Tokyo International Anime Fair in Akihabara

24.10.2010 by Patrick W. Galbraith

Well, the Tokyo Anime Fair Tokyo International Anime Fair has come and gone again. This time was the autumn addition, the "sister event" of the larger spring offering, billed as an "animation trade fair." It was held in Akihabara, which the press release notes is "a sacred place for 'anime.'" This was sort of a mixed blessing. On the one hand, the show was right in my backyard! Easy to visit, free and open to the general public. Can't complain about that. But on the other hand, the choice of the Akihabara UDX Building for the venue was a little unsettling. This is not about Akihabara becoming a showcase for "Cool Japan," and in the process putting otaku on display like some cultural zoo, though UDX certainly reminds me of that. (Anyone remember the Akiba Otaku Matsuri of May 2008?)

No, it is more that the choice of venue reflects a general loss of momentum in the anime industry. Yeah, this is the smaller autumn addition, but the contrast to even the last TAF in spring was startling. When TAF first started in 2002, it was billed as the largest trade show for anime. By now we all know the industry is hurting from the rough economic conditions, as well as issues of production and consumption (check out Sato Dai's thoughts on this). We also know that TAF has been shrinking year by year. Fewer studios see the meaning of investing in a costly booth, and more non-Japanese companies did see the meaning of it. This time around just sort of symbolized that general trend. Akiba Square is a much smaller venue with fewer booths (only 20 exhibitors, as compared to 256 in 2006) operating for a shorter time (just two days, October 22 and 23). Honestly, it felt to me more like JAM than TAF, both in the sense of scale and the people with booths (lots of people trying to sell ideas to market anime and extend the value of characters). Few studios, and those that did make an appearance just ran videos at unstaffed displays. There was so much less energy than Comike that it was startling. People visiting Akiba on a Saturday afternoon just walked by - passed up a free event because it looked boring.

That said, maybe this is a good thing. I mean, this season has so many exciting series - "Star Driver," "Bakuman," "Yosuga no Sora," "Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt," "Oreimo," "The World that Only God Knows," "Sora no Otoshimono Forte." Hell, I'd even throw in "Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls" for the interesting art style and "MM!" for adding some character complexity to ero. The point is that the animation is thriving. Maybe it doesn't need veil of "Cool Japan," which TAF has always stood for (beginning pretty much when this whole discourse got started). No doubt studios need better funding, and the job of animator needs to be made more appealing so that the next generation of talents don't all end up at Comike, but maybe we are better off supporting the works rather than the hype. It will be interesting to see what TAF in spring 2011 shapes up to be.