Fan Expo Philly 2025 Recap: Cosplayers, Creators, and Community Vibes

This year I have been given the exciting opportunity to have the chance to attend Fan Expo this year. As someone who lives in Philly it was quite the exciting chance to be given and I took advantage of the time I had to explore it all. Especially since this had been the first con that I even had the chance to attend. I had always heard of the convention when it comes every year but to be on the other side was wonderful. For anyone who is unaware of what Fan Expo involves, it is a huge convention for lovers of entertainment. Any fandom that you can think about attends, comics, movies, anime, and gaming, everyone has the chance to come and express themselves there. A place that can gather plenty of other people at once, thousands of people are able to share a big space with what they love and even show off their own creativity. Let me take the moment to go on about what I have seen and experienced this past weekend! Something that I think everyone should have to enjoy and go to attend at least once.

I had been able to attend with a fellow anime enjoyer and been thrusted into the heart of the con once I had arrived. With how large the space is, there are plenty of things that you can see and as long as you can walk, you can go! For what an attendee can interact with, there are stands with a variety of items, artwork, or even some events that people can participate themselves in. It gives the chance to enjoy fun activities like trying some new games before release or even some older ones to play with friends. As also mentioned there is plenty of different artwork and styles that you can see while looking around. I myself had been able to get a holographic poster from the popular series Chainsaw man. Something that I enjoy myself and recommend. But even if you do not enjoy that yourself, there were plenty of other shows or movies that had posters up too, anything that can come to mind was available as long as you explored around. Just being able to find another stand has been enough to get a whole new selection of artwork that can be purchased. There could even be the lucky chance to find something rare that no stores have in stock anymore.

From all the artwork, there are also items that can be collected too, statures, figures, buttons, mystery items from gacha machines with as many coins that you can get, anything that a vendor could possibly offer artistic or of value is there to buy. Being someone who had been able to do the same myself as I purchased my own figure and some accessories! There are even some shirts, bows, jewelry merch from different series that you have the chance to get for yourself. Giving a way to show off your favorite franchise or even go to support some smaller creators. Something that I did myself, buying a bow and shirt from a creator who had hand made everything that was sold at their booth. I never expected to see that there would be little tables too. It gives a chance for those who are also trying to start building their business up and even be able to get in contact with others. Something that is not discussed often for these events is the chance to build a brand you already have to become much bigger. There is also some network with others that you can do with artists, cosplayers, and other media companies. 

Besides merchandise and some games here and there, another huge highlight is the chance to be able to meet or talk to some of your favorite celebrities that arrive. A few options for how you can have the chance to do that too, one being some panels that are seen on the main floor. Those had mostly been voice actors and actresses that were there to see fans, take some pictures if possible, and even get some signatures. Questions can be asked too so be sure to get any of those curious thoughts out if possible. Some of the voice actors that I had the chance to see myself while walking around had been Barney, Ian Sinclair who voice acts for Brook, Mel Gibson who had been hosting a panel himself, and John Cena which had his own meet and greet happening. Meet and greets being the best way where you can get a personal photo and a chance to shake hands with your favorite celebrities around, there are always plenty of surprises that you would never expect to show up for the weekend.

One of the most important parts of the con is the attendants that you can run into. A huge part of what brings cons together are those who put in all the effort to dress up and cosplay for them. So many people have been willing to make sure that their effort into what they are wearing and who they dress up as is quite impressive. Some starting off you can be anything that you want, something that is already out there or create your own original character too. Either way it leads to how creative you are in your mind. This was my favorite part about attending the con as I had the chance to meet plenty of cosplayers, talk with them and even take a few pictures of their costumes. It also gave me the chance to hear just how passionate that they had been in the creation of them. Some took hours and days to make sure their cosplay had been perfect, having to travel from across the states even, and soon enough putting every piece together like a good puzzle. One common question that I had been able to always ask was, had all the hours and travel been worth it? The answer always being yes and they would do it again.

Overall, my time at Fan Expo had been short but fun, time seemed to go rather fast without realizing how much I have been enjoying myself. Getting lost in hours and hours of exploring around the venue. Having the chance to meet so many new people, making some new connections to some people that I never had the chance to see before. Plenty of pictures that I am excited to share for everyone to see the impressive cosplays. It is even inspiring for me to want to do my own thing the next time that I have a chance to go to a convention once again. Bringing all the more excitement and creativity forward that conventions like this can cause. I personally would recommend that everyone take the chance to go to Fan Expo as a first con event. Compared to other cons where they may only be centered around a specific subject, Fan Expo has the chance to have at least one thing that you can enjoy, whether that be the people, artworks, or media itself, you can find something that is just for you.