[Fanime ’23] Happy Days Are Here Again

Fanime 2023 took place on May 26-May 29, 2023 at the San Jose Convention Center in downtown San Jose, CA. The four day Bay Area convention was in their second year after pandemic hiatus. This was our first year back since 2019. Fanime 2023 had a few Japanese guests and local cosplay guests. Fanime is also one of the few conventions that still require masking and a vaccination check within the convention premises. The “by fans for fans” convention continued on after some hardships upon returning from a state wide lockdown. However, 2023 presented reduced offerings in programming. Does Fanime still hold the same reputation it once had in its prime?

We were invited to run panels at Fanime 2023 – The Hero’s Journey and Mythology of Final Fantasy. Fanime typically has some strong programming in the fan panels department. We had a great turnout for both panels, even if they were held in the morning. We had a very engaging audience and folks stayed for the duration of the presentations. However, the panels department was very much reduced. Snacks, drinks, etc were not available for panelists in the lounge. Panels also moved to the convention center. While they were centralized in one place, panel programming was limited. There were a few panels that seemed interesting, but there was just something lacking about program offerings this year.

One of the events we enjoy participating in is Cosplay Wrestling Federation. This event, alongside masquerade, is Fanime’s biggest cosplay event. Cosplay Wrestling Federation operated for two nights. The first show featured the 24/7 Scramble and whomever can take the Blackout Belt. The second night was the main show, Fanimania 8. CWF got its start at the Bay Area anime con. This is the biggest of all of their shows. We entered the main event as Loid Forger and Yor Forger. In brief, CWF is an exhilarating cosplay comedy show where (almost) anything goes. Cosplayers provide promos as to why they want to win the title and also talk smack on the other competing cosplayers. If you haven’t seen this show, it’s a good one.

Masquerade oftentimes conflicts with this cosplay comedy show. Many folks want to do both. This year, masquerade had over 50 entries. It was reported that a majority of entries represented classic, old school anime such as Card Captor Sakura, Phantom Thief Jeanne, etc. A friend had mentioned that this year’s entries were millennials who finally leveled up their cosplay skills to create the things they loved from childhood. One of the biggest honors of the night when to a karaoke act to “Welcome to the Black Parade” of the mysterious anime goth girl that graced millennials in the early 00’s.

Cosplay is a huge staple of Fanime Con. Whether you’re a photographer roaming “photographer alley” or joining in cosplay meet ups around the con, this con has a grand cosplay culture. Photographer Alley has drab concrete backgrounds and some photographers are more discriminate than others. I don’t really recommend cosplayers, especially newbie ones, search for a photographer here. I got a lot of “I’m better than you” vibes from these guys with cameras. In contrast, the cosplay meet ups we attended were very welcoming and had fun people to be around. We went to the old school anime meet up and it was cool seeing things from our childhood. We attended as press, but we were inspired to participate the following year.

Additionally, Fanime had a cosplayers lounge where you can take a breather or get something repaired. Jay had his glasses pads repaired here with hot glue and craft foam. I ended up getting my Beidou hairpiece being mended here. You also had the Cosplay Wig Doctor styling wigs for others here. This is a good place to stop by if you need a hot fix on your cosplay, or everyday wear (like your glasses!).

Dressing up is not limited to just cosplay. There’s also Lolita and other J-fashion events at Fanime. In contrast to previous J-fashion program at Fanime, this was much more laid back and chill towards newbies in J-fashion or shy kittens who want to participate in J-fashion. The Sheraton had dedicated programming space and a dealers room just for J-fashion. The dealers room was humble, but it had quality designers. I was tempted to get the Winnie the Pooh dress from Haenuli. I also appreciated that dealers had different sizes for all body types – a refreshing feeling for the world of J-fashion.

Shopping is a big part of Fanime. The dealers hall is where its at. The artist alley, while cramped and feeling like a fire hazard at times, did have some quality artists if you had the patience to look around. I found some prints of Utena, Princess Mars, and Yor Forger that I took home. Twisted Wonderland and Genshin art made up a majority of what was on display at the artist alley. What I like about the dealers hall is that they have Japanese food available. I had the Japanese hot dogs on the last day, and it was the comfort food I needed. I find the fan named “danger dogs” outside of the convention somewhat sus (the scent was nauseating and triggered my partner’s onion allergies); I was okay to wait in line to try something different (and it was good!).

The swap meet is a fan favorite. Many people were happy to have it back! The swap meet was held in the hangar space on Day 0 and Day 1. I went on Day 1 just to see what was there. I was surprised to find a world of Twisted Wonderland bags, particularly of my favorite house (Octavinelle!) and a Bob Mackie Barbie that I had to take home. You never know what you can find at the swap meet. I’m also impressed how far we have come in paying others. In the past, it was recommended to have cash on hand, but with apps like Venmo and Zelle, you can e-pay swappers here.

Speaking of service, one of the “must do”‘s of Fanime is the maid cafe. Every year, we always make a point to stop by the maid cafe. As mentioned earlier, the con had to experience some cut backs. This was evident in the maid cafe. This year, we mainly had the maids play games and have conversation at the table. Food service was cut (we love having drinks and small snacks here!). The location was back at the convention center as opposed to the former Fairmont. We liked the environment of the Fairmont because it did feel very maid cafe-like. However, I did enjoy the games and company of the maids.

Other programming at Fanime included Stage Zero, Karaoke, and late night 18+ events at “Silver Island.” Silver Island was the Doubletree Hotel where you had to take a shuttle to get to. We didn’t bother to check this out because it felt too much out of the way. Stage Zero had K-pop dance events on their stage. They would place a K-pop music video and invite people who knew the dance to go up on stage. There was even karaoke game shows in the evening where random people were selected in the audience to complete a karaoke challenge such as holding a Grogu plus while being masked dodging projectiles while singing “I’ll Make a Man Out of You.”

I’ve attended Fanime since 2003. I’ve seen this convention grow through the years. I can say that now that I’m seeing this convention trying to survive in a post-lockdown world. Nightlife provided by Fanime is so-so. It’s not as lively as it was. However, unofficial events like Park Con, ran by attendees, have ignited folks partying during the AM hours in downtown San Jose (but omg please clean up after yourselves). Programming can be hit or miss, depending what you’re looking for. Cosplay meet ups can be a neat place to make new friends with fandom as the ice breaker. Yet, though I always have a good time visiting friends, something about this year’s Fanime just felt off.

I still recommend Fanime as THE Bay Area convention and I hope it continues to survive post-lockdown. Fanime is a grand part of my convention going life and in this day in age when fairground conventions are becoming the new normal, conventions cutting back and pinching pennies is an adjustment. I’m always down to help with programming and also bring a good show to CWF or masquerade. After all, this is my community and the older I get, the more I want to give back to it. After all, TikTok has dubbed me “Cosplay Ancestor.” I hope conventions such as Fanime will bounce back to their former glory, but in the meantime, I full support the Bay Area Anime community. You guys were my home.