Before FanimeCon 2024 began, convention organizers posted an update to their Covid policy that set the stage for a much friendlier, more casual con experience. The resulting convention felt like a return to a pre-2020 era, where lines were shorter, attendees were happier, and the general vibe of the place was more positive and energetic. But the triumphs of the convention did not end with that one change. While a lot of the standard issues with Fanime remained – Artist Alley was a cramped mess, and vendors felt a little lacking in quantity – convention organizers put together an amazing show full of great professional and fan-made content.

We set out on Friday morning, and immediately we were greeted by the amazing energy surrounding the McEnry Center, where thousands of anime fans were gathered, excited to share their collective interest in the medium. The badge pick-up process was near-instant for me. Where last year, I stood in line for what felt like hours in the heat, waiting to get in; this year, the line was a steady walk to the registration tables, and I was out on the other side with badge and lanyard in about ten minutes. The only disappointment was that this year, the organizers did not make a distinction between attendee and panelist badges, so I couldn’t add these to my collection. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay until floor opening, so I gathered some b-roll and conducted an interview that is up on TikTok for all of you to enjoy.

Day two of the convention began with an impromptu livestream from our official Instagram account, where Sal ran the “show”, while I drove us the hour into San Jose. Once we got there, we conducted a handful more interviews, but then it was time to prep for our first panel: How to Be American in Anime. I am happy to announce, the panel was a hit. We got tons of audience participation, and it was wonderful hearing from everyone what their personal identity as Americans means to them and how they relate to their portrayal in anime. I am also pleased to announce that we managed to record both of the panels we hosted over the weekend, so those should be up on our YouTube soon. The rest of the day was filled with more interviews, a trip out to hot pot with friends, and then another drive home as I personally did not rely on a hotel this year.

Sunday marked the final day I attended the convention, and fittingly so, it was the best day of the whole weekend. We started off the day with okonomiyaki, and then made our way to the con. Once we got there, we started interviewing cosplayers for the Instagram, before we all dropped what we were doing with the energy of children hearing an ice cream truck, because we witnessed what was without-a-doubt, inarguably and unequivocally the best cosplay of the entire convention: a group dressed as the crew from MxC: Most Extreme Elimination Challenge – a show created from the old Takeshi’s Castle obstacle course competition, comedically re-dubbed for American audiences.

We took a quick jaunt over to the cosplay meetup for NIKKE: Goddess of Victory  for a few cheeky photos, and then made our way over to prep for our final panel presemtation of the con: The Morbod World of Junji Ito.

The panel room was quickly packed,  and a quick aside about some cosplayers in attendance turned into a brief, but excited discussion about Lethal Company.  Then the panel properly started, and the audience got to see exactly what our guest host Houston helped me put together. An hour,  two or three King of the Hill  references, and an argument about whether a particular episode of Spongebob Squarepants was referencing Junji Ito’s Uzumaki  or just the body horror sci-fi flick The Fly later, the panel wrapped to what was one of, if not the most positive response we’ve ever gotten from a crowd at a convention. It was the perfect button to a fantastic weekend.

I think it’s safe to say that you can expect The Nakama Podcast at next year’s show as well.