Rin's World Magazine (Season 1) August 2019 | Page 11

Anime Expo 2019

August 2019 11

By Katie Serrano @katriniac on Twitter and Tumblr

This was my second time attending Anime Expo in Los Angeles. It is a 4-day convention celebrating anime, manga, video games, and general fan culture held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation. It’s one of the biggest conventions of its kind in the United States, with its attendance numbers a little over 100,000 members and over 200 scheduled guests.

What is there to do there? The countless panels range from everything from Taiko drum workshop, to Miko Shrine Maiden training from a real Shinto Priestess, to Cosplay Wrestling, to Otaku Debates, to PoC in Cosplay, to Developing Action Games, to How To Become a Voice Actor. There are fun concerts and dances to attend as well as 18+ events held “after hours” in the Maid Café and Butler Café. The guests from anime industry have autograph signings as well as Q&A sessions. There are cosplay gatherings or photos as well as the actual cosplay contest called Masquerade and the World Cosplay Summit finals for the United States. AX is a great place to see world premiere screenings of anime and movies. Some are tickets events, some are free. Check out the AX app or http://www.anime-expo.org for details.

Looking for original art and crafts? Head to Artist Alley for great prices and to speak directly with the creators. If you want to buy a particular piece of official merchandise (or save money on a cheap knock off), the Exhibit Hall is packed with thousands of vendors. Clothing, plushies, manga, posters, games, DVDs, figurines, and all sorts of collectible souvenirs are piled as far as the eye can see. The Exhibit Hall is also the place to go to test-play new games and get freebies from the big name booths. If you don’t like crowds, avoid this place on Saturday because it is packed wig-to-wig due to it being the number #1 destination for folks with a One Day Pass, who usually Saturday as their one day to attend.

My top picks:

Best relaxing spot to chill: Beer Garden – Free, outdoors, comfy seating, quiet, food trucks nearby. At night they have chill music playing and it looks so cool with the lanterns lit.

Best bang for your buck: $10.00 for three hours of entertainment including Masquerade (Cosplay Skit Contest), World Cosplay Summit U.S. Finals, Corps Dance Team performance, and two of the funniest emcees I’ve ever seen at a convention. The best part? It’s assigned seating, so you don’t need to line up an hour ahead of time to get a good seat.

Best cheap eats: Fresh fruit spears and LA Hot Dog with all the grilled fixings. The carts are lined up and down Figueroa Street. A little bit healthy, a little bit junk food, and all very filling and inexpensive.

Best booth in the Exhibit Gall: Cybird. Hee hee! Okay, perhaps I’m biased towards my favorite otome game developer. But they offered an amazing schedule of events including kabe-don with a handsome cosplayer, quiz battle with prizes, anime screening, autograph sessions, talk shows, and more! It was so much more than just a place to buy merchandise; they went above and beyond to provide a top-notch experience for their fans.

First Timer Survival Tips for Anime Expo:

•Best times to register for discounted rates: While you are still at AX, Black Friday, Cyber Monday. These deals all have limited number per day, so be sure to do it early to avoid paying full price if they run out. Next year’s dates are July 2 to 5, 2020.

•Download the AX app. It has all the information you need for schedules, maps, and FAQs. I set all the event notifications to mute except for schedule changes, emergencies, and event updates. If you leave it to default settings, you’ll get a bunch of notifications for promotional sales and ads.

•Try to carry everything in your pockets (wallet, phone, keys, snacks) to avoid the “Bag Check” line. The “No Bag” line is always shorter and moves very fast. You can carry your water bottle in your hand. If you buy something in the dealers room or artist alley, the seller will give you a bag to put it in.

•Stay hydrated. Bring a refillable water bottle. There is a refill station just outside the cafeteria in south hall that hardly anyone notices. Otherwise you’ll pay $4 for a bottle of water inside the convention center – and that’s if the vending machine still has any.

•Always ask a cosplayer to take their photo before you start clicking. It’s good manners, you will get their best angle, and you could make a new friend! If you don’t want to use your mobile data, text the photo to yourself and add the cosplayer’s account handle for Twitter, Instagram, Tumlbr, etc. so you can tag them when you post it online later.

•Pace yourself. There are events from 8am to 2am. You cannot do it all. Aim for one “Must Do” scheduled event per day. Add a second “Possible” event if you think you can make it. Take into account the time it takes to walk there, wait in line, and taking bio breaks (meals, water, bathroom, quiet time).

For more advice, check out http://www.anime-expo.org/register/howtoattend/