Note: Authored by David Menconi, this piece has been produced in partnership with Raleigh Arts. Menconi's latest book, "Oh, Didn't They Ramble: Rounder Records and the Transformation of American Roots Music," was published by University of North Carolina Press. His podcast, Carolina Calling, explores the history of the Tar Heel State through music.

Coming up on three decades of existence, Raleigh’s annual Animazement festival always offers plenty of eye-catching flash. This year’s edition is May 22-24, 2026, and it will draw lots of attendees to Raleigh Convention Center dressed up as their favorite characters from the world of Japanese anime. But there’s a lot more to Animazement than mere cosplay.

A lot of that comes from the philosophy of co-director Yoshimi Yamagata Aoyagi, who has been involved with Animazement from its very beginning way back in the late 1990s. An award-winning teacher who teaches Japanese language at Chapel Hill/Carrboro City Schools, Aoyagi brings that mindset to the festival. And when asked what her favorite thing about  Animazement is, she answers without hesitation.

“Meeting people and seeing them smile is what I like best,” she says. “That may sound kind of cheesy, but I’m a teacher. Everybody can learn something here, guests as well as attendees, which from a teacher’s viewpoint is great. I learn something from it every time myself, and I like new ideas, new things.”

Animazement is sponsored by Educational Growth Across Oceans, a  501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose acronym spells out the word “smile” in Japanese. To that end, Animazement's event schedule offers plenty of actual educational content. Topics this year include sessions on tea ceremony, Japanese life and culture, music, comedy and tate (a form of choreographed sword fighting).

But it’s not all classroom stuff. Animazement also offers up the “Artists Alley” market plus autograph, cosplay and karaoke events in a multi-day celebration of Japanese visual culture. It’s not strictly anime, either, with programs covering video games, manga comic books and graphic novels and more.

The roots of Animazement go back to 1995, the year that Tokyo native Aoyagi came to the Raleigh area to teach at North Carolina State University. During her time at N.C. State, she served as faculty advisor for the Triangle Area Anime Society. The group put on a 36-hour anime marathon event in 1997, which attracted some 200 attendees. That was enough of a success for them to keep it going, launching Animazement as an all-volunteer and fan-run annual event a year later.

After using a variety of hotels as venues in its early years, Animazement moved into the Raleigh Convention Center after it opened in 2008 and has been there ever since. Last year’s total attendance topped 11,000 people, and this year’s model looks to be on course to draw in that range again.

“People mainly come from the Southeast, North Carolina and surrounding states like Virginia and Georgia,” says Aoyagi. “We had someone from France once. Also several from Japan, of course. It’s a good mix that we attract, more students than adults.”

It’s fitting that Animazement’s primary audience demographic is students of various ages.

“Animazement is unique in providing cultural experiences that similar events do not,” says grant coordinator Matthew Holmes. “Its mission statement is actually about education. So it goes beyond what you get at the typical fan convention about Japanese anime or popular culture. The idea is to use that as incentive to draw people in and expose them to more traditional cultural arts. It’s a way to get everyone to connect culturally in whatever way best suits their particular interests.”

Animazement happens the weekend of May 22-24, 2026, at Raleigh Convention Center, 500 S. Salisbury St. Check the “Registration” page for ticket prices and details.

^{Photos courtesy of Nick Faulkner/Animazement}