Anime Banzai
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| Anime Banzai | |
|---|---|
| Status | Active |
| Venue | Salt Lake Community College |
| Location | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Country |  United States |
| Years in existence | 2005 to present |
| Organizer | End of the World anime club |
| Attendance | 615 in 2005 1780 in 2006 |
| List of events | Panels, anime music videos, dealers room, art show, gameshows, karaoke, dance, video games, card games, theater viewing, cosplay, scavenger hunt. |
| Official Website | |
Anime Banzai (AB) is Utah's first anime convention, held at and sanctioned by Salt Lake Community College and created and run by members of its anime club. AB is held in late October for two consecutive days, but plans include expanding to three days in the near future. AB features contests, a gaming room, panels, and two anime screening theatres.
Contents |
[edit] History
Anime Banzai was created by members of the End of the World anime club at Salt Lake Community College because there were no anime conventions in Utah. The inaugural convention, brining over 600 attendees, was held on October 15, 2005 for only one day with no special guests.
Its second year ran from Friday October 20 to Saturday October 21, 2006, included a few notable guests, and doubled in attendance.
[edit] The Convention
[edit] Guests
The first convention had no guests. Anime Banzai's second year booked Spike Spencer and Amy Reeder Hadley. Guests also included author Ken Rand, long-time podcaster with Nz17 Productions, Sean Robinson and the professional cosplay group Ichidan Cosplay.
[edit] Events
[edit] 2006
2006 Events included origami lessons, how to cosplay, sushi preparation instruction, fact vs fiction about ninjas, a few fan discussion panels, a subtitled vs dubbed debate, several 'How to Draw...' panels and many other events. Some events were more specific to Anime such as the Scavenger hunt for Sakura's feathers based on the Anime/Manga Tsubasa Chronicle.
Contests included karaoke (called Anime Idol), cosplay, an AMV contest, several video & card game tournaments, and a fanart contest.
Other events included a Swap Meet, dance, a themed cafe with cosplayers serving the patrons, and several game shows based on popular television, such as Whose Line is it Anyway? and Anime Jeopardy.
[edit] Anime Banzai dates and locations
- October 15, 2005 held at Salt Lake Community College
- October 20 and October 21, 2006 held at Salt Lake Community College
- August 31 and September 1, 2007 held at Sheraton City Center
