By Jason Green
Five years in the making and 15 minutes late for its start time, the AniWaves mini-convention opened its doors to dozens of anime fans on Saturday, Feb. 22.
Taking place at the University Student Union, an audience of students and guests anticipated a day of Esports tournaments, karaoke, VTuber panels and a cosplay contest.
Several organizations from Long Beach State had booths present, from the Student Illustration Production Squad to the Chess Club, CSULB Esports Association, Furries At The Beach and Tabletop Game Club.
The Chess Club, as in the name, put out chess boards, while the Tabletop Game Club offered a variety of board games for those who wanted to play.
The CSULB Esports Association held two tournaments: A Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Tournament and a Mario Kart Deluxe Tournament.
A full artist’s alley with over a dozen booths featured various purchasable items like stickers, keychains and posters, mostly themed around popular characters across anime.
One artist tabling at the event was not new to Long Beach State.
Patrick Spurling, a CSULB alum, poses with his booth at the Beach AniWaves mini-convention on Feb. 22. Photo Credit: Jason Green
An alum of the university, Patrick Spurling, was selling his collection of keychains, prints, stickers and pins at the event under his artist name, King Kuma.
Spurling said he was excited to sell at AniWaves and had tabled at conventions for over a decade.
Advising aspiring artists who want to table at conventions, Spurling said, “Stop thinking of stuff that you want to do. Just do it.”
Many of the events at AniWaves involved virtual YouTubers, known as VTubers.
Featuring a streamer or content creator who uses a virtual avatar model instead of showing their real identity online, VTubing is a rising industry, attracting millions of viewers each year.
The first VTuber event was a Karaoke Relay, which included Otoharu Riyo, Rui Asaka and Nyaru on IRIAM, an interactive VTuber platform.
Nyaru captured the crowd at the USU Ballroom stage as fans performed Wotagei, a rhythmic dance in Japan, using light sticks to cheer on their idol.
Yelling “encore” in Japanese after Nyaru was supposed to end her karaoke session, the crowd ran around the room with their light sticks.
Some VTubers, like Nyaru, met attendees through a meet-and-greet on a moving monitor around the convention.
A crowd of attendees watched the VTuber Nyaru perform karaoke at the USU Ballroom on Feb. 22. Photo Credit: Jason Green
VTubers were not the only ones singing, as parts of the day were dedicated to karaoke for those in attendance.
To continue the theme of Wotagei, Yakkai Soul, a Wotagei team based in Southern California, performed on the ballroom stage.
After their performance, the group hosted a workshop panel to teach and give tips on practicing Japanese dance.
An essential part of most conventions is the cosplay contest, which this convention did not overlook.
Narrowed down by a panel of five judges, the top three contestants would not only receive applause and cheers from the large audience when they won, but they also won an anime figure.
From fans well-versed in anime pop culture to expressions of Japanese culture, the convention brought new experiences for all, including fourth-year animation and pre-production major Muneerah Mohammed.
“I am introduced to so many new things cause I’m not into anime, so it’s making me want to look at anime and figure out who these characters are,” Mohammed said.
Cory Suzuki, an applied statistics graduate student and event director of the AniWaves convention, said the project has been five years in the making.
“I really wanted to put [on] a really nice event, especially since it is not only my last year, but it’s mainly a last year for most our board, well-known members in our club,” Suzuki said.
He said the event’s goal was to share a sense of community with the broader campus.
This year’s AniWaves event ended tearfully for Suzuki as staff and attendees applauded and thanked him for his contributions during the closing ceremony.
“We really thank all of our volunteers and all the guests that really did come to our event to make this event possible,” Suzuki said.
