MikeCme

Maybe this has already been covered, but in Southern California, we have: L.A. Anime Expo (LA AX) in DTLA in July, Animé LA in Long Beach, AX Chibi in Ontario, and several smaller events. Plus, most Comic Cons have a lot of Anime content and other Japanese Pop Culture.

I’m so looking forward to Los Angeles Anime Expo (LA AX) { #AX2026 } next month in & around the L.A. Convention Center in DTLA. As usual, it’s on the 4th of July weekend. I’ve attended many times, and there’s always new things to see and do. I’d be interested to hear about: what people enjoy most; new things to check out; tips about getting there, parking, lines, and other logistics; etc.. For my part, I enjoy seeing the creative cosplay, shopping for anime related items, discovering new anime & manga, and enjoying Japanese Pop culture in general.

I would like to offer something, but I think it would help if you provide some context. E.g., describe the world you’re building. And maybe also which genre of anime do you want to try. Having characters with powers still leaves lots of opportunities for different genres, e.g., Action, Horror, Suspense, or even Romance or Sports.

Good to give “Charlotte” a shout-out! Very enjoyable series. Similar premise to a couple other series, but it is so well done.

Kirito and Sinon from Gun Gale Online! (Sequel to Sword Art Online.) In fact, I actually enjoyed GGO even better than SAO.

GitS, by far… except that much of it is becoming science fact!

Influencing me: Film: Spirited Away / Series: Darker than Black. Influencing world media: Film: Akira / Series: High School DxD (JK ); I don’t know.

I saw both parts of AoT. Very true to the story in spite of significant differences in visual design. I enjoyed them. GitS, not so much.

If you want a very thin slice, ”Waiting for a Train” is charming.

To be honest, the closest I have come to being published was as an Editor. And it was for a Western style graphic novel, not a manga. A friend of mine wrote and drew (actually analog painted) a graphic novel about World War II. He asked me to help edit the dialogue, and I ended up helping a little with the panel layouts also. He self-published it on Amazon, and he was happy with the process and with the products - both digital & printed. I should add: he’s a retired engineer, like me. And he was more focused on artistic expression than making money.

A Silent Voice and possibly Garden of Words come to mind. I could also add Basilisk, because of the ending. No spoilers intended, but the only reason the ending doesn’t make me more sad is because it’s somewhat predictable for a Japanese drama.