People who love cartoons, video games, and live-action role-play all seem to have one thing in common: a love of anime. What used to refer only to animation from Japan is becoming a more inclusive term that includes artists from around the world. Anime is just as popular as it always was, even if the idea of what ananime conventionshould look like has changed.
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Anime conventions still draw thousands, and organizers and volunteers are still trying to bring them back even after many of them were canceled or outright fell apart in previous years. The following are some of the biggest international anime conventions that are still hosting crowds of cosplaying fans.
Updated on July 11, 2025 by Kristy Ambrose:Anime conventions that were canceled or moved to a virtual workspace are returning to convention centers and public spaces. It’s a happy fact that we can lengthen our list with a few more of the biggest anime conventions in the world.
Many of the following locations still have strict rules when it comes to vaccinations and masking rules, and travel restrictions are still an issue, so do the proper research before buying that online ticket.
14Anime Japan, Tokyo
One ofthe biggest anime festivals in the worldwould have to be in Tokyo, and this event has consistently hosted more than 100,000 guests every year since it started in 2014. The 2020 event was canceled, but the most recent 2021 convention was successfully held online, and planners are hoping to get back to normal in 2022.
The list of exhibitors is what makes this event akin to a spiritual homecoming for fans not only of anime, but also manga, video games, and electronics. Names like Bandai, Sega, and Toei always have representatives on the floor selling merch and previewing new content as part of the fun.
13Anime NYC, New York City
One of the more recent additions to the list of worldwide anime conventions,Anime NYCstarted in 2017 and grew at an exponential rate. The 2022 festival hosted more than 55,000 fans, which makes it one of the biggest conventions already, and expects to keep growing.
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12Animangapop, United Kingdom
Not just one anime convention but four, with each one taking place in four cities, making it one of the biggest anime conventions in the UK. Glasgow, Newport, Brighton, and Plymouth each host a branch of the event that takes place every August and has been running since 2014.
As the name suggests,Animangapopincludes anime and manga, and the event is also home to all kinds of media and entertainment designed for the wonderful world of nerds. Other diversions include video game competitions and glowing after-parties.
11Madman Anime Festival, Australia
The biggest anime convention on the smallest continent,the Madman Anime Festivaltends to rotate between Australia’s major cities for location. The first festival was held in Melbourne in 2016, with Perth, Brisbane, and Sydney taking turns in the years since. The event was so successful that it was split into two different festivals, each taking place six months apart in different cities.
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This festival is named after the organizers, Madman Entertainment, who design the convention as a Japanese cultural festival as well as a celebration of all things connected to anime. Events were canceled in 2020 and 2021, but are scheduled to return in March and May of 2022.
10Sakura-Con, Seattle
One of the biggest anime conventions and most popular events to be held annually in the entire Pacific Northwest,Sakura-Con is scheduled for a weekend in Aprilat the Washington State Convention Center for 2022. This convention is famous for its massive cosplay participation, card game competitions, parties, raves, and even a masquerade ball.
Programming for Sakura-Con runs in some form 24 hours a day, whetherguests want to play video games, watch streaming services, or participate in some karaoke. The Sakura-Con exhibition is also a venue for demonstrations of traditional Japanese martial arts, fashion, and music.
9Polymanga, Switzerland
The city of Montreux hosts the Polymanga Festival, which takes place in April over three days. It’s not onlyone of the most diverse anime festivalsin the world, but it’s also the biggest anime convention in Switzerland, and it’s for fans of anime and pop culture in general.
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Events atPolymangainclude cosplay shows, celebrity appearances, karaoke, a gaming tournament, and lots of places to shop. Attendees can also enjoy concerts, film screenings, and a publisher showroom. It’s such a popular event that a limited amount of tickets are sold to avoid overcrowding, so book as soon as possible.
8Ai-Kon, Winnipeg, Canada
Gaming, cosplay, and a maid cafe are some of the things that anime fans can find atAi-kon, and although this isn’t exactly the biggest festival with peak attendance hovering at around 8000 guests, it gets points for longevity. This convention has been in operation every year without fail since 2001, and its popularity has spawned a winter mini-event that also still runs to this day.
The name of the convention is a play on the Japanese word for love which is “ai” and the English word “convention.” Other diversions include panels, workshops, multilingual viewing rooms, and a marketplace.
7Comic Fiesta, Malaysia
One of the biggest anime conventions in Asia outside of Japan,Comic Fiesta is held every Decemberin Kuala Lumpur. The event focuses on the art and design angle of anime, with a lot more attention given to the manga and light novel categories of the genre along with a focus on the artists themselves, but there’s still plenty for animation fans to enjoy including live art demonstrations and exhibitions.
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Performance art, in the form of both a variety of live musical performances and cosplay, is one of this convention’s popular draws and sets it apart from other anime expositions. At its peak in 2018, the convention hosted more than 60,000 guests. Organizers hope to revive the popular event in 2022.
6Montreal Comiccon, Canada
This massive event manages to squeeze an amazing array of shows, speakers, and screenings into a mere three days. Everything from gaming to comics to sports is included inMontreal Comiccon, and that includes a healthy dedication to anime and manga.
The long list of guest speakers includes voice actors, social media influencers, voice actors, and television personalities. The event in Montreal also has connections to similar festivals in other Canadian cities including Winnipeg, Laval, and Ottawa, and is one of the biggest media events on the continent.
5Anime Expo, Los Angeles
Also known asAX, this popular convention is hosted by Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA) every year, often in the summer. New York and Anaheim have also hosted this event, but it’s usually held in LA, and in 2022, it’s scheduled to take place there again.
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The exhibitions vary their subject matter, but they always come back to anime, which is the root of all things as far as AX is concerned. The history of this expo goes back to 1992 when it was first officially inaugurated and held in San Jose. Back then, it drew fewer than 2,000 fans, but now it often hosts more than 100,000 people, making it the biggest anime convention in the United States.
