Anime Expo

Anime Expo is the largest celebration of Japanese pop culture in North America, taking over the Los Angeles Convention Center every Fourth of July weekend. The 2027 edition runs July 2–5. Organised by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA), it draws well over a hundred thousand attendees on its busiest days and functions as both a fan festival and a serious industry event — the place where studios and publishers premiere new anime, make licensing announcements, and fly Japanese creators, directors and voice actors across the Pacific to meet the fans who sustain their work.

The programming is genuinely enormous. Screening rooms host world and North American premieres; panels range from major studio showcases to intimate creator Q&As; and the Main Events arena stages concerts by Japanese artists that are, for many attendees, the emotional peak of the weekend. The exhibit hall is a sprawling marketplace of publishers, distributors, and figure and apparel brands, while the Artist Alley — one of the largest anywhere — is a treasure trove of original art, prints and self-published work from hundreds of independent creators.

Cosplay is woven through everything. LA's warm, dry July turns the surrounding LA Live plaza into a rolling outdoor runway of costumes, group gatherings and photo shoots, and the craftsmanship on display is extraordinary — years of work worn for a single weekend. Between the halls, the stages, the autograph lines and the cosplay scene, a single day barely scratches the surface, which is why so many fans commit to all four.

A few practical notes. The venue sits in downtown LA at LA Live, walkable to hotels, restaurants, the Metro and the Crypto.com Arena. Badges sell in advance through the official site, and popular tiers — especially premier badges with early entry and reserved seating — sell out early, so buy ahead; the July 4th timing means the whole city is busy, so lock in accommodation well in advance and expect premium pricing. Bring water, sun protection and comfortable shoes for the heat and the crowds, and plan your must-see premieres, panels and concerts, because the schedule is vast and the biggest events fill fast.

For a geek traveler, Anime Expo is an easy trip to build around. Southern California stacks the deck: Super Nintendo World and the rest of Universal Studios Hollywood, the Warner Bros. Studio Tour, the Petersen Automotive Museum, and the beaches and theme parks of the wider region are all within reach, and Anaheim's Disneyland is a short drive south. Anchor a week around the convention and you can pair the biggest anime event in the hemisphere with a proper Southern California road trip. Check the official Anime Expo site for guest-of-honour announcements, the full schedule and badge tiers as the date nears — and set a reminder for the on-sale date if a specific concert or premiere is your priority.