By Ko Ransom
This year's Anime Expo, held from July 1 to 4, was dubbed "the year of the fan" in celebration of the event's 20th anniversary, a fitting subtitle for the convention which drew more fans than ever while continuing to support and be supported by the shifting and recovering Japanese content industry in North America.
While sudden changes in management, rival simultaneous events, and of course the disasters in East Japan may have caused some to be apprehensive about how this year's Anime Expo would turn out, satisfaction with the quality of the event was the general mood among the record-breaking 47,000+ attendees (125,000+ turnstile).
■ The Vibrant Exhibitor's Hall: a Positive Sign for the Industry?
The entrance of this year's exhibitor's hall provided a good visualization of the current state of the American anime industry, as booths from Funimation and NIS America, as well as a combined Bandai Entertainment/Aniplex booth were front and center.
Though Funimation was actively promoting a number of properties, Last Exile -Fam, The Silver Wing-, with its world premiere event and many staff in attendance, was surely the most memorable Funimation title for many attendees.
With fan-favorite voice actress Miyuki Sawashiro at the convention, NIS America's big title for the event was Arakawa Under the Bridge, while Bandai's promotion of K-On! featured an energetic live concert with the American voice cast.
As mentioned earlier, Bandai shared their space with Aniplex USA titles, including what could have been the highest-profile license of convention, Madoka Magica, though many fans seemed unsurprised by the announcement.
Crunchyroll's large stage flanked these displays on one side, while beyond them, deeper into the exhibitor's hall, was Media Blasters as well as Sentai Filmworks, which focused its marketing efforts on its popular High School of the Dead release, as well as its newly-released Angel Beats!
Anime Expo also marked the further diversification of the English-language anime streaming and simulcasting field, as Niconico's appearance at Anime Expo coincided with their announcement that they would simulcast six titles from the summer 2011 season.
Between their liberally-distributed and widely-worn shirts as well as their large live streaming booth, Niconico's presence was certainly apparent at Anime Expo, as was their intention to make a strong impact in international markets.
Additionally, while San Diego Comic-Con is only a few weeks away, Viz Media certainly did not skip over Anime Expo, their most conspicuous activities at the event being their promotion of their iPhone application as well as their continued diversification through franchises with crossover potential such as Mameshiba and Professor Layton.
The exhibitor's hall was vibrant beyond the front line of booths, as well. While there has now been an official announcement that attendance at the event was at its highest levels ever, it was not a stretch to guess that this was the case with just a look around the bustling room.
Across the entire hall, pleased vendors happily reported increased sales from last year, with some stating that in terms of sales, this year was the best Anime Expo they had ever participated in, going so far as to reduce their presence at other concurrent events in order to more adequately meet demand.
While it would be hard to draw conclusions about the state of the core North American market for Japanese content based on one weekend alone, the mood among vendors was certainly far from grim.
■ Cosplay, Panels, and an Unforgettable Concert
As with any anime convention, an incredible number of cosplayers were wandering the convention floor, as well as the nearby streets of Los Angeles, at all hours. Many recent properties were strongly represented, in particular cosplay of Vocaloid characters, recent anime including Madoka Magica as well as Panty and Stocking, and characters from Touhou Project.
Panel and lecture programming, which this year included a three-day academic symposium, covered a wide range of topics and was generally well-attended, though often plagued by schedule management issues which forced a number of panels to omit question-and-answer sessions with fans.
Of the many licenses announced during the industry panels at Anime Expo, Aniplex USA's announcement of Madoka Magica was likely the most anticipated title of the convention, though the decreasing overall impact of licensing announcements at live events due to the internet in recent years made for less buzz than may have been expected.
While interest in many new titles and franchises was visible around the convention, the visibility of and interest in Vocaloid stood out among many others. Visitors entering either hall were greeted by cars branded with the face of Hatsune Miku, and cosplayers dressed as a large variety of Vocaloids in a huge selection of costumes could be found across the convention.
A host of panels, both official and fan-run, were attended by thousands throughout the event. The large official Mikunopolis booth in the exhibitor's hall was surrounded at nearly all times by excited, interested fans, while various events gave overseas fans the opportunity to meet Japanese creators of Vocaloid software, music, and art.
Above all, though, the centerpiece of the Vocaloid invasion of Anime Expo was of course the live Vocaloid concert on Saturday night. As the sun set on Los Angeles, the sold-out crowd packed the area surrounding the Nokia Theatre, transforming it into a sight nearly unimaginable at an anime convention.
Twelve long lines of eager fans surrounded the building as Toyota-sponsored giveaways were taking place, all while Vocaloid songs such as "World is Mine" could be heard over the plaza speakers. Speaking to a baffled local television news cameraman, he mentioned that the scene was extraordinary even to a long-time professional such as himself.
The concert itself was an incredible experience, and the scene of a projected Hatsune Miku surrounded by a full band and string section while facing a sea of green glowsticks is likely to remain with many fans for a long time.
As one might have expected, many of the biggest crowd reactions came to widely-heard, uptempo songs such as "Poppipo" and "The Disappearance of Hatsune Miku," as well as the short appearances of other fan-favorite Vocaloid characters such as Kagamine Rin and Len, as well as Megurine Luka.
However, the crowd's reaction to new English lyrics sung by Miku was on the lukewarm side, with some fans not realizing at all that certain songs were being sung in English. While it's hard to escape the fact that the audience may not have understood many of the Japanese lyrics sung throughout the concert, the exciting music, expressive performances, and overall spectacle of the concert surely left very few unimpressed or unmoved.
Overall, Anime Expo 2011 was a convention of exceeded expectations, living up to its "Year of the Fan" tagline. Though the market landscape for Japanese content may still be in flux, this event showed that the core North American market of excited fans has yet to fade. Whether the big winners of the convention, such as the organizers behind the Mikunopolis event can continue to capitalize on this market remains to be seen, but it certainly still seems worthwhile for Japanese content creators to try.
Ko Ransom
Born in 1987 in Atlanta, Georgia. Freelance translator and writer currently based out of Japan, primarily focusing on the Japanese content industry and subculture. First began attending American anime conventions at the age of 12, and has since participated in various conventions in a number of different roles.
Photography by Alex Strange
