Despite still dealing with the effects of 2024’s Hurricane Beryl, Sherroy Campbell and his Animate Jamaica team pushed forward to host Animania 3.0 on June 28 and 29 at Montego Bay Community College, St James.

This was their second attempt at putting on a two-day Asian pop culture event.

“Our theme this year is Solo Levelling. It’s all about us levelling up, becoming better after we got knocked down by Hurricane Beryl, and that’s what we’re really trying to portray this year,” Campbell told the Jamaica Observer.

He further explained that despite several months Beryl’s consequences are still being felt in the Asian pop culture community, as individuals lost many possessions.

Campbell said that Animania 3.0 was more than just another show; its function was to reassure fans of Asian pop culture on the western end of the island that Animate Jamaica was serious about its position as a genre events organiser.

This year’s Animania 3.0 was a smaller project than 2024; however, Campbell used the opportunity to address some of the patron feedback from the previous staging.

“The main thing we wanted to establish, which we got from the community, so we have a lot more vendors than we had last year,” he said.

The move from the larger Montego Bay Convention Centre last year to the new venue was driven by the event’s main sponsor, Campbell explained. He was sceptical at first, but realised the potential of the new location and is planning on remaining there for the 2026 event.

Working with the challenges, Animania 3.0 still had plenty to do, between the tables of anime product vendors, themed food and drink, plus video games, attendees were often called up to participate in competitions such as the spicy noodle eating contest.

Davon Merritt was one such lucky winner, able to guess the exact number of coins in a Naruto frog coin purse. Patrons were also encouraged to show off their dance moves to the latest anime and K-pop hits.

“Growing the community is the number one thing we were hoping to achieve, and I think we did just that,” said Campbell.

For 2026 Campbell and his Animate Jamaica team are already planning to return Animania on its initial trajectory.

“We’ve already started planning for next year. We should be working with an international group from New York that will bring that international hype and buzz back to Jamaica,” he said.

Patron D’Andra Malcolm browses the anime-themed swag available at Animania 3.0. (Rory Daley)

The Anime Merchant (left) with contest winner Davon Merritt. (Rory Daley)

Sherroy Campbell of Animate JamaicaRory Daley