018) - Every year Anime Expo, the largest West Coast anime convention in North America, brings people together, both children and adults, from 70+ different countries who enjoy Japanese anime and culture. Last year was a hint to how Anime Expo would once
again sell out, and reach capacity at a total attendance of 110,000 individuals. These individuals would fill the halls where you could see it was full of people shopping, watching panels, enjoying entertainment, and cosplaying.
Huge companies such as Funimation, Good Smile Company, Crunchyroll, and many others would bring their “A” game when it comes to obtaining exclusive convention only merchandise or exclusive chances to meet influential names in the anime/manga world. One example of this was the US premier of the
Boku no Hero Academia movie, which would hit theaters in Japan on August 3rd. Attendees started lining up for the chance to earn a wristband starting from Thursday morning at 2 A.M. until the premier. Those in line were given treats to enjoy during the screening itself. After the screening, fans were given a panel which featured both the American and Japanese voice actors.
This year in West Hall, attendees were able to enjoy Lounge 21, the One Piece Scavenger Hunt, and Entertainment Hall. Inside Entertainment Hall, fans were able to play video games and had access to the cosplay backdrops they provided. It was no surprise that notable companies like Square Enix had set up a demo area where guests could play the highly anticipated Kingdom Hearts III, due to the high demand of the Anime Expo arcade, which includes popular arcade games like Dance Dance Revolution. Square Enix's booth attracted a lot of attendees to the hall and the convention due to their experience at E3 [Electronics Entertainment Expo], where they had firsthand experience on how to properly manage large crowds and capping the line to keep the hall and attendees safe.
Anime Expo brings together attendees from all walks of life, and continues to expand and grow as a convention each year. Hopefully with the feedback from attendees about the new badge policies; or how weather can affect the event and crowd control, in light of the heatwave that occurred during the convention this year. Hopefully Anime Expo can make next year a better experience for everyone.
