Took a day off just to go to Anime Expo and actually came prepared to buy stuff, but the price for a badge (day pass) pretty much took a quarter of my budget. Haha.
This is how it looks like up front and not even inside the exhibit hall.
For some people who don't know, some people don't even buy a badge to go inside. They just dress up in their costumes or what you call a "cosplayer" - a person who dresses up like a character from a manga or anime series, a movie, a videogame, etc. (from Urban Dictionary). They just pretty much hang out there and pose in front of cameras.
(I think this year's AX broke the record of last year's attendees.)
