On Aug. 22-23, ANIME Impulse Orange County was held at the Anaheim Convention Center alongside K-PLAY! Fest and Collector Expo.
ANIME Impulse is an anime, manga and fandom convention that is primarily hosted in California. The convention is known for its large vendor halls, artist alley, voice actor guests and DEKOCAR Itasha showcases (heavily decorated anime-themed cars).
This year, ANIME Impulse Orange County has been officially sponsored by three major gacha games from China and South Korea: “Zenless Zone Zero” (also known as ZZZ), “Honkai: Star Rail” and “GODDESS OF VICTORY: NIKKE.”
The term “Gacha games” refers to a video game mechanic where players can summon characters, accessories and different items with in-game currency through a luck-based system. “Gacha” also refers to small toy vending machines in Japan, “Gachapon.”
Gacha games have traditionally had a strong presence in anime conventions. Many gacha games from Japan were multimedia projects, having their own anime, multiple games and sequels that are frequently being promoted at conventions.
Gacha game fans also overlapped with regular anime fans. Popular examples from Japan include “Fate/Grand Order” and “Granblue Fantasy,” which both have been featured in different anime cons such as Anime Expo and Anime NYC.
Each game sponsor was represented by several merchandise booths and activities made for fans and anyone curious about the game. Their presence in the convention scene has shown the fast-growing influence of anime games and anime-adjacent media that originate outside of Japan.
“I think these games definitely deserve more attention,” said Tyler Desotel, a “Zenless Zone Zero” fan. After all, this is how they garner all their attention by doing these crazy things. And I think the fans really do get a lot, even though I haven’t been in it that long.”
The convention had several booths for the three gacha game sponsors selling official or exclusive merchandise, but they were also offering different experiences for attendees to participate in the worlds of the games. The “NIKKE” booth featured a section for attendees to meet, interact and take pictures with official cosplayers who were all in-character.
The “Zenless Zone Zero” area also had a photo-op area with official cosplayers, Itasha cars and a stamp card rally for carnival-style games they had set up for fans to win merchandise of their favorite ZZZ characters.
The area with the carnival games was called the “Proxy Fairgrounds.” Attendees could purchase a $5 ticket to play a game to win character cards and receive a stamp from different ZZZ factions on their card. ZZZ also had a schedule for its official cosplayers’ appearances and even a live concert.
It was not until 2020 that games from outside of Japan started to gain popularity. In September 2020, developer miHoYo released “Genshin Impact” worldwide on multiple platforms, including mobile devices, which made these games very accessible.
On September 28, 2020, Genshin Impact’s X account announced the game reached 10 million pre-registrations and celebrated with an in-game reward for all players. According to GameDaily.biz, Genshin Impact had over 23 million downloads within its first week in app stores.
miHoYo also developed “Honkai: Star Rail” and “Zenless Zone Zero.” These games are known for their expansive open-world gameplay, large casts of characters and frequent updates.
“Those storylines, it gets pretty interesting the further you go along,” said Leonardo Lopez, an attendee who came to the “Zenless Zone Zero” merchandise line. “There is always something new. I’m never waiting too long because there’s constantly new updates.”
