The Occasional Other

Anime Expo 2026 is one of those weekends that’s still loud in my head even now that I’m home and caught up on sleep.

I went all four days this year with industry access, which came with a small but honestly huge perk: the industry lounge. I have fibromyalgia, so having a quiet place to sit down, let the pain settle, and sometimes sneak in a nap between panels wasn’t a luxury — it was what made four full days possible at all.
Outside of that, my experience was pretty much like anyone else’s. I walked in expecting the usual: too many people, too little time, and just enough chaos to make it fun. What I didn’t expect was how much that chaos would outpace the space it was happening in.

Day-by-Day Roundup

Thursday

Opening day always has this specific feel — the lines are long, but everyone’s still fresh. Nobody’s tired yet. I spent most of the day in Artist Alley, and honestly, there were more people there than I expected for a Thursday. Usually the first day gives you a little breathing room before the weekend crowds show up. Not this year.

Big reveals from the day’s industry panels:

• Black Clover Season 2 officially announced with a new trailer
• Saga of Tanya the Evil Episode 1 world premiere
• New footage and previews for Star Wars: Visions
• Trailers and premiere announcements from Hulu’s Animayhem showcase, among others

Friday

Friday was exhibit hall day for me. This is where the industry heavyweights set up shop — Funimation, Aniplex, Shonen Jump, Crunchyroll — and it’s always a good barometer for where the anime industry’s attention is headed that year. Artist Alley and Kentia Hall were already packed tight enough that actually stopping to talk to a vendor felt like a small feat.

Big reveals from the day’s industry panels:

• Major Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle panel with new trailer and production updates
• Gachiakuta Season 2 announced
• Ao Ashi Season 2 officially revealed
• Additional announcements from Crunchyroll, Aniplex, and Bandai Namco

Saturday

The busiest day, no surprise there. But “busiest” undersells it — movement in some areas slowed to a near stop, especially in Artist Alley. Part of that was the stamp rally, one of those scavenger-hunt activities where you collect stamps from different booths around the con. Fun in theory, but this year it funneled people into spaces that were already too tight for the number of bodies trying to fit through them. I’ll get into what I actually did Saturday in the next section, since there was enough packed into that one day to earn its own breakdown.

Big reveals from the day’s industry panels:

• New updates for Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
• Additional trailers and production updates from several anticipated 2026 titles
• More publisher showcases featuring upcoming films and series

Sunday

Sunday was a little bit less, but only in comparison. People were clearly in last-chance mode — trying to grab that one item, catch that one panel they missed. The energy wasn’t gone, just tired. I ended my con on a high note, catching the premiere screening of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners’ first episode, which felt like the right kind of send-off after four days of moving through crowds.

Big reveals from the day’s industry panels:

• Premiere screening of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
• Final industry panels and closing announcements
• Exclusive screenings, creator Q&As, and wrap-up reveals before the con wrapped

Saturday Deep Dive

I took the 8:55 Metrolink into Union Station, then hopped on the A Line to get to the convention center. No real plan for the day — just my camera, comfortable shoes, and the intention to walk around and see what I could find. Getting into the building already felt like stepping into a dense current of people. The flow inside never really opened up. It stayed tight and slow-moving pretty much all day.
Even with the crowd working against me, the cosplay made the walk worth it. I spotted a Washu from Tenchi Muyo!, which isn’t a costume you see often — that’s a deep cut for a franchise that doesn’t get nearly enough love these days. A Sailor Saturn cosplayer stood out too, and then a family dressed as Dragon Ball Z characters caught my eye from across the walkway. I saw them in passing, but the detail work was good enough that I stopped, doubled back, and got a photo before the crowd swallowed them up again.

Artist Alley was at its peak by the afternoon, and Kentia Hall in particular felt like trying to navigate a hallway that had shrunk overnight. Still, I made a point of slowing down where I could, because this is always the part of the con that reminds you how much talent is out there working outside the big publishers.
Xinillius had a limited edition sketchbook that stopped me in my tracks. Jenni Illustrations was there with their Bunbun mascot and a line of Sailor Moon stickers that I couldn’t walk past. I ended up picking up Sailor Moon stickers and washi tape from Jiadoesart too — my Sailor Moon habit is not a secret at this point. 2jingis2jing had some genuinely cozy illustration and stationery work, the kind that makes you want to redo your entire desk setup. Made by Nuwa had Sailor Moon pins that I had to force myself to walk away from. And running into h.naoto’s booth was a personal highlight — they’re one of my favorite Japanese fashion designers, and seeing their work in person never gets old.

By evening, the exhaustion was setting in for everyone, not just me. People were still excited — you could feel it — but the density made it harder to just browse and stumble onto something new. Every aisle felt like it needed a plan, which isn’t really how I like to experience artist alley or exhibit halls. I like getting lost a little. This year didn’t leave much room for that.
So I did what I usually do when the con starts feeling like too much: I left. Hopped back on the A Line to Little Tokyo and made my way to Marukai Market for ramune and a small mountain of Kasugai fruit gummies — every flavor, no exceptions. It’s become a bit of a ritual at this point, and honestly, it’s sometimes the best part of the day. A quiet reset before heading back into the noise, or in this case, heading home.

Best Cosplay Observation

Cosplay is still one of the best parts of Anime Expo, and this year was no exception. There’s always a mix — people dressing for the photo and the aesthetic, and people who are deep in the craft, chasing accuracy down to the smallest detail. Both approaches earn their place. That contrast is part of what makes walking around and just looking at people so entertaining. (Photos below say more than I can.)

Sunday Reflection

By the last day, I wasn’t chasing anything specific anymore. I spent the morning wandering through the entertainment hall, picking up whatever freebies and stickers were left to grab, no real agenda beyond seeing what was still out there. No big purchases this time around — just small stuff that’ll probably end up on my laptop or a sketchbook somewhere.

I made my way back to the main area for some last photos before the con closed out, and then caught the premiere screening of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners’ first episode. It felt like the right note to end on — something new, something exciting, after four days of moving through crowds and half-formed plans.

My biggest takeaway from Sunday wasn’t a purchase or even the screening. It was just noticing how tired everyone looked by that point, myself included, and how that tiredness didn’t cancel out the fact that everyone was still there, still wanting to be there, even after four days of fighting for space to move.

Pros

• Independent artists in Artist Alley brought serious range this year — from Xinillius’s limited sketchbooks to h.naoto’s fashion presence
• Cosplay stayed one of the strongest parts of the event, mixing photo-ready looks with serious craftsmanship
• Panel announcements delivered — Black Clover Season 2, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle updates, and the Edgerunners premiere alone made the weekend worth it
• Constant energy across all four days, even as things got physically exhausting

Cons

• Overcrowding across all four days, worse than previous years
• No effective attendance cap for a venue this size
• Kentia Hall became genuinely difficult to move through, not just busy
• The stamp rally added congestion instead of easing it
• Peak-hour movement felt restricted enough to limit how much you could actually enjoy Artist Alley

My Honest Take

Anime Expo is still one of the most important anime conventions in the country, and I don’t think that’s up for debate. But this year made one thing obvious: the convention has outgrown the building it’s in.

That’s not a knock on the people who run it, or the artists, or the industry panels — all of that was as strong as ever. It’s just that the number of people coming through those doors doesn’t match what the space can actually hold anymore. You feel it the second you walk in, and you keep feeling it every time you try to slow down and look at something.

Artist Alley is still worth the trip. It’s still where I find the stuff I end up caring about most — this year it was Sailor Moon stickers and a sketchbook I didn’t know I needed. But it’s harder to actually be there now, and that’s a real shift from past years.

Cosplay, though? Still the best part. Still where the con feels the most alive.

Would I go again? Yes, without question. But I’d go with different expectations — not for comfort, because comfort was never really the promise of a con this size, but for scale. Anime Expo 2026 wasn’t about a smooth weekend. It was about learning how to move through something that’s grown bigger than the room it’s in.

Anime Expo will be held in 2027 from July 1st to July 4th.