What to Know
- Anime Expo 2024
- July 4 through 7 at the Los Angeles Convention Center
- $85 Thursday; other ticketing options are available, including the $185 4-day general attendee admission
"Bringing fans together and industry together to celebrate Japanese pop culture" is the spirited and imagination-centered goal at the heart of Anime Expo, the colossal celebration that unfurls at the Los Angeles Convention Center each July.
Those devoted fans, many of them attired in eye-catching and elaborately detailed outfits that pay tribute to a favorite character, film, TV show, or story, are known for returning again and again to the large-scale gathering, though "large-scale" doesn't seem quite epic enough in scope to describe one of the planet's biggest anime-taculars.
It is, in fact, the 33rd annual convention, and the ultra-popular event continues to welcome hundreds of thousands of guests each year; some 392,000 attendees enjoyed the 2023 event, per the turnstile count.
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This means that planning your day, or days, at the Los Angeles Convention Center, where the 2024 Anime Expo — or AX, if you prefer — will alight from July 4 through 7, is key to a delightful and easy experience.
To help, expo organizers have a helpful round-up to peruse prior to heading DTLA: The "Top 10 Things to Do/See at Anime Expo."
Suggestions include the Cosplay Gatherings, where you can "... meet people from the same fandom" and snap a few memorable photos, and the Manga Lounge, where you can relax and page all sorts of books — there are "over 6000 available volumes of manga" to peruse — whenever you like.
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It's quite the comprehensive convention; consider that AX even features a sizable center devoted to cosplay repair, should you find your magical cape is ripped or one of your wings got clipped.
Materials, advice, and support are available when you need any or all of the above.
The vast vendor area at AX is also a bustling stop for regulars, and with good reason: Hundreds of vendors will call upon the convention with toys, comics, and an assortment of manga- and anime-themed goodies for sale.
Your best bet before purchasing your admission and deciding which day, or days, you'd like to visit? Taking a peek at Anime Expo's schedule, which includes panel times and all sorts of important details.
Some panel topics include "Breaking into Manga Publishing," "How Classic Anime Series Influence Anime Today," an "Origami Workshop," and "Getting Started in Voice Acting."
Anime Expo is presented by the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation.
