Animé Los Angeles 21 Review!
To read about my review of the event and some of the stuff I snagged at artist alley scroll down a bit to the ᰔ! I love yappin~
Well, I used to be an anime fan.
But I still watch new animes-
so I am still an anime fan… right?
I feel that people who had grown up watching anime in the 1900s and early 2000s have all kinda gone through the same thing in the last few years; navigating the fan space with the rise in anime’s popularity (something comics and video games have already seen). With this, of course, comes a new crowd of fans that were maybe not the most welcoming to what the anime space already was, and in many way still is. Most notably, many recognized the same people who would make fun of these interests in the past finally finding out that there are stories being told in this medium that are just as great if not better than live action works. While accepting of more popular shows, they would still lament online about how ‘cringe’ older fans and conventions were and even continue to bully people about things that have always been apart of the space (fan fictions, art, and cosplaying as you are). Enjoying these things publicly, whether online or in person, now had thousands of new eyes (and cameras) looking on at you and your friends and commenting, both good and bad.
This, of course, isn’t 100% a negative thing- with more fans comes more money for studios and artists, more people to talk with about the series, and more people noting issues in the space, hopefully creating a large push for change. It can, however, become exhausting to deal with the negative aspects and to stay in a space that was meant to be an escape from the negativity of the larger populace. After going to AX in 2024 it was just overwhelming to deal with just how many people there is now interested in what used to be a more niche interest.
In addition, it’s more of what happens a lot with other interests. A lot of us are very different people now- full fledged adults with full time jobs, families, responsibilities, and very limited ‘extra’ time. Do you try and keep with the new winter animes- or do you plan your PTO, gifts for friends and family, car maintenance, projects, whose parents you’re visiting, etc. etc? When you get asked at a party what interests you have, can you still say anime if the last show you watched was months ago? And maybe it’s not even that- you have just genuinely found your interests shifting away.
Falling in and out of an interest though isn’t something new. I’m sure there’s a tumblr post with a image of an ancient text of someone wishing they could frolic in the fields or paint or write like they did when they were younger with thousands of notes boiling down to ‘same’. And things do for better or worse get harder or at the very least different when you grow up.
But I’m a bit tired of being pushed out of spaces when they become popular. I’m kinda tired of the idea you have to do such and such be a ‘true fan’. I’m really tired of missing out on things I used to enjoy just because there’s too much friction with the ‘adult’ sections of my life or that there are too many people. While I’m pretty much the definition of introverted (and I thankfully do have some friends who also still love anime) I do miss being around tons of other fans.
So I went to an anime convention again.
Specifically, of course, Animé Los Angeles 21. I was excited to be surrounded by artists and people that loved many of the same things I love. It’s a ‘smaller’ con than AX of course, so there wasn’t as many large scale panels like the Trigger one I went to covering Dungeon Meshi’s animation per say, but that’s kinda why I decided to go. Plus a few of my favorite artists were there in artist alley, a big draw for me of course, and the ribbons- oh man the ribbons! I’ve always wanted to go to a con with ribbons!
For ALA 2026 the dates were from January 7th to the 11th, but since it was the first time I was going I decided to just go Saturday. Getting in was pretty easy- being in Long Beach I was able to drive up early and get a really nice spot near the entrance for $15 for the whole day. I definitely recommend if you’re driving in to get there early (maybe around 10am at the latest) as the rest of California normally gets up around then and after 12 parking seemed packed!
Getting through security was also really easy and picking up my badge was also super fast. I got a goodie bag with a info booklet of the con (printed very nicely I might add!) and a coupon for Dreamland Maid Cafe’s flagship grand opening. Then it was right into the expo hall-
Here was the ribbon station right when you walked in, the exhibitors, a car meetup, the itasha showcase, artist alley, and a small stage on the northside where I watched a few performances when I passed by! I spent nearly 4 to 5 hours walking through the whole selection admiring everything and, shockingly for me, speaking to some really cool people about shows, art, and fashion. While the passageways between booths was pretty spacious compared to other cons I’ve been to it did really crowd up later in the day especially in the artist alley section- but this is to be expected as it was Saturday and the smallest rows where there.
Akihabara Seaside was where ALA had tabletop gaming, arcade and console gaming, the manga lounge, and the maid cafes along with a spot for cosplayers to repair their outfits if needed. I went in the afternoon and it was packed. Again- to be expected. I enjoyed watching people play DDR and other games (while I do play I’m a big let’s play consumer too lol) but I was never able to snag a visit to the manga lounge like I wanted but it was also on me a bit for not coming earlier. But since the the repair station was there I was able to see a ton of cosplayer here and later in the main hall and that was, as always, a huge treat. The amount of passion and work that goes into some of the costumes along with the fun ones are a huge highlight for me- even if I’m too shy to ask for photos.
I feel most reviews would now boil down the positives and negatives so here I go-
Way more approachable than larger cons while still having plenty to do
A good amount of parking and food outside the con, along with the ocean being nearby
A less corporate feel than other cons with tons of opportunities to meet other like minded people
Seemingly far easier to get into some events versus larger cons
Not a ton of places to sit other than the floor which I guess is better than say AX where you can’t really even do that
Having a takoyaki in the exhibitor hall was maybe nice on paper but it filled the area with the smell and I wonder how the vendors with merch nearby felt about being so close to food
Overall I think I’ll return next year! And for more days! I always regret not going to the maid cafe so I definitely want to sign up and I also want to experience the late night events as well. However this does mean I’ll have to try for a nearby hotel which I’ve been reading might be a bit of challenge. We’ll see!
At the very least I feel very happy I went and I hope this encourages others to go if they’ve been wanting to. It’s always worth it to pursue your passions so matter how silly they may seem or how old you might feel.
Some of the artists I loved and got something from!
Thank you to everyone who made this event possible, thank you to the kind people who spoke with me, and thank you to my cats who helped me recover the next day.
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