Anime Japan, what is it?

Anime Japan, in a few words, is a convention on anime and what revolves around, dedicated to fans and enthusiasts. This description is not sexy at all so let me put the word of the organizers :

Greetings

AnimeJapan offers you not only entertainment, but also opportunities to connect and collaborate with what is happening at the moment in the world of anime.

Besides,

What makes you love anime,
What makes you work with anime,
What makes you having a great life through anime,

We want you to live it all.
We believe these elements contribute to make the world of anime stronger.

Here is Everything about Anime

The event took place this year from March 25 to 27, 2016, at Tokyo Bight Sight. If I’m correct, there were also other dates in Osaka and Nagoya.

And in practice…

It seems unnecessary to give practical information when the event has ended months ago. But since this is an annual event, I think the details that follow may still be useful.

… How does it work?

As mentioned above, it’s a convention type event so basically, various exhibitors are gathered in a big hall. There’s also a division by zone (blue zone, red zone…) but a classic ticket doesn’t give access to all of them. In addition to the exhibitors, there are many events: concert, photo booth, high-tech equipment test stand, food stand and plenty of goodies shops.

… How to get there?

This year, the event was held at Tokyo Big Sight. On the website (in Japanese and in English), you will find a small access plan with routes according to the means of transportation used.

… How much does it cost and how to purchase your ticket?

1600 ¥ presale ; 2000 ¥ at the door ; 3500 ¥ the fast ticket. To get your ticket, two methods:

– You’re a gaijin living outside Japan : On the D-day, you buy your ticket at the stand. Be careful, it will be crowded. Online purchase for attenders outside Japan might be available next year, who knows, that’s already the case in other events (ie TAAF). All in all, I would say it took me 1h (15-20 min to reach the sales space from the moment you leave the station, about 45 min queue).

– You’re already in Japan : If I understand correctly, you can buy your place online and have it printed at some stores (Animate, Family Mart…) or receive it at the address of your choice. Of course, I haven’t tested this method so I can’t explain in detail.

My review

First of all, I want to say I’ve never attended the Japan Expo, given the misconceptions I hold, confirmed by friends or bloggers. However I approached the matter with a “you are in Japan, you love anime, so you have to go. Equation solved…” state of mind while keeping in a corner of my head that it was a convention, so… be careful.

If I had to summarize my global feeling, let’s say I was torn between the child who marvels at everything, who discovers crazy things, new things… and the more pragmatic adult whose level of equirement may be high.

The main hall was divided into 2 large separate rooms. Arriving in the first, I had agoraphobic attacks mixed with excitement : the crowd is very dense, it jostles a little bit. In the distance you see projected images of anime you love ; The J-POP is in background noise (even noise-noise to be honest), hostesses trumpet in their kawaii-twangy voice.

Overall, I didn’t like this room because mediocre for my taste and without interest. It’s really fan/otaku oriented, with open bar merchandising. It’s densely populated, you can’t enjoy much, or more precisely, you’re frustrated not to fully appreciate things you like or are attracted to. What surprised me most was when I saw they were selling old CDs compiling the openings and endings of a series.

Like, really? Don’t get me wrong, the idea in itself is nice. But the CDs in question looked very poor, like burnt from any random PC and haphazardly decorated with 2-3 stickers just to say… just to say what exactly? If so, I’m entering the business right now. But typically, this is the kind of thing you can not understand when you’re not a fan/die hard fan. Also, the Japanese look very supportive : they like, they buy regardless… end of the story.

The second room was more breathable. There were fewer people so the traffic was easier. You could better take advantage of every stands, which actually had something to make discover – nothing to sell: talkshows with some anime teams, drawings (genga, douga), storyboard, interviews, upcoming releases, production, trailers. Basically, I found this room richer and also more comfortable. Of course, there was always that “we want to blow fans away” aspect but it was less awkward than in the first room. In my opinion.

Then… How to put the following without sounding condescending?
…To be honest, I’m not a fan. I love anime but I haven’t yet arrived at the stage where I can appreciate the merchandising around. By merchandising, I really mean the goodies, I’m not talking about the technical, cultural or historical aspects of animation, which I’m interested in. I bought a Chopper t-shirt a few years ago, just because I liked this One Piece character… So, in a way I understand. But overall, I’m not a collector of anything, I’m not the right target for that. Well, not yet…

The PICTURAMA

When watching the pictures of the event again, I regretted not having been faster in writing and publishing this post : as matter of fact, there are quite a lot of series I discovered that day and I told myself “must look closely”. I had in mind the idea of making an article compiling the releases to come and my recommandations.

Waaah, Joker Game is the new Production I.G. series, looks awesome
What? A 3rd season for Haikyuu in October?? Yeaaah!
What is Mob Psycho 100? Looks intriguing…

…Are as many reactions as I had then, but would be quite useless now. Lesson learned!

… The complete gallery (new window):