SoCal Retro Gaming Expo 2026
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7 days away
One Piece Live Reaction Screening — Episode 1100
One Piece hits episode 1100. Watch live with the fans who have been there since episode 1. The Geek Group runs monthly communal screenings — full room, big screen, audience reactions that make the emotional episodes hit twice as hard. Snacks provided.
Coming Soon
63 days away
Anime Expo 2026 — Day 3
AX Day 3 — the 4th of July. The convention floor is electric, the cosplay is at its peak, and the atmosphere of 100,000+ anime fans celebrating one of the biggest events in fandom is something you'll reference for years.
Coming Soon
20 days away
FanimeCon 2026
FanimeCon is one of the oldest and largest anime conventions in the United States, running every Memorial Day weekend since 1994 at the San Jose Convention Center. It draws 25,000-30,000 attendees over four days and is the flagship event for the West Coast anime community. Unlike larger conventions, FanimeCon is entirely fan-run. No corporate booths dominating the floor. The panels, screenings, and programming are organized by volunteers who have been running this event for decades. That community ownership gives it an atmosphere that is hard to replicate. It feels less like a trade show and more like the largest anime club meetup in California. Programming runs 24 hours across the weekend. The cosplay masquerade on Saturday is a full theatrical production. The gaming hall is one of the best at any convention, running tournaments, free-play consoles, and retro arcades through the night. The dealer room and artist alley are substantial, with indie creators outnumbering corporate licensors. Bay Area, Sacramento, and Central Valley attendees make up the core, but it draws convention-goers from across the West Coast. Four-day badges sell out. Single-day passes may be available at the door. If you have been to Anime Expo but not FanimeCon, the culture is meaningfully different.
Coming Soon
16h away
Anime San Diego Monthly Meetup — May 2026
The Anime Watch San Diego community meets monthly. No formal agenda — just anime fans in a bar talking about what they're watching, what to watch next, and aggressively recommending shows to people who didn't ask. First Sunday of the month. Free to attend.
Coming Soon
Tomorrow
Dan Da Dan — Season 2 Premiere Watch Party San Diego
Dandadan Season 2 picks up where one of the most chaotic, tender, genuinely funny anime in recent memory left off — Okarun, Momo, and the supernatural nonsense that keeps pulling them back toward each other. Nerd Bar San Diego is screening the Season 2 premiere with the crowd that was already texting about it before the opening song ends. The show that proved shonen could be weird and still hit you right in the chest.
Coming Soon
7 days away
Little Tokyo Anime and Culture Night — Los Angeles
Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles is the oldest Japanese American community in the country, and on weekend evenings it functions as the unofficial gathering point for LA-area anime and Japanese culture fans. The stretch of 1st and 2nd Street between Central and Alameda runs izakayas, ramen shops, Anime Jungle (dedicated anime merchandise), Kinokuniya (Japanese bookstore), and coffee shops where people sit for hours discussing shows. The community events here are not always formally announced — they form around new episode drops, convention previews, and whatever the regulars decide to gather around. Watch parties happen in restaurant back rooms. Group cosplay meetups stage here before heading downtown. The Weller Court plaza hosts informal gatherings on summer evenings that draw people from across LA. If you are looking for the anime community in Los Angeles, this is where it physically lives. First and second Saturday evenings are the densest nights. Kinokuniya closes at 8pm; Daikokuya ramen runs a line until midnight. Free entry to the neighborhood. Metro Gold Line stops at Little Tokyo/Arts District station — no car needed. Parking in the Weller Court lot if you drive.
Coming Soon
14 days away
Comic Con Revolution Ontario 2026
Ontario's comic convention focuses on what the genre was built on: the creators. Comic Con Revolution at the Ontario Convention Center is two days of artist alley, writers, cosplay, panels, and the kind of room where you stay longer than planned.
Coming Soon
14 days away
AniPop 2026
North County San Diego has its own anime energy — less mainstream, more collector's booth at midnight, the kind of convention where you find a print you've been looking for since forever and spend the rest of the day chasing that feeling. AniPop 2026 lands at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido on May 16th with panels, vendors, artists, kawaii culture, and enough cosplay to make the parking lot feel like a different dimension. One day, all ages. Silk Road Productions has been running this for twelve years because they actually care about the community, not the merch margins. Early bird: $12. General admission: $17. Kids 8 and under: free.
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