News
Tokyo Anime Fair 2007 Information
posted on by Evan Miller
The Tokyo International Anime Fair had its second planning committee meeting on January 25th and made a series of announcements about the 2007 Fair. This year's event will be taking place from March 22nd until March 25th. The Anime Fair, which was designed to promote Anime-related industries, started in 2002 and is currently in its 6th year. The fair is split into two parts: networking sessions for businesses in the anime industry and a fan-oriented celebration.
This year, March 22nd and 23rd will be designated “business days” for anime related businesses, and March 24th and 25th will be “public days” for anyone that wishes to attend. Events at the festival include trade show exhibits, a “Tokyo Anime Awards” competition, announcements of special projects, stage performances and events, and an industry symposium. The fair hopes to draw around 100,000 people, which is comparable to the number of people who attended last year.
The 2007 Fair will feature 745 exhibitor stands; a slight increase from the 718 exhibitor stands at last year's fair. 203 businesses from Japan will have exhibits at the fair, up from 183 in 2006. The number of businesses coming to the fair from overseas is not known yet, but it has been announced that businesses from the USA, Canada, China, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Italy, Thailand and Australia will be in attendance.
16 separate symposiums will be held for guests from the Anime industry this year, up from 11 in 2006. Symposium themes cover a wide range of topics, from crucial issues like copyright law, digital cinematography, foreign markets, and fundraising to topics like sound production, TV and Movie ratings systems overseas, and animation-related education. The festival will also feature panels from overseas affiliates and anime producers.
For the fan-oriented part of the Fair, stage events will include the first Voice Acting Awards and a related “anime song festival.” Among the proposed special events is an animation and robot-themed event tentatively called “RoboAni Expo,” which will combine an exhibition of actual industrial robots with robots featured in anime. In keeping with the robot theme, robot statues, panels, screenings, a “Best 50 Robot Anime” event, a workshop for figures and robots, and a quiz rally will take place.
The main events of the Fair include a training session for younger animators called “Creators World” and the Tokyo Anime Awards.
