Picture Credit score: @seil_vt / X
I’m going to vindicate myself right here. Just a few years again, I went to Anime Expo on the Los Angeles Conference Heart, stood exterior in a brutal, shadeless two-hour line that felt like a light type of torture, and determined, Yeah, I’m good on this eternally. It was packed, it was irritating, and for what? To see the identical distributors within the Artist Alley I noticed at three different occasions that very same yr already?
For a very long time, every time I voiced this, individuals checked out me like I used to be a cynical buzzkill who simply hated enjoyable. It appeared prefer it was some accepted factoid that actual nerds must be keen to face in a barely shifting, sweaty crowd simply to see the identical sexualized mousepad with breasts that’s been at each different anime occasion the previous few years.
Effectively, seems to be like I used to be onto one thing in any case.
AX 2026 simply wrapped up, and the web is totally melting down as a result of the cracks within the basis have formally changed into an enormous sinkhole. The conference has grow to be an absolute stress cooker, and attendees are lastly admitting out loud what I spotted years in the past: AX is a logistical dumpster hearth.
Right here’s a have a look at a number of the tweets from the poor anime followers who suffered via Anime Expo 2026.
Absolutely the demise of private house
In case you test social media proper now, it seems to be much less like a enjoyable celebration of fan service and predictable plot factors and extra like a dispatch from a catastrophe zone. Individuals are describing the conference flooring as a lawless land with “zero line tradition,” the place crowds simply type into large blobs of shoving and pushing.
LA has no sense of private house, no line tradition, it’s simply blobs of pushing, shoving, linking arms like nonsense tetris shapes for no motive, i’ve been caught right here for 10 minutes and im someway additional again in line (i surrender) 😭 pic.twitter.com/Ls8ThY8k1F— melody☆ (@stargazermellu) July 4, 2026
At a couple of factors over the weekend, the fireplace division introduced that no extra individuals might enter the conference middle (even with tickets) as a result of the occasion was at capability. Sure, it was actually a hearth hazard. You’d assume they’d simply, I don’t know, promote fewer tickets after this continued to occur the previous few years.
“AX was enjoyable and all, however it was insufferable to remain within the conference middle for greater than an hour, and it was simply so disgustingly scorching in and outdoors, and it kinda stunk, they usually needed to evacuate the ground I used to be on. like if there’s some virus right here w all acquired it,” stated one attendee.
Some attendees stood up for the Anime Expo, saying that the occasion was not at capability, and the Hearth Marshall was there because of a bottleneck on the entrance. Others identified, nevertheless, that the crowds didn’t appear to know “how you can stroll,” making areas really feel crowded and chaotic. Is that even higher?
On Thursday night time, there may be imagined to be an occasion referred to as Midnight Mahjong, an after-party of kinds with mahjong. However this was additionally, after all, means too packed to operate correctly. It was so overrun with weebs that some attendees reported that the video games didn’t even begin for an hour or extra.
It acquired so dangerous this yr that some attendees reported safety guards and law enforcement officials rolling into areas with their arms on their batons and tasers simply to handle the sheer quantity of human our bodies. You realize a conference has misplaced its cozy neighborhood vibe when the police presence seems to be like a riot squad response.
One poor cosplayer even reported that their outfit was completely ruined in 5 seconds flat as a result of a dense crowd shoved them into somebody handing out random chilly spaghetti. Sure, chilly spaghetti. That’s the place we’re at.
There is a bunch of cops and safety guards with their arms on batons and tasers coming in once more idk if something will really occur however as somebody not rlly having enjoyable within the first place I am getting TF out and never coping with no matter occurs https://t.co/OiCqGBkzO8 pic.twitter.com/anS7MqY1PS— is anybody going to AX 2026 dm me if u wanna hold (@justMizuyuki) July 5, 2026
The tragedy of Artist Alley
For most individuals, Artist Alley is the precise coronary heart and soul of any conference. It’s the place you discover distinctive prints, indie charms, and assist actual creators. However this yr, AX administration apparently determined that what individuals actually wished was fewer artists and extra company bloat.
The conference reportedly lower the variety of artist spots down by an enormous margin, shoving the remaining creators into the very again of the corridor. And what did they put in that prime actual property as an alternative? Pokémon card resellers and Temu outlets. Individuals had been actually packed like sardines in standstill visitors simply making an attempt to succeed in the precise artists via a labyrinth of bizarre vendor cubicles.
Your different choice? A free, various artist alley setup close to Little Tokyo that was totally open air, which means you could possibly select between being crushed indoors or slowly roasting underneath the unforgiving Los Angeles solar. My good friend attended the Artist Alley at Little Tokyo and reported again that it was very, very crowded.
However… Appears to be like higher than this:
The “normies” have formally damaged the system
Anime will not be a distinct segment interest anymore. It’s mainstream popular culture, and that shift has introduced in an enormous wave of informal followers. Whereas inclusivity is nice on paper, in apply, it’s inflicting some main friction.
Longtime followers are mourning the times when conventions had been a secure haven for introverted otaku to geek out and make pals. Now, it would as effectively be an indoor Coachella. What’s the phrase individuals on TikTok use lately? Larping?
Man I actually want anime would return in time and NOT be fashionable. I miss the times when Anime conventions had been completely for Otaku and introverted meeks meet up and making pals. Ever since Covid occur. All the pieces has gone to the gutter. So many regular of us ruining it. https://t.co/yd3JKNDXfs— Sporg (@SporgSensei) July 4, 2026
It jogs my memory of my problem with Pokémon’s regional tournaments. What used to really feel like a secret membership for aggressive card sport nerds has changed into a scalping and household fest. That will possibly be fantastic, however The Pokémon Firm clearly can’t deal with the inflow of latest attendees. That’s the identical problem with Anime Expo: it appears the organizers haven’t actually executed something to assist the expansion of the anime fandom, leaving it feeling depressing. It’s not actually the “normies’” fault: it’s the administration.
This inflow of individuals has utterly wrecked the panel expertise. This yr, hardcore followers who confirmed up two hours early for extremely anticipated screenings, like Kagurabachi, had been turned away by the tons of as a result of the venue blocked off the escalators.
Regardless of displaying up 2 hours earlyI was unable to attend the screening for Kagurabachi @kb_anime_en@AnimeExpo turned away HUNDREDS (not exaggerating) of individuals on the door after being let into the resort, then began blocking the escalatorsI’m so upset and my day was ruined pic.twitter.com/XvT3wHzxOm— Hayden (@SkyBuffalo) July 4, 2026
To make issues worse, individuals had been tenting out in panel rooms for hours simply to avoid wasting seats for later occasions, utterly ignoring the present presenters. Think about being a creator on a panel and looking at a crowd of people that don’t care about your work, solely to observe them actually throw away your free promotional gadgets as a result of they’re simply ready for the following massive hype prepare.
It’s disrespectful and a direct results of over-capacity ticket gross sales.
A $115 Uber journey and $12 onigiri
Even in the event you someway managed to outlive the conference flooring with out getting lined in thriller pasta, simply attending to and from the venue was an costly nightmare. The Metro trains had been so packed that tons of of individuals had been left stranded on platforms as utterly full trains simply sailed previous them. In case you gave up and tried to name an Uber, you had been taking a look at surge pricing of over $100 simply to journey a couple of miles.
And don’t even get me began on the meals. When persons are complaining about paying $12 for a single onigiri with a $1.25 greenback upcharge for chili powder, and that merchandise nonetheless sells out, you already know the ecosystem is damaged.
In fact, Los Angeles is dear. However not that costly. I can often get a Lyft from DTLA to LAX for $30-$50. And a well-known place in Little Tokyo, Rice & Nori, has onigiri for $2.50 to $5.50. I’ve eaten there loads of occasions and it’s fairly yummy. These are clearly inflated costs to make the most of attendees that don’t wish to go away the conference space.
At this level, preserving ticket gross sales open when the bodily conference house can’t safely or comfortably accommodate that many individuals is simply grasping. Individuals are formally asserting their “AX retirement” after practically a decade of attending, realizing they’ve outgrown the distress.
Mentioned ClaireMax, a well-liked cosplayer: “When individuals ask me if I’m going to Anime Expo, my reply is all the time no until I’m working or in any other case getting paid to be there. It’s a nightmare con. They don’t cap ticket gross sales, you’ll spend hours standing in line, exterior, in Los Angeles, in July. When you do get in, you’re packed in like a sweaty sardine – however that’s in the event you even make it inside as a result of each single yr the fireplace division finally ends up shutting issues down as a result of it will get too dangerously overcrowded, which means individuals who paid for tickets can’t get inside. This yr that occurred at 2:30 pm on Friday.
“This might simply be fastened by placing a cap on ticket gross sales or shifting to a bigger venue, however they’re too money-hungry to cap gross sales, and there actually isn’t a bigger venue out there in LA.”
I hate to say I informed you so, however the writing has been on the wall for years. Hopefully, administration lastly listens earlier than AX 2027 turns into an precise hazard.
