The first Anime Expo opened its doors from the 3rd of July 1992 to the 6th of July 1992 inside the Red Lion Hotel in San Jose, California, a venue that would never host the massive crowds of future years. This modest four-day gathering drew only 1,750 attendees, a number that seems insignificant compared to the over 107,658 people who would walk through the Los Angeles Convention Center in 2017. The event was born from the ashes of Anime Con, a 1991 convention in San Jose, with many of the original staff members carrying their experience into the new organization. The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation, or SPJA, absorbed Anime Con in 1992 and immediately began planning a larger future. By 1994, the convention made a strategic relocation to Southern California, a move that would define its identity for the next three decades. The early years were defined by a small group of volunteers who saw a niche market for Japanese animation in the United States and decided to build a community around it. These founders did not anticipate that their small hotel event would eventually become the largest anime and manga convention in North America, holding that title consistently every year except 2003 when Otakon briefly took the lead.
Leadership Turmoil And Financial Struggles
The year 2009 marked a turning point when chief executive officer Trulee Karahashi, who had served the organization in various capacities for 11 years, departed the SPJA. Her departure was followed by the hiring of Michael Lattanzio, a former Universal Studios executive, in September of that same year. The new leadership style created immediate friction within the organization, leading to a public resignation of eight upper management members in January 2010. The core of the dispute centered on Lattanzio's decision to restructure marketing efforts, which included the dismissal of a public relations and marketing contractor that had worked closely with the organization since 2004. The financial reality of the convention was stark, as Anime News Network reported in early 2012 that the 2010 event suffered a loss of 1.2 million dollars. This financial crisis forced the organization to bring in IDG World Expo to take over several aspects of the operation, although guest selection and programming remained under SPJA control. By September 2010, Lattanzio was released from his CEO position, and Takayuki Karahashi was elected chairman of the board of directors. The organization struggled to find stability, with the 2011 convention finally showing a 100,000 dollar profit and reducing outstanding debt to 700,000 dollars. These internal battles revealed the fragility of a non-profit organization trying to scale a hobbyist event into a massive commercial enterprise.
The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation attempted to prove its ability to run events outside of California with two significant international and domestic expansions. Anime Expo New York took place in 2002 in the Times Square district of New York City, originally a joint effort with Central Park Media and its Big Apple Anime Fest. The partnership dissolved into separate entities within the same time frame, with the theatrical film screenings hosted by BAAF and the convention itself run by Anime Expo New York. This experiment was a precursor to Anime Expo Tokyo in 2004, which was held at the Sunshine City Convention Center in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan. The Tokyo event was not directly organized by the SPJA but rather by the Japanese Association for Science Fiction International Communication with assistance from the American group. The goals for the Tokyo convention were ambitious, aiming to establish a non-corporate-sponsored convention in Japan and to demonstrate to the organizers of the World Science Fiction Convention that Japan could host international gatherings. The 2004 event attracted 4,249 attendees, including approximately 300 travelers from abroad and 240 members of the press. It featured over 40 guests, including manga artist Ken Akamatsu and voice actor Crispin Freeman, marking the first time the convention officially hosted guests from the U.S. anime industry. Despite these efforts, the SPJA has not run any events outside California since 2004, and no plans to host another official Anime Expo outside the state have been announced.
The Pandemic Pivot And Return
The global coronavirus outbreak in early 2020 forced the SPJA to cancel Anime Expo 2020 on the 17th of April 2020, citing health and safety concerns for large gatherings. The organization initially planned to hold the 2021 event on its normal July dates, but the uncertainty of the pandemic led to a second cancellation on the 3rd of March 2021. In response, the SPJA announced a two-day online convention titled Anime Expo Lite, which took place on the 3rd and the 4th of July 2020, and later moved to the 2021 schedule. The return to in-person events finally occurred in 2022, with Anime Expo 2022 beginning on the 1st of July and ending on the 4th of July. This marked the first time the convention had been held in person since 2019. The return was not without challenges, as the 2023 event suffered from serious overcrowding issues and coincided with a hotel staff strike. Operational changes in 2024 led to less crowding, but the panel ticketing system implemented was not effective. The pandemic era highlighted the resilience of the community, as the organization managed to pivot to digital formats while maintaining the core spirit of the convention. The return to the Los Angeles Convention Center in 2022 signaled a new chapter for the event, proving that the physical gathering of fans was still essential to the experience.
Evolution Of The Modern Experience
The modern Anime Expo has evolved into a massive four-day event held annually on the first weekend of July, featuring guest panels, tabletop gaming, competitions, an arcade, and concerts. The convention has been traditionally hosted at the Los Angeles Convention Center, but the growth in attendance has led to long lines for entry, which organizers attributed to safety and security concerns. In 2017, the first Pre-Show Night was added, which included the Neon District, hosting the World Cosplay Summit U.S. Finals, and premieres. The organization also launched Anime Expo Chibi, formerly Anime Expo Ontario, as an annual two-day convention in November at the Ontario Convention Center in Ontario, California. This smaller event focuses on the artist alley and exhibit hall, offering programming such as an arcade, cosplay contest, karaoke, live music, a Maid Cafe, manga lounge, tabletop gaming, and workshops. The SPJA also attempted to run Anime Conji in San Diego, which began in 2010 and was run by the SPJA from 2013, but the event was cancelled in 2016 and 2017 due to quality concerns before returning to its original organizers in 2018. The organization's structure remains a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization based in Corona, California, having been registered as a 501(c)(6) non-profit trade benefit organization before the 1st of January 2020. The evolution of the convention reflects the growing complexity of the anime industry and the increasing demands of a global fanbase.