Displaying items by tag: Anime Expo

Love Live is nothing new to Anime Expo. Aquors has graced the stage here multiple times, with the most recent being in 2019. No one could have predicted a multi-year break, but here we are.  Time to get back up to speed.

Well, it's that time of year one more.  Anime Expo badge sales.

It’s no surprise that One Piece is one of the most popular Anime to date. One Piece Odyssey is a brand-new RPG that features a new character and monster designed by its original creator, Eiichiro Oda. I was able to get some hands-on time with the demo at the Bandai Namco booth here at Anime Expo. 

Macross is a franchise that has been around for, as of 2022, 40 years. This all started back in 1982 with Super Dimension Fortress Macross.  While I wasn't able to see it until many years later, it's not an exaggeration to say that Macross is what brought me into anime. Giant robots, epic battle scenes, swarms of missiles; Macross was quite thrilling for young me. Macross is also the thing that first brought me to Anime Expo back in 2010. I was a big fan of Macross Frontier and the announcement that May'n and Megumi Nakajima would be in Los Angeles was what pushed me to go. A big part of Macross has always been the music, and having these two artists perform their craft in America is something I didn't know if I'd ever be able to see again.

Aniplex has a tradition of bringing big name guests to Anime Expo, and this year is no different.  For 2022, they have Kaguya-sama: Love is War, Sword Art Online, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Disney's Twisted-Wonderland, and Fate/Grand Order on tap.  Even better, they have Japanese guests, which if you've looked at conventions nowadays, have been in short supply due to the state of the world.

ShindoL has just been officially announced for an appearance at Anime Expo 2022.  Love him or hate him, he is a quality artist. His stories might be a little out there (to put things lightly), but damn, the man can draw. And, if you don't know him at all, that's probably for the better.  You should probably keep it that way.

This year is the 25th Anniversary of Atlus' Persona franchise. Like a lot of people, I really got into Persona with Persona 3. And, like a lot of people, I then fell down the Shin Megami Tensei hole. Devil Survivor, Devil Summoner, SMT Nocturne, you name it, I played it. Didn't finish all of them, but it was a fun ride. A lot of people only know Persona 3, 4, and 5, but that's entirely okay. There's enough to go around for everyone.

Atlus has a lot of things planned for the 25th Anniversary in both America and Japan. Naturally, they are bringing out some goodies for the biggest anime convention in North America, Anime Expo.

DEMONDICE.  TeddyLoid. ACME.  You've probably heard of them before.  They're going to be in Los Angeles coming up really soon.  

Earlier today, it was announced that the Obey Me! Boys would be attending Anime Expo 2022. Obey Me!, shorthand for Obey Me! – One Master to Rule Them All, is a dating/romance RPG game.

On the music front, Anime Expo announced the appearance of the group Travis Japan for Anime Expo 2022. Travis Japan is part of the wide-ranging Johnny and Associates organization. First founded in 1962 under Johnny Kitagawa, Johnny and Associates (or Johnny's for short), has pioneered the evolution of male singing and dancing groups in Japan. Some of Johnny's (and Japan's) most famous groups include Arashi, KinKi Kids, SMAP, KAT-TUN, and many others. It's safe to say they know what they're doing when it comes to male groups.