| Anime Expo | |
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Anime Expo logo |
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| Status | Active |
| Genre | Anime, Manga |
| Venue | Los Angeles Convention Center |
| Location | Los Angeles, California |
| Country | United States |
| First held | 1992 |
| Organizer | Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation |
| Filing status | Non-profit |
| Attendance | 47,000 (2011) |
| Official website | http://www.anime-expo.org/ |
Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). With rare exceptions, the convention is traditionally held on the July 4th weekend and lasts for four days. While currently hosted at the Los Angeles Convention Center, in the past Anime Expo has been held in other locations such as Anaheim, San Jose, New York, and Tokyo. Anime Expo is notable as the largest anime convention in the United States and is also known for hosting high attraction guests due to close relationships with both the Japanese and American sides of the anime industry.
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Anime Expo features many events and activities during the convention for attendees to take part in such as guest panels, table top gaming, competitions, an arcade, and concerts.
Top attractions include events such as the Masquerade cosplay contest, the Anime Music Video competition, Battle of the Bands, and SPJA’s Charity Auction. In addition, Anime Expo hosts a multitude of industry Guests of Honor (GoH), including notable music artists who often hold large concerts at AX. Anime Expo also has a large variety of focus panels, workshops, and events, some of which are fan or industry sponsored. Finally, there are also a number of film and video rooms presenting anime screenings that run all day and night.
Much like other conventions, Anime Expo also features a large scale exhibit hall where attendees can purchase a variety of products from a wide range of exhibitors. This exhibit hall also features an artist alley where attendees can purchase fan-created art work, as well as other varieties of crafts such as wigs, pins, and cosplay material.
Anime Expo 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, Anime Expo made a strategic relocation to Southern California and has resided there since.
The convention continues to thrive due to the growing popularity of anime 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.[1] From 1,750 attendees in 1992, Anime Expo's size has increased to over 44,000 in 2009,[2] which makes Anime Expo the largest anime and manga convention in North America.
| Dates | Location | Atten. | Guests |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 3–6, 1992 | Red Lion Hotel San Jose, California |
1,750 | Jerry Beck, L. Lois Buhalis, Ben Dunn, Robert Fenelon, Lea Hernandez, Seiji Horibuchi, Ken Iyadomi, Shawn Kleckner, Trish Ledoux, Carl Macek, Luke Menichelli, Haruhiko Mikimoto, Keiji Nakazawa, Robert Napton, John O'Donnell, Claude J. Pelletier, David Riddick, Fred Schodt, Buichi Terasawa, Jeff Thompson, Yoshiyuki Tomino, Steve Wang, Robert Woodhead, and Toshifumi Yoshida.[3] |
| July 2–4, 1993 | Parc Oakland Hotel and Oakland Convention Center Oakland, California |
1,693 | Keita Amemiya, Robert DeJesus, Doug Dlin, Robert Fenelon, Peter Goll, Kenji Goto, David Ho, Seiji Horibuchi, Leo Hourvitz, Yasuhiro Imagawa, Junco Ito, Michitaka Kikuchi, Hiroyuki Kitazume, Makoto Kobayashi, Steve Kyte, Trish Ledoux, Carl Macek, Helen McCarthy, Haruhiko Mikimoto, Robert Napton, Yasushi Nirasawa, Martin Oulette, Wil Overton, Claude J. Pelletier, Jeff Pidgeon, Fred Schodt, Jan Scott-Frazier, Masatoshi Tahara, Takayuki Takeya, and Toshifumi Yoshida.[4] |
| July 1–3, 1994 | Anaheim Marriott Hotel and Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim, California |
2,057 | Allen Hastings, Shoji Kawamori, Izumi Matsumoto, Jan Scott-Frazier, Minoru Takanashi, and Nobuteru Yuuki.[5] |
| June 30–July 2, 1995 | Los Angeles Airport Hilton Los Angeles, California |
2,138 | Amy Chia, Danger Productions, Allen Hastings, Leo Hourvitz, Kazuhiko Ikeguchi, Noboru Ishiguro, Jay Miao, Haruhiko Mikimoto, Koichi Ohata, Nobuyuki Ohnishi, Jan Scott-Frazier, Ryoei Tsukimura, Satoshi Urushibara, and Kinji Yoshimoto.[6] |
| June 28–30, 1996 | Anaheim Marriott Hotel and Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim, California |
2,918 | Hideaki Anno, Hiroki Hayashi, Noboru Ishiguro, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Hiroyuki Kitazume, Leiji Matsumoto, Toshihiko Nishikubo, Hiromasa Ogura, Koichi Ohata, Ai Orikasa, Mamoru Oshii, Jan Scott-Frazier, Yumi Takada, and Kenichi Sonoda.[7] |
| July 4–6, 1997 | Los Angeles Airport Hilton Los Angeles, California |
3,826[8] | |
| July 3–5, 1998 | Anaheim Hilton and Towers Anaheim, California |
4,883 | Mika Akitaka, Akira Kamiya, Hiroyuki Kitakubo, Yasuhiro Nightow, Nobuyuki Takahashi, Yuu Watase, and Takahiro Yoshimatsu.[9] |
| July 16–18, 1999 | Anaheim Hilton and Towers Anaheim, California |
6,400 | Mika Akitaka, Mari Iijima, Yoko Kanno, Hiromi Matsushita, Lisa Ortiz, and Gilles Poitras.[10] |
| June 30–July 3, 2000 | Disneyland Hotel Anaheim, California |
9,700 | Rika Fukami, Keiji Gotoh, Kunihiko Ikuhara, Noboru Ishiguro, Akira Kamiya, Yukio Kikukawa, Mahiro Maeda, Yutaka Minowa, Range Murata, Kazuto Nakazawa, Yasuhiro Nightow, Chiho Saito, Yuu Watase, and Nobuteru Yuuki.[11] |
| July 5–8, 2001 | Long Beach Convention Center Long Beach, California |
13,000 | Hisashi Abe, Morio Asaka, Kia Asamiya, Jo Chen, Masayuki Kojima, Kikuko Inoue, Hidenori Matsubara, Haruhiko Mikimoto, Makoto Uno, and Yuu Watase.[12][13] |
| July 4–7, 2002 | Long Beach Convention Center Long Beach, California |
15,250 | Jo Chen, Hiroaki Goda, Tsukasa Hojo, Kunihiko Ikuhara, Hiroaki Inoue, Yoko Ishida, Noboru Ishiguro, Masashi Ishihama, Akira Kamiya, Shoji Kawamori, Maria Kawamura, Yukio Kikukawa, Hideyuki Kurata, Koichi Mashimo, Koji Masunari, Hidenori Matsubara, Toshiharu Murata, Mamiko Noto, Puffy AmiYumi, Nobuhiro Watsuki, and Takumi Yamazaki.[14] |
| August 31–September 2, 2002 | Marriott New York Marquis New York, New York |
5,500 | Akitaroh Daichi, Noboru Ishiguro, Yoko Kanno, Toshihiro Kawamoto, Takao Koyama, Taro Maki, Koji Sugiura, Atsushi Takeuchi, Yoshiyuki Tomino, and Shinichiro Watanabe.[15] |
| July 3–6, 2003 | Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim, California |
17,000 | yoshitoshi ABe, Kazuki Akane, Duel Jewel, Rebecca Forstadt, Crispin Freeman, Kazuhiro Furuhashi, Mitsuru Hongo, Taliesin Jaffe, Yuki Kajiura, Yousuke Kuroda, Mahiro Maeda, Atsuko Nakajima, Liam O'Brien, Koushi Rikudo, Goro Taniguchi, Misa Watanabe, Kazuki Yao, and Nobuteru Yuuki.[16] |
| January 16–18, 2004 | Sunshine City Convention Center Tokyo, Japan |
4,919 | Shō Aikawa, Ken Akamatsu, Hiroshi Aro, Crispin Freeman, Fred Gallagher, Yuichi Hasegawa, Saki Hijiri, Ryusuke Hikawa, Hiroyuki Imaishi, Imaitoonz, Isamu Imakake, Mutsumi Inomata, Noboru Ishiguro, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, Takehiko Ito, Yutaka Izubuchi, Toshihiro Kawamoto, Hiroyuki Kitazume, Satomi Kodama, Rie Kugimiya, Akira Kushida, Tomomi Michizuki, MIQ, Nao Nagasawa, Hiroshi Negishi, Tetsuya Nishio, Hiroyuki Okiura, Romi Park, Akemi Takada, Nozomu Tamaki, Kana Ueda, Under17, Yoshihiro Yonezawa, and Reina Yoshimura.[17] |
| July 2–5, 2004 | Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim, California |
25,000 | Koichi Chigira, Kate Davis, Hiromi Hirata, Yoko Ishida, Masashi Ishihama, Shinichiro Kimura, Hideyuki Kurata, Lee Myung-jin, Wendee Lee, Michael Lindsay, Masao Maruyama, Shino Masanori, Koji Masunari, Yuji Matsukura, MIQ, Minoru Murao, Range Murata, Toshiharu Murata, Satoshi Nishimura, Kazufumi Nomura, Tomonori Ochikoshi, Yoshiyuki Okamura, Ichiro Okouchi, Kaoru Ozawa, Tadashi Ozawa, Cindy Robinson, Michelle Ruff, Katsushi Sakurabi, Soichiro Sano, Carrie Savage, Tomokazu Seki, Ren Usami, Cindy Yamauchi, and Reina Yoshimura.[18] |
| July 1–4, 2005 | Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim, California |
33,000 | Hunter Mackenzie Austin, Greg Ayres, JB Blanc, Johnny Yong Bosch, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Siobhan Flynn, Crispin Freeman, Ugetsu Hakua, Rachel Hirschfeld (voice actress), Ryo Horikawa, Hiroyuki Kitakubo, Osamu Kobayashi, Tsuneo Kobayashi, Kotoko, Sara Lahti, Wendee Lee, Range Murata, Liam O'Brien, Hiroshi Osaka, Maaya Sakamoto, Carrie Savage, Tomokazu Seki, Miho Shimogasa, J.D. Stone, Helena Taylor, Wendee Tomson, Kazue Yamamoto, and Akihito Yamashita.[19] |
| July 1–4, 2006 | Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim, California |
40,647 | Laura Bailey, CLAMP, Crispin Freeman, Toru Furuya, Noboru Ishiguro, Yutaka Izubuchi, Koge-Donbo, Tomoki Kyoda, Mana, Vic Mignogna, Seiji Mizushima, Hiroshi Nagahama, Atsuko Nakajima, Mick Takeuchi, and yozuka*.[20] |
| June 29–July 2, 2007 | Long Beach Convention Center Long Beach, California |
41,671 | Tetsuo Araki, Michael Arias, Greg Ayres, Laura Bailey, Steve Blum, Johnny Yong Bosch, Minori Chihara, Leah Clark, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Justin Cook, Caitlin Glass, Yuko Goto, Kate Higgins, Aya Hirano, Yuuna Inamura, Eisaku Inoue, Chiaki Ishikawa, Taliesin Jaffe, Satoru Kannagi, Hideo Katsumata, Takaaki Kidani, Masaru Kitao, Mike McFarland, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Halko Momoi, Shuhei Morita, Hiroshi Nagahama, Sumire Nanohana, Tomonori Ochikoshi, Tony Oliver, Oreskaband, Kate Oxley, Takaharu Ozaki, Brina Palencia, Orion Pitts, Brandon Potter, Dai Sato, savage genius, Patrick Seitz, Stephanie Sheh, Anna Tsuchiya, Kounosuke Uda, and Travis Willingham.[21] |
| July 3–6, 2008 | Los Angeles Convention Center Nokia Theater Los Angeles, California |
43,000 | Yamila Abraham, Masahiro Ando, Ayane, Greg Ayres, Cameron Baity, Mike Fasolo, Fullmoon 13, GaGaalinG, David Hayter, Masamitsu Hidaka, Yoko Ishida, Jyukai, Hiromi Kato, Hideyuki Kikuchi, Kuro, LM.C, Chris Many, Johnathan Meza, Vic Mignogna, Jason C. Miller, Jeanette Moffat, Shoko Nakagawa, Tony Oliver, le Peruggine, Riku, Tom Root, Kaeko Sakamoto, Patrick Seitz, Toshihiko Seki, Kevin Shinick, Akemi Takada, Saiko Takaki, Thee Out Mods, VelBet, and Travis Willingham.[22] |
| July 2–5, 2009[23] | Los Angeles Convention Center Los Angeles, California |
44,000[2](unique); 109,000 (turnstile) | Yamila Abraham, Seth Green, Morning Musume, Hiroyuki Imaishi, Atsushi Nishigori, Daisuke Ishiwatari, Toshimichi Mori, Toshiyuki Morikawa, Yasuhiro Nightow, Satoshi Nishimura, Seiji Mizushima, Kari Wahlgren, Karan Ashley, Robert Axelrod, Steve Cardenas, Walter Emanuel Jones, Catherine Sutherland, Barbara Goodson, Nakia Burrise, Blake Foster, Patricia Ja Lee, Selwyn Ward, Roger Velasco, Dan Southworth, Cerina Vincent, Reggie Rolle, Amy Miller, Brandon Jay McLaren, Monica May, Vic Mignogna, Moi dix Mois,[24] Satsuki,[25] Tomo Asaha[26] |
| July 1–4, 2010[2] | Los Angeles Convention Center Nokia Theater Los Angeles, California |
105,000 (turnstile)[27] | Yuu Asakawa,[28] Kyle Hebert, Sophia, Toshihiro Kawamoto, Shinichi Watanabe, DJ CHUCKY, M-Project, m1dy, GUHROOVY, NO+CHIN and DJ Schwarzenegger,[29] Kenji Kamiyama, Satoru Nakamura and Tomohiko Ishii,[30] Katsuyuki Konishi, AKB48, MELL, Rei Hiroe, May'n, Megumi Nakajima, Yoko Kanno (Surprise Guest), Horie Yui, Danny Choo, Eri Kitamura, BENI, RSP, Masakazu Morita, Saki Aibu, Cast of "Kisaragi": Nezumi Imamura, Yousuke Asari, Masahiro Usui and Yuichirou Nakayama, Vic Mignogna, Johnny Yong Bosch, Cristina Vee, Jason Miller |
| July 1–4, 2011 (20th Anniversary – “Year of the Fan”)[31] |
Los Angeles Convention Center Nokia Theater Los Angeles, California |
47,000 (unique););[32] 128,000 (turnstile)[32] | Vic Mignogna,[33] Danny Choo, Kalafina,[34] Hatsune Miku,[35] Sohei Niikawa,[36] Takanori Aki, Miyuki Sawashiro, Thousand Pounds Action Company,[37] Sugano Kenta, Hirano Katsuyuki, Maon Kurosaki, Izumi Matsumoto,[38] Fred Gallagher,[38] Hiroyuki Itoh, Wataru Sasaki, I-Ku-Ra, Kozue Aikawa, Maam, COCO, Yuzuki, Toshihiro Fukuoka, Onyx Kobayashi, Nirgilis, Seiji Mizushima, Toshiyuki Morikawa, Taliesin Jaffe, Stephanie Yanez, Cristina Vee, Richard Epcar, Takaki Digitarou Kosaka; Tetsuro Araki, Masayoshi Tanaka and Kentaro Hashimoto of Madhouse Studios |
| June 29–July 2, 2012 | Los Angeles Convention Center Nokia Theater Los Angeles, California |
TBA |
The SPJA has twice run conventions outside of California: Anime Expo New York in 2002, and Anime Expo Tokyo in 2004.
Anime Expo New York (AXNY) was held in 2002 in the Times Square district of New York City, New York.[15] 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 Anime Expo New York 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 it could run events outside of its home state of California. The event was a precursor to Anime Expo Tokyo which ran in Tokyo, Japan in 2004.[17] The SPJA has not run any events outside of California since 2004.
Anime Expo Tokyo (AX Tokyo) was held in 2004 at the Sunshine City Convention Center in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan.[17] It was not technically organized directly by the SPJA, but rather was organized by the Japanese Association for Science Fiction (JASFIC) with assistance from the SPJA. JASFIC had two goals for Anime Expo Tokyo. The first goal was to establish in Japan a non-corporate sponsored convention dedicated to anime. The second goal was to demonstrate to the organizers of the World Science Fiction Convention (WorldCon) that Japan could serve as a suitable venue for conventions that attract foreigners. Although Anime Expo Tokyo did not go on to a second year, JASFIC was ultimately successful in attracting the 65th World Science Fiction Convention to Japan in 2007.
Anime Expo Tokyo had a staggering list of over 40 guests such as manga artist Ken Akamatsu, MiQ, Under17, Hiroshi Aro, and many others, although a small handful had to make last minute cancellations. Anime Expo Tokyo was also the very first Anime Expo that officially hosted guests from the U.S. anime industry such as producer Fred Gallagher and voice actor Crispin Freeman.[17]
Of Anime Expo Tokyo's 4,249 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.
No plans to host another official Anime Expo outside of California have been announced.
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.[39] The staff of Anime Expo is structured by divisions composed of multiple departments. The Divisions are: Membership Services, Operations, Programming, Audio Visual Services, Exhibits, Interactive Events, and Guest Relations. Additionally, the SPJA arm has several departments that also service Anime Expo. These departments include Marketing, Staff Resources and Finance. As of 2006, there were over 500 staffers and volunteers in Anime Expo.
Although Anime Expo is primarily staffed by volunteers, there are a small number of paid positions whose roles are to conduct the organization's year-round operations. Such positions include the Chairperson, Directors, and Division Managers. With the exception of the Chairperson, these positions receive a token wage that is mostly a formality to avoid running afoul of California HR laws. Anime Expo's parent organization, the SPJA, employs a small number of salaried staff among which are the CEO, CFO, and office manager. The SPJA also hires consultants for outsourced functions such as marketing and legal representation/consultation.
As of March 27, 2009, Chief Executive Officer Trulee Karahashi, who had been a part of Anime Expo and the SPJA in various capacities for 11 years, left the organization.[40][41]
In September 2009, former Universal Studios executive Michael Lattanzio was hired as the SPJA's new CEO.[42][43]
In January 2010, eight members of Anime Expo's upper management team (ConCom) publicly resigned over irreconcilable disagreements over the direction of the organization set forth by the SPJA's new CEO. One significant point of contention was the new CEO's decision to refocus and restructure the SPJA's marketing efforts starting with the dismissal of a PR and marketing contractor that the organization had a close working relationship with since 2004. Additionally, two other personnel had already left for other reasons, leaving only the vice chair and two others as returning members of the previous year's team[44] (the remaining Interactive Events manager had previously declared an intent to step down for personal reasons).
As of September 2010, Michael Lattanzio was released from his CEO position.[45]
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