JULY 3 — Anime fans in costume play, more commonly referred to as “cosplay,” take over the Los Angeles Convention center for the opening day of the 2015 Anime Expo on Thursday (July 2) morning. The four day event is expected to be a grand gathering of the cosplayers.
Fans dressed in costume express their excitement to be among a group of people with same hobby.
“I’m a giant nerd. So I mean it’s nice to be around people who are also nerds, because it’s like you can have nice long conversations and actually understand what I’m saying,” says Emily Arenal, who attended the event with her cosplayer friends.
The huge amount of cosplayers and their delicate costumes are an strong attraction to other fans.
“Cosplay is one of our biggest events here. We have amazing amount of talented individuals that dedicate hour of hours. There are easily at least 20,000 cosplayers each day,” says Marc Perez, CEO of society for the promotion of Japanese animation.
Some fans line up to compete in a cosplay contest.
“It’s different thing just watch the character, but to like be the character. It a dynamic that you don’t get pursue very often. It’s fun.” says Rachel Xander.
Most attending the event credit the complexity of Japanese anime story lines and character development for their love of the genre.
“I like it because the art is so much different from American cartoon and stuff. They just bring so much life to things I think. And you know the humor is really great. I just love it because of the story-line or something. They can be really creative.” says Fallon James.
This years’ anime expo is expected to exceed last year’s on scale and number of fans.
“Anime Expo is hosting over 100,000 thousand people this year. Our largest event ever. We have individuals from Japan obviously, the Middle East, South America, Europe, around the world. We are looking forward to continue our goal here, 30 percent over last year. And look to continue to be amazing,” says Marc Perez, CEO of society for the promotion of Japanese animation.
Anime Expo is currently the largest Anime convention in North America and features panels, concerts, a fashion show and late night dances, among other things. The expo will take place from July 2 – 5, 2015 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
