by Danreb VictorioFanimeCon made its return to the San Jose Convention Center, once again turning the streets of Downtown San Jose into a hive of otaku and anime fans, and as a casual anime fan, it was a great time.
This year marked the 25th anniversary of the event, and the theming of Fanime this year was in celebration of its Silver Anniversary–an incredible milestone for this convention made for fans by fans.
As with any nerd-themed convention, the bulk of its attention went to its dealers hall, artists’ alley, panels, and of course cosplay.
The dealers’ hall and artists’ alley were run-of-the-mill sinks of cash, harping on your every emotion to just buy everything you see. Personally, I’ve always preferred the Artists’ Alley at conventions such as these just because it’s great to see the style and unique interpretation the artists put into their pieces to sell. From prints, to keychains, to charms, and to my favorites in stickers and enamel pins, it’s always a joy seeing every artist’s style. I ended up buying a vinyl decal of Makoto from Persona 5 for my laptop.
This isn’t just your regular fan service booth. Take a closer look at what’s being sold.
Decals / skins that perfectly fit onto the Nintendo Switch?! What? Funky Garage was the only booth doing this at Fanime, and you can check out his product line at www.funkygarage.ca
The biggest panels took place offsite at the Fairmont Hotel, which is the perfect venue for such activity. The biggest one I went to was FaniMania VI, an event hosted by the Cosplay Wrestling Federation, where participants/competitors cut pro wrestling-style promos in the hopes of winning the CWF Championship. Prior to losing the belt to Skeletor, the reigning champion was Franziska von Karma of Ace Attorney fame. As a wrestling fan myself, this was an absolutely hilarious experience.
Franziska von Karma while she’s still the CWF Champion.
But of course, the biggest feature everyone that enjoys FanimeCon attends for is the various cosplay you see. If you thought San Diego Comic-Con was big for cosplay, it pales in comparison to Fanime, which features a whole lot more video game-related cosplay than you think, and once again, here are some of my favorites. Apologies in advance for most of them being Zelda-related, as I was there shooting a Zelda Cosplay Gathering and missed the other ones due to other engagements.
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- Spider-Punk and Spider-Man Noir aka Nicolas Cage? This was totally worth the shot.
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- The Mailman running after Link.
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- More Pokémon anime love with Team Rocket!
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- That’s quite the Sheik.
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- Gotta give some love to Vegeta, Trunks, and Bulma of Dragon Ball fame.
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- Just a couple Links and their ocarinas.
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- Chun-Li about to kick someone.
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- Link taking a selfie with his Sheikah Slate.
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- Organization XIII planning something sinister.
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- Joker was an even more popular cosplay this year thanks to his appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
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- Oh Katamari Damacy.
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- How often do you find a smiling Bison from Street Fighter II?
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- Officer and Jenny and Nurse Joy from the Pokémon anime! Follow @Khalogi and @MichiMelody on Instagram for more of their awesome cosplay!
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- A group photo from The Legend of Zelda Cosplay Gathering
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- Gender-bender cosplay is great, especially when it involves cool characters like Goro Akechi from Persona 5.
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- You don’t normally see a lot of Midna when it comes to Zelda cosplay, and this gruesome twosome did a wonderful job!
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- 9S and 2B of NieR Automata looking for food.
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- It’s a 5-player Smash Bros. match between Pit, Zero Suit Samus, Bayonetta, Joker, and Wii Fit Trainer!
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- A Cucco ready to attack Link.
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- Kirby!
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- Prince Sidon and Link together forever.
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- “Roy’s our boy!”
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- The tough Tifa Lockheart from Final Fantasy VII is always a fan favorite.
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- Running into good ol’ Sayori from Doki Doki Literature Club is always a pleasuring experience, right? .. Right? Oh.
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- This was probably the best cosplay we saw all weekend.
That’s all we’ve got in my limited time with this year’s Fanime. If you’re interested in attending next year, it always takes place in the San Jose Convention Center during Memorial Day Weekend. For more information, check them out at Fanime.com.
Our next on-location convention will be San Diego Comic-Con in July for its 50th Anniversary.