AnimeJapan 2019 – Convention Report Part 7 (Final)

Of the AnimeJapan events I have covered, I have to say this is my favorite by far.

I felt that with each year, the event has managed to grow not in just attendees but interactive entertainment for its attendees.

The sixth event drew 146,500 visitors during the public days of March 23-24th and exceeds 2017’s numbers which were 145,453.

It’s important to note that 2018 and also 2016 incorporated numbers including business days, so the numbers for 2019 is no doubt showing that the event has grown.  Also, the first time in which the public days preceded the business days (which took place on a Monday and Tuesday) as March 21st is a holiday (Vernal Equinox Day) in Japan.

As the event has announced that they will be back in March 21-24 and that the Family Anime Festa event will run from March 21-22 in 2020, due to Tokyo Big Sight undergoing renovations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the event will be moving from the East Exhibition Hall/New East Exhibition Hall and Conference Tower to the West Exhibition. Hall, South Exhibition Hall and Conference Tower.

I don’t think it will impact the event so much because each exhibition hall provided ample space for crowds to walk through and some areas have more open space than others.  So, with thorough planning on booth space, I think the event will have another stellar year in 2020.

This year’s AnimeJapan 2019 was no doubt targeting different demographics.

While the families will always have Family Anime Festa, cosplayers and those who love cosplay have a much bigger space compared to before.  For those who never attended AnimeJapan, earlier, one would have to go in a crowded corner of an exhibit hall, be surrounded by photographers in order to get a picture.

By moving the cosplay section to another side of the building and giving people ample space to shoot photos and video was a plus.

But the biggest improvement now compared to the earlier years of AnimeJapan is company’s utilizing their booth space.  Before, they were huge booths with giant pictures but rarely much inside.  Now, we are seeing booths incorporating more things to see, more things that keep attendees staying longer and also more free merchandise, more interactivity and of course, larger staff including booth girl and guys, which is always great (if they interact with attendees).

The focus on the stage events are another big thing.  Having more events and necessary space to accommodate attendees was important and from what I saw, having events run concurrently was important.  As earlier years, there would be one event in one area and really nothing else.  So, that was a big improvement to see how stage programming went and also enthusiastic seiyuu and their excited fans interacting.

While there were pre-music events the night before, I liked the fact there were music-related events on the day of AnimeJapan.  And the noise of the music events did not affect the booths close to them.

Another major thing that I saw this year was how many people were there strictly for limited-edition merchandise and Ita-bag items.  And the fact, many booths catered to the spending power of these hardcore collectors was also another amazing thing to see, when compared to previous years.

Another thing that I was quite impressed to see is how many families attended, parents in cosplay with their children but also to see the international presence at AnimeJapan.  I can remember for the first two years, aside from press and industry, there were not many people from other countries attending compared to this year’s event.  So many people traveled to Japan for AnimeJapan (and also vacation during the cherry blossom time), so that was cool to see the event grow in that manner as well.

I know I’m making AnimeJapan sound perfect, but where can it improve?

I’m always a believer that there should be more food stalls.  It’s one thing that affects events and while having it in one area for people to access is good, for a growing event at this size, having access to food and drink in two opposite ends would make a big difference.

The thing that I saw the most and I’m not sure if it’s even possible to remedy due to area is more benches for people to sit.  One of the things I saw were people having to sit in the concrete flooring.

While one of the positives I mentioned were the hardcore collectors, a large number of them throughout the day took a whole table to layout their collections to go through and put their bags on the chairs.  I was watching as people were searching desperately for anywhere to sit.  Many families, especially elderly and young children.  While Tokyo Big Sight has a lot of ample seating in terms of benches and tables, if most are occupied by a single collector going through their merch purchases, it makes things difficult for families or groups of people who really want to sit and rest.

Because of spacing, and there is more than enough space, I would love to see the event generate additional rest areas.  Many it be benches or tables with seating inside the exhibition hall area.

But other than that, I see the event going in a positive direction.  Customer service was solid, as I observed attendee lines, customer service, lost & found, there was enough staff to assist attendees with their needs.  There are some kinks on the press side of things with various stage areas, but from my experience of attending AnimeJapan 2019, I was quite pleased to see the growth of the event and how the staff really improved upon its earlier years by making things bigger and better but most importantly, attendee-friendly.  No major complaints at all.

From the various attendees and industry people I spoke to at the event, the consensus was positive and that’s all one can hope for.

AnimeJapan 2019 was no doubt a success and I really do like the direction this event is headed!

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