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Animecons in the U.K versus the U.S


Kumo
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I was just browsing one of my reguar cosplay haunts, one of which as a list of many of the cons going on around the world. I couldn't help but notice, though, that a vast majority of the anime cons held are in - surprise - the U.S.

 

Why is that?

 

Now, I'm aware that USA is biiiiiig and that there are, accordingly, looooots of people living there, so yes, the market would obviously be bigger.

 

But still, I get the feeling that even proporotionally, the market is bigger in the US than in Europe in general. Cons here struggle to survive - just look at the recent cancellation of AnikiCon, which saddened me a lot, whereas most cons in the U.S (Fanimecon, Ohayocon, Yaoicon) not only grow each year, many of them are also attended by the same people over and over again.

 

Does it have something to do with the delay of goods arriving into Europe (such as, in countries non-native to English, we only get shows/mangas after they have been translated from Japanese into English, and by then they have all been released long ago in the U.S? Or is it something else? Are people simply more obsessed in general "over there"? I know people who travel from state to state going to cons (can it have something to do with the American fans generally being older and having the means to travel?), but most people in Europe seem unwilling to go even across their own country to attend a con, even though travelling through states can be just as expensive as it would be for me to go to, say, Germany.

 

 

Any thoughts on this would be very appreciated as it has been puzzling me for a long time, being in the business. Thanks!

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I think it also has a lot to do with the length of time that Anime has been around in the US, which also dictates how much stuff there is available on the US market.

 

Lets face it, they were customising and redubbing the likes of G-Force back in the 70's, and it was only the most mainstream and popular of these programmes that ever made it to the UK!

 

And sadly it is the popularity of a subject which drives which goods we get over here, and in what quantity. No-one is going to risk importing quantities of a wide variety of the latest dvds from Japan when there is not a large mainstream market for it.

 

There is also a different mindset in the US. Over here, Japanese animation (in fact animation of any kind) is still seen as kids stuff by the majority of the population, whereas in the US it does have a larger adult fan base. Anime based toys and collectables are widely available in many shops (not just the small specialist collectables shops as they are in the UK).

 

Andrea

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There is also a different mindset in the US. Over here, Japanese animation (in fact animation of any kind) is still seen as kids stuff by the majority of the population, whereas in the US it does have a larger adult fan base.

 

 

Actually, I think that this is a very strong point. I'm also pondering whether or not that difference in attitude has an impact on the fanbase, making adults in general disinterested because they really do believe anime's only for kids. In general, I have cosplaying friends who happily take holidays to travel around, whereas people in Sweden (where I'm from), for instance, complain when there's two cons a year because due to financial reasons, they have to choose between them, clearly showing how young they are.

 

I guess my second question would be if there is any way to actively do something about it, or if one can only wait and hope that things will happen?

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  • 3 months later...

Anime is usually a side line in UK conventions. It's there but there is hardly any conventions JUST for anime. There isn't a large fanbase in the UK to justify holding a convention. I know of one that recently started but it was very low key, small and budget and it isn't showmaster so I shall keep my mouth shut.

 

I've only got into anime and manga a few years ago and when I mention it, most people think it is a kids thing and look down on you because of it. So like Andrea said it is a different mindset over here to the US. And think, there isn't a specific channel dedicated to showing anime shows. The only ones shown on terrestrial television are the kid shows. The anime for teenage and above audiences are currently aired on obscure channels on sky tv. It just shows how little press or coverage anime gets in the UK, keeping the fanbase small.

 

In years to come it may be more likely and feasible to get anime conventions over here but it will take years for them to get esthablished.

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  • 3 months later...
I've only got into anime and manga a few years ago and when I mention it, most people think it is a kids thing and look down on you because of it. So like Andrea said it is a different mindset over here to the US. And think, there isn't a specific channel dedicated to showing anime shows. The only ones shown on terrestrial television are the kid shows. The anime for teenage and above audiences are currently aired on obscure channels on sky tv. It just shows how little press or coverage anime gets in the UK, keeping the fanbase small.

 

In years to come it may be more likely and feasible to get anime conventions over here but it will take years for them to get esthablished.

I know that this thread is a little old, but Sky channel 199 is AnimeCentral. :) They show anime episodes of 6 different shows from 9pm-12am, then repeat the 3 hour block twice to 6am. And that's daily.

 

Also, there are quite a few anime conventions. I have been to some myself. It's not like they all struggle to survive; AmeCon in Leicester has 1,300 places available to register for, and they are usually taken up within a month! Then there's a waiting list that grows in the months leading up to the convention itself. They make more than £50,000 at each AmeCon convention. ;)

 

AmeCon - Awesome cosplaying convention in Leicester! I think it's the largest convention in the UK

Auchinawa - Scottish anime convention

FuyuCon - Midlands based anime convention

Minami Con - a convention on the cuter side of anime

Tomo-Dachi - Irish anime convention

Edited by Rivaan
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