Crunchyroll premiered post-apocalyptic anime "Dr. STONE," fantasy series "To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts," and supernatural mystery "In/Spectre" at Anime Expo. Each of those series will simulcast on Crunchyroll's anime service. In addition to those premiering series Crunchyroll also announced simulcasts for "Isekai Cheat Magician," "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime OAD," "A Destructive God Sits Next To Me," "GRANBELM," "Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?" and two "Konosuba" OVAs from seasons one and two.
They hosted numerous guests including Dr. STONE producer Shusuke Katagiri, Shonen Jump editor Hiroyuki Honda, superstar Mamoru Miyano, Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park fame, amongst others. Shinoda previewed some of his new music video "World's on Fire" which should have its full release later this year. Activities included panels, the sale of a variety of goods in the exhibit hall, and the offsite Crunchyroll HQ at LA Live's The Novo.
While Anime Expo might be over Crunchyroll has their own expo coming up on Labor Day weekend. On August 30 through September 1 they'll be taking over the San Jose Convention Center and have a bevy of guests already announced including two musical guests in the form of FLOW and MADKID. Tickets are on sale for $85 for all three days and with the one-day ticket being $75 it's a no-brainer to pick up a ticket for the whole weekend. A pre-show party with Teddyloid and HEAVYGRINDER will be held on August 29.
Guests include seiyuus Miho Okasaki of That Time I Got Reincarted as a Slime, Ryo Horikawa (Vegeta, amongst others), and Yuu Asakawa (Rider, Ana, Luka Megurine), composer Yasuhara Takanashi (Naruto Shippuden, Pretty Cure, Fairy Tail, ZOMBIELAND SAGA, and most recently Kengan Ashura), and horror mangaka Junji Ito. There's a focus on Mob Psycho 100 (guests Yuzuru Tachikawa, Yoshimichi Kameda, and Setsuo Ito) and Rising of the Shield Hero (guests Sarah Emi Bridcutt, Masahiro Suwa, Kevin Penkin, MADKID, and Junichiro Tamura).
One thing I'm curious about is the concept of a CRX city. As you can see in the above concept art there's a lot of structures and we'll see just how they execute it. They say there will be a nightclub with DJs and a bar, a maid cafe featuring mascot Hime, and an art gallery featuring Junji Ito. With just over a month and a half to go there's plenty of time for more to be added. Normal hours are from 10AM-7PM and evening events take place from 7PM-11PM on all three days of the show. Last year was a very strong second year showing for a convention (which it should be considering its backers) and I don't expect this year's iteration to be any different.
Tickets for FLOW's concert go on sale 7/15 so expect details to be released shortly.
Crunchyroll Expo is quickly working to establish itself as a must-see endcap of the summer.
Please visit https://expo.crunchyroll.com/ for more information.
