Anime Expo
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| Anime Expo | |
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| Location | Long Beach Convention Center Long Beach, California, |
| Years in existence | 1992 to present |
| Attendance | 40,647 people (includes paid attendees, press, dealers, and industry) as of Anime Expo 2006 |
| 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 Expos in New York and Tokyo, which took place in 2002 and 2004 respectively.
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.
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.
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[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 AnimeCon, an anime convention held in San Jose, California in 1991. In 1994, AX made a strategic relocation to Southern California and has stayed there since.
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. From the 1,750 attendees in 1992, AX's size has increased to 33,000 in 2005 making it one of the largest anime conventions in the world. Attendance for 2006 topped at 40,000, still making AX the largest anime & manga convention in the U.S.
[edit] Attendance
Anime Expo has had a steady rate of growth in attendance of around 25%. Attendance figures (from the AX website):
| Year | Attendance | Growth | Average Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 1,750 | N/A | N/A |
| 1993 | 1,693 | -3% | -3% |
| 1994 | 2,057 | 21% | 9% |
| 1995 | 2,138 | 4% | 7% |
| 1996 | 2,918 | 36% | 15% |
| 1997 | 3,826 | 31% | 18% |
| 1998 | 4,883 | 28% | 20% |
| 1999 | 6,400 | 31% | 21% |
| 2000 | 9,700 | 52% | 25% |
| 2001 | 13,000 | 34% | 26% |
| 2002 | 15,000 | 15% | 25% |
| 2003 | 17,000 | 13% | 24% |
| 2004 | 25,000 | 47% | 26% |
| 2005 | 33,000 | 32% | 26% |
| 2006 | 40,674 | 23% | 26% |
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
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 | |
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| Location | New York City |
| 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. 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 would run in 2004 in Tokyo, Japan. The SPJA has not run any events outside of California since 2004.
[edit] Anime Expo Tokyo
| Anime Expo Tokyo | |
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| Location | Ikebukuro, Tokyo |
| 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. 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.
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.
As of current, no official plans for the next 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] Anime Expo dates and location by year
- Anime Expo 1992 — July 3-6, Red Lion Hotel, San Jose, California.
- Anime Expo 1993 — July 2-4, Parc Oakland Hotel and Oakland Convention Center, Oakland, California.
- Anime Expo 1994 — July 1-3, Marriott Hotel, Anaheim, California.
- Anime Expo 1995 — June 30-July 2, Airport Hilton, Los Angeles, California.
- Anime Expo 1996 — June 28-30, Marriott Hotel, Anaheim, California.
- Anime Expo 1997 — July 4-6, Airport Hilton, Los Angeles, California.
- Anime Expo 1998 — July 3-5, Hilton Hotel and Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, California.
- Anime Expo 1999 — July 16-18, Hilton Hotel and Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, California.
- Anime Expo 2000 — June 30-July 3, Disneyland Resort Hotel and Entertainment Convention Center, Anaheim, California.
- Anime Expo 2001 — July 5-8, Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach, California.
- Anime Expo 2002 — July 4-7, Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach, California.
- Anime Expo New York — August 31-September 2, Marriott Marquis, New York City, New York.
- Anime Expo 2003 — July 3-6, Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, California.
- Anime Expo Tokyo — January 16-18, Sunshine City Convention Center, Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan.
- Anime Expo 2004 — July 2-5, Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, California.
- Anime Expo 2005 — July 1-4, Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, California.
- Anime Expo 2006 — July 1-4, Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, California.
- Anime Expo 2007 — June 29 - July 2, Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach, California.
[edit] External links
- Anime Expo website
- Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation
- Anime-Cons.com - News about anime conventions, including AX
- CosplayMemories.com - Reports on anime conventions, including AX
- LLNN - Reports on anime conventions, including AX
- A Fan's View - Reports on anime conventions, including AX
- Anime News Network - Reports on anime related matters, including AX
[edit] Convention reports
- Anime Expo Keeps Manga in Focus, by I. Brill, Publisher's Weekly, 5 July 2006
- Anime Expo - July 1-4, 2006 - Anaheim, California, by K. Lillard, A Fan's View, 1-4 July 2006
- Anime Expo 2006, Active Anime, 4 July 2006
- Anime Expo (2006) Celebrates Its 15th Anniversary, by K. Avila, Sequential Tart, Aug. 2006
- Anime Expo 2005, by K. Avila, Sequential Tart, Aug. 2005
- Anime Expo Tokyo 2004, by K. Avila, Jade Magazine, Feb. 2004
- Anime Expo 2002, by K. Avila, Jade Magazine, Sep.-Oct. 2002
