Animazement 2024: A Spectacle, And A Homecoming

Note: Due to the time-sensitive nature of our coverage, this will go live on the main Anime Herald site on June 1. We apologize for the inconvenience.

• Author: Daniel Dockery

• Editor: Samantha Ferreira

While sitting with some friends at The Davie, a bar nestled in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, I got an unexpected question from another patron: “Oh, are y’all from the zombie thing?” His group, not bearing any sort of name tag, nor dressed in elaborate cosplay, had likely been wondering about the parade of characters that had inundated Raleigh on Memorial Day weekend, the result of two conventions occurring at the same time. The one he was referring to, the horror-centric Carolina Fear Fest, was just a fifteen-minute drive from the Raleigh Convention Center, which housed the con that I was attending, Animazement. The chances of overlap were a bit more than zero. 

With its two wide, open doors and “just-off-the-street dive” vibes, The Davie is the perfect place for that kind of melting pot experience. One could say the same about Animazement itself, an absolutely delightful mix of fans from in-town; those that have traveled a long way to get there; veterans of the medium; families eager to draw both young and old into their favored hobbies; and a staff that keeps it running efficiently. When it comes to sheer spectacle, Animazement likely can’t compete with the likes of MomoCon which, along with Dragon Con, helped turn Atlanta into a festival hub. Nor can it match the sheer industry connectivity of an event like Anime NYC, or the intense cosplay esteem of Katsucon. Rather, it’s transformed itself into a little con that could, one that thrives on concocting a sense of community.

It shouldn’t be surprising. A few weeks ago, I chatted with the staff of Animazed, a store near the Brier Creek area in Raleigh that has not only a wide array of figurines and clothing but an impressive amount of aisles devoted to manga. When I told them how glad I was to see a store like that prosper to that extent, they replied in kind. Anime is undoubtedly popular, but I’ve seen stores like it in much larger cities try and fail to attract an audience. By integrating itself into the local fandom (there was, of course, an Animazed booth in the Animazement Dealer’s Room), it found a home within it. And there’s no replacement for that. 

Animazement, which began in 1997 as a small college-run film festival of sorts that eventually evolved into a full-on convention, has discovered something similar. It garnered the generosity of the Triangle (the event is partially funded by the City of Raleigh and one can even find the help of the local library system in Animazement’s Manga Library room), and those that attend see it as a staple. The Raleigh Convention Center is small, and most of the convention is situated on the neat path of a lower level and the ballrooms of an upper floor. One could argue, though, that this is precisely what it makes it a wonderful convention to grow up with. For the kids in tow, sometimes dressed in their own adorable cosplays, it provides a wonderful lesson in navigating a convention space. In some of the aforementioned larger cons, it’s easy to get swallowed up. 

Animazement understands this well. There are constant reminders as to not only the physical logistics of the convention but the social rules, too. “Cosplay Is Not Consent” is a frequently posted mantra, and the guidebook and staff make it clear that some parts of the con are specifically age-oriented. 

On a side note, it’s also helpful that there’s a wide variety of food stalls inside and food trucks just outside. I’ve been to conventions that are essentially deserts in this regard, forcing massive lines to form around what little is available. In the Raleigh Convention Center, any tremendous squalor of people is potentially disorienting. Granting people options both within and close nearby cuts back on not only accumulating masses but hangry anime fans. 

I’ve been attending Animazement since 2018, and it’s always been interesting to see what returns and what is added. In the former category are many vendors like the Greensboro mainstay Lost Ark Video Games and everyone’s favorite boutique anime distributor, Discotek Media. There’s the always-blessed anime karaoke, where I watched a Kingdom Hearts ballad be followed by the Yuri!!! on Ice opening theme, and a movie showcase that let me check in on the gloriously bonkers Godzilla vs Hedorah.

Animazement added a gaming room on the second floor of the Raleigh Convention Center, which houses arcade cabinets, consoles and PCs. It doesn’t have the variety of something like MAGFest, a wonderful gaming-oriented convention in Maryland, but it does allow for me to bask in things like the option to get my butt kicked at Vampire Savior 2 aka DarkStalkers 3 without worrying that an eager crowd was twiddling their thumbs behind me.

I love that game, but god, I’m so bad at it.

Guests this year were, as always, a fun blend. Voice actors like Aggretsuko’s Erica Mendez and Hunter x Hunter’s Keith Silverstein populated the back of the Dealers' room, while fans could also meet My Hero Academia producer Koji Nagai, Animerica founding editor Trish Ledoux, and Godzilla: Singular Point animator Jiro Ando among others. There was also an array of cultural guests, including musicians, academics, and even instructors in things like Japanese etiquette and the storytelling art of rakugo. There’s truly something for everyone, further adding to the feel that Animazement isn’t just for devotees of the most popular current series, but for a collage of differing tastes, ages and interests.

Local conventions are hard to pull off and it’s not going to get any easier. Anime fans have watched their beloved medium grow by international leaps and bounds over the past few years, to the extent that they’re being courted by major businesses and marketers. When Goku appears on boxes of Reese’s Puffs cereal, it’s hard to expect anything less than pomp and circumstance. A local convention's toughest battle is no longer finding an audience, but convincing them that it’s worth going year after year.

Animazement, it seems, is on the winning side. Its turnout is steadily returning to pre-COVID levels, all without losing its comfortable feel. More than once, I saw a person shout another’s name, only for them to embrace and reminisce about how long it had been since they'd last seen one another. As my friends and I walked back to the convention center from The Davie, I saw a mother and daughter dressed in matching Sailor Moon regalia. A guy in front of us told his pals about what Animazement was like in 2007. Someone in an iconic straw hat held the door open for me. Thanks to this atmosphere, in 2018, I found one of those few conventions that feel like home. 

And home is a place worth coming back to.