Anime Expo 2026: 18+ Artist Row: Where's My Family Matters' Urkel Body Pillow, Dammit!

 By Jonathan B.

*Don't worry, it's covered or on par with a Rated-R movie below.

What's up with the 18+ section? It's the first year it got its own artist alley row. And, here we thought there'd be Guy Fieri sex dolls and Urkel's face on some body pillows. Or to be a bit contemporary, the now adult cast of Stranger Things on some things. But, no. Anime and video game characters ruled all imagery along the row. There was, of course, some fun dirty ideas, but not the fun dirty ideas sexualizing other aspects of American culture I was hoping for.

 

 

Bring on the schlongs and boobs! As you can see 18+ Artist Alley Row "Xeno" was manageable. This was due to a very strict process of how many horny people were allowed in at a time. This probably made it the most comfortable part of artist alley to walk through once in it. The rest of Artist Alley, this year, was just too busy. This waiting to go down row "Xeno" let you fancy yourself a connoisseur of hentai at a gingerly pace.

 

Once in, there was no end to the majesty of willies and titties to gawk at from many a favorite characters...not on a sitcom or cooking show. And, some of it done by some already known Artist Alley members of yester-AX who wanted to go a bit more dirty.

 

There was definitely some in-jokes related to series online and through anime. Just not enough of a strange variety I was hoping to share.

However, this doujin fit my criteria of something you wouldn't normally think of being porn was "Don't Come to W*lmart Tomorrow."

For a first year run at a row it was an okay start, but nothing that blows away the regular 18+ section. They might want to change it to be more of a square again and not separate the artist alley from the named booths. Just one big adult family.

Even though it was a breeze to walk through, having another wait time, another line to see more porn is to brutal for the fine folks who just wanted to goon. 

Onimusha: Way of the Sword Out Sept 4th

 

We've been looking forward to this one. And, it looks like Capcom is giving us the games we crave again.

Onimusha: Way of the Sword changed its release date to September 4, 2026 across PlayStation®5, Nintendo Switch™ 2, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam, the Epic Games Store, and Microsoft Store.  The trailer above is already old and has the old release date.

So you can pre-orders for Onimusha: Way of the Sword now and players who jump in and secure the Standard, Deluxe, or Premium Deluxe editions before September 24 will receive Early Adopter Bonuses as rewards. For more info, go to the link above.

Oh, and there's a demo for game out now on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, Steam, and the Epic Games Store. If you have ave data from the demo, you can also look forward to getting a Kubi Akari charm as a special bonus when the game is out September 4.

Corpse Flowers Blooming at The Huntington

 

A duo of corpse flowers are blooming at The Huntington. You have a very limited time to smell the awful funk as blooms don't last long.

Go to The Huntington site to learn more and get over there before it's over.

 

Also, this time special Corpse Flower Cookies to get at the pop-up while it's going on. 

Anime Expo 2026: It Takes One To TENGA & 18+ Section

 By Jonathan B.

Walking into the TENGA booth shouldn't be like walking into a friendly cosmetics section at a store. However, it totally was. In, probably the friendliest and most open booth in the 18+ section was the adult company featuring different pleasure items that don't look too conspicuous, TENGA. The brand's iconic red bottle, that let's you insert something into it, was raised in the center of the booth to draw people in.

A special branding deal with the Panty and Stocking anime has them featured on their own line of TENGA cups. They even have a special tissue case too. Apparently, American fans really enjoy seeing them on their special needs product of choice.

What also sets TENGA apart from other brands at the 18+ area was the merchandising. Sure, there's a lot of ways to get yourself off with Tenga products. But, they have a whole line of goodies to wear, carry and more.

Two of my favorites were the bucket hat and sleeping mask with tissues.

And, even more goodies were had in their capsule toys you could win.

 Beyond Tenga was the usual fanfare of smut only 18+ could share.

 Fakku! had a line per usual as they sell not only hentai, but there own merch as well. There's a wrapping paper they made that they don't sell anymore and dammit it was so funny to use for X-Mas.

One of the more funny booths had you fisting for prizes after you spent enough at a certain booth. And, there was a delightfully silly booth making fun of men's junk called Weenie World.

Hand in ha... places, 18+ seemed as busy as ever at AX this year.

Anime Hype: Tenchi Galaxy Funded, Major Bummer? & Next Friday: Magical Meow Meow

Final weekend at Kodansha House in Los Angeles! 📚💥

Immerse yourself in the world of manga, explore interactive displays, and take home exclusive merchandise while supplies last.

701 E 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013 pic.twitter.com/FtK7hhvrrc

— Kinokuniya USA (@KinokuniyaUSA) July 11, 2026

'TENCHI MUYO!' New Anime Sequel 'Tenchi Galaxy' has had its crowdfunding campaign officially surpass its $400,000 goal for a pilot episode in just 2 days!

Stretch goals include a Japanese Dub, 4k Ultra HD Support, and more https://t.co/cd2kkfBRiJ pic.twitter.com/upYOa9NhFx

— Anime Updates (@animeupdates) July 11, 2026

Looks like we'll at least have a brand new pilot for a new Tenchi Muyo! series called Tenchi Galaxy. You can still kick in money on Kickstarter. A lot of the original dub cast and original crew are coming back for it.

me and couple of friends were discussing about the differences between the two and this is how we came to understand it. https://t.co/JFdM8IJOZx pic.twitter.com/AmdIzqHuSP

— Halibut (@frezzdian) July 10, 2026

This is a pretty accurate take on how the Major is now in the new series/the original manga compared the deeper thoughts and detective we've known for years in other series.

Great pilot for a a duo of magical girl cat sisters.
 

Cactus Taquería Closing Sunday

You have two days left to eat at the taquería that survived a drive-by in the 90s and is beloved by Brad Pitt and Johnny Knoxville. We sat down with the owners to go down memory lane with them and remember when Bourdain stopped by to try his favorite lengua tacos.

The full… pic.twitter.com/HO7D2egaxn

— L.A. TACO🌴🌮 (@LATACO) July 10, 2026

Anime Expo 2026: Miss Ya, Back In LA Next Year

 

We're sure, like so many of you attendees, you're missing AX and all of the adventures and time you had there. AX was and will continue to be an amazing convention. If you have gripes and we know you do, you can always email the event and of course, complain online. For the most part, I was at ease at AX myself. And, had some great moments. You'll always want more, so always remember to allocate your time wisely and just enjoy the cosplay/being there.

Some of you are prepping for Comic-Con and safety be with you as the Summer isn't over. There's quite a few events to go to.

We still have more coverage coming in as there was just too much happening at AX this year.

A press release from AX goes over a few tidbits of info.

-The SPJA, the group behind AX, says, the four-day, sold-out convention welcomed turnstile attendance of over 422,000 fans and delivered an estimated economic impact of over $115 million to LA.

-More than 1,400 hours of programming

-As reported before, Anime Expo will return Los Angeles Convention Center on July 2-5, 2027

L.A. Material's latest Newsletter is all about AX. I suggest you read Julia Wick's The municipal money moves behind L.A.’s Anime Expo, which goes over the AX crowd spending time at (blech) Yard House.

 

There's some great jokes with upcoming events and stories using anime inspired names in the newsletter.