Anime Revolution (abbreviated as AniRevo) is a three-day

anime convention An anime and manga convention (often called just anime convention) is a fan convention with a primary focus on anime, manga and Japanese culture. Anime conventions are commonly multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels or college cam ...

held annually in August in

Vancouver, BC Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The Met ...

. Initially held in the East Wing of the

Vancouver Convention Centre The Vancouver Convention Centre (formerly known as the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre, or VCEC) is a convention centre in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; it is one of Canada's largest convention centres. With the opening of the n ...

(

Canada Place Canada Place, co-named Komagata Maru incident, Komagata Maru Place, is a building situated on the Burrard Inlet in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is home to the Vancouver Convention Centre East Building, the Pan Pacific Hotels and Resor ...

), it has been held in the newer West Wing since 2017 before expanding eastward in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Metro Toronto Convention Centre Metro Toronto Convention Centre (originally and still colloquially Metro Convention Centre, and sometimes MTCC), is a convention complex located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada along Front Street (Toronto), Front Street West in the former Railway Lan ...

starting in 2025. While the name is similar, the convention has no connection to

Anime Evolution Anime Evolution is the general name for a number of anime conventions held in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was organized by AE Convention Corp. until 2010 and by the Vancouver Anime Convention Society since 2012. It was tradition ...

Programming

Anime Revolution is notable for being the first anime convention in Vancouver to host voice actor guests from Japan and often features high-profile recording session performances. They also regularly bring in representatives from North American anime distributors such as

Bandai is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered ...

and

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes fi ...

. Their regular programming includes anime and AMV screenings, voice actor panels, as well as stage events including

cosplay Cosplay, a blend word of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and Fashion accessory, fashion accessories to represent a specific Character (arts), character. Cosplayers often i ...

shows and the 70s Anime Dating Show. Other events have included contests, industry/fan panels, workshops, vendor and artist rooms, video game groups, concerts, raves/masquerades and photo shoots.

Mascot

The Mascot for Anime Revolution is Senkaku Mei, or Senmei for short. She is a blunt, spontaneous, energetic attention grabber who loves to be the center of attention. She can usually be found dressed in her race-queen outfit with her two mini megaphones. A live action version of Senmei was portrayed by cosplay model Jessica Nigri in 2013.

History

Anime Revolution was launched in 2012 to meet demand for a new anime-focused convention in

Metro Vancouver The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and Corporation, corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as o ...

, after

(run by AE Convention Corp) had been cancelled in 2010. Since it began, the convention has grown significantly, being the first anime convention in Metro Vancouver to surpass 10,000 attendees and eventually expanding its audience to more areas of

Japanese pop culture Japanese popular culture includes Japanese cinema, cuisine, television programs, anime, manga, video games, music, and doujinshi, all of which retain older artistic and literary traditions; many of their themes and styles of presentation can be t ...

such as

gunpla Gundam Plastic models, Gundam Plamo, or are Plastic model kit, model kits depicting the mecha machinery and characters of the fictional ''Gundam'' multiverse by Bandai Spirits. These kits became popular among Mecha anime and manga, mecha anime ...

and

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. Starting in 2025, Anime Revolution began to expand in the east coast with the launch of Anime Revolution Toronto, commonly known as AniRevo Toronto which is expected to be held from November 21–23, 2025.https://animecons.ca/events/info/25210/anirevo-toronto-2025

Event history

References

{{Anime conventions in North America Anime conventions in Canada Summer in Canada