Attended the Tokyo International Anime Fair held at Tokyo Big Sight last Thursday. The first two days were open to business and exhibitors only so there wasn’t much of a crowd and we could browse the booths in relative comfort, thanks to my talented friend Kunrong who knew some friends in high places.
(ab0ve) The Ghibli Studio booth, they were still exhibiting Ponyo stuff and no new works were announced. There’s going to be an exhibition on a Disney concept artist Mary Blair (curated by Ghibli staff, I think) held at the MOT in summer this year, the same venue used for the Studio Ghibli Layout Exhibition (2008) and Kazuo Oga Background Art Exhibition (2007).
(Above) Production I.G booth. Upcoming films include Musashi : The Dream of the Last Samurai and Hottarake no Shima (girl in Japanese school uniform above), a full CG feature.
(above) The hugely popular Usavich, a gang of whimsy rabbit miscreants created by Kanaban Graphics.
(above) Kamikaze Douga, a relatively new studio that specializes in anime opening sequences, game cut scenes, and recently, a music video for Japanese pop star Namie Amuro. Kamikaze Douga was behind the energetic opening sequence for Sunrise/Nissin’s Freedom Project.
(ab0ve) Sunrise booth. Didn’t meet anything from the Freedom team that day though. (below) A very modestly sized booth for Bones, the studio behind the laudable Sword of the Stranger.
Did anyone else visit the Anime fair this year/previous years ?
Related posts:
Yakitori delights in Miyoshi, Tokyo
Freedom Opening Sequence 02
Ghost in the Shell SAC fair – Laughing Man Hotcakes
Ponyo on the Cliff Art Exhibition at the Ghibli Museum – Preview
Studio Ghibli Layout Exhibition – A preview
I wish I could visit, but it’s a bit far from Amsterdam
The giant Totoro would go perfectly in my room (and also all other rooms). I would have to sleep outside though…
Yes, I attended this year fair – but unlike you, I don’t have friends in high places so my son and I attended when it was open to the public. Boy, was it crowded (and hot and stuffy!).
I am not much of an anime fan, and in spite of the crowds, I still enjoyed it, so colorful and fun, with lots to see and experiences. You can read my blog post at http://bartman905.wordpress.com/2009/03/20/tokyo-international-anime-fair-2009/
I went to TAF2009 on Wed(18/Mar). It has sparse visitors(^^;, I feel.
Yes, BONES’ booth is quite low key… (It’s disapointment for me.)
Here’s my report.
http://don777-ax.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/2009/03/teatime-tokyo-a.html
I went to the ‘05 TIAF and it was alright. There were a few cool exhibitions, but by that time my interest in anime and manga in general was waning. I’m not a huge fan now, but I still pop Cowboy Bebop into my PS3 every now and then.
Nice pictures!
I have my heart set on next year’s.
wow great pictures. Thanks for sharing
I spotted Mr Kawamura with the FMA paperbag
I was there at 2007. It was really an eye opener.
Very interesting photoblog!
I voted for your blog for 2009 photoblog awards because I love it very much! Good luck
Harry D. – Nothing too exciting this year, so you didn’t miss too much ! :]
TDD – I won’t mind one of those myself !
bartman905/don777 – Thanks for the great review on your blog ! As you can see, I’m too shy to take pictures of the models haha.
Jordan/Jamaipanese – Thanks for visiting. I’ll see you guys around on JapanSoc. :]
trees – Cool, see you there ! :]
one – Oops, pardon my ignorance. Mr Kawamura would be… ?
tragic comedy – Wow, perhaps you saw the life size Freedom vehicle that year ?
Kiji – Thank you so much ! I’ll be sure to drop by your blog often too ! :]
that video sounds a lot like utada hikaru
but you’re so lucky, i cant wait for the anime expo this year, are you or your company are going to be here in los angeles? it’d be awesome to meet you.
Yonghow: Yeah it was there in all its glory..2007 was kind of a mecha year with the heavy features on giant robot shows and technology (Gurren lagann, vexille, Freedom, Dancougar, Giant Robo, Evangelion and many more). What really caught my eye though was the independent studios and animators who were showing off their stuff…
aww… too bad they don’t make Leningrad plushies (yet).
Thanks for sharing, yonghow
Ahhh…glad you made such a great post on the event! Definitely informative for all online visitors (=
Jen – That video is indeed sung by Utada, its called “This is Love”.
It’d be great to visit LA for anime expo, but I dunno if that’s going to happen…
tragic comedy – Wow ! Must have been a most exciting year. :]
Lynn – Haha, not yet alright, not yet.
kunrong : Thanks !
It’s always a plus knowing people in high places. Nice reportage.
Definitely dig the Freedom OP since I watched it during the animation festival screening at the National Museum.
That Tottoro ballon is AWSOME!