Anime Expo 2022 Was Incredible

August 10, 2022

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Anime Expo is North America’s largest anime convention and has been bringing fantastic events to the community for years. When COVID rocked the world and canceled a majority of in-person events across the world, Anime Expo was no exception. However, thanks to vaccines, boosters, and masks 2022 was the year that AX was to return to in-person events.

To prevent as many cases of COVID as possible AX made it very clear that proof of vaccination and masks were required by all attendees. Thankfully the lines for both the badge pick-up as well as vaccination checks were smooth and I personally was able to obtain my vaccination wristband and badge within 30 minutes on Thursday morning.

Seeing so many fans of anime gather together to celebrate their favorite series or video games was heartwarming. Especially after years of events being shut down, it was great to see the world returning slightly back to normal.

Many incredible cosplayers flocked from all around the world in order to showcase their latest creations.

There were also informative panels on all aspects of the industry from cosplay to making it as an artist. We were able to attend a few and enjoy the shared knowledge of such professionals and learning about the latest developments in our community. thanks to the help of Utahime Cosplay, we were able to interview a number of creatives during the weekend.

Above is an interview with Kieraplease and Jade Valkyrie!

In addition to this interview, we were also able to spend time with Cosplay Senpai Jihatsu on his career and passions.

As for the featured guests, they had a number of actors and voice actors there to engage with fans and give them the opportunity to thank them for all of their hard work. I personally got to meet voice actor Anjali Bhimani known for such characters as Rampart from Apex Legends, Symmetra from Overwatch, and even as an actor in Ms. Marvel.

All in all Anime Expo was a great weekend filled of parties, cosplay, and industry announcements. Although it was nerve-wracking to be around so many people after spending so much time in lockdown, the sight of many masks helped to ease the anxiety slightly and allow us all to enjoy a mostly safe weekend.