When Anime Expo returned for the first timein three years this past summer, it was nothing short of one of the biggest events in the world of anime—both for fans and for studios. With the wrap of the successful landmark convention in July, the event’s organizers, the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation, announced that there would be little delay in setting up a new edition for the winter.
This new edition, intentionally lowercased as “anime expo chibi” by the SPJA, held its debut this past weekend in Ontario California, about an hour away from the main event’s locale of Los Angeles. For those who keep up with the world of conventions and their impact on the wider global industry of anime and pop culture, the sold-out new edition of the convention was an impressive feat. For fans wanting to come out to the new version, anime expo chibi served to be a new, more laid-back expression of anime fandom.
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This new event was designed to be more focused on the community aspect of the convention scene in Southern California, and as such it didn’t contain the same presence with some of the biggest names in anime and manga. Many of the assets form the main convention were carried over and adapted to the smaller size, although being able to pull everything off was a work of impressive planning within the fairly fast timeframe. The presence ofstudios setting up booths, or major presentationsor reveals was not in play here, and this was very clear-cut from the moment the convention was announced.
What it did have was every major staple of a successful anime con, including cosplay showcases (complete with all of the detailed sets on display from the main Los Angeles edition), several gaming rooms focused on console gaming, tabletop gaming, andeven a full roster of arcade cabinets. Not to mention the wide selection of shopping available in its Dealers Room and Artists Alley, which was made at a scale large enough to compare with the main event in the summer.
A roster of musical acts performed around the clock, including idol performances coming in from Japan. The essence of anime expo chibi is a tight-knit crowd standing around the lounge, sipping anime-themed cocktails and teaming up on opening bulk packs of thenewestPokemoncards. Really, is there anything else you need?
Is there anything that this new side convention offers that the main Anime Expo doesn’t? Yes in a way, which would be its convenience. There’s no “small way” to do the main Anime Expo, but a more local crowd getting a chance to visit another event with a lot of the same draw makes for a chill, relaxed vibe. And since this event’s sold-out attendanceproved to be a very successfulnew branching out, it’s not hard to imagine that this is going to give the SPJA more resources to reinvest towards inviting more talents and getting more programming for the main event. For those wanting to relax and enjoy fan culture, there’s now an opportunity to do so. And for those more looking forward to event reveals and the intense hype of one of the biggest conventions in the world, things now seem more poised than ever to have that ready next summer.
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