The summer is usually convention season, a time when anime fans both casual and hardcore celebrate the shows and culture that brings them all together. COVID-19 ruined all that good feeling, forcing the cancellation of one convention after another as the pandemic stretched on. There’s been no saving many of the smaller conventions run by volunteer organizations but the larger industry-sponsored ones have gone virtual, turning to streaming or YouTube as a way of salvaging a lost season.
Crunchyroll Expo (CRX), which runs from September 4-6, is one of the more ambitious virtual conventions being attempted this year, even counting non-anime conventions like ComicCon and DC FanDome. The big difference between CRX and many of the others is that in addition to the panels and recorded video content are attempts to recreate two of the main draws of conventions: swag and cosplay.
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The live version of CRX was a relatively new convention. This would have been just its third year of operation, but it’s backed by Crunchyroll which is one of the world’s largest niche streaming services at 3 million-plus subscribers. Virtual CRX was created to be a theme park of sorts with the entire experience split up into four different wings catering to the different interests of convention-goers.
Navigating the whole experience and figuring out what to do can be overwhelming for anyone first stepping into it, but this guide will break things down and offer some top picks as far as what to check out.
New Crunchy City is the virtual space where CRX takes place, with Crunchyroll Hime, the long-time mascot of Crunchyroll acting as a guide. Four districts make up virtual New Crunchy City:
Crunchyroll Theater District: This is where much of the programming will happen. The theater district will be split into four different stages each with a different theme. There’s The Crunchyroll Stage, The Hime Stage, Sudachi Stage, and Yuzu Stage. All the programming will be available after the convention via V-CRX on Demand.
The Anime Arts District: This is the artist alley of the virtual convention. It’s essential a searchable database of fan artists and creators that includes links to their virtual storefronts. Many artists are discounting items on their stores the weekend of CRX, so look out for a good deal.
The Central Shopping District: This is the portal to the storefront of many industry stores and other curio shops offering anime specific odds and ends. Here is where the likes of Aniplex, Toei, VizMedia and others will set up shop.
Super Arcade/Yuzu Cafe: This is the place for many of the unique exhibits and concert events happening during CRX this year. Come here to dance at an anime rave (BYO living room dance floor) or enjoy a special concert from the vocaloid Hatsune Miku.
There’s too much happening at CRX to see everything, so hard choices have to be made. These are the absolute can’t-miss, everyone-will-be-talking-about-them things to check out.
Rent-A-Girfriend Cast Q&A
Where: Crunchyroll Stage
When: September 4, 10 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. (PST)
One of the hottest anime of the summer has been Rent-A-Girlfiend. The anime adaptation of Reiji Miyajima manga follows the exploits of Kazuya Kinoshita who deals with getting dumped by his girlfriend Mami Nanami by indulging in a Rent-A-Girlfriend service. The story is about the shenanigans that follow after his fake girlfriend Chizuru Mizuhara enters his life. The key to a popular anime adaptation is often the voice acting involved and the ones for Rent-A-Girlfriend are among the best. This panel brings together the Japanese VOs for each of the girls: Sora Amamiya (Chizuru), Aoi Yuki (Mami Nanami,) Nao Toyama (Ruka Sarashina,) Rie Takahashi (Sumi Sakurasawa).
Crunchyroll Hime’s Cosplay Cup
Where: Crunchyroll Stage
When: September 5, 7-9 p.m. (PST)
There can’t be an anime convention without a cosplay competition and Cosplay Cup is the virtual version. The finalists have already been announced and the only thing left is to crown the champions. The winners will be announced during a special event featuring an all-star cast of guest judges and professional cosplayer Vampy Bit Me hosting. Videos featuring the costumes of all 36 candidates will also be shown.
The God of High School Panel
Where: Crunchyroll Stage
When: September 5, 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. (PST)
The title of top shounen anime of this summer is hands down The God of High School. This anime adaptation of Korean manwha artist Yongje Park’s Webtoon follows three high school students and top-class martial artists Jin Mori, Yoo Mira and Han Daewi as they navigate the supernatural fighting tournament known as God of High School. This panel brings together Park, the anime director Sunghoo Park and others involved in making the show to offer their insight into making the anime.
The Sudachi Stage in the Crunchyroll Theater District is a place to hang out between main panels. Here is where anime new and old will be shown, often with director’s commentary and special insights.
Where: Sudachi Stage
When: September 4, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
One Piece is the king of all shounen franchise with both its anime and manga more than 20 years old and still ongoing. The exploits of aspiring pirate Monkey D. Luffy and his friends the Straw Hat Crew are thousands of episodes long, but this event explores One Piece: Episode of Chopper: The Miracle Winter Cherry Blossom. This is an alternative retelling of the Drum Island story arc where the Straw Hat Crew have to stop at a winter island called Drum Kingdom in order to help a sick teammate. The showing will feature a voice actor showcase that includes special interviews with members of the One Piece voice cast from Japan.
Inuyasha to Yashahime: A Journey Through Time
Where: Sudachi Stage
When: September 4, 1:15 – 2:15
For many in the U.S., Inuyasha was a gateway anime. The dubbed version was featured for many years in Cartoon Network’s Toonami and Adult Swim lineups and aired nearly all of its 167 episodes. This event is both a shot of nostalgia for those fans and hype for the return of Inuyasha in the form of a brand new spinoff series called Yashahime. The Japanese voice actors for Inuyasha (Kappei Yamaguchi) and Kagome (Satsuki Yukino) will provide commentary for fan favorite clips from the anime and feature art reveals and a trailer for Yashahime.
The Hime Stage is reserved for panels set up and run by Crunchyroll staff and employees. Some of these panels bring in special guests along with industry insiders making them the hidden gems among the bunch.
Where: Hime Stage
When: September 6, 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Crunchyroll and Webtoons have teamed up to bring anime adaptations of Korean Comics to the streaming service. Two of those adaptations, The God of High School and Tower of God, have premiered to great success, and the third one, Noblesse, is coming soon. This panel features the creators of Noblesse Son Jeho and Lee Kwangsu among others speaking about the show and a five minute world premiere/sneak peek of the anime.
Junji Ito’s Cat Diary Panel
Where: Hime Stage
When: September 4, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Junji Ito is a world famous comic book artist known for his horror stories that explore subjects like immortals who drive their stricken admirers mad, towns obsessed with spirals and fish controlled by sentient bacteria. Ito comes to CRX this year to talk about none of that. He appears on a panel to talk about an upcoming manga about cats called Cat Diary: Yon and Mu.
These events and exhibits are for those really looking to find out what’s lurking in the deepest corners of anime culture and can be found either in the Super Arcade/Yuzu Cafe and the other two wings of New Crunchy City
Indulge the inner artist and audiophile – Explore what the Super Arcade and Yuzu Cafe have to offer. There are interesting exhibits like an art gallery from MAPPA Studios and an exhibit featuring manga and anime artists honoring anime-loving celebrities. There will also be a special concert featuring vocaloid Hatsune Miku and the Tokyo Philharmonic.
Support artists and creators – One of the things lost with physical conventions are the artist alleys. These spaces are one of the ways independent artists and creators showcase their work and the Anime Arts district is a large A-Z database of digital store fronts for those very people. Browse their wares from the comforts of of home and have that swag shipped.
Find some industry swag – The Central Shopping District is the perfect place to fill out that BluRay or manga collection and maybe find some cool clothes. Visit the shops run by industry giants like Aniplex, Toei and Viz Media.
Virtual Crunchyroll Expo begins September 4 – September 6
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