In light of the worsening COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic, Crunchyroll has announced that their annual expo will take place in a virtual setting this year and has opened up free, general registration for attendee tickets to the general public.
Scheduled to take place September 4th-6th, Crunchyroll Expo 2020 aims to bring the excitement and sense of community found at their physical expo to audiences in the comfort of their own homes.
In keeping with the traditional convention experience, Crunchyroll has released their first round of guests, panels, and event announcements:
- The cast of Rent-A-Girlfriend, including Sora Amamiya, the voice actress for Chizuru Mizuhara (also Aqua in “Konosuba”); Aoi Yuki, the voice actress for Mami Nanami (also Tanya in “The Saga of Tanya the Evil”); Nao Toyama, the voice actress for Ruka Sarashina (also Yui Yuigahama in “My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU”) and Rie Takahashi, the voice actress for Sumi Sakurasawa (also Emilia in “Re:ZERO”), will host a panel discussing their work on the series
- Team members behind the anime adaptation of The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter, such as Director Kenta Onishi, Producer Yuki Yamada, and original series Editor Satoshi Shoji, are set to share more details about the upcoming series.
- So I’m A Spider, So What author Okina Baba is also scheduled to make an appearance.
- The virtual expo will host a “New Crunchy City Anime Arts District”, which “will include highlights and links directly to the digital stores of each artist chosen for this year’s even” and even allow fans to buy pieces from their favorite artist alley attendees through the Virtual Crunchyroll Expo website.
- Cosplayers need not despair about the off-site nature of the convention, as the Virtual Crunchyroll Expo will be hosting Crunchyroll-Hime’s Cosplay cup, with creators Mario Bueno, Vamby Bit Me, Creatures of Habit, and God Save the Queen as judges.
The Virtual Crunchyroll Expo is free to attend, with open registrations for virtual passes now open on the convention’s official website.