The Anime Days Event happened on Saturday, Mar. 4 from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Gardenwalk Center in Anaheim.
The convention featured up to 80+ vendors and sellers all throughout the walkway, selling various sorts of items and products.
Whether it be toys, shirts, or art pieces, official or unofficial products, there is a variety for anime fans to choose from.
Among the many vendors selling at the event, including the Artist Alley, where artists sold off their work to those attending the event.
The event included performances from Stephanie Yanez and the k-pop dance cover group Mirus.
Stephanie Yanez, best known for the track Ultimate Miku World, performed at the event from 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. She performed original tracks Neon Lies and Tokimeki City, among other tracks.
Mirus, a k-pop dance cover group, was also at the event performing from 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Cosplaying was greatly encouraged for the event, as the event held a Cosplay Content, happening at 6 p.m.
Mark Marella, an artist selling at the event, explains what has inspired his art and how anime has impacted his work.
“I just really enjoy certain shows, mostly by Studio Trigger, and also tokusatsu shows like Karmen Rider [and] Ultraman,” Marella said.
The artist added, Most of the time, not a lot of people make art for, so I ended up making it, just to appeal to that niche.”
He notes that often times when people draw stuff related to mecha anime, they tend to the characters but not the robots within the shows. It’s something he tries to push in his art.
Mark also noted that Studio Trigger has influenced his art, to the where he’ll often buy art books that they release for reference for his art.
Speaking with Giovanni Ortiz, he explains was the inspiration behind making the Waifu Racing Division.
“So, a lot of the characters that we have designs we’ve seen and we’re very familiar with the manga or the anime and try to relate it to another hobby that we also love, which is like cars and race cars,” Giovanni said.
Combining both anime characters and racing made the WRD possible.
A lot of it was based on the characteristics and looks of the characters and fitting it into their aesthetics.
The next Anime Days event has yet to be announced but follow their social media and website for more updates.
