The B2B component of New York Comic Con is adding several B’s with the announcement of Crunhyroll’s Anime Future Forum to be held on October 7, the Wednesday before NYCC, at the Javits Center. The Hollywood Reporter has the announcement for the event, which is invite-only. Invitees will be drawn from both US and Japanese content executives in tech, gaming and music. Sessions are built around the theme of “Designing for Anime’s Future,” with topics including fandom, technology, storytelling and IP protection.
“Over the last several years, it’s been clear that anime’s fandom, its cultural relevance and place within the entertainment industry cannot be underestimated and is a central part of the global entertainment industry fabric,” said Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini in a statement. “Crunchyroll is honored to host and curate a forum for exciting and innovative discussions from and between industry leaders around the amazing art form of anime. This is the first and only type of industry event outside of Japan where anime is front and center for discussion and everyone attending will push its prominence and success.”
THR goes on to note Crunchyroll’s growing profile at parent company Sony, as anime has become a driver of global culture more than ever before. With that in mind, a summit is called for to further Sony’s footprint.
The Anime Future Forum, Crunchyroll says, is intended to bring potential new partners and allies into Sony’s growing anime ecosystem, pulling Japanese animation studios, creators, distributors and artists into the same room with their international counterparts across television, film, music, gaming, technology and merchandising. Specifics on speakers and programming have not yet been disclosed.
The summit also extends Crunchyroll’s growing portfolio of anime-centric events. The company has hosted its annual Crunchyroll Anime Awards since 2017; the 10th anniversary edition is set for Tokyo on May 23, with a guest list that in recent years has drawn Hollywood and music figures including Megan Thee Stallion, Bong Joon Ho, and Phil Lord and Christopher Miller alongside top Japanese industry talent.
While it’s easy to see why Crunchyroll would like to hold a summit, and why NYCC would be a perfect place for it – there is already a healthy presence in anime, manga, webtoon and Asian gaming companies – as an ICv2 piece by Milton Griepp points out, there are several logistical questions about this.
The Wednesday before NYCC has become a “pro day” in recent years, with a full slate of programing for Retailer Day, keynote speeches, networking events and more. Adding the Anime Future Fest to the proceedings makes this day even more jam packed, even if it is invite-only. Griepp does note that given the size of the Javits, both events can easily be held simultaneously. Hopefully they won’t be held too close together since the audio bleeding in the lofty Riverside Pavilion is deafening.
This is also the SECOND big anime B2B event announced for NYC in the last few weeks. Just a few days ago, it was announced that Anime NYC would hold an anime licensing summit the day before THAT show at the Javits. Billed as the “First Executive Forum Devoted Anime, Manga, Gaming, and Asian Pop Culture Licensing,” the Anime NYC and X Tracks Licensing Summit will ALSO be invite-only and held Thursday August 20.
So TWO Anime summits, one focused on licensing, the other specifically on Sony/Crunchyroll business. Oh the networking there will be! And The Beat better get invited to both of them!
