AnimeJapan 2019 – Convention Report Part 2 (Ita-Bags and Netflix goes full force at AnimeJapan)

As I visited each booth in one exhibit room and busy taking photos of booths and booth girls/guys, the attendees haven’t arrived yet but already I was starting to sense the enormity of this event and how it has changed compared to previous years.

I mentioned the importance of having booths to have people want to hang around longer, but also it is important to take part in the many free giveaways given away by each booth.  From small keychains to clear files and a plethora of flyers, it was evident to me that the large number of female attendees had their minds set for something else.

Once the attendees came in, immediately there were lines for certain booths and some of the female attendees said they were getting ita merchandise.

For those not familiar with “ita”, the word in Japanese comes from the word “pain”.

As some people are familiar with “Itasha”, for those who have their cars decorated for their favorite character (there was one at AnimeJapan 2019), there is “Ita-Bags”.

It has been a big trend in Japan for young women to show their anime character love with a bag showcasing a character on limited edition buttons of their favorite character.  I see some wota (idol fans) showing their love by having cases for their favorite photos featuring idols (and also photos they want to trade with others), many female fans were purchasing many buttons.  In fact, the majority of the chairs, benches and tables occupied at the convention were not for people wanting to rest their feet, it was fans wanting to sort their “ita” purchases.

But why is the word “ita” used? I would think that it relates to the financial pain involved with the money one spends to acquire such limited edition merchandise. As certain buttons are only sold at special events. Being a collector of hard to get merch never comes cheap.

And from what I have read, certain button badges are limited edition and can cost a lot.  Considering that the large ita bags are about Y4000-Y6000 on the low end (and some spending over Y50,000-Y100,000).  It’s an expensive hobby and as I watched the attendees come in, they knew which merchandise booths to visit.

So, for example, one booth offers a button for one button badge for Y500.  So, if one wanted to buy 40, it would cost them about Y15,000.  Fortunately, they were selling boxes for Y12,500.  Now I don’t know if they are random but I get this feeling they are.  If they are like other Japanese collectibles that I have purchased a box for, you never know what you are going to get until you open them.

But there were other collectibles that fans were after, from keychains to small figures to put on their backpacks.

As I moved from exhibition hall, it was interesting to see the presence of Netflix, Universal and Warner Bros. at AnimeJapan.

But of the three, if there was one that came to make their name and programming known, in full force, it had to be Netflix.  Not only did they have a large staff, their booth was one that was not to be missed.  Definitely one of the more memorable booths this year at AnimeJapan 2019 and they were prepared to communicate with attendees and were well-staffed.

I’ll be back with part 3 of my report on “AnimeJapan 2019”!

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