Status Indefinitely postponed Country United States | Location(s) Anaheim, California Inaugurated 2011 | |
Genre Animation, Manga, Music Venue Anaheim Convention Center | ||
AM² (pronounced: "A" "M" "Squared") was a three-day anime convention held annually in the summer at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.
Contents
Programming
The content provided by AM² covers a range typical to anime conventions along with a few less traditional additions. Examples of this content include concerts, Masquerade (costume/talent show), various smaller cosplay events, an AMV contest, an exhibits area/dealer room, an "Artist Alley", GoH and fan panels, workshops, video screenings, tabletop gaming, console gaming, a karaoke, an arcade, and late night dance. Some examples of less common events include a Summer Festival, Maid cafe, and the hosting of a preliminary round of the World Cosplay Summit.
History
In April 2010, Japanese Pop idol Erina Mano was announced as a guest at Anime Expo for the world release of her acting debut Kaidan Shin Mimibukuro Kaiki. When AX cancelled this appearance, an alternative event was created at the nearby Club Nokia. The premiere was organized by a former PR and marketing contractor who had been terminated from Anime Expo. Additionally, several other people joined the organization who had also left Anime Expo for various reasons.
In addition to Mano-chan's appearance, several other attractions were added. The expanded 1-day event was named Club 2 the Max in reference to the choice of venue. Some of the added attractions included a Maid Cafe, a charity concert & music video shoot by X Japan, and autograph session with Power Rangers stars. Club 2 the Max (aka MAX) was deemed largely successful by its sponsors, who decided to further fund it as an annual convention. MAX announced a name change in November 2010, choosing to be called AM².
The first AM² was held on July 1–3, 2011, the same weekend as Anime Expo 2011 in one of Anime Expo's former locations, the Anaheim Convention Center. This occurred after a hacker modified the convention website stating that convention was cancelled. The convention returned to the venue in 2012 on June 15–17.
The convention for 2013 has been indefinitely postponed to an unknown later date.