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LeftField Media, the events company behind Awesome Con, Play Fair and more events, is bringing an anime back to NYC in 2017 with the aptly named Anime NYC, with Crunchyroll, the streaming anime service as primary sponsor, and Funimation, Viz and Kinokuniya also aboard. The event will take place November 17-19, 2017 at the Javits Center.

It’s an ambitious return for anime. Once there was the New York Anime Festival, which was a standalone but later folded into New York Comic Con as the US manga and anime industries contracted. In recent years as manga and anime have bounced back, and streaming services like Crunchyroll have introduced properties like Attack on Titan to a new audience, the industry has come back. Shows like Anime Expo in Anaheim, and Otakon in Baltimore/Washington DC to name just two remain large, very successful show, so the timing seems about right to bring back an anime/manga/otaku themed show in NYC.

 

More info in the PR below:

LeftField Media today announced the debut of Anime NYC, a new convention focused on anime, manga, and Japanese pop culture launching next year in New York City. The first Anime NYC will take place November 17-19, 2017 in Midtown Manhattan’s Javits Center and bring fans together with guests from Japan and publishers across America. Anime NYC will be presented by anime streaming portal Crunchyroll and built with the support of industry partners Funimation, VIZ Media, and Kinokuniya Bookstore.

Anime NYC is the creation of LeftField Media, a boutique event company also responsible for Play Fair, a toy and family entertainment celebration run with the Toy Industry Association, and Awesome Con, Washington DC’s Comic Con.

“Anime and manga have never been more prolific in America, with anime conventions in other cities bringing together as many as 100,000 attendees,” said Greg Topalian, founder of LeftField Media. “Yet while New York City is the largest city in America, no large event championing Japanese pop culture calls it home. Anime NYC will change this, and once established, we believe Anime NYC has the potential to become the largest anime convention on the East Coast.”

“It’s been years since there’s been a dedicated anime convention in the Javits, and we’re excited to have the opportunity to support a show in New York,” said Dallas Middaugh, Crunchyroll’s head of content management. “The LeftField team already has amazing experience working on anime shows, and it’s great to have the chance to help bring the best of anime and manga to East Coast fans at Anime NYC.”

Crunchyroll – the world’s largest anime streaming service, with more than 20 million registered users and over 750,000 paid subscribers – will present premiere screenings and special guests throughout Anime NYC, and Crunchyroll Premium Members can expect exclusive benefits at the event. Attendees overall will enjoy appearances by some of the biggest creators in Japan, extensive screenings, robust panel sessions, and features from anime, manga, and cosplay to Japanese toys, games, food, and fashion from brands across the Japanese pop culture spectrum, headlined by Funimation, VIZ Media, and Kinokuniya Bookstore.

“New York is a city where Japanese performers hold sold-out concerts and Japanese films receive North American premieres. Various events touch Japanese pop culture here, but no major event exists specifically for the anime and manga community,” said Peter Tatara, LeftField’s head of content. “There’s a demand from fans for an event to call their own, and I’m proud to work with our friends across the anime and manga worlds to create Anime NYC.”

Anime NYC tickets and details will be released this November, and fans looking to learn more can sign up for the Anime NYC newsletter at animenyc.com and follow the event on Facebook and Twitter.

 

1 COMMENT

  1. If only I lived in the States! It’s cool seeing Crunchyroll finally open up their own con though – just not sure how well it’ll do, really, with so many other ones already around.

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