Aniplex debuting their own convention this fall

-Anthony Beanes
Director

This past weekend we received news that Aniplex will be hosting their own anime convention this year. The convention, Akibafest, will take place in Los Angeles, at the Little Tokyo plaza on October 15th-16th. Aniplex's goal with Akibafest is not only to host their own anime convention, but bring the experience of what it feels like to attend Akihabara in Japan.

A lot of events offer different facets of Japanese culture, but there hasn’t been an event that really brings it all together. Our goal for AkibaFest is to fill this void in as authentic manner as possible. We’re going to transform Little Tokyo into the closest thing to ‘Akiba’ as possible. If we can’t bring you to Akihabara, we’re going to bring Akihabara to you. -John Inada, Aniplex of America’s Director of Business Development

It’s clear from the passion exhibited by anime fans, cosplayers, manga collectors, tech enthusiasts and gamers that there is still a thirst for new experiences. However, it is only with the support of the fans that we can make AkibaFest a successful event. Only with their enthusiastic participation can we turn Little Tokyo into ‘Little Akiba’ on the weekend of October 15th and 16th. -Aniplex of America President, Hideki Goto

AkibaFest is a cooperative venture between Aniplex of America, other notable anime and video game publishers, technology partners, and the Little Tokyo business community. Fans will be able to enjoy exclusive film screenings, expert panels and workshops, playable video game demos, technology demos, cosplay contests, themed cafés, exclusive merchandise offers, Japanese food and beverages, and much more. The website is now live for people to sign up to Akiafest's newsletter to be notified of updates for the upcoming convention, and other information including prices for the tickets will be in the near future.

---

It is interesting to see Aniplex host their own anime convention. While many anime companies have participated in many big anime conventions, this may be the first time I seen an anime company actually host their very own. I am very curious to see how this will go for Aniplex, and if this starts out very well, we may see other big anime companies do the same in the future.

---

Sources:
http://akibafest.com/