L.A. Comic Con made its comeback this year on Sept. 26-28 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Being one of the biggest annual fan conventions in America, its return was highly anticipated by fans of sci-fi, gaming, anime, comics and pop culture from around the world.
The convention offered many events and activities throughout the three days, such as meet and greets, panels, artist alley, autographs and portfolio reviews. This year’s LACC also featured the opening of a new convention area, Akiba Station.
Curated by Otaku Collectives, [a company that attends conventions as a vendor, selling anime and gaming goods both in person and online], Akiba Station (which was inspired by the Akihabara district in Japan) was created as a dedicated area for anime and Japanese pop culture fans alike.
Anime has always been a popular piece of media, with its popularity rising, seeing a major jump in recent years. It has been present at LACC ever since the convention’s first opening back in 2011. However, it has been largely overshadowed by Western media due to LACC being more well-known for its Western-based franchises.
“L.A. Comic Con has always tried to get into the anime space, and they really were looking for a partner, and for us [Otaku Collectives], our whole booth, everything that we’ve ever done, has always been about activations, doing something for the community,” said Johnny Chang, the co-founder of Otaku Collectives. “It was never, ‘hey, we have our product and we sell something.’”
Otaku Collectives is a relatively new company, starting only around two years ago, with a focus on bringing Japanese-exclusive merchandise to the United States. The operation has grown from a pop-up tent and a foldable table to now hosting a whole curated area at LACC. During the event, Otaku Collectives brings in guests, sells stamps and hosts a variety of activations for fans.
As someone who also grew up watching anime and going to conventions as an attendee, Chang wanted to use his own love and experience of anime culture, as well as the feedback from the community, to make something that would be enjoyed by all anime fans.
“We want to bring bigger experiences to everybody,” Chang said.“ Ultimately, I just want the fans to have something that they can really connect with, a place where everyone to connect really well and be who they are. That’s something that I couldn’t do growing up. I wanted everyone else to be able to do that.”
Akiba Station did not disappoint. From bringing famous Japanese voice actors such as Yuriko Yamaguchi, Takeshi Kusao and Tetsu Inada, to having a mini ramen taste-testing bar hosted by Maruchan, Akiba Station really did bring Japan to the States, receiving praise from fellow companies.
“I just love seeing that they are evolving with the times of where culture is today in America, where we just enjoy East and West culture. So to see it all come together through Akiba Station and LACC has been super awesome,” said Kevin Seo, the CEO of Secret Sauce Society (who are in a partnership with Maruchan).
Seo said Maruchan cares about being a Japanese ramen company, but also cares about American culture and where culture sits today. When finding an event to attend, Maruchan wanted “to go where the culture is and really enjoy just being out there with the broader community.”
Along with receiving praise from the companies, Akiba Station was also receiving many praises from the attendees, with many attendees happy that there is now a dedicated section for anime, compared to LACC’s previous years.
“For a while, it seemed like anime and manga were not really welcomed and kind of ostracized from L.A. Comic Con, so I’m glad they’re finally officially embracing it and made a space for the weebs,” said Ani Okonjo, a frequent attendee of Comic Con and other fan conventions like Anime Expo.
With Akiba Station being so well-received by the attendees, even for its first year, fans are already looking forward to what might be in store for next year.