Anime and Comic Conventions

Fan-focused events have been around for years providing culture and community for nerds to call home. Filled with Cosplay, events to attend, art to purchase and opportunities for fans to interact with content creators, voice actors and so forth. Fandom is noted as something which began in the 1920s and rose in popularity overtime to what it is now. Conventions have been popular since before the eighties. One noted event is WorldCon which was held in NY back in 1939.  Yes 1939! 

San Diego Comic-Con International, a well-known event began in 1970 with only 100 attendees at the time, with a greater focus on the rarity of the comic over other aspects of such events. While comics are a major focus of ComiCon events the focus of pop culture has grown to be inclusive and encompass other fandoms including film, boardgames and scifi. 

Comic events today, especially older longstanding events are generating millions of dollars in revenue with each event. Events benefiting the area holding the event as much as the events themselves. 

Anime conventions on the other hand focus more so on anime and manga merchandise. In Tokyo Comiket was held in 1975 with 700 attendees but today pulls more than half a million con goers. Examples include: Anime NYC, Nekocon, Awesomecon, ACen, Anime Expo, Anime Matsuri, Katsucon, AnimeBoston, Galaxycon, and Dragoncon) 

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