Anime Revolution or AniRevo for short, is a three day celebration of anime and Japanese Pop Culture, hosted yearly in the heart of Vancouver, BC, Canada. This year, AniRevo was held from August 5th to 7th at the Vancouver Convention Center. From the official website, advertisement, and their own mascot – a blue haired kawaii, race queen style girl nicknamed “Senmei”, line-up of merchandise, the vibe this convention gives can easily be summed into one word: organized. This would not be my first time attending AniRevo, however the first time that I took time to reflect on my experiences as an attendee.

A recent trend that has been popular with most conventions are after dark events; shows and exhibits catering to the older, and more mature con-attendees. These events are for the 18 or 21+ and are strictly enforced by the staff, so parents and guardians should not have to worry about their little ones stumbling into any of these events after curfew. This year Anime Expo invited world-famous Japanese artistic pole dancer, momoMc (pronounced Mo-Mo-Mac) to perform at the AX Night Cafe.

Domo-kun has had a long history, as the mascot of the Japanese broadcast company NHK, and behind his large, saw-toothed mouth, there’s something endearing about this brown, open-mouth monster. During this year’s J-POP SUMMIT, the NHK mascot collaborated with the idol group Tokyo Performance Doll, forming a new unit called “TPDomo”. Making their American debut, Tokyo Performance Doll (TPD),  kicked off J-POP SUMMIT at Fort Mason Center on the main stage with a fun and energetic five-minute workout called “Domobics” at 11:00am on both days. 

When someone says Akihabara what comes to mind? Among those answers somewhere would have to be Maid Café. When once upon a time to have a real experience of a maid café you once would have to fly to Akihabara but not anymore during Anime Expo 2016 Akihabara maids came to us. This year Anime Expo invited Special Unit: 003 from Maidreamin the No.1 Maid Café restaurant in Akihabara.

I’ll be honest whenever I think of going to Anime conventions, I like to compare it like a weekend at Disneyland. Sure I will try go to all the events and rides that I possibly can and still not seeing everything there is to see while still having a great time. Anime Expo once again shattered attendance records, and raised the bar for Los Angeles’ premier anime convention for the anime industry presented by the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA).

Fanimecon is the premier convention in the San Francisco Bay Area, our expectations have been raised even higher since last years con after what seemed like a perfect year for Fanime in 2015. To our surprise the positives outweighed the negatives. Fanime is still my favorite con to hang out during memorial weekend.

J-POP SUMMIT 2016, one of the world's biggest Japanese pop culture events, announces a dynamic showcase of inspired Japanese fashion at this year's festival. This year, the J-POP SUMMIT gathers a colorful vanguard of edgy and unique Japanese fashion labels and purveyors. 

During Anime Expo, Aniplex of America announced that they will be hosting a new type of anime convention at Little Tokyo in Los Angeles on October 15th & 16th. The Event will include exclusive film screenings, expert panels and workshops, playable video game demos, technology demos, cosplay contests, themed cafés, exclusive merchandise offers, Japanese food and beverages, and much more!