Anime Expo

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Anime Expo
Status Active
Venue Long Beach Convention Center
Location Long Beach, California
Country Flag of United States United States
Years in existence 1992 to present
Organizer Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation
Attendance 32,930 paid attendees (40,647 total) in 2006[1]
List of events anime screening, AMV contest, panels, masquerades, art show, artists' alley, concerts, dances, karaoke, video games, card gaming, dealers' room, charity auctoin, manga library, game shows
Official Website

Anime Expo, short form AX, is an anime convention that usually takes place on the July 4th weekend for 4 days each year in Southern California. The convention tries to include July 4 in its dates, except on the years when July 4 falls on a Wednesday. Anime Expo is hosted by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). SPJA has also held Anime Expo conventions in New York and Tokyo, which took place in 2002 and 2004 respectively.[2]

Many of the attendees cosplay while attending the convention, and popular events (in addition to guest and industry panels) include the Masquerade, Karaoke Contest, Anime Music Video Contest, and "AX Idol" Contest. AX is a 24-hour convention, offering late-night dances, all night video and gaming rooms, and open-mic Karaoke in the nighttime hours. AX has frequently collaborated with the anime industry, and as the convention has grown, so has the visibility of AX's industry sponsors as evidenced by their towering presence in the exhibition halls.

Inside the Anaheim Convention Center at AX2005
Inside the Anaheim Convention Center at AX2005

Anime Expo 2006 was held in Anaheim from July 1-4, 2006. Anime Expo 2007 will return to Long Beach, from June 29 to July 2.

Contents

[edit] History

Anime Expo (AX, as it is sometimes called) began as an anime and manga convention in Northern California. Many of its original staff came from Anime Con, an anime convention held in San Jose, California in 1991, and later absorbed by the SPJA in 1992. In 1994, AX made a strategic relocation to Southern California and has stayed there since.

Outside the convention hall at AX2004
Outside the convention hall at AX2004

The convention continues to thrive because of the increase of productivity in the anime industry and maintains a strong draw due to the many notable Japanese guests it has been known for. It currently holds the title of America's largest anime convention, a title which it has consistently held every year except 2003 in which its attendance was slightly edged out by its rival east coast convention Otakon.[3] From 1,750 attendees in 1992, AX's size has increased to over 40,000 in 2006[2], which makes AX the largest anime and manga convention in the North America and one of the largest in the world.

[edit] Anime Expo dates and location by year

[edit] Attendance

Anime Expo has an average annual growth of around 25%. Attendance figures (from the AX web site):[2]

Inside the convention hall at AX2004
Inside the convention hall at AX2004
Year Attendance Growth Average Growth
1992 1,750 N/A N/A
1993 1,693 -3.3% -3.3%
1994 2,057 21.5% 9.1%
1995 2,138 3.9% 7.4%
1996 2,918 36.5% 14.7%
1997 3,826 31.1% 18.0%
1998 4,883 27.6% 19.6%
1999 6,400 31.1% 21.2%
2000 9,700 51.6% 25.0%
2001 13,000 34.0% 26.0%
2002 15,000 15.4% 24.9%
2003 17,000 13.3% 23.9%
2004 25,000 47.1% 25.8%
2005 33,000 32.0% 26.3%
2006 40,674 23.2% 26.1%

The convention announces preliminary attendance numbers at the closing ceremonies, usually held on the evening of the 4th day. Attendance numbers include: general attendees, press, exhibitors, industry, volunteers and staff. Exhibits-only memberships have been counted as part of final attendance numbers in 2005 and 2006.

Anime Expo management has stated that it counts attendance numbers by "unique individuals". If an attendee purchases a 4-day pass, that person is counted once, not 4 times. Although there have been discussions in the past on the use of attendee-days (sometimes used with Japanese conventions which are structured differently from US conventions), it was later decided to count individual attendees to simplify accounting. Also, because Anime Expo is a 4-day event, it makes more sense to use this attendance accounting method to produce figures that would allow a fair comparison with other conventions that might run for a different period of time.

[edit] Organizational structure

Collection of unused badges from Anime Expo 2003.
Collection of unused badges from Anime Expo 2003.

The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA), the parent organization which produces Anime Expo, is a federal and California state registered 501(c)(6) non-profit corporation. The staff of Anime Expo is broken up by division, and each division is composed of a number of departments. The Divisions are: Operations, Audio/Visual Services, Live Programming, Exhibits, Guest Relations and Registration. There were over 500 staffers and volunteers at AX 2006.

Over the years, the organization has experimented with monetary compensation to key staff (including the Chairperson and Division Heads). In 2006, Division Heads and their assistants were compensated. The Anime Expo Chairperson position was a compensated position in 2005 and 2006. The compensation paid to these individuals do not constitute a full-time salary (ie below minimum wage calculated on an hourly basis). Instead the compensation represents a means of compensating key staffers who have nearly full-time responsibilities in managing a convention of this size and scope

The SPJA, which is the parent organization of Anime Expo has one full-time office manager. SPJA's CEO and CFO are also paid, as well as the consultants for outsourced functions such as public relations and legal representation/consultation.

[edit] Other Anime Expos

The SPJA has twice run conventions outside of California: Anime Expo New York in 2002, and Anime Expo Tokyo in 2004.

[edit] Anime Expo New York

Anime Expo New York
Status Inactive
Venue Marriot New York Marquis
Location New York City
Country Flag of United States United States
Years in existence 2002
Attendance 5,500

Anime Expo New York (AXNY) was held in 2002 in the Times Square district of New York City.[4] The event was originally a joint effort with Central Park Media and its industry event, Big Apple Anime Fest (BAAF). Due to differences, the event ran as separate entities within the same time frame and venues, with BAAF hosting the theatrical film screenings, and AXNY hosting the convention. The events shared some resources, with notable guests listed in the program guides of both events.

The SPJA ran the event in order to demonstrate that they could run events outside of their home state of California. The event was a precursor to Anime Expo Tokyo which ran in Tokyo, Japan in 2004.[5]

The SPJA has not run any events outside of California since 2004.

[edit] Anime Expo Tokyo

Anime Expo Tokyo
Status Inactive
Venue Sunshine City Convention Center
Location Ikebukuro, Tokyo
Country Flag of Japan Japan
Years in existence 2004
Attendance 4,249

Anime Expo Tokyo (AX Tokyo) was held in 2004 at the Sunshine City Convention Center in Ikebukuro, Tokyo.[5] It is important to note that this event was not technically put on by the SPJA, but rather was put on by the Japanese Association for Science Fiction with assistance from the SPJA. In hosting AX Tokyo, JASFIC intended to accomplish two objectives. First, they wanted to establish in Japan a non-corporate sponsored convention dedicated to Anime, which in contrast to its manga counterpart was a rarity in Japan. Second, they wanted to prove to the coordinators of WorldCon that Japan could serve as a suitable venue for conventions that attract foreigners. They were ultimately successful and were named as the host for WorldCon 2007.

Anime Expo Tokyo had a staggering list of over 40 guests such as Ken Akamatsu, MiQ, Under17, Hiroshi Aro, and many others, although a small handful had to make last minute cancellations. AX Tokyo was also the very first AX that officially hosted guests from the US Anime industry such as Fred Gallagher and Crispin Freeman.[5]

Of AX Tokyo's 4249 attendees, approximately 300 of that number were estimated to have traveled from abroad. In addition to the attendance numbers were 240 members of the press, 40 of which were from overseas. An additional 430 people were composed of dealers, guests, or staff.

Currently, no official plans for another Anime Expo Tokyo have been announced, although there are persistent rumors that JASFIC intends to host another one, and considers the first AX Tokyo to have been a success.[citation needed]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Anime Expo 2006. AnimeCons.com. Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c Profile. Anime Expo (2007-01-09). Retrieved on January 9, 2007.
  3. ^ Ten largest North American anime conventions of 2003. AnimeCons.com (2007-01-09). Retrieved on January 9, 2007.
  4. ^ Anime Expo New York. AnimeCons.com. Retrieved on January 9, 2007.
  5. ^ a b c Anime Expo Tokyo. AnimeCons.com. Retrieved on January 9, 2007.

[edit] External links

[edit] Convention reports

v • d • e
Anime Conventions in California

Anime Expo (Long Beach) • FanimeCon (San Jose) • Yaoi-Con (San Francisco)

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