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Anime Expo 2024 at Los Angeles Convention Center (photos)

Photo credit: Terrance Pryor/MP3s and NPCs

July in Los Angeles means one thing to anime fans: Anime Expo.

Over the weekend, thousands of anime enthusiasts worldwide made their way to the Los Angeles Convention Center for another installment of the popular anime convention. As expected, the exhibit hall was a hotspot for those looking for an exclusive collectible or some new merch. For this year's installment, Anime Expo blocked off part of Pico Blvd for the debut of AX Crossing, which was inspired by Shibuya Crossing. This delivered more food trucks and offered a slew of live entertainment throughout the convention.

One major highlight of the event was the Bocchi The Rock! panel at JW Marriott's Diamond Ballroom, which featured show director Keiichiro Saito and Hitori Gotō voice actress Yoshino Aoyama. Co-hosted by The Anime Effect's Nicholas Friedman and LeAlec Murray, the panel gave fans a behind-the-scenes look at creating the popular anime series. Saito delivered some storyboards for select scenes, including the board game scene featured in episode eight. Aoyama, who was greeted with chants of "Bocchi" when they appeared on stage, discussed learning how to play guitar to get a better feel for their character. When asked about their skills, the actress jokingly stated, "I am guitarhero." Aoyama also led the crowd into delivering Bocchi's memorable scream from episode four.

Our photos of the four-day event can be seen below. Anime Expo will return next year from July 3 through July 6. More information about the convention can be seen here.