The 2026 Anime Expo begins at the L.A Convention Centre
Photo Attribution: Cbl62 at Wikipedia
There is a great deal of excitement in California today, as Anime Expo 2026 begins, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Running from today July 2nd to Sunday July 5th, 2026, the expo is celebrating its historic 35th year. The event is so big this year, that t is being held in multiple venues, including the Crypto.com Arena, The Novo, and L.A. LIVE. Anime Expo is hosted by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). This year’s event will include over 1,400 hours of expansive programming, and begins today at 9:00 AM local time. There is sure to be a lot of Cyberstopian media present at the expo, but there are two IPs that will really stand out this year.
The 1st episode of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 will have its world premiere at Anime Expo, at a special panel on July 3rd, at 7.30pm local time. The panel will feature Director Kai Ikarashi, Showrunner Bartosz Sztybor, as well as at least one of the voice actors, though there are sure to be more surprises.
The first trailer for Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 was released earlier this week. It will not be a continuation of the story from the first season (and the few surviving characters), and will instead focus on a new cast of characters. From the trailer, it looks frenetic, action packed, and brutal. There was plenty of blood on show in the trailer, along with moody visuals, colourful outfits, and outlandish characters. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 is scheduled for release this Autumn/Fall, exclusively on Netflix, and you can see the trailer below.
The new Ghost in the Shell series will see its North American premiere at Anime Expo. We here in the UK have already had an opportunity to watch the first two episodes, but some of the lucky attendees of the expo can watch a screening of Episodes 1 and 2 on Saturday, July 4, from 2:45 PM to 4:05 PM. The screening will include an exclusive Q&A panel with director Mokochan, character designer Shuhei Handa, and animation producer Shuhei Shindo. There will also be a dedicated Ghost in the Shell exhibition at the Bandai Namco Filmworks booth.
The new animated series is produced by Science SARU, based on Masamune Shirow’s 1989 manga series, which was first brought to the screen in Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 animated movie. This new animation, written by EnJoe Toh and directed by Mokochan, is hand drawn, and based on reaction to the first two episodes, the series is a committed adaptation of the original manga, closer than the movie both visually and tonally.
Ghost in the Shell premieres globally on Prime Video on July 7, 2026. The latest trailer is available below.
Cyberstopia 
