After a long absence, Crunchyroll Expo has it’s big come back in 2022 (I was there on the ground floor). They hit the ground ground running and have pulled out all the stops to lure fans back in. Conventions restarting are always a huge undertaking, and we are gonna take a look at the success and missteps that transpired.
First and foremost, I’m gonna going over the pros and cons of this event. Many great things happened but also a lot of stumbling a long the way that couldn’t be ignored. so I want to keep this fair.
The pros include the great list of guests that was compromised of well known japanese voice actors, japanese musicians, voice actors for hollywood films, vtube talent such as Hololive and more. The specific experience for me in this regard was witnessing the concert put on by the japanese girl group Atarashii Gakko. The convention set up an amazing looking stage, and the group did an amazing show. Atarashii Gakko presented not only great music but did some great and unique dances moves (including teaching the audience to do hand gestures a long with them). To add to the experience at the Crunchy music stage, I caught the tail end of Shihori’s peformance as I was arriving to be early for the Atarashii Gakko concert. Shihori’s amazing vocals really made for a nice surprise.
Then there was dealers room and all the interesting things held within. First was the obvious exclusive items that are sold every year (a long with some free items you could pick up). Then there was the many displays and backdrops attendees could take pictures with. They really went all out with these set ups. A long with lots of demos for mobile games made avaialable to play in a large area. And a big bonus (at least for me) was this big screen o nthe dealers side that showed what was going on over at the Crunchy music stage (since the rooms were next to each other and had a door connecting them).
As for the negatives, it unfortunately includes somethings that greatly affected the convention throughout it’s entire duration. Most notably the conduct of security. Most seemed to have had very little training, and acted in either very clueless manner or very rude. Each time I passed through the entrance, instructions were were never clear on how bags were supposed to be inspected. From other attendees there were reports that security would unplug arcades while they were still running once the room was supposed to shut down. And probably the worst of security was their handling of crowd control (that I found myself inside of). Many instances of security dispersing lines in a way that caused clogged hallways. Being in the middle of this chaos, I could barely move. Everything on security’s end was mishandled.
As for the negatives with programming itself, there was a lot of empty space that was used for the Hololive experience. Which was a series of screens playing videos of Hololive talent in a mostly empty room. Which could have easily used for more industry and fan panels. Misuse of space also applied to the outside space front of the convention center. Which would feature planned dance numbers by kpop style dancers, and feature a DJ playing very loudly. This caused a busy area where the exit was located (since a fence was erected to block and control the front), and the DJ made the nearbye cosplay gatherings hard to communicate.
Now despite these negatives, I still have hope that they can be fixed for next year. Staff held a Q & A on the last day, and were very open in the answers to questions. They acknowledged that everything smoothly or as they themselves planned. Whether any of these problems get addressed remains to be seen, but Crunchyroll expo has always changed things up every year. So there’s always a good chance, in my opinion. There were many great things at this convention, and I want to see it keep going. CRX brings a special quality to the convention scene.
For now enjoy some pics I took at the convention. And how could I end this without mentioning the return of ParkCon near the convention center. Until the next time.
About the author: Glitch is a digital demon from planet Fanboy, and is here to teach us humans a thing or two. You can find more of his reviews(and nonsense) over at
www.youtube.com/glitchthedigitaldemon
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