ASIA - Kyoto will host its first International Manga Anime Fair in September, a three-day event aimed at drawing in anime and manga businesses to the city.
The Kyoto Manga Anime Fair will be held at the Miyako Messe complex, aimed at nurturing creators and attracting fans of the genre to the city. Anime is a style of animation originating in Japan, while manga, primarily used in English-speaking countries, is a graphic novel genre created in Japan or by Japanese creators in the Japanese language.
The show will open on 21 September with a day dedicated to business-related events, with an expected audience of 2,000 visitors. It will then open to the public for a further two days on 22 and 23 September.
The anime and manga industry has a high concentration of business located in Kyoto, which according to the organiser is home to the world’s first International Manga Museum. Even the local Kyoto Seika University has a Faculty of Manga.
For business visitors, the event will give them access to exhibitors, meetings and seminars with a focus on connecting companies and organisations from the rest of the country with those based in the Kansai region. Toei Uzumasa Movie Studios, a member of the Kyoto Convention Bureau, is heavily involved in the production of the event, providing support for the cinema and cross media section of the event. The company is currently developing anime and manga theme parties for business visitors.
“The Kyoto International Manga Anime Fair will help promote the city as a centre for doing business as it will bring together organisations from around the country and establish a market for companies to expand,” said James Kent, international marketing manager at Kyoto Convention Bureau.
“Manga and anime are popular worldwide and will allow us to not only showcase Kyoto’s links with the modern art form but also its rich culture and heritage. Kyoto continues to grow as a business destination and we welcome any event, such as the Kyoto International Manga Anime Fair, which widens the city’s appeal to an international audience.”
Earlier this year, Reed confirmed the New York Anime Festival (NYAF) is to become an integral part of pop culture event the New York Comic Con (NYCC).
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