No, you weren’t hallucinating that giant Pikachu making its way through downtown Sacramento this weekend.
That costumed fan was one of more than 20,000 attendees of SacAnime, a 20-year-running convention celebrating all things anime, fandom and nerd culture.
The three-day show was an opportunity for fans to connect both with one another and with the creatives behind their favorite shows and video games. About half of the attendees showed up in character cosplay to varying degrees of commitment. At any given time within the two blocks between the Sheraton Grand Hotel and the Memorial Auditorium, you could spot three Luffys from One Piece , a couple Narutos and at least one Sailor Moon, of course.
Like Sacramento itself, the convention has experienced significant change and growth in the past two decades. Alexander Arevalos, SacAnime longtime communications director, said that the event has seen a three-fold increase in attendance from a decade ago when the show first expanded to the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center.