Hyphen magazine - Asian American arts, culture, and politics

Anime Expo Photos provided by Steven Lam of du Some productions. Additional Steven Lam photographs can be viewed here.

Japan Pop devotees stomped all over Southern California this past Independence Day weekend with two anime conventions that delivered manga, music, mechs, and masquerades creating more fireworks than any seen in the sky.

Anime Expo began in San Jose in 1992 with a turnout of less than 2,000. Since then, the event has moved to several venues, making the LA Convention Center its home for the past four years. Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year the event’s attendance numbers range in the 47,000s over July 4th weekend. Fanbase is not limited to Japanese nationals or Asian Americans. It traverses all ethnic and national lines.

Photo by Steven Lam

Many of the attendees at the Expo are dressed in costume.  As many are homemade, they range from the elaborate to the simply painted cardboard box over their head or around their bodies. There’s no judgment on the show floor or about the expo, but at the Masquerade competition, schwag and cash prizes await for those deemed the best. Judging on both costume craftsmanship and presentation, this year’s "best in show" title went to a group called MV Cosplay who received a $10,000 prize.

There’s also AX Idol, a singing and voice-over acting competition, and an Anime Music video contest. But the big draws are the events that put the fans in close proximity to their idols. Voice actors like the cast of Durarara!! are huge draws here, pulling in close to room capacity of 2000. Enthralled fans of the supernatural anime that involves a headless rider, charismatic underworld characters, and a gang called “Dollars” screamed for the likes of Yuri Lowenthal and Crispin Freeman, the English language dubbers for the show.

Shin Chan panel photo by Ken Choy

Another huge draw was a panel for Shin Chan, the irreverent Adult Swim version of the Japanese anime. Splicing several scenes together and re-conceptualizing the scenes with racy, R-rated dialogue and topics, the writers showcased lines that didn’t make it to the final cut -- most of them finding humor in abortion or pedophilic natures. Not surprisingly, the meeting rooms which housed panels catering to the 18+ crowd were packed with topics such as hentai, eroge, and Bishōjo games. There’s no age limit to fans of Japanese popular culture, and while many have started with kawaisa ("cute") outlets such as Hello, Kitty and Pokemon or action-oriented characters such as Kikaida or Kamen Raider, some seek hormonal releases through the more boobilicious and salacious even while maintaining their more kid-fare affections.

Star attractions are not limited to the actors. Creators and even marketing personnel are feted as celebs with applause and gushes. Eager to cheer and talk back to those responsible for their faves, the fans elatedly sat through hour-long presentations unveiling new releases. But more than just an equivalent to a boring time-share presentation, marketers intermittently offered prizes and threw gifts out to a sea of the schwag-hungry. At the VIZ Media panel, this reporter, not knowing what they were, greedily caught two Dofus plush pets. Huh? (I’m not sure whether or not to give them to my niece, afraid to get her hooked on something else.)

Rusty Hearts shot provided by Perfect World Entertainment

Gaming and software were also present at Anime Expo, though not in major installations like at E3. Perfect World, the China-based publisher of free massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG), offers a highly addictive, vampire war themed Rusty Hearts game.

Already a huge success in Japan, UTV Ignition partner with the famed Sawaki Takeyasu to develop El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron. The game is based on the Book of Enoch with a quest to capture the souls of fallen angels and spare the world from a great flood ordered by Heaven. Smith Micro offered Anime Studio 8, the affordably priced program for creating programs and enabling novices to make their own anime with ease.

While the expo floor isn’t as dominant as Comic Con’s or E3, it does offer the occasional schwag giveaways. Just listen to the screams and microphone-enabled booth workers, and you’ll find a gaggle of giveaway-seekers trampling over each other.

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AM², the Animation, Manga, and Music Convention at the Anaheim Convention Center, had its first year the same weekend but achieved major numbers due to its importing of Japanese bands such as heidi., Scandal, and kanon x kanon as well as anime leaders Masao Maruyama and Akihiko Yamashita. Local favorites such as The Flying Platforms and the Ajuku Girls played on the Expo floor as well. Without major sponsor support and corporate presence at the expo, the magnitude and response achieved was astounding. In comparison to its larger counterpart, AM² offered free admission to the event with an option to buy a Passport which offered shorter lines, premium seating, exhibitor and local discounts, and access to exclusive parties with the event’s Guest of Honors.

Usagi Yojimbo courtesy of usagiyojimbo.com

If fans or the uninitiated haven’t got their full share of comic books with Japanese influences, the Japanese American National Museum extends the fever to this weekend with The Year of the Rabbit: Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo exhibition celebrating the work of Sakai and the adventures of his samurai rabbit from 17th century feudal Japan. Target’s Free Family Saturday at JANM has an appearance, signing, and demonstration/talk by Sakai. JANM also has a slate of vintage anime films screening that Saturday as well as its Summer Classic Anime Film Series July 21 and 28.

And completing July as the unofficial Anime/Manga/Japanese Pop culture month in Southern California, Comic-Con will not displease their followers with its score of studios, distributors, exhibitors, guests, and panels.

Sugoi!