D23 Expo is certainly ramping up to be the convention that everyone will be talking about come September. Disney is bringing a plethora of shows and experiences to the convention floor through many popular brands.
It is a fact that Covid is still around and also that anime fans want to return to conventions or gatherings. This year Anime Expo returned in person after a two-year hiatus. Some people got excited after this announcement and others asked are we ready for this?
With D23 Expo right around the corner, Pixar and Disney are revving up to make this one of the most exciting D23 Expos yet with new never-before-seen footage and experiences.
For fans of anime, San Diego Comic Con is not the kind of place you see the biggest announcements or the biggest releases. Most big news comes via Anime Expo just a few weeks prior. And with Crunchyroll Expo, happening in just a few weeks, Crunchyroll's big events are going to be reserved. This year, however, Crunchyroll is linking up with San Diego Comic Con to give you two concerts and some more fun.
Square Enix is making a return to the beloved Comic-Con convention here in San Diego and is bringing lots of goodies for attendees to get their hands on during the convention.
SEGA and ATLUS are returning to the beloved Anime Expo 2022 in Los Angeles, California, and are bringing a slew of fun and exciting activities, new merchandise, photo ops, giveaways, and more!
Returning to Anime Expo 2022 is the professional cosplay duo of Tasha and Doremi from the South Korean cosplay group Spiral Cats. Famous for their amazingly accurate depictions of video game and anime characters, they have gained international stardom through modeling for numerous video game companies such as Blizzard Entertainment and Riot Games. They have also appeared in televised shows and online programming in South Korea.
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.
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.
Aside from the wide variety of games, there was also some very some very impressive cosplayers on the show floor. Here's just a quick look at some of the coolest cosplay we found at PAX West.
Fanime is coming up next weekend. This is the long-awaited return of one of California's mainstay conventions. It's been a long three years since the last one (having been on hiatus since 2019) and we're finally back in the city of San Jose, CA. We at The-O Network have been attending Fanime for upwards of 10 years so this is one of our most loved conventions, and given its proximity to many of the staff here, is best considered our home convention.
Like many things in life, the first impression of a convention is important. A convention's first-year oftentimes determines its ultimate fate. The inaugural OffKai Expo took place between April 29 and May 1 of this year at the DoubleTree Hotel right next to San Jose's Mineta International Airport. As mentioned previously, "OffKai" translates to "offline meetup," and usually in the context of people who have met online through video games, chat rooms, or otherwise, and are now meeting for the first time in person. That's exactly the name of the game here, and the focus is on Virtual YouTubers.