Crunchyroll, the world’s most popular anime brand, just wrapped an action-packed weekend at Anime Expo in Los Angeles with three exclusive world premieres, more than ten special guests from Japan and the U.S., and eight hosted panels.
The onsite Crunchyroll store experienced record-breaking sales this year, with more than a 30% increase year-over-year. More than 75% of the Anime Expo-exclusive merchandise sold out before the end of the convention, including the Zero Two statue from “DARLING in the FRANXX” and the purple “Mob Psycho 100” hoodie, which sold out early on the second day. The Crunchyroll Hime figure from Kotobukiya also sold out onsite, but is still available online.
Thousands attended the Crunchyroll HQ offsite, which was full of interactive activations like the training room for “The RIsing of the Shield Hero,” and a demo station for upcoming Crunchyroll Games titles including “Mob Psycho 100: Pyschic Battle” and “Attack on Titan: TACTICS.”
Additional Crunchyroll highlights from Anime Expo 2019 include:
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Exclusive world premieres – Crunchyroll treated fans to the exclusive world premieres of “Dr. STONE,” “To the Land of the Sacred Abandoned Beasts,” and “In/Spectre,” before their simulcast premieres on platform.
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“World’s on Fire” teaser from Mike Shinoda – Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda stopped by the Crunchyroll industry panel to unveil a preview of his new music video “World’s on Fire.” He shared the trailer, behind the scenes characters images and also discussed his deep connection to anime sharing “My music and anime have had a long history crossing paths, from the fan videos edited over Linkin Park’s music, to our original video for ‘Breaking The Habit.’ This new video for ‘World’s On Fire’ is a lighthearted video that focuses on a female protagonist as she learns to control her unique power.” Fun fact from the panel – Mike is also a big fan of “Naruto” anime music videos!
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New series announcements – Crunchyroll announced a slate of upcoming simulcast series including, “Isekai Cheat Magician,” “That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime OAD,” “A Destructive God Sits Next To Me,” “GRANBELM,” “Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?” and two “Konosuba” OVAs from seasons one and two.
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Crunchyroll panels and special guests – Crunchyroll offered fans eight panels over the weekend, including discussions with creators and voice actors, industry panels for both Crunchyroll and Crunchyroll games, a discussion on the history of Crunchyroll Hime and a deep dive into “Stay Crunchy.” Special guests included Shusuke Katagiri, “Dr. STONE” producer, Hiroyuki Honda, Weekly Shonen Jump editor, and “In/Spectre” voice actor Mamoru Miyano, among many others.
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“One Punch Man” in game event in “Grand Summoners” – Crunchyroll Games announced the return of the “One Punch Man” epic crossover event with “Grand Summoners,” in partnership with Good Smile Company and NextNinja.
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Crunchyroll digital drops – Crunchyroll launched a new app available for download here over Anime Expo, empowering attendees to collect and trade virtual stickers from various anime titles via QR Codes in specially placed locations throughout the convention center.
