When it comes to anime related events in Japan, most often talked about among fans are live concerts, Comic Market (also known as Comiket), Voice Actor meet and greets, and dedicated series doujin exhibition events. One annual event that has been marketed for the international community when it comes to anime is AnimeJapan.
I recently had a chance back in March to attend and experience this massive event for the first time at Tokyo Big Sight. With it being one of the largest exhibition events in the world dedicated to anime, it reportedly drew over 145,000 attendees for this year.
AnimeJapan established itself in 2014 from the merger of Tokyo International Fair and Anime Contents Expo with the catchphrase, “Here Is Everything about Anime”.
Over the course of 4 days, Tokyo Big Sight became the international stage for all things anime. Everything from business, exhibition booths by almost every major production studio and manufacturer, cosplayers from around the world, and the chance for attendees to be part of an experience with the Stage Events are what make AnimeJapan a big event for not only for the companies themselves, but also for fans from around the world.
For Part 1 of this 3-part article series, we’ll take a brief look at what happens behind the scenes and how business gets done, including some things you may have wondered about when it comes to some of our major conventions here in North America.
Part 1 – The Business of Anime
The first two days of AnimeJapan, March 23 (Thursday) and March 24 (Friday), were dedicated to the Business Area at Tokyo Big Sight. Note that this is an area not open to the public located in the Reception Hall of the venue. This is where many of the major companies from not only within Japan itself but also from around the world set up their exhibit and meeting booths, including some names familiar to us here in the US. This creates the setting and the opportunity for representatives to meet with each other and establish connections, whether it would be for broadcasting deals, future collaborations, or even special events for conventions.
Walking in the business area, I immediately recognized a lot of well-known names such as Aniplex Inc., Tokyo Broadcasting System, Sunrise Inc., Pony Canyon and Toei Animation Ltd. Even some non-production companies were exhibitors in the Business Area during these two days including Otakorp Inc., Anime Expo, ReedPop, Japan Expo and even anime themed hostel company Astro Station.
When asked the big question: “What is the benefit of representing your company here in the Business Area?” it was interesting to learn what the different types of companies here could benefit from.
Talking to Jon Baumgardner, Director of Entertainment for Anime Expo and the SPJA, and John Gluth, the Convention Chairman for Otakon, being in close proximity with several major companies definitely makes conducting business with them very convenient.
“We feel that this is a great central hub for us to meet with these companies directly. It’s very convenient especially when we are interested in coordinating events and bringing international guests for our own conventions in the US.”
This in itself would definitely explain in part how two of the largest conventions in North America are able to bring us some of the biggest guests and music artists, including some of the highly anticipated ones for this summer’s conventions.
Astro Station was another of the Business Area companies I had a chance to talk with. They are known as the only anime themed hostel in Japan, currently located in the busy business district of Shinjuku, just outside of Takadanobaba station on the JR Yamanote line. Some of the unique features of their hostel include a manga and anime DVD library, amenities just like a dormitory, and very knowledgeable staff familiar with the city, where visitors, especially anime fans can feel right at home.
When asked why they chose to exhibit in the Business Area of AnimeJapan, there were two objectives that they had. I spoke with Oliver Coffey and Joel Sonn who talked a little bit about the company.
“It was our goal to network with companies in the industry for potential collaborations. This being for work on a new hostel location near Akihabara as well as licensing deals. Our rooms currently utilize commissioned original illustrations, but we also hope to have art and events with popular characters in fandom in the future. For that, we would need to get permission and work together with large companies in the industry.” In addition, “AnimeJapan was great advertising, to show some of the art from our room and talk about our current location, including the benefits we can provide for new travelers to Japan.”
In fact, a first time traveler to Japan can be overwhelmed by how much there is around them to explore. Having some familiarity, accommodations and a friendly environment that caters to the anime fan, and a resource available to guide them for their first or even future visits is the benefit that Astro Station looks to offer.
Looking around more at the production companies booths, each of them had showcased what some of their previous, current, and upcoming properties are.
Aniplex Japan had on display several of their well known and anticipated projects including the Sword Art Online Ordinal Scale Movie, the upcoming Irregular at Magic High School movie, Blue Exorcist Kyoto Arc, Interview with Monster Girls, Granblue Fantasy and Fate/Stay Night Heaven’s Feel.
TBS Animation had on display some of their past hit series including Hidamari Sketch, Amagi Brilliant Park, and To Love Ru Darkness while also showing off some new and recent titles including Seiren, Girlish Number, Urara Meirochou, and this season’s Clockwork Planet.
The end of my visit in the Business Area brought me to an exhibitor who although at first look seems to suggest more Comics and American pop culture, is actually one of the leading companies in the world when it comes to conventions not only in the US, but in several countries around the world including China, Australia, Indonesia, and even India.
ReedPOP started in 2006 and is best known in the US for pop culture conventions including New York Comic Con, C2E2, and Emerald City Comic Con. So what was the reason for exhibiting at AnimeJapan?
“Anime has always been a big part of our conventions including New York Comic Con and C2E2. With us recently starting new events such as Indonesia Comic Con and Shanghai and Beijing Comic Convention, our hope is to bring more of anime into our expanding family of conventions around the world.” Justin Flores of ReedPOP had to say about their objectives for coming to AnimeJapan.
The Business Days of AnimeJapan overall show that it can be a great resource for different types of companies, by bringing them together all in one room, with the benefit of being able to meet with each other directly.
In the next part of my coverage of the event, we’ll take a look at the other side of AnimeJapan, the public days, with visits to some of the exhibition booths and some of the activities available to attendees.