An anime and manga convention (often called just anime convention ) is a fan convention with a primary focus on anime , manga and Japanese culture . Anime conventions are commonly multi-day events hosted at convention centers , hotels or college campuses. They feature a wide variety of activities and panels, with a larger number of attendees participating in cosplay than most other types of fan conventions. Anime conventions are also used as a vehicle for industry, in which studios, distributors, and publishers represent their anime related releases. They also take place in multiple different countries, such as Japan , South Korea , China , India , Indonesia , the United States , Canada , Brazil , Australia , New Zealand , the United Kingdom , Ireland , France , Germany , Italy , Spain and Finland .
22-587: Anime Weekend Atlanta (AWA) is an annual four-day anime convention held during December at the Georgia World Congress Center , Building C in Atlanta, Georgia . The convention typically offers an Anime Music Video contest, Artists' Alley, concerts, costume contest, dances, Dealer's Room, fashion show, formal ball, game shows, karaoke, Maid Cafe, panels, RPG Gaming, tabletop gaming, Video Gaming, and Workshops. Anime Weekend Atlanta during
44-607: A few hundred people, anime conventions have exploded in popularity. AnimeCon which was held in San Jose, California in 1991 is notable for being the first convention to break the 1,000 attendance mark. It was also the first convention to receive support from American and Japanese production studios. Anime Expo which has been held in California since 1992 is the largest anime convention outside of Japan. Anime conventions in other locations, such as Europe began to take off in
66-632: A long and varied worldwide history. The original Comiket , mostly based on fan published manga called dōjinshi , started in 1975 with around 700 people in Tokyo . In recent years, Comiket has attracted over a half million people. Conventions in Japan are heavily sponsored by studios or publishing companies and are used as platforms for new releases. In addition to Japan, convention officials at venues such as AnimeJapan have been trying to reach out to overseas manga otaku. Anime conventions started showing up in
88-567: A major or specific task such as how to draw manga , make computer animation, or how to become a voice actor. Another event at most anime conventions include screenings of actual anime shows that can last through the day. Anime conventions can also include contests. Contests can focus around costumes (or cosplay ), art works (drawn, sculpted, painted), anime-related music videos, video games, dice games, card games, and many other activities. In some cases, tangible prizes have been offered as winnings in these contests. An Exhibit Hall or Dealers' Room
110-531: A normal visual novel. The video games produced are ported to the PlayStation 2 or Nintendo DS . Since ASCII Media Works is a continuation of MediaWorks , the company includes the video games previously produced before the merger with ASCII on their official website for their video games. The video games produced are organized into categories for similarly made games. Aside from the main class of visual and sound novels produced, three games were re-released in
132-727: A traditional museum or gallery. Artwork of all kind is put on display for inspection, and in some cases for purchase/auction bidding, 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. Ascii Media Works ASCII Media Works ( アスキー・メディアワークス , Asukī Media Wākusu ) , formerly ASCII Media Works, Inc. ( 株式会社アスキー・メディアワークス , Kabushiki gaisha Asukī Media Wākusu ) ,
154-691: Is a Japanese publisher and brand company of Kadokawa Future Publishing headquartered in Nishi-Shinjuku , Shinjuku, Tokyo , Japan. It originally formed on April 1, 2008, as a result of a merger between ASCII Corporation and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. Despite this, the former president and CEO of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the first president and CEO of ASCII Media Works. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. The company specializes in publishing of books, entertainment and computer magazines, manga , and video games . ASCII Media Works
176-606: Is a continuation of MediaWorks, but despite this, the former president of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the president of ASCII Media Works. The company is a member of the Kadokawa Group and is thus affiliated with Kadokawa Shoten , another Japanese publishing company. According to an official press release by Kadokawa Corporation , the merger stemmed from a steady outgrowth in the Internet and mobile parts of society which led publishing companies to branch out to encompass
198-430: Is also popular at anime 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 or pre-made costumes, music CDs, software, decorations, toys, art books, specialty foods, and many more. There are also art shows at anime conventions. The shows are similar to those at
220-595: Is known for their Dengeki ( 電撃 , meaning electric shock ) brand magazines and book imprints which include such well-known magazines as Dengeki Daioh , and Dengeki G's Magazine , along with the company's main light novel publishing imprint Dengeki Bunko . Most of the company caters to the Japanese male otaku crowd, covering such topics as anime , light novels, manga , plastic modelling , and visual novels . The company also deals with computing and enterprises related to information technology (IT), such as
242-666: The COVID-19 pandemic. Anime conventions typically feature a guest list as part of their makeup. A guest can be an industry figure, some notable examples include director Hiroyuki Kanbe, author Tsukasa Fushimi , and Kazuma Miki from Ascii Media Works . In 2013 they screened for the first time the final three episodes from the second season of Oreimo . Guests can also include artists and performers, some notable examples of these include Kazuki Takahashi , creator of Yu-Gi-Oh! . An anime convention represents an opportunity to interact with such individuals that may not be possible outside
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#1732787485519264-584: The Dengeki SP series at reduced prices from their original release; SP stands for "special price". Another class produced exclusively for the Nintendo DS are under the brand imprint series DS Dengeki Bunko, and are games based on light novels published under ASCII Media Works' male light novel imprint Dengeki Bunko . Five games have been produced under this brand, and the two games in the series based on Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu were re-released in
286-745: The Mid-1990s. Japan Expo in Paris is the largest convention in Europe. AUKcon was a one-day anime convention held in London, England in 1994, and was chaired by Helen McCarthy . Salón del Manga de Barcelona , first held in Barcelona , Spain in 1995 is also one of the largest European conventions. Anime conventions later spread to Australia in the late 1990s with Manifest , first held in 1998. Many anime conventions were cancelled or postponed during
308-540: The United States in the early 1980s. Project A-Kon first started in 1990, and is considered to be the first anime convention in the country, but this is disputed. It is also claimed that YamatoCon, a convention "devoted to Japanese animation" was first held in 1983 in Dallas Texas. Since then, multiple anime conventions have appeared in numerous states. Since the first anime convention which brought in
330-405: The combined company more diverse, company management is planned to become more efficient, base revenue is meant to increase, and the company may take on new business opportunities in the future. Enterbrain had been considered for merging with ASCII and MediaWorks, but this was eventually rejected. In April 2011, the video game division of ASCII Media Works was merged into Kadokawa Games along with
352-512: The convention has 24-hour programming. The Anime Music Video contest in 2001 had 200 plus entries. The AMV contest in 2003 took over three hours and had 300 plus entries. The Dealer's Room took up 72,000 square feet in 2007. Cartoon Network announced the end of its Toonami block during a panel at Anime Weekend Atlanta 2008. Loverin Tamburin could not enter the United States for their 2015 appearance due to visa issues. Anime Weekend Atlanta 2020
374-531: The event. Anime conventions often have panels , which are open ended discussions involving some pre-determined topic, usually related in at least some way to anime . Panels usually come in two segments, the host puts on a presentation or does an interview with a guest, and then the fans are asked to give questions. The topic scope for panels is varied and can include things from manga to upcoming announcements by an industry. There are also workshops that are like panels but are more geared towards instructions through
396-540: The ever increasing needs and demands of the consumers. Due to mutual company interests, the merger went through to create a stronger company which has more outreaching possibilities than either company could have done on their own. ASCII brought their expertise with IT and computing . In contrast, MediaWorks brought their expertise of media pertaining to entertainment, such as with visual or printed media including anime , manga , light novels , video games , or magazines covering such media products. In addition to making
418-475: The merger. Information technology magazines previously published by ASCII, such as Weekly ASCII , are now published under ASCII Media Works. ASCII Media Works has been in the business of developing and producing video games of series that have light novels or manga published by the company. These games are typically visual novels , a genre of adventure games , but some have also been sound novels , which has less attributes of an adventure game than
440-497: The publication of Weekly ASCII , along with other PC and IT magazines. ASCII Media Works also publishes multiple magazines targeted towards females such as Character Parfait , Dengeki Girl's Style , and Sylph . The company runs yearly contests for original novel and manga submissions, such as the light novel Dengeki Novel Prize contest. ASCII Media Works resulted from a merger between two Japanese publishing companies— ASCII and MediaWorks —on April 1, 2008. The company
462-494: The video game divisions of Kadokawa Shoten and Enterbrain. ASCII Media Works ceased being a kabushiki gaisha on October 1, 2013, when it was merged with eight other companies to become a brand company of Kadokawa Corporation . ASCII Media Works publishes magazines under the Dengeki imprint which feature video games, anime, manga, hobbies and special interests; these magazines were previously published by MediaWorks prior to
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#1732787485519484-660: Was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic . An online event was later held from December 18–20, 2020. Anime Weekend Atlanta in 2021 had both a mask mandate and vaccination/testing policy. The convention also occurred during the 2021 World Series , causing local traffic concerns. Anime Weekend Atlanta will move to the Georgia World Congress Center in 2024 and be in December. 33°45′31″N 84°23′54″W / 33.758652°N 84.39841°W / 33.758652; -84.39841 Anime convention Anime conventions have
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