SacAnime to 'test waters' of Roseville

For SacAnime founder Dan Houck, the past 10 years has seen a dramatic shift in the popularity of the Japanese-influenced sub-genre of cartoons typically defined as "anime." On Sunday, Houck and fellow organizers will gauge the genre's popularity outside of Sacramento with the Anime: Roseville event @TheGrounds. With two of the industry's most prominent voice actresses, Trina Nishimura and Cherami Leigh featured as guests, the event is expected to bring out some of the genre's most devoted followers. Live action role playing (LARP) demonstrations, a special section to showcase local artists, a retro video game arcade and a wide range of vendors should attract more attendees. Even with this draw, Houck has modest expectations for their first Roseville event but is optimistic about emulating the growth experienced in Sacramento. "That's kind of what we're hoping for with Roseville," said Houck, who noted attendance to the bi-annual event increased from roughly 1,000 to 15,000 over 10 years. "Especially with the new Event Center (@TheGrounds) they are building, we'd like to see it eventually grow to what we have in Sacramento. But we're not just jumping in and we're sort of testing the waters with this event… I think Roseville is definitely an underserved area as far as these types of events." SacAnime program director Scott Armstrong said it makes perfect sense to branch out, given the amount of attendees who come from the Roseville area. "We are delighted to bring this event to Roseville and Placer County," Armstrong said. "A good chunk of our attendees of our SacAnime show come from the area and we felt it was now time to bring the show to them. We wanted to plant a seed in Roseville that will grow and possibly become a mecca for fandoms and genre entertainment." In assessing the genre's growth, Houck noted mainstream outlets such as Netflix and Comedy Central have expanded anime's reach. Rewind some 10 years ago, anime was typically consumed through video cassettes or DVD sales. Armstrong said the return of classic shows such as "She-Ra" and "Thundercats" are being drawn in the anime style to appeal to that audience. The current running "Teen Titans" has appealed to that audience for quite a while, he added. The most recent blockbuster movie, "Alita: Battle Angel" also serves as an example of how the anime audience is getting broader and more diverse, he said. SacAnime's presentation of Anime: Roseville will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday @TheGrounds, 800 All America Blvd., Roseville. Parking is $10 and the price of admission is $10 in cash only. For more information on the event, including a schedule of activities, visit sacanime.com.