We are hours, if not minutes, away from Anime Expo 2026, and I feel like a General with the war plan I have for making it through the weekend. Since I have only gone one other time to AX, literally last year being my first time, I am trying to be as prepared as possible.
For me, last year was a free for all and I was just randomly wandering around trying to find some of the things I heard about. This was fun, but I did miss out on a lot of things. This year, a friend of mine is coming with us and we are making it a girls trip. Trust me when I say our schedule is jam packed!
There is so much to see this year while at the convention, big panels and lots of showcases! Some of the really big ones I am looking forward to are Gachiakuta-Return to the Pit, Kodansha presents: Blue Lock creators, Crunchyroll showcases, Kodansha presents: Witch Hat Atelier creator, Kagurabachi world premiere and this is just Friday of the convention. I feel a bit overwhelmed because I really want to be able to make it to all of these, but I know there is no way I will be able to make it happen.
Saturday is just as packed full of amazing panels too, Bleach TYBWA, Magic Knight Rayearth premiere (the amount of excitement I have for this is insane), Marriagetoxin and talking with the voice actors, Love and Deepspace dating game (fan panel) and Lobotomy Kaisen (I always want to make it to this panel cause it looks like so much fun!). Thank goodness Sunday is more low-key, with the biggest event/panel being Jujutsu Kaisen (hopefully a full trailer for season three).
Thank goodness Thursday is low-key and a good start to get the shopping out of the way, and finding all the cool spots at con. I know all the booths and activations will be super fun and everyone will be losing a majority of their time just exploring the convention!
Let’s also not forget the INSANE amount of extra things happening outside of Anime Expo this year, pop-up shops, themed cafes, and art exhibits for anime series. Here is the list of all the other activities to check out while at Anime Expo, or if you couldn’t make it in,
–Kodansha House, (lots of events planned with authors, exclusive merch, and an exhibit of their most popular series!).
–The Loop, (Crunchyroll’s pop up shop filled with exclusive merch and interactive activities from popular anime’s like Solo Leveling).
–Shonen Jump Store, ( amazing selection of merch straight from Japan, and great artwork to see from popular viz media series).
–Kinokuniya, just opened their first location here in little tokyo (also filled with lots of anime goodies).
– Studio Ghibli Store, first time pop up shop within the U.S.
–The One Piece Cafe, lots of good food and fun One Piece themed!
–Ryoko Kui Exhibition & “Delicious in Dungeon” Exhibition, this is another fun pop up currently happening and you get to order some good food as well!
–Artist Gallery for BLEACH, amazing pieces inspired by BLEACH!
–The Artist Alley, a free artist alley for all the people who were not able to make it into AX this year.
–Bearology’s Demon Slayer Infinity Castle pop-up, this is a very cute themed cafe and you will feel like you are falling through the infinity castle.
Like I said before, this is going to be a crazy four days in LA with of course Anime Expo and now all the extra fun pop-up’s! I can’t wait to share all my adventures with you all and if you are in the LA area this week, stop by Anime Expo or give a peek at some of these other fun events!
Are you going to Anime Expo? What are you looking forward to there? Feel free to leave a comment below or chat with us on Threads at @theconventioncollective, or Bluesky at @theconcollective.bsky.social
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