Anime Expo, called AX by those who attend the gatherings, is a well-known event in Southern California. Billboards and posters can be seen throughout LA advertising AX. Though the event is in LA, people come from all over—San Diego, Bay Area, Nevada, Arizona, etc.—just to take part.

In short, AX is an anime convention. It is hosted and funded by the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation every year on the 4th of July Weekend for 4 days. This year 44,000 people attended at the Los Angeles Convention Center. (The day after AX, Michael Jackson’s funeral was held at the Staples Center across the street)

Now, I am not into anime or anything. Growing up half-Japanese and with a majority of Asian friends, it was only natural for me to know a bit about anime. I grew up watching Dragon Ball Z at friends’ houses, I have seen a fair amount of episodes of Sailor Moon, like most people I do love Hayao Miyazaki movies (Spirited Away, Kiki’s Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, etc.), and I own one manga (Japanese comicbook), but never in my life was I a fanboy of some sort.

So why did I go?

My friend asked me if I wanted to go and I knew it would definitely be an experience. And something to tell you guys, of course.

So what do people do at anime conventions? You probably know already that people like to dress up for these events. It is almost looked down upon to not dress up. A lot of people buy their costumes, such as Totoro and Pikachu costumes, but most made their own. This may seem odd, but I realized that these people are extremely creative. Some spent weeks making their costumes just for those 4 days.

Some friends who dressed appropriately:

Innapropriate dress:

To get a badge, which allows you to get into the main area of the convention, the cost is $30 for a single day. For the full 4-days it is $70. In the main area, clothes, costumes, pins, videos, magazines, paintings, food, candy and everything related to Anime and Japanese culture is sold. I will admit, the prices could get pretty high, but a lot of was worth it. Many up and coming Anime cartoonists were selling their work, and despite not being a huge fan of the Anime art style, some of the works did leave me breathless.

A dance was held for the participants and performances on the 2nd day, and give-aways and contests were held throughout the day. I got a few free bumper stickers, and not gonna lie, they’re pretty hot.

This may seem odd, but there is almost a family-like relationship between all AX attendees. Yes, all 44,000. In America, where Anime isn’t something the majority of the population appreciates, enthusiasts of Japanese culture are a tiny minority. AX offers enthusiasts 4-days of being with thousands of like-minded people. And it seems as if they care about each other. Everybody talks to everybody, and I did not meet one person who minded helping me out or was simply unfriendly.

AX was definitely an experience. If you are a Japanese culture enthusiast, deeply appreciate Anime or Japanese video games, you will love the environment of AX.