Anime Expo

The Anime Expo (AX) is an anime convention that’s held every year in the summer in Southern California and lasts for four days. It’s open to all anime, manga, video games, and others who don't fall under those categories. I’ve only been to AX once and for one day, but I’m planning to stay longer next year to get a more fun experience out of it. From that one day though there were three things I enjoyed which were the cosplayers, various events, and booths. First, the convention center had a variety of booths that sold items such as video games, DVDs, magazines, figurines, costumes, and even artwork. Not all of them were for selling purposes. The convention had companies like Sony, TOKYOPOP, and Nexon that advertised. The best thing about them was the free items that they’d hand out.

Second, the cosplayers were amazing because they were better to see in person and not in photos or videos. Many of the attendees and staff at the convention cosplayed where they did a really good job with their costumes and resembled the characters. There were those who also dressed up for fun and those who competed for recognition. For instance, cosplay groups entered the masquerade where cosplayers performed skits (usually parodies) and people watched. Besides enjoying cosplayers acting out skits, I also liked how cosplayers interacted with guests such as allowing them to take photos of their costumes. Another example was how cosplayers would invite characters of the same anime to take a large group photo.

Lastly, there were many entertaining events that the convention held each day. They had panels and seminars with guests of honors like voice actors, Japanese musicians, animators, and manga artists. The day I had went they had David Hayter who is a voice actor, actor, and screenplay writer and is most famous for voicing Snake and Big Boss in the Metal Gear video game series. Besides the seminars and panels they also had events like: masquerade, karaoke contest, AX Idol, anime music video contest, and late-night dances. There were even rooms where you could read manga, watch a movie, or even learn origami. Next year I would gladly go again to see new cosplay and dress up myself. I'd also want to attend more events along with getting more free items and buying merchandise. Overall, I was pleased with the Anime Expo.