Tag: anime

Anime San Diego debuts at convention center!

The popularity of anime has absolutely exploded in recent years. Series like One Piece, Cowboy Bebop, My Hero Academia, Dragon Ball, Pokémon, Naruto, Attack on Titan, Chainsaw Man, Demon Slayer and many others have become pop culture mainstays in America and around the world.

This growing popularity has spawned a variety of events that attract anime fans. One completely new event, debuting in 2026, is Anime San Diego. It’s being held this weekend at the San Diego Convention Center, the famous home of Comic-Con.

I was able to visit Anime San Diego on Saturday morning!

In addition to hundreds of vendors, artists and celebrity guests (many voice actors), the convention features an arcade zone, gaming tournaments, karaoke, live music, industry and fan panels, cosplay meetups, itasha cars, cool merch, giveaways, and just a whole lot of fun!

I was surprised at how many fans showed up and how awesome it all is! Not bad for their first year!

Check out some photos of the action!

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Awesome itasha cars at Anime San Diego!

There’s a brand new pop culture convention in San Diego. It’s called Anime San Diego and it’s taking place at the San Diego Convention Center today and tomorrow!

One very cool part of Anime San Diego is the presentation of awesome itasha cars. Itasha are vehicles transformed with bold artwork inspired by anime, manga, video games, and Japanese pop culture.

The creatively decorated cars are being displayed inside the San Diego Convention Center between the event’s main stage and the giant inflatable zone. The cars, I was told, have come from all over Southern California. Several are from San Diego. Visitors are encouraged to admire the itasha cars and take photos.

That’s what I did!

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Cosplay photos at Anime San Diego!

Anime San Diego is being held this weekend at the San Diego Convention Center. It’s the cool event’s inaugural year!

Anime San Diego has drawn thousands of fans from all over, and, as might be expected, there’s a whole lot of cosplay! Characters made popular in anime series can be seen everywhere. I must confess, during my Saturday morning visit I didn’t recognize some of the characters, but the cosplay is still fantastic!

An Anime San Diego 2026 LEGENDS OF COSPLAY contest would be held Saturday evening on the main stage. Unfortunately, given my hectic schedule, I couldn’t stick around to see it.

I did take these photos of the great cosplay while roaming the convention center floor right as Anime San Diego opened. Enjoy!

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One Piece cosplay photos at Comic-Con 2026!

A cool photoshoot was held today of One Piece character cosplay. The participants gathered in front of the Marriott Marquis in San Diego, on this first day of Comic-Con 2026.

It was funny how a few cosplayers from different fandoms were present as everyone gathered. Then the dedicated One Piece characters were wrangled into place and posed as one in their big group photo.

Who do you recognize?

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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

Demon Slayer trolley for Comic-Con 2026!

Another Crunchyroll trolley wrap has appeared in San Diego for Comic-Con 2026! This one promotes the movie Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle, which will soon be available for streaming.

As I sit here, another new wrap has come by! Stay tuned for much more!!!

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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

Black Torch anime on Comic-Con trolley!

Black Torch, an anime streaming on Crunchyroll, has appeared on San Diego trolleys for Comic-Con 2026!

This is one of several Crunchyroll trolley wraps that have debuted for San Diego Comic-Con in the past few weeks.

Black Torch concerns Jiro Azuma, who has descended from a line of ninjas and is trained in the ancient warrior art of the shinobi.

Jiro has the ability to talk to animals, too!

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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

Another cool Crunchyroll trolley for Comic-Con!

New trolley wraps are appearing almost daily in San Diego for upcoming Comic-Con 2026!

I spotted another one this morning at Santa Fe Depot that promotes multiple anime series offered by the Crunchyroll streaming service.

Shows depicted in the graphics include Chainsaw Man, Black Clover, One Piece…

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

My Hero Academia trolley for Comic-Con 2026!

A new San Diego trolley wrap for Comic-Con 2026 celebrates 10 years of My Hero Academia, all of which is available to stream on Crunchyroll!

The graphics represent exciting action from the long running, ultra popular anime series.

This trolley wrap celebrating My Hero Academia has rolled out just in time for “Hero Day” in Japan, which was observed on June 16th. A special 10th anniversary video can be viewed by My Hero Academia fans here. It’s titled “You Can Be a Hero.”

Meanwhile, check out what Comic-Con goers will be seeing next month on certain trolleys passing in front of the San Diego Convention Center!

UPDATE!

And on the opposite side of the car…

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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

One Piece pirates wanted on Imperial Beach Pier!

Wanted posters picturing One Piece pirates and other scoundrels have been hung inside the IB Kitchen at the end of the Imperial Beach Pier! I looked right and left for pirates inside the restaurant today, hoping to receive a reward. No luck!

Imperial Beach Kitchen has operated at the end of the IB Pier for about 8 months now. They serve Korean food, seafood tacos, and good old American staples like hamburgers. Fish and chips, too! The friendly owner with whom I briefly spoke loves Asian anime and manga, including the very popular One Piece from Japan.

Arranged along the ceiling is a Who’s Who of pirates and other rascally characters in that fantasy world!

I’ll be blogging about San Diego Comic-Con trolley wraps in a couple weeks, most likely, so a post concerning pop culture is timely now. (If you’re interesting in seeing my past Comic-Con related coverage, click here!)

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Fun in San Diego at Crunchyroll Anime FanFest!

The two day Crunchyroll Anime FanFest in San Diego began this afternoon. The huge event takes place during Comic-Con 2025.

Fun, sunshine and live entertainment can be freely enjoyed by all comers at the Rady Shell, on San Diego Bay behind the convention center!

I showed up today–Friday–shortly after the family-friendly Anime FanFest opened at 1 pm. Everyone was admitted into the spacious outdoor venue quickly. Fans of anime–particularly entertainment streamed on Crunchyroll–will love the photo ops, exclusive merchandise, food, free swag, and a fan-fueled happy atmosphere.

Later on during the festival, some super popular musical acts would take the stage. Big names include SPYAIR, yama, Denzel Curry and INIKO. To see the lineup and for more details, check out the Crunchyroll website here.

I must admit, I simply love hanging out at the Rady Shell on San Diego Bay, whatever the reason. To get away from it all, for relaxation, I love to walk out on the nearby pier. I’m an older guy, so I like that sort of thing.

The Crunchyroll Anime FanFest continues tomorrow, Saturday July 26. If you want to have a relaxed chill experience, or party it up, head on over to the Rady Shell!

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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

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