Anime Los Angeles 2023: Ribbon Con in Long Beach, CA

My experience of Anime Los Angeles Day 0:

I had to attend day 0 after work because ALA started on a Thursday and arrived in the area around 20:00. I was able to find parking on the north side of the convention center grounds, which is right in front of the Terrace Theater courtyard. Parking was free at the time and I easily found a spot close to the crosswalk. The security check fenced in the lower entrance of the Terrace theater entrance and was easy to spot and get through. The attendees in line were mainly dressed up to attend the Formal Dance. Lots of suits, dresses, and cosplay wigs! Almost everyone lookin sharp, me being one of the attendees with jeans and sneakers. I did have a nice sweater on and a matsuri happi coat to top off my fit. Next time I would consider dressing more formal.

 

 

My first impression of the night was the entrance to the Terrace theater. Right past security is a high ceilinged, large, outdoor walkup. It’s big enough to host a small concert if you just fenced off the street traffic. It was lit by chandeliers casting warm low white light in concert with blue accent lighting giving the area a regal ocean vibe.

 

 

Entering inside you check in with entrance staff that you have your badge. Most people attending kept their badges in bags or pockets to let their outfits shine cohesively. The entrance gives me older fancy hotel lobby vibes. Carpet lining the floor and more chandeliers flighting the space.

 

I decided to get a feel for the layout of the space, this being my first time here. The layout of the first floor is a square with a center square ball room fenced in by hallways. I decided to head to the right to start my way around. I encountered the tabletop game room, which had attendees playing various board and card games. Further down, heading south along the western hallway I see doors flanking me on both sides. My right side had the doors that lead into the center ballroom. At the end of the hallway, at the southern side of the floor was the swap meet. It was still buzzing with patrons and merchants. It was a modest size swap meet with maybe around 20 to 25 vendors. The swap meet had the usual wears of anime dvds, manga, figures, posters, etc. Having walked every isle of the swap meet I head northbound on the eastern hallway, noting that there are restrooms located next to the swap meet at the start of the eastern hallway.

 

 

On that side of the building I found the manga lounge room as well as an escape room. I wasn’t sure if the escape room was still open or not. It seemed closed. Walking down this hallway gave me school festival vibes. If you’re a seasoned anime watcher then you are imagining it right now: the classic Japanese high school classrooms redecorated to host a haunted house, or a maid cafe. That being the vibe I picked up, I wish there were more rooms with more themes/games/services open at that time/day. It definitely would have completed the vibe, but I understand that it takes a lot of extra staff and coordination to run these rooms.

 

 

At the end of my walk through the hallway I found myself on the left side of the lobby entrance which was also where the line began for the ball. I entered the queue to check out my last stop of the night. While waiting I chatted with another attendee who had experienced other anime conventions. Event staff also gave out stickers indicating if you are open to dancing with others or prefer to glide solo, a nice touch of consideration. I learned that TwitchCon had exciting parties. After about 15 minutes I was in. It was 21:04 and the ball had been going on for an hour. It had a decent amount of attendees and was getting a bit crowded along the edges of the room. The dance floor was the majority of the room and was in the center with the DJ booth at the back (south wall of the ballroom). The playlist had a pattern that rotated through classic waltz, salsa, modern club, tango, and swing. The music variety ended up being a pleasant surprise and highlighted by the enthusiasm of the dancers.

 

 

Anime Los Angeles Day 0 was fun, even with only experiencing the later half of the day this time. The formal dance was the best thing in my opinion. I enjoyed most of the music and watching fellow otakus get down, all the while, in cosplay. 

–MIKE