I've awaited this event for some time and when it finally 'arrived' on 22 and 23 of March, anime fans in Japan and around the world had their little celebration. All because of long waited Anime Japan 2014 (formerly known as Tokyo International Anime Fair). The event took place in he halls of Tokyo's Big Sight. I think it's good the name has been changed as it sounds much better now.
Tickets were priced at ¥1500 for adults, so around 15 US dollars. It is a little bit more then Tokyo Game Show ask from us. The organisation was again top notch, as one would expect from a large event like this. There weren't any real issues to report on, or problems that would make sharing 6 exhibition halls with loads of people more tiring. Despite the crowds, you did not actually feel so overwhelmed as it happens at TGS. Checking individual booths was very pleasant and the welcoming hostess and staff were making it ever more pleasant. By the way you can check the Cosplay page on the site to find all the hostess and cosplay photos.
The venue looks very interesting from the outside and it's actually difficult to mistake it for something else. It resembles four pyramids joined together and turned upside-down. The localisation was very convenient, as the halls are very close from the Yurikamome train line. Unlike TGS when it is necessary to take a lengthy train ride (from Tokyo station) + have a 10-minute stroll from the station. From the very station everybody was welcomed by their beloved anime characters from posters hung around the station. Nice initiative!!
The opening was at 9am, but a lot of fans arrived as early as around 5am. Twitter registered around 400 people waiting around 4:50am. Even quite cold morning could not break their spirits:) I arrived a little later, hehe.
With time the crowd was getting bigger..
This huge interest resulted in very good and quick sales of available merchandise. Fairly quickly many of the items started getting marked with "kanbai" meaning "sold out". It was a wise decision from sellers to prepare goods for both days. This way they would not stand with empty hands on the second day.
Inside, there were a lot of attractions awaiting game and anime fans. You could buy some gadgets, take photos with scaled 1:1 figures such as Goku or Naruto, watch loads of upcoming anime trailers, take a Persona 3 stylised photo, look at Japanese woman dancing to the music of anime opening songs, or test your strength (voice?) at voice acting of some selected anime scenes. Awesome!! Some risk-takers really did a great job, putting a lot of emotions into their characters.
Please check the gallery at the end for more photos.
Please check the gallery at the end for more photos.
The following video and the flame building got my attention!
Apart from that it was possible to take part in concert on one of 3 stages (green, red and blue). Reservation was needed though. You could also choose the open stage. Even if you were not lucky to get access to one of the colour stages, you could still see a bit on large screens.
Those who were interested in the way anime is created or were willing to find out how anime has been changing over the years, there were seminars everybody could join. It is also worth mentioning that unlike last year the event lasted only for two days (previously 4). Both days were open for public and people from the anime/manga industry (business). It led to some funny situations, duch as when a man next to me was recording a footage of one of the trailers with a big press-like camera.
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One of the exhibitors/sellers was Good Smile Company(GSC). Some of the things they do is create nendoroid figures. There was a long line leading to the gallery of their works. Just next to GSC there was a very cute "cannon" that all KanColle fans know for sure. I'll write some more about Kantai Collection in one of the next "spot on anime". It is currently one of the hottest cosplay themes during events. Shimakaze and her friends have plenty of followers.
It was also a great day for Kadokawa company - one of the organisers. They launched their free manga reading app on the first day of the event. The app gives you access to approx. 200 titles. They are in Japanese, Chinese and English. The English selection consists of about 40 titles, but Kadokawa said there are more coming and will be systematically added as the translation works finish.
Another interesting item was HMV Personal 3D Viewer. Everybody had a chance to experience what it means to be a part of an anime. While wearing a kind of VR goggles and moving your head, your view also changes. You can look around freely or at other characters as you watch the anime. I guess this will be a great deal for all the otaku out there. A very immersive and interactive idea.
A lot of interested was generated by the stand of "The Next Generation". They had a big robot, together with a police truck and an army car. I am not sure what the anime is about.
The event was definitely worth seeing and even those who aren't big fans of anime could find something for themselves. The atmosphere was very nice and geeky:)
To give you some numbers let me tell you that within 2 days 111000 people visited Big Sight, which compared to last year's 4-day event and 106 000 visitors shows a small increase in the number of participants.
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You can also visit my YouTube channel to see the videos I have not posted here.
You can also visit my YouTube channel to see the videos I have not posted here.
Cheers! Kanpai!
Rikimaru83
Rikimaru83