Outside the convention hall at Anime Expo 2004.

An anime convention is a somewhat loose term used to describe any event or gathering in a venue where the primary focus is on anime and manga as an industry or as a fan event. This event can take a variety of forms, but in most English speaking countries it is thought of a fan driven multi-day event gathering of fans to celebrate or participate in anime fandom with like minded people, usually at a large hotel's convention meeting space. Some have also been held on college campuses and dedicated conference/civic centers. It can also describe industry driven events in which studios and publishers hype their anime related releases, or even dealer-marketplace type events which are totally consumer based. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (600x800, 363 KB)Picture taken at Anime Expo 2004 from the roof of the Anaheim Convention Center. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (600x800, 363 KB)Picture taken at Anime Expo 2004 from the roof of the Anaheim Convention Center. ... Outside the convention hall at AX2004 Anime Expo, also known as AX, is an anime convention that usually takes place on the July 4th weekend for 4 days every year in Southern California. ... A Venue is the location of an event, usually a meeting. ... The main cast of the anime Cowboy Bebop (1998) (L to R: Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Ed Tivrusky, Faye Valentine, and Ein the dog) For the oleo-resin, see Animé (oleo-resin). ... Manga )   (pl. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

History

Anime Conventions have a long and varied worldwide history. The original Comiket, mostly based on fan published manga called doujinshi, started in 1975 with around 700 people in Tokyo. The Comiket of today see several hundred thousand people, showing the lasting popularity of the medium in its home country. Other Japanese anime conventions are arms of or heavily sponsored by certain studios or publishing companies and are used as platforms for new releases, such as Jump Festa. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...   , literally Eastern capital) is a unique subnational administrative region of Japan with characteristics of both a prefecture and a city. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Anime conventions of the west mostly spawned from similar science fiction and multigenre conventions of the 1980s which featured anime content by tandem. Though many popular shows from Japan had been broadcast by that time, the direct to video market had yet to reach any significant penetration in North America or Europe until the late 1980s. Anime conventions of the west take many cues from those conventions, such as use of a large hotel with a meeting space, spanning 2 days or more of a weekend, invited industry guests, costume dressup, dealers selling various goods, and many other similarities. A fan convention, or con, is an event in which the fans of a particular TV show, comic book, or actor, or an entire style of entertainment such as science fiction or anime, gather together to meet famous personalities (and each other) face-to-face. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Most western anime conventions are fan operated, meaning a group of self appointed fans manage the affairs necessary to run the event, either as individuals, a non-profit group, or an LLC. Many early conventions were run out-of-pocket at the expense of these organizers, often referred to as directors. However as a result of many factors, most did not run more than 2 years annually.^{[citation needed]} One of the few to survive past the 1980s was Project A-kon.^{[citation needed]} This article is about a U.S.-specific corporate form; for limited liability companies in general, see corporation. ... Out-of-pocket expenses are direct outlays of cash which are not reimbursed. ...

In the early 1990s saw what would later be the long standing annual conventions of the west, including Anime Expo and Animethon, (and similarly Otakon and JACON on the east) which continue to run today and number attendance in the several thousands. Anime conventions in other locales, such as Europe and Australia began to take off in the mid 1990s as well. These growth trends follow the popularity and availability of anime to other countries outside of Japan.^{[citation needed]} Outside the convention hall at AX2004 Anime Expo, also known as AX, is an anime convention that usually takes place on the July 4th weekend for 4 days every year in Southern California. ... Animethon is an anime convention held annually at MacEwan City Centre Campus in Edmonton, Alberta. ... Otakon is a fan convention focusing on the art of anime and manga, East Asian culture, and its fandom. ... The Japanese Animation Club of Orlando (JACO) serves as the officially sanctioned anime club for the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando, Florida (Union Park campus). ...

In recent years, new anime conventions continue to spring up in places where coverage from other conventions don't reach, such as Kawaii-kon in Hawaii. Special industry announcements and premiers are now taking place at anime conventions outside of Japan, reflecting an acknowledgement of fandom from other locales.^{[citation needed]}

Guests

Guests are often a very big and integeral part of Anime Conventions, offering an opportunity for autographs, Q&As, discussion, commentary, and more. Guests are also often a part of some of the panels as well. Conventions can sometimes convince guests to come for free, especially newer stars, technical staff members, or people playing more of the low-profile roles, otherwise, a convention will have to pay to have other guests at their convention.

Cosplay

Main Article: Cosplay Cosplayers Cosplay ), a portmanteau of the English words costume and play, is a Japanese subculture centered on dressing as characters from manga, anime, tokusatsu, and video games, and, less commonly, Japanese live action television shows, fantasy movies, or Japanese pop music bands. ...

Cosplay is often the part of the convention that has the most participation. At an average convention there will be hundreds of cosplayers. Attendees often dress to meet people with the same interests, to win awards at Cosplay contests, and to have the opportunity to dress out of the ordinary for several days. A cosplay contest is held at nearly every anime convention, usually judged for prizes.

Anime convention events

A typical western anime convention will feature several events, workshops, panels, and contests for the attendees. Longer-running conventions with higher attendance often have the biggest variety and highest number of events.

Panels

Anime conventions often have panels, which are open ended discussions involving some pre-determined topic, usually related in at least some way to anime. Topics can include manga, favorite voice-actors, details about a particular anime show, series, or movie. Panels may also be about more general topics such as cosplay or fanfiction. The main cast of the anime Cowboy Bebop (1998) (L to R: Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Ed Tivrusky, Faye Valentine, and Ein the dog) For the oleo-resin, see Animé (oleo-resin). ... Manga )   (pl. ... Cosplayers Cosplay ), a portmanteau of the English words costume and play, is a Japanese subculture centered on dressing as characters from manga, anime, tokusatsu, and video games, and, less commonly, Japanese live action television shows, fantasy movies, or Japanese pop music bands. ... Fan fiction (also spelled fanfiction and commonly abbreviated to fanfic) is fiction written by people who enjoy a film, novel, television show or other media work, using the characters and situations developed in it and developing new plots in which to use these characters. ...

Workshops

Slightly different than a Panel, a workshop is more like guided instruction through a major or specific task, typically instructed by an individual (often a convention guest). The instructor could either demonstrate or instruct people on how to accomplish tasks such as how to draw manga, make computer animation, or how to become a voice actor. Manga )   (pl. ...

Video screenings

Most anime conventions hold screenings of actual anime shows or movies, because the circulation of the material and theatrical releases is much lower than in Japan. Because of this, screenings and video rooms are less common in Japanese conventions, unless promoting a specific studio. Some western conventions have several video screening rooms, running a varied schedule of shows, some of which are available in the US, and other are fan-subtitled with no domestic publisher.

Contests

Most conventions include contests, the most popular of which is the cosplay contest, which is held at nearly every anime convention. Contests can also focus around costumes, art (drawn, sculpted, painted), anime-related music videos, video games, dice games, card games, and many other activities. Most conventions also offer prizes for the winners of the most important contests.

Dealers' Room

An Exhibit Hall or Dealers' Room is also popular at most conventions. Publishing companies, distributors, and other proprietors often arrive to exhibit and/or sell their newest products to fans. Wares can include graphic novels manga, anime media, action figures, apparel, music CDs, software, decorations, toys, art books, specialty foods, and many more. Several anime conventions have made rules against pirated wares, while others have not. Manga )   (pl. ... An action figure is a posable plastic figurine of an action hero, superhero or a character from a movie or television program. ...

Art show

Typical art shows are similar to those at a traditional museum or gallery. Artwork of all kind is put on display for inspection, and in some cases for purchase, by the viewer. Entry is usually only restricted by space available & registration with the convention. The artist can choose to be present to display, discuss, or take commission in a variation of the art show known as the Artists' Alley. Artists may also include crafts, drawn art, self published books or video, fanzines, and more.

Social activities

Most conventions (or their visitors) also hold purely social gatherings, such as dances, room parties, dinners, and more.

Largest North American anime conventions of 2006

Calculation methods used from con to con may be different. Some conventions report just paid attendance while others report "total attendance". A "total attendance" figure would count all people with a badge including paid attendees, staff, guests, dealers, and others.^[1]

1. Anime Expo - 40,647 total, 32,930 paid
2. Otakon - 32,902 estimated total, 22,302 paid
3. A-Kon - 12,500 estimated paid
4. Anime North - 12,500 total, 11,286 paid
5. Anime Central - 11,500 estimated total
6. FanimeCon - 10,000 estimated paid
7. Anime Weekend Atlanta - 8,949 paid
8. Anime Boston - 9,354 total, estimated 8,854 paid
9. Sakura-Con - 8,300 estimated total, 7,500 estimated paid
10. Katsucon - 6,400 estimated total, 5,664 paid

Outside the convention hall at AX2004 Anime Expo, also known as AX, is an anime convention that usually takes place on the July 4th weekend for 4 days every year in Southern California. ... Otakon is a fan convention focusing on the art of anime and manga, East Asian culture, and its fandom. ... Project A-Kon (or just A-Kon) is an anime convention held annually in Dallas, Texas, usually lasting three days on or near Memorial Day in May or June. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Anime Central (ACen for short) is an anime convention that is held yearly in Rosemont, Illinois, in the United States. ... FanimeCon (also known as simply Fanime) is an annual anime convention run by the Anime Resource Group (ARG). ... Anime Weekend Atlanta (AWA) is a convention geared towards Japanese Animation and Comics held in the Atlanta, Georgia area. ... Cosplayers at Anime Boston 2004 Anime Boston is an annual three-day anime fan convention held in the spring in Boston, Massachusetts. ... Sakura-Con is an anime convention sponsored by the Asia Northwest Cultural Education Association (ANCEA). ... Katsucon is a fan convention for anime, manga and Japanese culture enthusiasts. ...

See also

• List of anime conventions

// The following is a list of articles of anime conventions from around the world whose has an attendance of more than 2,000 people, have held at least two prior conventions and announced a date and location for a third, and runs at least two days. ...

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 1st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... January 2 is the 2nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• AnimeCons.com
• CosplayMemories.com: Cosplay videos for download
• A Fan's View: Anime Convention Schedule
• Science Fiction Convention Survival Kit for Newbies
• A list of convention rules / guidelines
• Lionel Lum News Network
• Rising Sun Entertainment
• Cosplay in the Philippines