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Anime Expo

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Outside the convention hall at AX2004
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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. The convention is held from Thursday to Sunday in years that the 4th falls from Wednesday through Saturday, but in a year when July 4 falls on a Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday, AX is held Friday to Monday, with the exception of AX '06, which was held Saturday to Tuesday. Anime Expo is hosted by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). SPJA has also held Anime Expos in New York and Tokyo, which took place in 2002 and 2004 respectively.

Many of the attendees cosplay while attending the convention, and popular events (in addition to guest and industry panels) include the Masquerade, Karaoke Contest, Anime Music Video Contest, and "AX Idol" Contest. AX is a 24-hour convention, offering late-night dances, all night video and gaming rooms, and open-mic Karaoke in the nighttime hours. AX has frequently collaborated with the anime industry, and as the convention has grown, so has the visibility of AX's industry sponsors as evidenced by their towering presence in the exhibition halls.

Anime Expo 2006 was held in Anaheim from July 1-4, 2006. Anime Expo 2007 will return to Long Beach, the actual dates of which were announced at the 2006 closing ceremonies. The event will be from June 29 to July 2.

Contents

History

Anime Expo started as a convention in Northern California. Many of its original staff came from the previous AnimeCon convention. In 1994, AX made a strategic relocation to Southern California and has stayed there since.

The convention continues to thrive despite a downtrend in the anime industry and maintains a strong draw due to the many notable Japanese guests AX has been known for. It currently holds the title of America's Largest Anime Convention, a title which it has consistently held every year except 2003 in which its attendance was slightly edged out by east coast convention Otakon. From the 1,750 attendees in 1992, AX's size has increased to 33,000 in 2005 making it one of the largest anime conventions in the world. Attendance projections for 2006 top 40,000, and it remains the premiere anime & manga convention in the U.S.

Attendance

While Anime Expo had historically steady growth of between 10-15% (with the exception of 1993), the convention demonstrated 40+% increase in attendance in 2004, and continues to have large attendance growth from year to year. This was due to a change in management, as well as the beginning of a large advertising and public relations campaign by the organizers of the convention.

The convention announces preliminary attendance numbers at the closing ceremonies, usually held on the evening of the 4th day. Attendance numbers include: general attendees, press, exhibitors, industry, volunteers, staff. Exhibits-only memberships have been counted as part of final attendance numbers in 2005 and 2006.

Anime Expo management has stated that it counts attendance numbers by "unique individuals". If an attendee purchases a 4-day pass, that person is counted one time, not 4 times. Although there have been discussions in the past regarding announcing both convention days and attendance (as is common in other shows, particularly Japanese shows), it has not yet materialized.

Organizational Structure

The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA), the parent organization which produces Anime Expo, is a federal and California state registered 501(c)(6) non-profit. The staffing of the SPJA and Anime Expo is broken up by division, and then further by department. There were over 500 volunteer staff in 2006, and a small number of paid employees. Employees of the SPJA include: the officers, the convention chair(s), the division directors, the assistant directors, and office manager. The SPJA also engages consultants separate from employees, on specialties such as legal and accounting.

Other Anime Expos

The SPJA has twice run conventions outside of California: Anime Expo New York in 2002, and Anime Expo Tokyo in 2004.

Anime Expo New York

Anime Expo New York (AXNY) was held in 2002 in the Times Square district of New York City. The event was originally a joint effort with Central Park Media and its industry event, Big Apple Anime Fest (BAAF). Due to differences, the event ran as separate entities within the same time frame and venues, with BAAF hosting the theatrical film screenings, and AXNY hosting the convention. The events shared some resources, with notable guests listed in the program guides of both events.

The SPJA ran the event in order to demonstrate that they could run events outside of their home state of California. The event was a precursor to Anime Expo Tokyo which would run in 2004 in Tokyo, Japan. The SPJA has not run any events outside of California since 2004.

Anime Expo Tokyo

Anime Expo Tokyo (AX Tokyo) was held in 2004 at the Sunshine City Convention Center in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. It is important to note that this event was not technically put on by the SPJA, but rather was put on by the Japanese Association for Science Fiction with assistance from the SPJA. In hosting AX Tokyo, JASFIC intended to accomplish two objectives. First, they wanted to establish in Japan a non-corporate sponsored convention dedicated to Anime, which in contrast to its manga counterpart was a rarity in Japan. Second, they wanted to prove to the coordinators of WorldCon that Japan could serve as a suitable venue for conventions that attract foreigners. They were ultimately successful and were named as the host for WorldCon 2007.

Anime Expo Tokyo had a staggering list of over 40 guests such as Ken Akamatsu, MiQ, Under17, Hiroshi Aro, and many others, although a small handful had to make last minute cancellations. AX Tokyo was also the very first AX that officially hosted guests from the US Anime industry such as Fred Gallagher and Crispin Freeman.

Of AX Tokyo's 4249 attendees, approximately 300 of that number were estimated to have traveled from abroad. In addition to the attendance numbers were 240 members of the press, 40 of which were from overseas. An additional 430 people were composed of dealers, guests, or staff.

As of current, no official plans for the next Anime Expo Tokyo have been announced, although there are persistent rumors that JASFIC intends to host another one, and considers the first AX Tokyo to have been a success.

Anime Expo dates and location by year

External links

Convention reports

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
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