Last year Crunchyroll had one of the best offsites at Comic-Con when iconic Anime songstress LiSA rocked the Rady Shell singing songs like “Gurenge” from Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, “Datte Atashino Hero” from My Hero Academia, and “Crossing Field” from Sword Art Online. The event was so epic that one of the more memorable performers from last year, Alice Longyu Gao would’ve described it in one word — Gnarly!

So, how could Crunchyroll improve on such a great event? Admission is already free for everyone to attend so what else can be done? Brilliant lightbulb moment from someone at Crunchyroll — Why not open the doors earlier and call it a festival so people can leisurely enjoy their time? And that is exactly what Crunchyroll did at this year’s SDCC, as they went big by adding five more hours each day and increasing the number of musical acts.

In my opinion, this new formula to convert the concert to a festival made Crunchyrolls Anime Fanfest one of the top offsites to visit during this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, as the extended hours were more accommodating for all types of schedules, which made it less line-intensive as people could come and go as they pleased.

The combination of good vibes and no stress from waiting in a line is that perfect formula that all Comic-Con offsites should be striving for.

I have a deep appreciation for Crunchyroll as they spared no expense for their fans at this year’s convention. Not only did they wrap the Omni with Demon Slayer art, they also hosted a jam-packed panel in Hall H for Demon Slayer where they brought back LiSA to perform live, while also maintaing their exhibit hall booth presence, and raising the bar for their offsite by extending the hours and using every inch of the 10,000 seat capacity Rady Shell to house their two-day Anime Fanfest.

The format was the same as last year’s concert, just longer hours, so fans had more time to enjoy the provided activities. Here is a list of what was available this year:

• Anime Photo Opportunities: I always like the photo ops that are offered at these types of events, as it gives me a fun visual keepsake of the event. For this year’s festival, the photo stations were for Demon Slayer, Apothecary Diaries, and Brilliant Healers.

• Games: I really wanted to dumpster-dive and play the Gachiakuta Trash Search game but I was already worn out from walking the exhibit hall by the time I got to the Anime Fanfest. It looked like everyone participating had a fun time. They also had impromptu singing, dancing, cosplay, and other type contests in-between music sets and gave some really nice prizes to the winners. And for those who wanted to try their luck, they even had Gachapon games at the side of the Merch Booth.

• Swag: Who doesn’t love swag? I certainly do and the swag I saw getting handed out throughout the festival when I was there included light-up bracelets, Demon Slayer bags, and a “mystery box (keychain)” from AFEELA. Also, in between music sets, the MC’s threw out swag to the crowd in front of the stage to keep everyone engaged.

• Merch Booth: I did a quick walk-through of the merch booth to see what was available to purchase. They had an assortment of items from the Crunchyroll store as well as some merch offered by a few of the performers.

• Food Options: I really like the food options that were available to purchase at the festival as they had an assortment of items such as pizza, tacos, burritos, nachos, burgers, tenders, poke, popcorn, and ice cream.

• Free Music Performances: The music line-up was stacked for both days as SPYAIR headlined on Friday and Denzel Curry headlined on Saturday. My favorite acts were Yama and Iniko, who I had never heard of until Anime FanFest. Both of them had powerful and beautiful voices that I enjoyed listening to.

• Fireworks Show: I didn’t stay for the firework show on either day as they were scheduled to start at 9:50ish and I am an earlier riser during SDCC, but from what I was told (thanks Kim!) it was a nice way to end the festival each day.

There was so much to do, see, and listen to that it was an easy way for me to spend a few hours of my day to relax, recharge, and zone out to the music. I, for one, am very thankful that Crunchyroll has put on this event for the past two years during San Diego Comic-Con as I have enjoyed the time I spent at their offsites.

The con is always a grind for me, so I am grateful to have had a place where I can just unwind and chill. Crunchyroll, keep up the good work! I am already looking forward to whatever event you bring to San Diego Comic-Con next year.