Comic-Con is one of the largest pop culture conventions in the world. That’s why it’s the perfect place to launch the Anime San Diego, a new convention debuting in September.
Comic-Con has showcased anime for decades with rooms dedicated to screening shows and movies almost 24 hours a day. It has also embraced the anime and manga fandom. That’s why Colin Bass, marketing director for Anime San Diego, said Comic-Con is one reason he has his job.
"I am from San Diego. My whole origin of this job started from these halls right here at San Diego Comic-Con," Bass said. "I went in '07 for the first time, and when I left, my mom said, 'You should consider a job in conventions.' And I was like, 'There's no jobs in conventions.' And here I am running different cons throughout the year. And now we are having a convention here in this iconic place."
Now, Anime San Diego will follow in Comic-Con’s footsteps and taking over Halls E through H at the San Diego Convention Center over Labor Day weekend.
"We're gonna have over 50 celebrity guests, over 400 vendors," Bass explained. "We have been doing cons for over five years. We do Anime Pasadena, Anime Riverside, Anime Las Vegas. Two in Arizona, and we are launching a horror convention next year."
And Bass said there’s no better place to promote Anime San Diego than at Comic-Con. While Anime San Diego won’t be hosting any panels at Comic-Con, it will hold two after-parties.
"They're at Parq Nightclub on July 22 and 23. The 22nd's gonna be video game themed, and on the 23rd it's gonna be anime themed, and we're giving away passes to Anime San Diego," Bass said. "So we will be here, we will have a presence."
Because Bass understands Comic-Con is the apex of fandom.
Anime San Diego will debut in September, with tickets on sale now.
It should not be confused with San Diego Anime Con, which celebrates its fourth year in November. The organizers say the two conventions are on friendly terms rather than viewing each other as competitors. For anime fans, that simply means more events to enjoy.
