“Anime and X Games don’t mix too well.”
– Ken Block

When Sébastien Loeb added an X Games rallycross gold medal to his long line of achievements, people were roaming around nearby in Madoka Magica and Black Butler cosplay.

With Anime Expo 2025 now underway, it’s funny to think about how America’s biggest anime cons once clashed with the world’s feature extreme sports festival. In 2012, a scheduling decision by ESPN led to two of Los Angeles’ most prominent summer events at the time having to share space for a weekend.

Anime Expo has long been held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Independence Day weekend. The X Games moved to LA in 2003, taking place in either late July or early August; it was held at various venues across the city, with a focus on the Staples Center, while rallycross used the surrounding streets. The LACC sits adjacent to Staples Center, now Crypto.com Arena, as part of the LA Live district.

Since they were on different months, the two coexisted without issue for a decade. 2012, on the other hand, threw a wrench into that.

The 2012 Summer Olympics in London began on July 25 and ran through August 12, eating into the usual time slots for the X Games. ESPN obviously couldn’t compete against the Olympics so the call was made in September 2011 to move X Games XVIII up a few weeks. Now, it started on June 28 and finished July 1.

Unfortunately, Anime Expo 2012 was scheduled for for June 29 through July 2.

Not that it particularly mattered to the organizers. Since the X Games weren’t going to use the LACC and Staples Center was not part of AX’s territory (and remains the case today, though the surrounding vicinity is used for cosplay gatherings), all parties involved saw little reason to complain about the hand they were dealt. After all, it’s theoretically not much different from the con being held alongside a Dodgers game.

And thus, like Cold War Korea and Vietnam, the LA Live area was split between two extremes. As you went down South Figueroa Street, you could go under the X Games arch that doubled as the rallycross start/finish line; in fact, you had to use the arch to cross the street otherwise when it was in use, doing so via pedestrian bridge built underneath. That spot just behind the arena where you and your friends did a Gurren Lagann cosplay gathering in 2011? Probably occupied by a Red Bull tent.

“X Games: No bags, no booze, go through a metal detector. Anime Expo: Go in,” quipped the Twitter account of Weekly Shonen Jump. “I think this speaks to the caliber of attendee. Just sayin!”

It’s such a bizarre juxtaposition that it’s honestly pretty hilarious. There were some quirks here and there, like AX’s opening ceremonies being on Thursday (Day 0) rather than Friday, but changes were maybe inevitable for the circumstances.

So what happens when a bunch of extreme sports fans have otaku as next-door neighbors? As much as the former get stereotyped as boozed-up frat bros versus the latter’s neckbeards and gay people in funny outfits, interactions were relatively harmonious (who said jocks and nerds can’t get along?). Both fanbases generally stayed in their lanes but otherwise got along when they overlapped, like AX attendees getting free Monsters when they “encroached” on X Games’ turf.

There were also more than a handful who crossed over to check the other out. ESPN ran a story on Jose Diaz and Laura Vasquez, a couple and anime fans who made a beeline for the X Games after getting their AX fix for the day. GyozaHappyHour, a user on the Ani.ME forums, commented about some X Games fans who sneered at a Legend of Korra photoshoot but was so impressed by the costumes they asked about AX tickets.

Urian Brown of American animanga distributor VIZ Media noted “the two crowds seem to mix rather well. Maybe it’s a mutual respect thing?”

Of course, it wasn’t all sunshine outside of the weather. There were cases of congoers being harassed or mocked, encounters with security, the use of slurs, and other unsavory interactions on social media. At the same though, one could argue those were isolated incidents in the bigger picture which unfortunately come with the territory for high-attendance events. There’s a reason you’re taught to always be aware of your surroundings whenever you go to large public gatherings.

What was a little more universal among AX visitors, however, was the logistical nightmare of moving around the con or getting there. Considering how much ground the X Games covered compared to AX, it was not an easy walk to and fro. Detours and road closures accidentally redirected AX folks to the Games, and traffic need no further comment.

Ani.Me poster Nanashi wrote that “it was annoying to have ESPN there at the same time, not only the good cosplay gathering spots were taken, it was almost ALL of the cosplay gathering spots that were taken. Plus, traffic was even worst since they block some of the important streets to get there.”

Understandably, rallycross was one of the bigger culprits. The course started on Figueroa Street, going past the Staples Center before turning right onto Pico Boulevard and into the LACC’s premises. It then went down Gilbert Lindsay Drive before merging back onto Figueroa and past 12th Street onto an empty lot (currently being developed into Oceanwide Plaza) and back out.

With how much the course occupied Figueroa and Pico, those were two streets cordoned off. The final race was not much to write home about unless you were Loeb, who led the feature from start to finish, but Global RallyCross had a charm to it that defined the discipline in the 2010s and made it fun regardless. Travis Pastrana, Toomas Heikkinen, and Marcus Grönholm would probably rather forget that weekend; Pastrana challenged Loeb to race him only to be taken out in his heat, while Heikkinen and Grönholm were hospitalized after massive crashes in practice.

“Despite how difficult getting around was, it was cool to be able to watch rally car racing from the second floor,” recalled one congoer.

Another on Tumblr was less positive and groused, “UGH THOSE GOD DAMNED RACE CARS WERE TOO LOUD.”

To most (arguably AX guests too), the real car highlight of the weekend was the Hot Wheels Double Loop Dare. Tanner Foust and Greg Tracy were tasked with going through a massive 66-foot-tall Hot Wheels track built right by the rallycross course with two loops.

The duo went through the loops at 52 miles per hour and experienced roughly seven Gs of force before hitting the final jump.

An eagle-eyed viewer of the spectacle could easily spot the LACC, red Anime Expo banner hanging off the roof, in the background just after the pair completing the trick (see this article’s featured image).

So was the so-called “AX Games” a hit? Depends on who you ask. X Games fans seemed to have a good time, though that’s more because it’s the freakin’ X Games. Anime Expo attendees were more mixed, some enjoying the new company while others were more annoyed by the inconveniences it presented.

“X Games. Born Free. Anime Expo. This weekend was flawless victory.”
– Actor and comedian Blake Anderson on Twitter

The X Games were moved to early August for 2013, which ended up being the final year in downtown Los Angeles. When the Games returned to SoCal in 2022 and 2023, it was in Ventura instead; even if it was back at LA Live, the dates for both years were in the middle of June and July so neither would have impacted the con. The 2025 X Games, which were in Salt Lake City, took place a week before AX on June 27–29.

While the X Games are no longer in the picture, could we see a repeat with another major sporting event? Probably not.

Los Angeles is scheduled to host the 2028 Summer Olympics, with the LACC being the venue for martial arts and table tennis. However, that doesn’t start until July 14 well after AX would have already ended. While LA Live will be busier than ever that July (certainly busier than with AX Games), two weeks is more than enough time to convert the area from anime to sports. In fact, the same exact turnaround was achieved in 2024 when the Paris Nord Villepinte hosted Japan Expo on July 11–14 followed by Olympic boxing starting on the 27th.

Featured image credit: X Games