AnimeJapan 2016 attracted a record number of attendees for the second year in a row, drawing 135,323 fans in the three days from March 25 to 27 to the Tokyo Big Sight convention center in the capital's Koto Ward.
The figure, announced by organizer AnimeJapan Organization, shows an 11-percent increase, or 13,783 more people, than 2015.
The organizer has also revealed that AnimeJapan 2017 will take place March 24-26, 2017, at the same venue.
Japan’s largest convention dedicated to anime began in 2014 and drew a total of 111,252 fans, while the second edition welcomed 121,540 enthusiasts the following year.
AnimeJapan was launched in 2014 after the nation’s two major anime events, the Tokyo International Anime Fair and the Anime Contents Expo, merged.
AnimeJapan featured popular titles and characters and offered unique events, in addition to hosting a wide range of other projects such as the Business Area and the Family Anime Festa. The convention's profile has also been raised as it has now been held three years in a row.
AnimeJapan was open to the public on the last two days, and anime fans flocked to the Main Area where corporate booths, live stages and a cosplay section were on offer. With 10,325 people also enjoying the Family Anime Festa held concurrently for children, a total of 132,014 enthusiasts attended the convention.
It seems fair that AnimeJapan has become one of Japan’s major entertainment events on par with the Tokyo Game Show and the International Tokyo Toy Show.
AnimeJapan is also expected to serve as a business fair, and its functions are expanding.
The number of companies setting up their booths in the Business Area, which was open to industry professionals and the media on the first two days, not only increased from 2015, but also the number of business attendees rose 32 percent to 3,309 from 2,500 last year.
AnimeJapan also attracted attention from media outlets, with 468 companies covering the event. Of these, 59 were from outside Japan.
The anime convention is backed by the Association of Japanese Animations, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Association of Manga Publishers and many other organizations.
Visit the official website at (https://www.anime-japan.jp/en/).
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To learn more about the latest developments in Japanese anime, visit the official site of Anime Anime (http://animeanime.jp/).
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