The night before, Anime Expo released a press statement acknowledging the crowds and line control (or lack thereof) on day one. Being short staffed contributed to the lack of line control. While the numbers were close to last year's crowd, the lack of line control contributed to the line spilling out south of the 10 freeway on Figueroa Street, home of auto dealerships and sporadic tent encampments. To help alleviate crowd control, more entrance checks were added into the Los Angeles convention center, particularly West Hall.
Entertainment Hall by Eri Kagami
Roll out the red carpet! The entertainment hall continues to evolve. No new cosplay sets - just the standards from previous years. There was more line control here than previous years so everyone had a shot to getting nice cosplay photos of the cosplay sets. This is where you could also take care of cosplay wear and tear. The cosplay repair station was hidden in the back - not only you can fix up a few things, you can also change in and out of costume here.
There is something for everyone in the entertainment hall. If you're a gamer, you can check out the tower Blizzard booth. There were also old school arcade games in one corner and e-gaming in another. Anime Expo does not have a dedicated e-gamming room, but gamers can find their weekend home here for tournaments and local multiplayer. Signal and wifi at the entertainment hall was spotty.
What was different about the entertainment hall was the increase of Itasha vehicles - this is particularly a west coast con thing. Itasha is a collection of motorcycles and vehicles where you can custom them to your favorite anime characters. The other new features were "comic con" style autograph sessions with voice actors. There was a day where you can get selfies and autographs for a price with the cast of Steven Universe and another day where you can meet the cast of the Cowboy Bebop dub. A schedule of voice actor appearances was available a week before the con.
Kantai Collection Cosplay Meet Ups by Eri Kagami
Anime Expo has dozens of cosplay meet ups during the five day affair - even multiple days for the same fandom. Kantai Collection had two days of cosplay meetups. In the past, meetups were discussed on cosplay.com a few months before Anime Expo. Nowadays, people in fan communities on Facebook plan and discuss when the meet ups occur for the following year days after the con! Kantai Collection cosplayers met at noon on day one and day two. We met at the small park outside of the convention center. I found out about this group through Facebook. Anime Expo had designated meet up spaces for cosplayers to take photos of groups, factions, and pairings. from a single fandom. The Kantai Collection fandom is small, yet friendly. Likewise, it's the usual guys dressed up as their favorite ships, a plethora of (Japanese) admirals, and the occasional abyssmal. Jared the Greek went as an American take on the Admiral. I went as Bismarck. Cosplay meetups can be found on the Anime Expo website a month or so before the con - most of these meet ups are scheduled before the final Anime Expo schedule.
Masquerade by Eri Kagami
This is our first time checking out Anime Expo masquerade since 2012. Anime Expo has always been lauded of bringing in the cream of the crop for their cosplay contest. So much so, Anime Expo is the only event that charges extra for the masquerade. The house wasn't entirely filled. I spotted a few empty seats up front. However, having a paid event ensures attendees to stay from beginning until the end; past years showed the audience going from a full house to less than 25% of the house present for the award ceremony.
Masquerade had many amazing entries. While the entry count is lower than previous years - 20 or so compared to 50 or so, each act had mesmerizing craftsmanship and acts that did not rely on the usual masquerade cliches (ie: yaoi as a punchline). The first act featured Shinji Ikari vs. Donald Trump that brought in laughs from the audience. Memorable acts included Princess Tutu's Rue dancing with her darker reflection, Princess Krahe, Link pulling the sword from the stone, a Black Butler: Book of Circus telling the story through Love Never Dies and Moulin Rouge, ballet interpretations of Madoka and Homura set to Swan Lake, etc. This was a really fun show. Compared to previous years, Anime Expo allowed for digital backgrounds and projections similiar to Anime Boston and Fanime and non-anime entries can compete. Top honors went to a Rhode Island based group that did a full on armored suit from Overwatch.
World Cosplay Summit by Eri Kagami
The biggest cosplay competition on earth! Anime Expo hosted the World Cosplay Summit finals during the Anaheim days. However, the results and the way past management treated the finals were lackluster. World Cosplay Summit has evolved and changed for the better in previous years. Seasoned American cosplayers dream of representing their home country in the finals in Nagoya, Japan. In the past, World Cosplay Summit was more of an audition for a televised event. In 2017, it is the battle of the best. Less than a month before the con, Anime Expo announced they would be hosting the finals for World Cosplay Summit for Team USA. In the past, semifinals were done in different regions of the US and then a finalist competition in another state. Anime Expo took care of the Team USA title for the first time in over a decade.
Because of the short notice, Anime Expo had five entrants for the World Cosplay Summit Team USA title. There was an enchanting act set to Card Captor Sakura by Old Grey Mare Sheep Cosplay where the players took music from the Sorcerer's Apprentice and had Sakura in the role of the curious apprentice of Clow Reed. There was an Alice in Wonderland themed act that had the Red Queen. The winner went to a Black Butler act starring Ciel and Undertaker. With no dialogue, it was essentially the Undertaker playing tricks on Ciel as he is trying to enjoy a quiet afternoon. There was a lot of sleight of hand style of magic and theatrics in this one. When they were announced as the representatives for Team USA, everyone chimed in the national anthem.
Masquerade use to be the main event for Anime Expo. We live in a time where masquerades are now secondary supporting events to the con. However, I believe in supporting cosplayers. I enjoy what courage and creativity my peers have to get up and perform on stage. With the change in masquerade management in previous years, I would recommend Anime Expo to cosplayers who want to try their hand at skit competition. There's a lot of new faces here on the stage - I'd love to see all of you give this show a chance. As an audience member, if you have some time to kill on the night of masquerade or if you're the least bit curious, I recommend checking it out. The halftime by Survey Dance Corps was pretty awesome too!
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