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Anime Expo 2014 in Downtown Los Angeles

Posted on July 25, 2014 | Filed Under: Pop Culture | Tags: Anime Expo, Clare Grant, Comic-Con, Elvira, Hello Kitty, Noelle Bean, Rileah Vanderbilt, Team Unicorn, Women in Pop Culture | 2 Comments

Earlier this month I attended my very first Anime Expo. This was my very first conference in the anime industry. It’s funny that when I worked in the toy industry many moons ago, I had several opportunities to go to Comic-Con. Back then the focus was more on comic books & the toy industry that surrounded those characters. Comic-Con has now evolved into more of a pop culture festival. Sure you still have comic book fans that head down to San Diego. However somewhere along the way, when the Twilight fans emerged in 2010 & stormed Hall H, Comic-Con turned into more of a film fest for big studios/TV meet & greet for television shows. I’m not knocking it, in fact I would love to attend Comic-Con one day! However for people who are really into anime, the Anime Expo (AX) in DTLA is the place to be!

When I arrived on Thursday, which was the first day of AX, you could feel the excitement in the air. I made my way over to the press/media section so that I could collect my badge. All attendees received a goodie bag & a fun Dragon Ball Z crown/headpiece. The goodie bag contained a Anime Expo program, map of the convention hall areas & other assorted items. However I knew that the one item that would score some points from my kiddo was the Dragon Ball Z paper headpiece!

AX_Goodie Bag_PressBadge

There were SO many cool costumes! I found out that these intricate pieces take months to create, so people are quite proud AND happy to pose for pictures.

AX_CostumesAX_Costumes1

Since I had a little bit of time to wait before the Women in Pop Culture panel started, I checked out one of the smaller halls with some merchandise & electronic items in it. It was in this hall that I saw Hello Kitty clothing for sale from Japan LA. Being a big Hello Kitty fan, I had to buy a skirt that I hope to wear at Hello Kitty Con later this October.

AX_SmallHall

AX_SmallHall2

Eventually it was time to head over to the Women in Pop Culture panel.

AX_WomenInPopSign

The panel was moderated by Cassandra Peterson (aka Elivera). Rileah Vanderbilt & Clare Grant (from Team Unicorn), singer Noelle Bean & Danielle Vasinova made up the panel. Sho Murase was supposed to be there but wasn’t able to attend. The women talked about pop culture, anime & breaking barriers in the entertainment industry.

AX_WomenInPopPanel

Here is a snippet of Rileah giving props to Cassandra Peterson who played Elivra in film & TV.

Singer Noelle Bean also performed her hit Lois Lane. Here’s a clip: http://instagram.com/p/qADtLDiFA8/?modal=true

If you want to hear the song in its entirety, check out this YouTube video:

After the Women in Pop Culture panel, I made my way down to the front to talk briefly with Team Unicorn & Noelle Bean. They graciously agreed to pose for pics.

AX_TeamUnicorn

AX_MeAndSingerBean

Then it was time for me to walk the giant showroom. So much merchandise! I knew Hello Kitty would have merch here, but who knew that llamas (or alpacas) would be a thing?!

AX_Merch

Cool display of Batman & Superman figures!

AX_TeamUnicorn_Batman-SuperDisplay

Of course I had to stop at a Hello Kitty booth where they were promoting the latest mobile game app.

AX_HelloKitty

I walked around a little bit more, but then I was starving so I left to go outside to the food truck area & grabbed a very late lunch. I wasn’t able to go back for the rest of the weekend at Anime Expo (due to work commitments). All in all it was a very cool expo to experience!

Have you been to Anime Expo? How about Comic-Con? Which do you like better & why?

Disclosure: No monetary compensation was received for this post. I attended Anime Expo as a member of the media. I was under no obligation to write about my experience, but I wanted to share it with my readers.  All images are mine unless otherwise noted. My opinions (as always) are 100% my own.

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Comments

  1. Christie says

    July 27, 2014 at 2:43 pm

    Love this! How fun. Will have to go some year. (Hello Kitty Con?! – how adorable). Great song by Noelle Bean.

    Reply
    • Jennifer says

      August 4, 2014 at 2:43 pm

      You should try out Anime Expo at least once. It’s quite a scene! I really love that song from Noelle Bean. If you look her up on YouTube, she has amazing songs!

      Reply

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