AnimeJapan 2018

AnimeJapan 2018 ends in a rousing success! Overall visitor number: 152,331 (5% increase from last year)”!
AnimeJapan 2019 to be held in next March!!

The world class anime convention “AnimeJapan 2018” was held at Tokyo Big Sight from March 22 [Thu] to 25 [Sun] and recorded 152,331 attendees (5% increase from last year), making it a great success.
241 anime-related entities gathered at the exhibition area (Main Area: 162 companies, 892 units / Business Area: 65 companies, 60 booths, 76 units / Family Anime Festa: 14 companies, 10 booths, 35 units).
In the Main Area, a variety of unique booths decorated AnimeJapan 2018 with displays, goods sales, various content/service advertisements, and stage shows. Business Area, on the other hand, hosted meeting opportunities for business entities from all over the world.
Family Anime Festa 2018, in its 4th year, hosted a number titles popular among children, play corners, workshops, stages, and other rich contents, recording the largest attendee number in history.
Lastly, in hopes of further evolvement, AnimeJapan 2019 was officially announced, to be held for 4 consecutive days from March 21 [Thu] to 24 [Sun] at Tokyo Big Sight in 2019.

Entertainment

[AJ Open Stage]

Click the link below for the report in detail.　※Japanese Only
http://animeanime.jp/special/385/recent/

[Food Park]

“Mr. Osomatsu”, “Gintama” and other titles presenting both tasty and entertaining menu.

Food Park, with its anime and food collaboration menu, is an area extremely popular each year. With the additional food trucks set up this year, the area has become more lively and convenient. Six collab dishes were prepared this time. Kirei Kotomine's Mabodofu Don from “Fate/stay night[Heaven's Feel]” was a dish that represented the character’s favorite food.
Other fan pleasing dishes from the lineup included “NEETball Curry Rice” from “Mr.Osomatsu”, “Gin-san's Bokutou Churros” from “GINTAMA”, “Jack & Rockets Cheeseburger "Hellsalem's Lot Special"” from “Blood Blockade Battlefront & BEYOND”, “Rabbit House’s Sandwich” from “Is the order a rabbit?? -Dear My Sister-”, and “Honmaru Miso Ramen” from “TOUKEN RANBU HANAMARU Season 2”. Attendees were able to enjoy not only the taste but the appearance of our special dishes. As each collaboration food item came with a coaster as a present, it was a menu which satisfied fans’ stomachs and hearts.

[Official Goods]

Featuring collaboration works available only at AnimeJapan and products using the 5th anniversary visuals.

To celebrate AnimeJapan’s 5th anniversary, special collaborative T-shirts were designed for the occasion. Popular titles like “Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale × Yuki Yuna is a Hero - Chapter of a Hero -”, “Araiguma Rascal × Kemono Friends” and “GIRLS und PANZER das Finale × POP TEAM EPIC” joined together for original illustrations. In addition, a privilege to request a drawing of one’s favorite character was on sale through auction. Designers of “IdolTime Pripara”, “MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM 00”, “GHOST IN THE SHELL ARISE”, “CODE GEASS Lelouch of the Rebellion”, “LUPIN THE 3rd PART5” created the one and only illustrations in the world. Items with reasonable price were also available. Original ticket holders with 5th anniversary original visuals, AJ Gacha and acrylic keychains were popular as well.

[Cosplayer's World]

Cosplay Parade marching through the venue.

This year’s Cosplayer’s World once again expanded its space to welcome a diverse gathering of cosplayers. Cosplayer’s were able to enjoy more freedom posing for pictures without worrying about their surroundings. The early morning changing room which allowed attendees to change before the opening of AnimeJapan, was equipped with an early morning luggage storage service for the sake of attendees. This year, to celebrate AnimeJapan’s 5th anniversary, a Cosplay Parade was held on both public days. The impact of cosplayers parading around the venue was outstanding. With many attendees taking pictures, the project turned out to be especially brilliant. Exclusive AJ photoshoot backdrops were prepared this year as well. People were also seen posing with the 5th anniversary celebratory characters, the AJ Brothers plush toy. There were also various new projects at the cosplay area this year. We created a mosaic art using pictures of cosplayers gathered through Twitter and the producer of the AJ cosplay area tried his skills in cosplay, making “Zero’s Mask” from “Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch II - Handou” together with cosplayers.

[AnimeJapan Broadcast Booth]

AnimeJapan related information and talk sessions for anime fans.

A section of Food Park hosted the AnimeJapan Broadcast Booth. Its talk sessions hosting various guests, were released on niconico Livestream and offered the viewers a number of anime-related information.
On March 23 [Fri], prior to the Public day, “How to Enjoy AnimeJapan 2018” was streamed live on niconico Livestream. Fans were particularly intrigued by AnimeJapan’s must-sees and main programs, as well as 5th anniversary program “Anime Anything and Everything Ranking” results.
On March 24 [Sat] and 25 [Sun], overall 10 programs including Opening Ceremony were broadcasted. Film, advertisement, festivals, figurines, goods, all these contents deeply related to anime were explored. A popular show “Across Creators: The Night of Advertisers” was also held as revival program for 2 consecutive sessions. Marketing experts from 10 companies gathered and revealed behind the scenes of their job, enabling a heated discussions.

Creation

[Production Works Gallery]

Introducing the CG production flow in “Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin” and “Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters”.

“Production Works Gallery” is dedicated to revealing the production methods in making anime.
The main theme for this edition was “3DCG now and the future of anime”, described in detail through the examples of “Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin” and “Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters”. While both titles utilize 3DCG, "Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin” integrates hand-drawing and 3DCG, whereas “Godzilla” is created solely by 3DCG tech. How does that difference change production flows and methods? A firm explanations with visual aid examples was given at the booth, and since both titles have a long history and broad popularity, there were many fans who were eagerly looking into the displays. The corner gave the visitors a chance to learn more about 3DCG, and gave us a taste of the future of anime.

[Anime Jobs]

Revealing the movie “Detective Conan” advertisement methods

“Anime Jobs” corner presented 2 major topics. At “Detective Conan Zero the Enforcer" PR Enforcement Plan” corner, advertisement materials and methods of this 2018 spring movie were revealed. In addition to explaining tech-terms in the teaser and news, comments from the advertisement producer were also showcased. The featured topic enabled audience to learn how key visuals and catch phrases are determined. The movie “Detective Conan” series keeps making new records in its box-office revenue recently and the corner gathered a lot of attention from the visitors.
Blue-ray / DVD package designs were showcased at “Package Design Exhibition”, with examples from popular series such as “A Silent Voice”, “Land of the Lustrous”, and “Mr. Osomatsu”. The exhibition featured comments from designers and producers, to help audience learn more about their goals, proving that advertisement and package design are also essential features of anime.

[Creation Seminar]

Guest members explaining their works: lively Q&A sessions.

Hosting guest speakers related to “Production Works Gallery” and “Anime Jobs”, “Creation Seminar” explored the topics of the exhibitions. “Advertisement of the movie “Detective Conan"” was held on March 24 [Sat] and “The creation of “Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin””, “Present 3DCG and the future of anime” and “PRINTGEEK x MdN presents: The world of anime through the eyes of a graphic designer” were held on March 25 [Sun].
It was a rare opportunity where directors, producers, and designers could talk in depth about their creations. Each seminar saw a number of audience. Some were eager to join the industry and asked many questions during the Q&A sessions. Additional explanation was given about several small, hard to notice at first sight details from the exhibition.

Business

[Business Area]

65 companies, the largest number in history, exhibiting at the Business Area.

AnimeJapan’s business day, a meeting opportunity with Japan’s renown anime companies, was held on March 22 [Thu] and 23 [Fri] and recorded 3,385 visitors. The number of exhibitors increased from 59 in the previous year to 65. The mobile-game giant GREE and a visual content producer NHK Enterprise, joined the exhibition for the first time, proving the growing diversification and high demand for anime business. The Business Area provided various features, such as business consultant service “Anime Business Concierge”, “Anime Character Introduction Panel”, a matching opportunity for anime series/characters and businesses, and “AJ×JETRO Anime Business Matching” with cooperation by JETRO.
A separate business-meeting space was also provided outside of the exhibition zone. Many buyers from overseas also visited the venue for business meetings.

[AJ×ABPF Anime Business University]

Decoding the industry trends and basics of licensing business.

As a business program held in the Main Area, anime business-related courses were held on March 24 [Sat]. At “Anime Industry Revealed by Data ~Anime Industry through "Anime Industry Report" data~”, Mr. Hiromichi Masuda (Senior Editor of Anime Industrial Report / Association of Japanese Animation) joined as a navigator and Tomonori Ochikoshi (Aniplex Inc. Deputy President) as a guest. Based on the 2017 statistics, anime industry’s recent trends were explained in detail. All seats in the venue were filled and the attendees paid close attention to the lecture.
“The basics of Licensing ~"Secondary Usage of Anime" How to Start Licensing Business~” hosted Mr. Kazuo Rikukawa (Managing Director, Character Databank) as a navigator and Mr. Syunnosuke Tsunoda (Tatsunoko Production Co.,Ltd. Contents Department, Domestic Licensing) as a guest. This session gave wide knowledge in the licensing business by showcasing actual examples. Some stories that could be shared only in this occasion heated up the audience.

Family Anime Festa

Family Anime Festa 2018
14,304 attendees, the largest in history!

Family Anime Festa in its 4th year recorded 14,304 attendees, a 22% increase from the previous event and the largest number in history. The venue also doubled in size by moving into the East Hall 7. Since admission is limited to elementary school children and their guardians, the area is secure while entertaining for families. A free shuttle bus service was available from the Kokusai Tenjijo Station, which was used by a large number of attendees.
Family Stage gathered various characters popular among children, such as “ANPANMAN”, “YO-KAI WATCH”, and “Pocket Monsters: Sun&Moon”. Character Greeting, in which children could take pictures with anime characters was another popular feature. Kids Workshop hosted “GUNPLA Assembly Workshop” and “Let’s Make Anime” corners, entertaining for both children and their parents. At the play corners, kids enjoyed Yo-Yo fishing game, coloring, and more and it appeared they were having a great time.

AnimeJapan 2018, the world-class anime convention held at Tokyo Big Sight from March 22nd [Thu] to March 25th [Sun] has released its exhibition report. Report Offer: Anime! Anime!