The Story of Anime 3000 – From Classrooms to Conventions

By the time Sean’s passion for wrestling began to fade, something else had taken root. It started quietly – in Suzuki Sensei’s Japanese class, in the afternoons spent with the Japanese Club, and during late nights watching Toonami and Adult Swim. Slowly, anime became more than just entertainment. It became a bridge to a new kind of storytelling.

That bridge led to Anime 3000 – a project born out of everything Sean had learned up to that point.

At first, it was simple – a weekly newsletter. Sean didn’t want to write reviews himself, but he loved curating the work of others. In 2004, he posted an open call for writers on MySpace. Fifteen people answered. They sent in reviews, articles, and essays. Sean collected them, stitched them together, and published them on his website.

Then, Sean added something new – a forum. People came not just to read, but to talk. And the numbers grew. By its peak, Anime 3000 was drawing 30,000 visitors a month.

That success opened doors Sean never thought possible.

For the first time, he traveled to New York to attend an anime convention – a small event that would eventually grow into New York Comic Con. With his camera in hand, Sean left a lasting impression on some of the biggest names in the industry. Soon, DVDs from anime distributors started arriving at his doorstep, waiting to be reviewed. Sean passed them along to his writers, building the site’s reputation and reach.

Then came the next big break – Crunchyroll. Before it became the powerhouse streaming service known today, Crunchyroll was finding its footing in the U.S. market. Sean was one of their first writers, helping introduce anime to a wider American audience.

But Sean wasn’t satisfied. By 2007, his sights shifted to something new – podcasting.

Back then, podcasts were small – a new, unpolished frontier. Sean’s first attempt was rough, but he kept at it. In 2008, he launched Anime 3000’s first official show. One podcast became two. Then three. By the time the project reached its peak, Anime 3000 had millions of downloads and sponsorships from some of the biggest names in entertainment – VIZ Media, Funimation, Nintendo, and Sony.

Sean became a regular at conventions, traveling to Los Angeles, Baltimore, Orlando, and New York as a speaker and press member. Each trip brought new opportunities and connections.

But success came at a price.

The scale of Anime 3000 grew faster than Sean’s wallet could keep up. Bad business deals – ones unrelated to A3K – began to drain his savings. Faced with mounting overhead, Sean poured every dollar he made into keeping the project alive.

For a time, it cost him everything.

With nowhere else to turn, Sean found himself sleeping in the backseat of his car. Even then, he never stopped. Keeping his communities running meant more than his own comfort. Anime 3000 was more than a project – it was a reflection of Sean’s love for building, for connecting, and for giving others a platform to share their voices.

And while the backseat of his car wasn’t where he imagined success would lead him, Sean knew that every challenge was just another step toward the future he was still building.