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 .
15-831: Tora-Con is an annual two-day anime convention held during March or April at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York . The convention's name comes from the Japanese word 'tora' meaning tiger and is organized by the Rochester Institute of Technology Anime Club. The event is family friendly. The convention typically offers an animated music video contest, anime showings, artists alley, concerts, contests, cosplay chess tournament, cosplay contest, cosplay dating game, dances, gaming tournaments, iron cosplay, panels, and performances. Tora-Con
30-492: A panel , involves a group of people gathered to discuss a topic in front of an audience, typically at scientific, business, or academic conferences , fan conventions , and on television shows. Panels usually include a moderator who guides the discussion and sometimes elicits audience questions, with the goal of being informative and entertaining. Film panels at fan conventions have been credited with boosting box office returns by generating advance buzz . The typical format for
45-773: A discussion panel includes a moderator in front of an audience. Television shows in the English-speaking world that feature a discussion panel format include Real Time with Bill Maher , Loose Women , The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore , as well as segments of the long-running Meet the Press . Quiz shows featuring this format, such as QI and Never Mind the Buzzcocks , are called panel games . Panels at sci-fi fan conventions , such as San Diego Comic-Con and New York Comic Con , have become increasingly popular; there are typically long lines to get access to
60-607: 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
75-632: 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
90-567: 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
105-588: 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. Panel discussion A panel discussion , or simply
120-430: 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
135-654: The Blade Runner panel at the 1981 San Diego Comic-Con featured a film featurette , before featurettes were popular. At the 2000 event, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring preview panel ushered in today's era of hugely popular panels. A manel is a panel whose participants are all men. The term is a portmanteau word deriving from the man and panel . The Oxford Dictionaries and Cambridge Dictionaries teams both published blog posts on
150-666: 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
165-745: 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
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#1732802535520180-540: 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
195-531: 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
210-452: The panels. The panels often feature advance looks at upcoming films and video games . Panels and the early screenings at conventions have been credited as increasing the popularity of blockbuster films in recent years. One of the earliest film panels was at the 1976 San Diego Comic-Con, when publicist Charles Lippincott hosted a slideshow—in front of a "somewhat skeptical" audience—for an upcoming film called Star Wars . Five years later,
225-641: Was founded to raise money for the anime club. They hit an attendance capacity of 2,500 in 2010 and had to close registration. The convention celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2014. In 2014, the event expanded to additional parts of campus and capped attendance at 3,000 people. Tora-Con 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Tora-Con held a virtual convention in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 43°05′03.9″N 77°40′29.8″W / 43.084417°N 77.674944°W / 43.084417; -77.674944 Anime convention Anime conventions have
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