As we saw more than the average amount of cosplayers walking around Little Tokyo we slowly approached the JACCC Plaza to what looked like a mini circus. It was Ronin Expo 2018, a one day anime convention for the small Japanese suburb of LA that took place Saturday, June 2th. The event seemed like a prep course for the upcoming Anime Expo and it gave people a chance to enjoy a day with the otaku community of LA...at least for a few hours.
It was like walking through two rows of artist alley from Anime Expo with vendor booths sprinkled about. We spotted fantastic art paying homage to some our favorite animes from artists like
Brooke-Regalado-Art and
P Moth. Each was ready to gab about their inspiration of the fan art they made for other fans to buy. This was all under a tented area in the JACCC Plaza Courtyard, letting you grab some fresh air while looking through keychains and posters.
A main stage was towards the back entertaining fans throughout the day. We caught a great sword performance from Burai Productions. They choreographed a fun sword fight for the audience between a master and some impudent students. Later, we caught the Cosplay Masquerade. People showed off some great cosplay with some silly live synced dance performances. Congratulations to the top first place winners. Hopefully, the award you dropped can be easily fixed.
Inside the JACCC building there were panels, video games to play and sweets to buy from some the maid cafe. Everywhere was imbued with a little love for anime.
Throughout the show we saw the otaku community prepping for their panels, dance routines and the best way to get at an opponent with a foam weapon. It brought life to the plaza and Little Tokyo and we hope for even more next year. Keep it up Ronin Expo!
