Anime Pasadena 2021 took place at the Pasadena Convention Center this last weekend, December 11-12th. In fact, this was the first year this convention took place over two days versus being a one-day event. Large crowds turned out for this convention. Rightfully so, it was a fun event!
The special guests were spectacular choices. Panels with the special guests were great fun. Cosplayers gathered outdoors throughout the weekend to meet-up in groups for photos and a good time. While vaccine check-ins with the large crowds caused delays, the convention as a whole was highly enjoyable.
Anime Pasadena 2021
The first day of Anime Pasadena saw large crowds lining up around several bocks. The convention began at 10:00am, but attendees were lined up to get in hours earlier. This convention required either proof of COVID-19 vaccination or negative tests in order to go inside. At this Saturday opening, the vaccine check-in caused long delays. Elvin Zuleta, Media Manager for Nerdbot Media, told us that “the biggest challenge on Saturday was to check in attendees in a timely manner while navigating all of the COVID check-in policies. So Saturday was a little rough going, but Sunday was smooth sailing. All in all it was worth the extra work to keep our guests and attendees safe.”
By the second day, there were multiple staff members going through the line, pre-checking vaccinations/tests and IDs before the doors opened.
This convention center is relatively small in comparison to the one in the neighboring city of Los Angeles. With an official, large turn-out of 16,000 people over the two-day event, it made for a crowded exhibit hall. Also, the Autographs and Meet and Greet building was crowded. With big names in the anime world, such as Christopher Sabat (All Might in My Hero Academia, Vegeta, Piccolo, and Yamcha in Dragon Ball Z) and Maile Flanagan (Naruto Uzumaki in the Naruto franchise), it was not surprising that attendees wasted no time getting into another hours-long line.
Waiting in lines for autographs is common at conventions like these, but the large turnout in a smaller convention center could make things confusing or difficult to navigate. The staff at Anime Pasadena had taped off the lines for each special guest. While the room itself was full of people and difficult to move around in at some points, lines were clearly labeled to keep attendees in their proper lines for the correct guests. By the second day, there were caps to the lines for both Sabat and Flanagan as people ended up waiting for upwards of four hours for signatures and pictures. (Welcome to conventions, where most of your time is spent standing in lines!)
Panels and Special Guests
Anime Pasadena had two panel rooms. They were cleverly named after anime characters, Goku and Deku. Pictured to the left is the Goku room during the My Hero Academia Q&A panel. The room filled up quickly as we waited patiently for the voice actors to arrive. During the panel, a lot of people towards the back had a hard time seeing. Had the table for the panelists been on a riser of some sort, then people four rows back and farther would have had an easier time seeing the special guests.
The special guests themselves were absolutely delightful. It felt that every single one of them seemed like they were legitimately excited to be there.
Cosplay
One of the highlights of conventions for a lot of attendees is seeing cosplay in action. The term “cosplay” is a play on the words “costume” and “play.” It is a popular form of expression at most comic book conventions. Attendees dress up as their favorite characters from pop culture and attend the conventions, such as this one, in full dress-up. Cosplay can consist of simple themed outfits, Halloween costumes, or elaborate homemade designs.
The cosplay meet-ups are all fan run. Each one met up outside which made gathering feel a little bit safer than if we were packed inside. Most cosplayers kept their masks on, even while outdoors. Each meet-up was easy to find. Figuring out where to go for meet-ups like these can sometimes be stressful for convention goers who are unfamiliar with the venue. Temple of Geek contributor and fellow cosplayer, Christina, said, “It was nice that it was close and right in the middle of everything.” It was a great time being able to cosplay in person, together.
Overall thoughts on Anime Pasadena 2021
Smaller crowds made the second day of the convention easier to navigate, the lines smaller, and more enjoyable. Cosplayer and Anime Pasadena attendee Chelsea describes their experience:
I went [to this convention] the last couple of years because it’s a local convention for me and it quickly became my favorite small con. This year was definitely different and I have to admit that Saturday was very disappointing. It was so oversold and the line situation was so bad that once I finally got in I had missed all the panels I was interested in and it was too crowded to enjoy or feel safe. But! Sunday was a complete turn around. It was so well organized and there was room to enjoy everything. The vendors were fantastic and I had a wonderful day. I know it must be difficult to come back after so long and with such high demand so I’m sure that some lessons were learned and I have high hopes that next year will be an all around great experience again.
It’s understandable that those of us who have missed conventions are excited to finally be able to attend in-person.
Elvin Zuleta also let us know:
“We had an incredible turn out for Anime Pasadena 2021! A bright spot for me was seeing so many family Cosplay groups. One of the reasons we love throwing Anime Pasadena is the generational connection Anime creates among an older and younger audience. As a Parent or older sibling, you might have grown up watching Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Naruto or the original Pokémon series. Now your children or younger siblings might be watching newer versions and story arcs of those same series. That connection of what we strive to connect with our attendees. It’s what we keep in mind when we bring in our special guests and create our panels. We truly believe that Anime is a family affair. And with that in mind, we’re excited to keep expanding Anime Pasadena to a bigger and better event for 2022.”
Despite the hiccups on the first day, Anime Pasadena was, overall, great fun. To keep up to date with information on Anime Pasadena’s 2022 return, follow them on Instagram and Twitter.
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