You can checkout SacAnime at the official website, on Instagram, on Twitter, and on YouTube.
You can purchase tickets for future SacAnime events now.
SacAnime is a lot more than what you would expect, and it is easily my favorite locally run anime event that I have been to in several years. Held three times a year (spring, summer, winter) in downtown Sacramento, SacAnime has a variety of voice actor panels, fan-run panels, cosplay contests, and shopping everywhere you look.
First and foremost, the fan-run panels are the beating heart of SacAnime. Do you want to learn about what makes up Lolita fashion, the history of the clothing style, and the differences between Lolita subcategories? Frilled Criminal and 20dollarlolita have you covered with Welcome to: Lolita Fashion and You! What about if you’re a fan of K-pop and you want to know all about how it truly got kickstarted in America? Popsori taught a super-intensive, and yet super-welcoming course titled How Kpop’s 2nd Generation Paved The Way For the Kpop Explosion. Every panel was well-researched and well-led, and I didn’t attend a single dud during my time at SacAnime.
The voice acting panels had a lot of heavy hitters too. Just to pick three franchises, there was 1) Cricket Alexander, Greg Baldin, Dante Basco, Grey DeLisle, Jack DeSena, Jessie Flower, Olivia Hack, and Jennie Kwan (Avatar: The Last Airbender; 2) Ian James Corlette, David Kaye, and Jillian Michaels (Dragon Ball); and 3) Zach Aguilar, Bryce Papenbrook, and Abby Trott (Demon Slayer). I dropped in on the Dragon Ball panel, and I was in love with both the quality of the fan-questions, the real push to make sure that they got to everyone’s question, and the rules set up to make sure that nothing super-weird happened in the panel. I honestly don’t know how SacAnime obtained such high quality and varied voice actors to come, but it really sold the event as a major anime and video game convention.
The shopping, held in a giant space, had everything you could imagine for anime and video games. There was manga, anime, replica weapons, body pillows, and more to satisfy any fandom. Conveniently, the voice actors that SacAnime procured for SacAnime Winter 2023 held autograph sessions at the back of the shopping area. This meant that you could easily get something bought and signed in a two-stop-shop location. SacAnime also invited a lot of artists to come sell their art, as there were a LOT of artists present in the artist’s galley of all sorts of styles and mediums.
My favorite part of SacAnime was the 18+ panel that I attended on Friday night, the first-ever Naughty Nerdy Cabaret Winter 2023. This was a LGBTQIAP+ friendly show where all sorts of performers did nerdy skits, puppetry, songs, and burlesque dances to cheers from the audience. The cast that put on the main cabaret show (Pousse Lámour, Princess Bloodercup, Sir Vix, Izzy Strange) and the entertainment between main segments (played expertly by Zombie Tonya and Pearl Necklace) all brought different energies to the show and it was clear that they wanted to put on the best damn cabaret show possible. All the performers were seasoned veterans and I wanted to see more, even after the performance ended. SacAnime needs to bring Naughty Nerdy Cabaret back for the Summer 2023 event, as I think it will make the overall con all the better for it.
On Sunday morning, I attended my first Café Hoshi for “Sweet Sunday”, and it couldn’t be any different than the Naughty Nerdy Cabaret. I paid for a drink, a milk tea sweet bun, and the souvenir for $15. I quickly found myself wrapped up in watching and playing a series of games to win ridiculous prizes while quickly bonding with my tablemates (who I didn’t know beforehand). I cheered them on (and they cheered me on!) as we tried to win candy or prizes like a plush animal while doing games like throwing rings onto tentacles, stuffing marshmallows in their mouth, and more. It was a lot of silly fun, and there was a real family-friendly kinetic energy present for everyone in the room.
There are three last things I want to talk about. First, the variety of cosplay was breathtaking. There was everything from Chainsaw Man to FINAL FANTASY VII and everything in between. If you had a nerdy fandom, you were probably going to find it there in some way. It was uplifting to see how respectful and caring about the cosplay that everyone was who attended. Next, foam fighting was a blast. They trained you, gave you foam weapons, and had you fight each other with them. I ended up with a two-handed weapon and I did surprisingly well for myself. Finally, there was the late night dance. There was a mixture of Kpop and American music playing with music videos being projected next to the stage dancers and the DJ. While SacAnime is very much a dry con (I didn’t see alcohol being sold anywhere on the premises), it didn’t damper the fun and enthusiasm everyone had to dance the night away to hits by artists such as Billlie and Sam Smith.
SacAnime returns for the SacAnime Spring 2023 from April 7 to April 9, 2023. If you can make it, and you like anime, you should absolutely go. SacAnime is worth attending, no matter your anime or video game fandom, and you won’t regret it.
You can purchase tickets for future SacAnime events now.
Did you attend SacAnime? What kind of voice actors would you want to see at a future event?
Let us know in the comments below!
