GREENVILLE — Before the first Greenville Anime convention began in 2023, Tim Hyde was asked to look outside.
Hyde’s heart sank. No one must be there, he thought.
It was the opposite. The line had wrapped around the venue — twice. There were so many visitors that it was hard to move. About 5,000 in total attended.
That’s when Hyde knew: Greenville needed a convention dedicated to Anime, the Japanese-style animation.
“There’s a market here,” he said.
Now in its third year, Anime Town Greenville will return on Friday, Jan. 31, through Sunday, Feb. 2, at the Greenville Convention Center.
The three-day weekend event will feature all kinds of Anime-related activities, including celebrity autographs, game card trading, a cosplay contest, merchant booths and a Q&A panel.
Attendees will have the chance to meet 17 Anime actors, including Dante Basco of “Avatar” and “Hook”; Brian Drummond of “Death Note” and “Dragon Ball Z”; Kyle Hebert of “Dragon Ball Z”; Jessie Flower of “Avatar”; and Brianna Knickerbocker of “Demon Slayer.”
Hyde saw an “untapped market” in Greenville, where he hosted its first event in 2023. The Southern California native has even moved to Greenville since then.
“I just think it was just right place, right time,” he said.
Hyde hopes the event doesn’t just appeal to Anime fans, but also people who love Asian art and trading cards.
In 2021, the traveling convention series began in Pensacola, Fla., after Anime’s popularity spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, Hyde said. The company has also hosted shows in Salt Lake City.
“It’s built in in every community,” Hyde said of Anime fans. “You just got to find them. You’d be surprised if you showed up to this event. … You’ll recognize people that you never thought would be there.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.postandcourier.com ’
