Greetings! It's your con trotting webmaster Sakaki with something slightly off the beaten path. A big shout out to Crunchyroll (yes, that one!) for giving us a press pass to cover Crunchyroll Expo! For more on our experience, just read on below!
A little b+ackground: Crunchyroll Expo (to be known as CRX) is an anime convention sponsored by CR and their partners. This year's event is the sixth annual convention that is usually held between August and September each year. Due to Covid, the last two years were streamed exclusively online, with this year being the first in person event since 2019. For this year's convention, the con was held in the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California, though the very first convention in 2017 was held in the Santa Clara Convention Center.
You wouldn't be able to tell at first, but there were a ton of guests at this year's convention! Many were in connection to the popular Hololive vtubers, though there were several voice actors, influencers, and anime staff who appeared in person or via prerecorded messages.
Checking in was relatively straightforward as press we had to pick up our badges in person at the venue, as well as proof of COVID vaccination which came in the form of a band that had a comfortable fit and was resistant to water. The staff was professional, and we were in and out Thursday afternoon after receiving press passes.
So after this would have been our chance to see Mob Psycho 100 s3's first two eps ourselves, but we ran into a little bit of a snafu there. While for the rest of the con we had preferred access to panels and showings utilizing our press passes, Mob was unfortunately the one exception to this. We did inquire about this and were told there wasn't any exceptions. In fairness, we didn't push too hard on it, and the showing was packed, but it is unfortunate that we weren't able to glimpse a look at Bones' hard work on Mob ourselves. At least it isn't long until October when the series premieres, so it's not too bad.
As an aside, the artist alley for CRX was on a whole 'nother level. Check out some of what co-owner Jecka bought here. The dealers side of things was more lean, with some interesting items up for purchase here and there, but not much in the way of must-have items. Also, it was weirdly light on manga and anime to buy. I get that CR is all about their digital offerings, but you'd still think they'd have had more for fans to physically purchase.
Heading back to Sunday related screenings, we were able to make it into the showing of the Tonikawa: Over the Moon For You OVA, which ironically was delayed in Japan. In fact, the announcement came while we were at the con so for a moment I was concerned it'd be cancelled at CRX, but luckily it wasn't. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but trust me when I say it was just as adorable as the TV series with a slight bit more raunchiness thrown in for good measure. Nasa's got a thing for uniforms (hence the title) and while things don't get too NSFW (I say this, but the OVA had no actual objectionable content) it does feel like in comparison to the series the OVA hiked the implied naughtiness up a notch. The OVA was chiefly based from volume 6: chapter 54 and 54.5 of the manga (Available from Viz Media), with a few changes here and there. Admittedly, while the series is quite successful in Japan, I haven't seen as much enthusiasm here in the states, but there was quite the turnout and the audience was fully engaged which is a wonderful thing. Cuteness overcomes all.
We also attended the "We Translate your anime" panel, which also has a thread here where the unsung heroes of subbed anime took the spotlight. There were a ton of interesting questions asked, my favorite of which was how the translators choose their work for a given anime season, the chief answer was knowing the material beforehand and looking up favorite VAs who will star in the upcoming show. Translators get a bad rep online for a myriad of reasons, but to me that answer made it clear they're fans first and foremost like the rest of us. Jecka also got to talk to the translator of the Case Closed/Detective Conan simucast, and they're super passionate about the show despite its length.
Perhaps the biggest thing for me, however, was meeting the director behind perhaps the biggest surprise hit anime of 2021: Oddtaxi. Baku Kinoshita's panel was entertaining and informational, with perhaps the most epic battle of Rock-paper-scissors a con has ever seen for a signed illustration. (That I sadly, did not win.) The thread for the Oddtaxi panel is here, but to summarize, Kinoshita has varied tastes as he is inspired by (Hayao) Miyazaki, Martin Scorsese, the Cohen Brothers, Quiton Tarantino and many more. In keeping with the animal theme, if he had a pet he'd want a giraffe and name it Musashi. Oddtaxi itself aired in 2021, but work began six years prior, with recording taking place in 2020. Kinoshita believes many enjoy the work because of the schism between the adorable animal characters and hard-boiled suspense, and it was he who used his connections to get the comedians he loves listening to be part of the staff.
I didn't manage to win an autographed picture during the panel itself, but by happenstance I entered a lottery to get something signed by Kinoshita, and won! I did buy a volume of manga there to have signed (as well as brought along the OST jacket to be sure I had material ready for autographing) but unfortunately we were told at the show that only a prepared poster would be allowed. I do wish that had been indicated beforehand but hey now I have an extra volume 1 of the Oddtaxi manga (which as of this writing still hasn't been licensed. Someone should fix that.)
So overall, our first CRX was great! It's a slightly more laid back convention than we're used to especially when compared to the likes of Anime NYC or Otakon. That's not to say it was a graveyard, as there were many guests in attendance, just it felt less busy. This may have made it easier to run, which resulted in a smooth convention for us overall. We'd certainly like to come back in the future and recommend it to anyone who's looking for a more relaxed convention to attend, either as a first timer or to ease back into the con circuit.
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