[Anime Expo ’25] And They Said “Speak Now”

I said remember this moment

It was a cool and breezy Fourth of July weekend for the annual Anime Expo. I spent the weekend with my two ride-or-die convention panels – Geki and Sora. While Geki and I have been going to cons together for the past decade or so, Sora and I last attended Anime Expo in 2003 during the Anaheim era. Suffice to say, it was interesting to hear Sora’s observations how Anime Expo has changed in 20+ years. I have been attending since 1999 and had only skipped 2014. 

My convention squad got their badges in the mail. The catch is that you would have to activate your badge prior to going to convention. The only exception was Geki, he had to pick up his panelist badge at Will Call. This was my first time since Anime Expo 2006 attending an industry member. I paid $120 for an industry badge with hopes that there would be industry events that I could network at. Sadly, there was no email list, text notifications, etc informing of such industry events. While wearing an industry badge felt like a badge of honor with my achievements as an author of fandom, I felt cheated that I was not informed of any industry events. I would have loved to talk to people in the industry outside of the massive and busy vendor hall.

 

Drop everything now

Shopping is one of the main motivators for even the most casual and local fan to come out to Anime Expo. This year felt like it was very San Diego Comic Con. The main exhibit hall was 75% industry booths comparable to the displays you would find at SDCC. Crunchyroll dominated the backside of the vendor hall with Demon Slayer displays, interactive sections, and a merch store. Video games such as critically acclaimed Final Fantasy XIV had a stamp rally where you would take a selfie in their cherry blossom coated Kugane set piece, show proof that you have created a character in the game, etc. Geki and I ended up getting some FFXIV swag. 

25% of South Hall had anime vendors. There was a section dedicated to alt fashion and the j-fashion subculture. If Lolita, gyaru, decora, etc was your jam, you could support local designers and vendors in this space. You would also find the usual Funko pops, figures, and the one booth selling dvds, manga, etc. Physical media was a rarity at the world’s largest anime gathering. 

West Hall expanded this year. They had more anime vendors mixed in the video game exhibits. Hololive, Mihoyo, and Yostar dominated the video game section with their exclusives and photobooths. I stopped by Yostar cosplaying as HMS Queen Elizabeth to take photos of their wedding theme set to promote Azur Lane. Afterwards, I got the exclusive 6th anniversary merchandise. Though I no longer play the game, YoStar really goes all out for their ship girl franchise. A lot of fans were crowding Hoyoverse’s Honkai Star Rail booth hoping to get photos with the adorable Pom-Pom. Hololive simps were busting out their light pens to worship their favorite VTuber idols.

West Hall always has something happening. I went to the Netflix fun house early in the morning. Basically, it was a Squid Game themed fun house with a creepy bounce house akin to something out of Halloween Horror Nights, a house of mirrors, and a finale where you jump into a money pit for a photo op. It was a lot of fun and it was my favorite out of all of the interactive booths. 

 

Flash forward, and we’re takin’ on the world together

Cosplay senpais were also hanging out by the cosplay diorama’s. I didn’t really use the cosplay diorama’s this time. Sora, my cosplay partner from the early 00s, was surprised at the amount of work that goes into masquerade now. Kira Masquerade was talking about how to go about making a build book that shows the judges step by step how you created your cosplays. Sora was shocked to see how much the game had changed. Back then, you would sign up the day-of and hoped for the best. If you were lucky, maybe Steve Bennett will give you a cosplay contest award. I also talked to Luluko who was giving build book feedback. Johnny Junkers was also giving out t-shirts and was enthusiastic talking about sword combat and dogs.

We did run a late night panel at Anime Expo. Geki and I ran the “A Cosplayers Guide to the LA Fabric District.” We joked that this was “Cosplay Night School” leaning into the school / academy theme for Anime Expo 2025 and our panel was slotted at 9PM. Geki and I had a je ne sais quoi approach to teaching our night school students. We had a great turn out – before the panel started, we spent a few minutes talking about old school anime fandom. Even the staff in the back was vibing with the panel before it even started! We then proceeded to talk about where to shop at the LA Fabric district and how to best prepare. This was my first time co-presenting with another sewist who regularly shops at the fabric district. 

I also helped out with the Cosplay Soiree, or the cosplay ballroom dance. Anime Expo has had an interesting history hosting formal balls. I attended the first attempt in 2003 and subsequently staffed from 2004 to 2008. It was nice to see this event be brought back to Anime Expo. I dressed up as HMS Queen Elizabeth to kick off the Cosplay Soiree. The six hour ballroom dance had small attendance, Dress code was not encouraged. Our cosplay ball staff danced with attendees so we could encourage people to get on the dance floor. The event played anime and video game music. This also included a cha-cha cover of “I Want to Stay At Your House” from Cyberpunk and a lounge version of the famed Pokemon song. 

 

Hold on and make it last

Cosplay is always going to be a staple of Anime Expo culture. Costumers from around the world come to Anime Expo to show off their best. A local like me prefers to wear comfortable cosplays for the heat and the running around. Cosplay is not a priority for me at Anime Expo; attending coveted panels and events is. If I can dress up for it, it enhances my weekend. Besides, it’s nice to get random compliments. Most of my costumes were re-wears from previous years. I did make my Eternal Sailor Mars and Jinx this year, but there’s no harm in wearing something you’ve worn a few times before when it comes to cosplay.

Cosplayers leaned towards taking photos by the parking lot across from the Crypto arena. However, the area was blocked on and off during the weekend. Anime Expo does have cosplayers host cosplay meetups. However, they’re not on the official AX app or schedule. You kinda had to be in the know to know where they were. Every year, the cosplay meet ups sites get smaller and smaller and the fandoms get bigger and bigger. It would help that AX would consider using a hotel ballroom at the JW Marriott to maximize cosplay gathering space (and it would be much cooler during AX’s summer days). 

 

And we kept everything professional

Anime Expo did have a few cursed events. On the first day, a fan caught fire early in the morning where smoke got into South Hall. However, this appeared to be an accident. South Hall was able to open on time to welcome the horde of otaku. On the second day, we had a bomb scare around the LA Live area. This caused our League of Legends cosplay meet up to move, however, there was not much clear communication where to go from the LOL cosplay group. I ended up taking a shuttle to the Biltmore Hotel and The Last Bookstore for Mafia Jinx photos; the area just got too chaotic and confusing. I needed a mental break.

 

I’m wonderstruck, dancing around all alone

Anime Expo is great for fandoms that bring in their top tier guests. I was excited the most for Jujutsu Kaisen bringing in Megumi Ogata (Sailor Moon, Evangelion) and Junya Enoki. The panel took place on Sunday morning. Sora and I lucked out having made the cut off for the panel at the Peacock Theater. The Peacock Theatre has become Anime Expo’s Hall H – seating 1,000 more warm bodies than the famed San Diego Hall. The panel hyped up the upcoming movie and featured a Q&A with the voice acting team.

My other priority was checking out the Fate Grand Order panel. Type Moon and Aniplex always bring in Ayako Kawasumi (Saber) and every now and then Satoshi Tsuruoka (Arash, Gille de Rais, Spartacus) from the beloved gacha franchise. Other than 8th anniversary announcements (Saints Quartz for all!) Ayako and Satoshi talked about their California adventures. Ayako was finally able to enjoy the Disney parks here. Her favorite is Carsland and she talked about her experience of Grizzly River Rapids. Satoshi, a car otaku, talked about driving a Ferrari in the Hollywood Hills and watching a disappointing Dodgers game where the final score was 18-1. Sports otaku in the audience shared his disappointment with the boys in blue. 

Getting to the Fate panel was interesting; I wanted to stay in the shade and enjoy my lunch, so I attended the “An Evening with The Men presented by TikTok” panel and enjoyed my Trader Joe’s salad in the back. Granted, I’m not the target audience for this produced content creator community, but people seemed to enjoy “The Men” in the afternoon as they had their mother guess various anime characters and discussed an upcoming short film wherein one of them falls in love with a pillow. You’ll run into some wild panels at Anime Expo when you least expect it.

As a fan of Fate, Anime Expo is your go-to con for everything under the Fate universe. Aniplex had a whole interactive setup where you can see characters from the mobile game deliver their finishing move, the Noble Phantasm, in a cinematic glory. I also got photos of myself and my favorite servants at the photo booth. AniPlex also hosted bonus panels with Ayako Kawasumi where she talked about her experience in the Honkai Star Rail collaboration. She was excited to see Saber wear a short skirt in her new outfit. Satoshi Tsuruoka had a contest on who can yell the loudest, “STELLA!,” his Noble Phantasm battlecry for Arash. Aniplex scored high in interactivity and fan engagement. However, I was disappointed in the 8th anniversary merchandise. I was hoping for more wearable merch outside the happi coat. 

I liked that Anime Expo 2025 had something for everyone. My friends explored their favorite fandoms such as the One Punch Man season 3 premiere, a chit chat with YoshiP of Final Fantasy XIV fame, and getting one more glance at Megumi Ogata at the Toilet Bound Hanako-kun (or as Sora called it, “The Toilet Panel.”)

 

And people would say, “They’re the lucky ones”

I also got an inspiration boost attending the JAMS Conference. This conference highlights the study of Japanese Anime and Manga in academia. These panels highlighted academics who talked about various topics of research using anime as the ground work. Two research findings focused on found family in Spy x Family and Elegant Yokai Apartment Life. One such research talked about deconstructing fairy tales in Revolutionary Girl Utena.I always attend the JAMS conference because this allows us to see how anime can be used in research. Perhaps the most surprising takeaway from Anime Expo’s academic conference was knowing that Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is the most recommended anime to normies followed by the traumatizing Grave of the Fireflies. 

 

We’re gonna be timeless, timeless

To top things off at Anime Expo 2025, Geki and I got tickets to Sukeban. This is an all-women’s wrestling organization inspired by Tokyo’s girl gangs. Each girl gang had a themed faction from gothic aristocrats, traditional girl gangs, kawaii schoolgirls, and more. It was surreal seeing an advert just for this event in Inglewood the weekend before the con. Sukeban was a sold out show – one can even argue they oversold the seats! Thankfully, Geki and I got there early to secure a seat in the bleachers.

I admit that I’m new to the wrestling world. I liked that our host explained and narrated the current story of the Sukeban universe before each wrestler and tag team entered the ring. Fights were set to music; no need for a drawn out promo from the wrestlers. This was all out pure performance and it was magical no matter where you were sitting. Stories unfolded in the ring from vengeance and surprise team ups. Even some of the action went outside the ring! For any wrestling fan, this was a delight. We made a new friend in the audience who came on Saturday just for Sukeban! We were also delighted to the sounds of the J-pop/K-pop group, cosmosy who performed a few of their hits right before the main event – Saree Bomb versus Maya Mamushi. Perhaps the most memorable entrance was Stray Cat while the audience chanted “Meow” in her favor. The night ended with Morning Musume’s “Souda! We’re ALIVE!” as we threw streamers into the ring celebrating Saree Bomb’s victory against Maya Mamushi.

 

Come on, come on, don’t leave me like this

Anime Expo 2025 will continue to have a love / hate relationship with locals. As an industry attendee, I wish I could say more on what it was like being an industry attendee, but I ended up enjoying Anime Expo like any other regular attendee. Anime Expo 2025 had its highs and lows. I ended up winning a grand prize at the Calico Critters booth, but didn’t make it into the Bang Zoom voice acting auditions. I had a shite time figuring out where the League of Legends Friday meetup moved to only to deal with a mean girl cosplayer telling me she didn’t want to have one more group photo, but I met many other League of Legends cosplayers and players who complimented my Mafia Jinx and we geeked out over gaming. It’s hot, but I also had a good time at AX Crossing enjoying their 626 Night Market style food court that has some of the best takoyaki and wagyu skewers this side of Los Angeles (and I enjoyed hearing Just Cosplay Sings perform various anime songs including the “Fighting Evil By Moonlight” version of the Sailor Moon theme).  

Overall, my experience is my typical Anime Expo experience. There’s always something happening for everyone from any fandom. Anime Expo isn’t cheap either. If your goal is to make Anime Expo your annual thing, definitely save up. Get ready for crowds; while the weather may look like it’s gonna be cool breezes all weekend long, that body heat in the convention center is going to add up. Definitely take some time to enjoy AX Crossing; there’s some local vendors here that can satisfy your cravings without having to take a rideshare to Little Tokyo. This was a good year and hopefully, next year, we can run our famed “In My Y2K Era” panel where we can nerd out over Anime Expo’s Anaheim era. Until then, I’ll be playing Umamusume and simping for Aesc in Fate Grand Order (looks like I drew her…).

Long live all the magic we made