I’ve always been curious about Anime Cult Expo’s events throughout the greater Los Angeles area. I have heard about them through Instagram. Much like previous events I have attended in SoCal in 2021, the event is focused on promoting artists that would normally be in an Artist Alley and giving a space for cosplayers to dress up and hang out. These events are free and held in open air spaces.
On October 30, 2021, Del Amo Mall in Torrance, CA hosted Anime Cult Expo’s one day show where artists can sell in an outdoor area of the mall. Cosplayers were encouraged to attend. There was even a contest with big money as the main prize. It’s interesting to see that the South Bay anime scene is alive. Just the weekend before, Macross World, was held down the street from Del Amo Mall.
I attended later in the day as I had a prior commitment. I attended as Trese from the Netflix anime series, Trese. I thought it was appropriate since it was close to Halloween and I wanted to represent Filipino horror. So far, only one person knew what I was from.
I saw many cosplayers from My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, and Genshin Impact (I spotted three Klee cosplayers for the duration I attended). The audience was young; teenagers and kids brought their parents to check out the event.
The artist space was huge! I would compare it to a medium sized convention. It was nice to see familiar sellers from the Welcome Home show as well as supporting a few of my favorites. I liked that there was decent spacing between the tables and the noise wasn’t too distracting so you can geek out over your favorites with artists.
As far as sellers, you did have folks selling jewelry, vinyl decals, key chain charms, and more. I also appreciated that there was a seller who works as shopping service person that goes into Universal Japan to get anime merch to sell at their booth.
This was a simple, yet fun event. I just happened to be in the area, so why not stop by and check it out? I’m glad these events are keeping community, especially artists, alive and well during these tough times. I hope to maybe stop by another one of these if schedule and timing permits.
And if I took your photo at this event, you’re more than welcomed to download, share, and edit any photos I have taken of you. You may credit Scarlet Rhapsody (no tag necessary) on your socials.
Written by Dame Aznable
IG: @damescarletaznable
Twitter: @dameaznable
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