SmashPad At FanimeCon 2024

Memorial Day has come and gone, and that means we’re finished with yet another FanimeCon in San Jose, California.

As one of the biggest anime fan gatherings in the world, and easily one of the biggest conventions in the City of San Jose, FanimeCon celebrated its 30th year in existence, though it wasn’t without its fair share of drama.

Earlier this year, FailedByFanime.com was launched by several former members and volunteers of the FanimeCon staff airing their grievances while bringing to light several issues concerning attendee safety and Fanime’s standing as a non-profit organization.

Staff issues aside, this year’s FanimeCon was also the third time the convention is held since COVID-19 Pandemic, which continues to be a harbinger for the difficulty of events like this to take place.

I’ve been attending FanimeCon since 2017 both under official SmashPad business and as just a fan of popular media. While I’m a fan of anime, I’m hardly an “otaku” or lover of all things anime, so when people talk about the “glory days of fanime,” that often goes one ear and out the other with me.

Back to the point of this story–what makes Fanime special to me is the representation of gaming throughout Memorial Day Weekend. When you walk around the San Jose Convention Center, it’s not just anime cosplay you see. It’s everything, and video games are a big part of it. This year, I attended cosplay gatherings for professional wrestling, Spy X Family, Final Fantasy, Ace Attorney, Persona, and I even had a hand at organizing The Legend of Zelda cosplay, and it’s a whole lot of fun being a part of these gatherings.

But before we get to the cosplay, how about a look at some of the booths and other things at the convention?

We’ll have separate posts for the larger Cosplay Gatherings here, but here’s some miscellaneous cosplay we took shots of below!

Check out our galleries from other Cosplay Gatherings at FanimeCon 2024!

• Ace Attorney
• Final Fantasy
• Fire Emblem
• Persona x SMT
• The Legend of Zelda