AnimeJapan 2017 is one of Japan’s biggest events which pertains to its lucrative pop culture, and with so much popularity behind it many foreign visitors and business executives come to shake hands with some of the most prolific companies in the industry. The Honey’s Anime team made our way out to the business day event on March 23, 2017 with high energy and a fierce readiness, as major leaders in the industry were in attendance. Our mission was to help establish a close relationship with these companies in order to help bridge the gap between Japan and the world, pertaining to pop culture. We conducted a handful of interviews which focused primarily on seeing what each company's strengths were, and what they wanted to represent overseas. The message that many stated was very clear and effective:
“To allow passionate fans around the world to be a part of Japan’s lucrative industry, and to help promote a better understanding of our pop culture through media.”
For more information pertaining to AnimeJapan 2017 and it’s sponsors, please feel free to check out the website below.
AnimeJapan Official Website: https://www.anime-japan.jp/
ADK / NAS / d-rights
What They Do
ADK / NAS / d-rights is an integrated production company handling entertainment contents for a variety of media. We offer services in every aspect of content business including content production, rights management, financing and merchandising. By integrating our services and functions, we have been successful in producing entertainment contents and maximizing the commercial potential.
Official Website:
http://www.d-rights.com/en/
http://www.d-rights.com/en/
Interview
ADK / NAS / d-rights’ mission is to promote the Beyblade series all over the world. That’s their big dream and would like to turn it into reality. They’re currently working on the 2nd season of the Beyblade anime. They work alongside major American distributors such as Disney XD and Hasbro to bring their licenses overseas.
AEON Fantasy Co.,LTD
What They Do
Our character Lala has been with us for 10 years already but to make her even bigger we decided to take part in this year's AnimeJapan. The "Lalala Lala-chan" anime show is broadcasting from autumn 2016 through Kids Station on cable TV. You might find it weird but we just want more people to know Lala.
Official Website: http://www.fantasy.co.jp/
Interview
Ms. Ambrose explained that AEON Fantasy Co.,LTD wants to promote their brand and mascot LALA, a pink and adorable squirrel, to a global audience through using children’s entertainment as the main driver to garner attention. The children’s market is rapidly growing year after year and so AEON Fantasy Co.,LTD wants to capitalize on that by bringing a Japanese style influence to the global marketplace. Their message to the world is that they want more foreign companies to take notice of Japan’s willingness to express creative ideas not just for adults, but also for children as well.
Anime Expo
What They Do
Anime Expo is produced by the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA) which is a non-profit organization dedicated to popularizing the unique and deep culture that surrounds Japanese Animation.
Official Website: http://www.anime-expo.org/
Interview
Mark, who is the head of the entire operation, went over some important details pertaining to how all of these events are formed, and how they promote them. He elaborated on how the American media tends to place more attention towards American style comics such as DC and Marvel, and that the negative stigma towards Japanese style comics is something he wants to remove.
He stressed that by creating more events that allow everyone to see just how remarkable Japanese pop culture is, people’s perception of anime may start to differ. He further stated that with the recent popularity of eSports, this may also help to cement Japanese pop culture within the North American community. His message to everyone is to attend Anime Expo and see just how extravagant Japanese pop culture is, and who knows, you might find something enticing.
Anime Festival Asia 2017 / SOZO Private Limited
What They Do
Introduction of the calendar of events being organised in 2017. This includes the flagship Anime Festival Asia as well as other events as organised by SOZO. Please visit us to find out more and how you can be involved in the South East Asia market and beyond.
Official Website: http://animefestival.asia/
Official Website: http://sozo.sg/home/
Interview
Mr. Goh’s main points are that he wants fans to get the full otaku experience such as stage shows, especially anime merchandising, seiyuu events and OP/ED concerts. He states that they are planning to conduct a lot of popular anime events, so please look forward to them when we announce it.
Anime Hostel Astro Station
What They Do
Astro Station is a Japanese Anime themed hostel where foreign visitors in Japan can comfortably enjoy their stay. If you find yourself tired from walking around the event, how about stopping by for a break?
Official Website: http://www.astro-station.com/eng/
Interview
There are 13 rooms which feature very anime related designs. Many manga selections are available in both English and Japanese, while being able to enjoy a very otaku styled living space. It’s not a hotel styled environment, they want visitors to have the same experience you’d get from a typical mangakisa. At the moment their demographic is catered to both Japanese and English customers, but they’d like their hostel to cater entirely to the foreign visitor for more attention. Their flagship store is located roughly 10 mins from Takadanobaba station. One room per night is 3,000-4,000yen.
avex pictures
What They Do
We use film content to provide dreams,
hope, courage, and deep impressions to people
around the world.
hope, courage, and deep impressions to people
around the world.
Official Website:
http://avex-pictures.co.jp/
http://avex-pictures.co.jp/
Interview
Ms. Takimiya is in charge of international affairs and her message to the world is to promote King of Prism along with other IP so people can understand more of Japanese culture. Many foreigners don’t really know about King of Prism and other uniquely designed Japanese film, so she’d like to market these products more frequently to attract more global attention and close the cultural gap. Ms. Takimiya expressed that initially, King of Prism wasn’t so popular but through word of mouth on social media the series became very popular. Due to the overwhelming popularity, the sequel to their first movie will release in June. The style of the movie feels like a concert setting which many asian markets understand, but the foreign market may not understand the purpose of the film. So Ms. Takimiya said she wants to “change the perspective”
Beijing MYC
What They Do
Beijing MYC is an advertising agency of animation & games. We conduct planning and providing animation along with program plans and voice acting, music, theme songs, online advertising and offline events.
Official Website: http://mycdkdu.com/
Interview
Mr. Minegishi said that his company strengths are conducting content business both in China and Japan, so they can provide various services around the world. He’ll focus his business strategies within Japan, while China provides event organization. In China, it’s challenging to promote certain types of media, so this company will help to alleviate that challenge. If China wants to work alongside Japanese companies, Beijing MYC’s message to fans is to close the cultural gap and ensure that both sides can work alongside each other equally. In the future, they’d like to pursue fashion related markets such as gothic and idols so they help promote this type of culture in China.
bilibili
What They Do
China's largest streaming platform for animation.
Official Website: http://bilibili.co.jp/
Interview
Mr. Nakazato stated that bilibili is a media platform similar to youtube that focuses on the Chinese market. They have over 150 million users in China alone. They have the ability to reach a large audience due to their wide reach within China, so promoting Japanese entertainment can be implemented easily. His message to the world is that there’s a lot more entertaining content being released, so please stay tuned.
BONES INC.
What They Do
Planning, drafting development, production, administration and others avenues such as gaming, CG, the Internet about plan drafting, development, the production multimedia of the animation for TV, movie, and more.
Official Website: http://www.bones.co.jp/
Interview
Mr. Masahiko stated that they are an animation studio while focusing mainly on action and sci-fi related products. Their motto is “Delivering carefully designed animation to the anime audience.” They’re not picky on what genres to design, so they encourage overseas fans to get excited for their next project. His message to overseas fans is that they’re preparing a lot of ideas up until 2020, and that over the long term please look forward to our projects. My Hero Academia aired last year and the 2nd season will air from the spring season, so look forward to more action and impact in the 2nd season.
Content Business Creation Hub(C-HUB)
What They Do
Content Business Creation Hub(C-HUB) is a project to build a new network among content industries and content creators. C-HUB is a group of incubators specialized in content business. It is meant to be a "HUB" for content startup companies in different stages.
Official Website: http://chub.tokyo/english
Interview
Their mission is to promote aspiring works from independent artists to an overseas audience. Mr. Wakayama’s plan is to help these aspiring artists by using funding and assistance from foreign anime companies. Mr. Wakayama travels frequently to major events overseas in order to build relationships with foreign companies and generate a large network. Content Business Creation Hub understands the culture pertaining to serious matters such as sexual content and religion overseas, so they can communicate with Japanese companies in order to prevent any cultural indifference when promoting their products.
CREEK & RIVER Co., Ltd.
What They Do
We have a number of achievements specialized into game, anime, and other content. In this exhibition, we are displaying our production samples, introducing to our digital animation studio, and showcasing the most recent character business samples.
Official Website: https://www.cri.co.jp/
Interview
CREEK & RIVER Co., Ltd.’s mission is to create their own unique design platform instead of taking the ideas from other major makers and distributing them. They have their own team of resourceful people who can create major scenarios and unique characters to promote their company image, while collaborating with other major companies such as Avex to use their music license along with Coconut Covers, their unique IP. Coconut Covers at the moment doesn’t have much overseas reach, so Mr. Shimojo would like to spread their IP globally to grow more awareness.
DENTSU
What They Do
Ideas that reach beyond the imaginable.
Technology that crosses the bounds of possibilities.
Technology that crosses the bounds of possibilities.
Entrepreneurship that surpasses the expected.
Three sources of strength,
driving our innovation,
bringing positive change
to people and society.
Official Website: http://www.dentsu.co.jp/
Interview
A correspondent stated that DENTSU’s strength is that they are the biggest advertising firm in Japan. They want to provide more exposure through various types of media such as television commercials. Their message to fans worldwide is that collaborations between Japanese anime, live stage and live action are becoming very popular, not only 2D characters but also 3D actors so you can enjoy various aspects pertaining to Japanese culture.
EMON CO.,LTD.
What They Do / Interview
EMON CO.,LTD. seeks to expand overseas, with our TENCENT-based comic and HAOLINER brand, 80% of China's most popular web anime are produced by Emon. With more of a stronger hold on the global market, they can help to expand their network as well as introduce new products to new fans worldwide.
Official Website: http://www.haoliners.jp/
Fanworks Inc.
What They Do
Starting with the online character business "Yawaraka Sensha" in 2005, Fanworks Inc. has been producing anime , visuals, and characters, as well as creator managements and proposing web communication methods. We also have information of our new products. We look forward to seeing you.
Official Website: http://fanworks.co.jp/
Interview
Ms. Takahashi stated that Fanworks Inc.’ began with web comic anime, but recently they’re focusing on TV anime as well. They also focus on character planning along with various other responsibilities. At the moment, they’ve partnered with many companies related to anime and from April they’ll be involved in three new shows. Things are currently moving very quickly. Ms. Takahashi stated that her company’s message to the world is that they’ll air anime in Japan which aired in China. They’d like to pursue more collaboration with overseas companies to produce animation. In addition, they’d like to promote Japanese related products overseas while building business partnerships with more overseas companies.
Hakuhodo DY music & pictures Inc.
What They Do
Hakuhodo DY music & pictures Inc. is involved in a broad range of businesses including film distribution, production of Japanese films and animations, as well as sale of overseas programs.Its product line-up is also varied, with its new releases including "ATOM THE BEGINNING".
Official Website: http://www.hakuhodody-map.jp/
Interview
Ms. Takahata stated that the company strengths are that they’ve been in the industry for a very long time. They have a long catalog of works, and each season they deal with various animations in terms of production. They’d like to introduce their anime to their clients in terms of business opportunities in Japan as well as overseas. Her message to the world is that more recently there are various genre being introduced, so please choose the one you enjoy most.
JAPAN EXPO
What They Do
The biggest European festival about Japanese culture, JAPAN EXPO is the ideal platform to promote, sell and create awareness about your contents and products.
Official Website: hhttp://www.japan-expo-paris.com/en/
Interview
We had the opportunity to sit down with the CEO Mr.Thomas Sirdey along with the Tokyo office head Mr. Buon, who went over his company strengths as well as what he’d like the share with the world. He states that Japan Expo attracts many fans from around the world not just in Europe, but he’d like to continue expanding to help more people better assimilate with Japan’s pop culture. JAPAN EXPO is like the Anime Expo but for Europe, and so the main mission is to bring people of all ages together under one roof, and come to appreciate the beauty and diversity of Japanese culture.
His message to the world was that he’d like everyone to travel out to Japan Expo to create a more diverse environment, and remove any negative stereotypes pertaining to Japan’s pop culture image. Once you attend these events you’ll come to realize just how talented Japan is, and there’s plenty of passionate fans to discuss it all with!
KADOKAWA CORPORATION
What They Do
KADOKAWA CORPORATION carries out business centered on planning, production, sales, digital distribution, ad sales, and e-commerce of books, motion pictures, animations, publishing rights, and digital content. KADOKAWA CORPORATIONstrives towards continuous creation of content that would become popular around the world.
Official Website: http://ir.kadokawa.co.jp/global/
Interview
Mr. Ito’s mission was very simple: to publish official anime as soon as possible to foreign countries to avoid any illegal license issues of anime worldwide. He’d like to approach more foreign licensing companies in order to prevent further problems and make it easier to promote anime overseas for fans.
KING RECORDS
What They Do
We handle create animation, invest in video productions and sell products inside and outside of Japan. We have released a number of hit titles, such as "Ajin", "Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju",and "K". We also deal with new titles such as "Hozuki's Coolheadedness". Apart from physical products planning, production and sales we also work on expanding the streaming and copyrights business.
Official Website: http://www.kingrecords.co.jp/cs/default.aspx
Interview
Two ladies represented KING RECORDS, Ms. Ren and Ms. Yamauchi. They both discussed the importance of overseas and domestic distribution, and that they’d like foreign fans to experience the same feeling as Japanese fans when watching their favorite anime.
KOTOBUKIYA
What They Do
KOTOBUKIYA is Japan’s largest manufacturer of collectible figures and plastic models which cater to fans of anime, comic, movies and gaming. Many of their products are distributed worldwide and they’ve been in business since 1953.
Official Website: http://www.kotobukiya.co.jp/
Interview
Mr. Sunano and Mr. Chiba described their objective to establish a new relationship with fans, using Frame Arms Girl as the promotional tool. Frame Arms Girl is their unique IP created by the respected Mr. Shimada, the designer behind Strike Witches. They want to market the product as much as possible using Gou Rai, who is the main heroine of the story. Gou Rai was Mr. Shimada’s original work which was inspired from the Frame Arms models, and it drew a lot of attention from other independent character designers. They eventually followed in Mr. Shimada’s footsteps and eventually all of their character ideas caught the eye of Kotobukiya, and from there the Frame Arms Girl anime was born.
KOTOBUKIYA's mission is to change the perception of the western market and so their goal is to use Frame Arms Girl, a very simple design compared to other major projects, to grab the attention of the North American and European markets to further establish more credibility on a global scale.
Marvelous
What They Do
Marvelous is a multimedia entertainment company. We produce the animes, games, 2.5-dimensional contents (musicals and stage plays) and music. And we handle the rights of those contents to license both domestically and internationally.
Official Website: https://corp.marv.jp/english/
Interview
Ms. Kajikawa states that their strengths are that they’re a game company first, but also focus on consumer gaming, online gaming and live stage. They can spread their products across various media platforms. Her message to the world is that while many people love anime, we’d like everyone to be encouraged to attend more live stage events pertaining to our products.
Medialink Entertainment Limited
What They Do
Established in 1994, Medialink Entertainment Limited has successfully evolved into two core businesses – Program Distribution which grows and values the power of creative content through media platforms, and Licensing which focuses on expanding brand equities through strategic and creative executions. With its vast network and connections, Medialink Entertainment Limited hope to explore more co-investment project in here.
Official Website: http://medialink.com.hk/
Interview
Ms. Chiu believes Medialink Entertainment Limited strengths are creativity and their network, since they have various headquarters in countries such as Thailand and Malaysia. Their main office is in Hong Kong and they would like to open a local office in Japan. Creativity is a very important element of Medialink Entertainment Limited, while also bringing countries together to ensure that the culture gap between them decreases. They’d like to bring the western cultures into asia while taking the asian markets to the world. Her message to the fans around the world is that “Animation for everyone.”
NetEase Onmyoji
What They Do
NetEase Onmyoji, creators of the Japanese-style mobile game ""Onmyoji"" . We will show you innovative game content that will guide you to a beautiful world. Over 100 types of Shikigami await you and will grow together with you.
Official Website: https://www.onmyojigame.jp/
Interview
Mr. Li stated that NetEase Onmyoji Entertainment strengths are that they’re the number one game developer in China. The mobile game Onmyouji was developed exclusively for the japan market, and created with their own game engine. Various top ranking games in China come from NetEase Onmyoji. They focus on beautiful graphics with very smooth animation, so he encourages players to try their games.
Office Prion Co., Ltd.
What They Do
Original animation planning is the PR page of "Macrocosm An unexpected story". (Taken from Facebook Page)
Official Website: http://ir.kadokawa.co.jp/global/
Interview
Office Prion Co., Ltd. are the content holders for Reiji Matsumoto, the man famous for creating the classic series Captain Harlock. Mr. Yasuda expressed his feelings about promoting Reiji’s work if they can, and close the culture gap with foreign companies.
Otakorp, Inc
What They Do
Otakon is the largest convention of its kind on the East Coast of the United States. Each summer, thousands of people travel from everywhere for a three-day celebration of anime, manga, music, cinema, games, and other examples of East Asian popular culture.
Official Website: https://www.otakorp.org/
Interview
John along with Victor stated that they’d like Otakorp, Inc to become more well established around the world, and to help further promote Japanese culture on a global scale. To do so they’ve created Otakon, which is the largest convention on the Eastern Coast of the United States. They encourage fans all around the world to partake in their festivities and to share their otaku passions with one another.
Production I.G
What They Do
Production I.G is a fully equipped animation studio with a diverse
library of award-winning and highly influential feature films and TV
series, such as "A Letter to Momo" and "Miss Hokusai".
library of award-winning and highly influential feature films and TV
series, such as "A Letter to Momo" and "Miss Hokusai".
Official Website: http://www.productionig.com/
Interview
Ms. Sato stated that Production I.G’s strengths are that they provide anime which is full of depth and high quality detail. They’ve established a consistent formula to ensure their anime maintains the quality and depth they’re known for. Her message to fans worldwide is that there are a plethora of Japanese anime out in the market, but there are more ideas they’d like to approach so please be on the lookout for when they’re announced.
ReedPOP
What They Do
ReedPOP, the pop culture division of Reed Exhibitions, organizes some of the biggest pop culture events globally including New York Comic Con, C2E2, PAX, Emerald City Comicon, Star Wars Celebration, TwitchCon, Oz Comic-Con, Comic Con Paris, Comic Con India, Shanghai Comic Convention and many more. ReedPOP can connect brands and businesses to a global audience through our events.
Official Website: http://www.reedpop.com/
Interview
Mr. Wang stated that ReedPOP’s strength are that they’re a very global platform since they have offices based around the world such as Paris and Singapore. They have a strong understanding of various cultures around the world. Mr. Wang’s message to the world is to enjoy yourself at any of our shows worldwide, it’s an amazing experience.
Tezuka Productions
What They Do
We, Tezuka Productions, founded in 1968 by Osamu Tezuka, are engaged in management of his IP including his manga and animation works as well as animation production. In order to disseminate attraction of his works in the global market, we are now co-producing a new TV animation series for kids based on the original Astro Boy. Please stop by our booth for further information about us.
Official Website: http://tezukaosamu.net/en/
Interview
Mr. Yumoto has two responsibilities, preserving the Astro Boy license and creating unique animations which aren’t solely related to Tezuka’s works. China and Mongolia have various licenses from the company, but don’t have the skills to create their own animations so Tezuka Production would like to assist them. They plan to promote their series called “You Look Delicious” (おまえ、うまそう), which is a children’s story about Dinosaurs, to a global audience.
TMS ENTERTAINMENT CO.,LTD.
What They Do
TMS ENTERTAINMENT CO.,LTD. is an animation works company holding 50 years of experience, who have produced familiar works such as "Lupin The Third", "Detective Conan" and "Go! Anpanman".
Official Website: http://www.tms-e.co.jp/
Interview
Mr. Uchida stated that TMS ENTERTAINMENT CO.,LTD. possess the ability to create animation. They have various divisions within the company and they can focus on various areas pertaining to publishing anime as well as creating from scratch. His message to the world is that he wants to encourage more people to enjoy the various unique aspects of Japanese culture through anime, and that more people can develop more respect in the long term.
TOHO CO.,LTD
What They Do
TOHO animation is an animation brand produced by Toho Co., Ltd. They’ve presented various animated TV titles such as "My Hero Academia", "Haikyu!!", "Touken Ranbu Hanamaru" to animated feature films such as, "Godzilla", "Your Name.", "Fireworks, Should We See it from the Side or the Bottom?" and more.
Official Website:
https://www.toho.co.jp/anime/index.html
https://www.toho.co.jp/anime/index.html
Interview
We sat down with Mr. Takeda and he stated that, in Japan there are quite a large number of popular IPs, but a lot of them have not been adapted into live action films or animations. So he stated that, if possible he’d like to gather as many IPs as possible and spread them around the world so that more fans can tune in. More notably, because they own the Godzilla and Doraemon license, Mr. Takeda would also like to expand those brands abroad as well.
Touhokushinsha Film Corporation
What They Do
Since 1961, TFC has been and will continue to be at the forefront of great technological and creative evolution in the media business. Domestic satellite broadcasting, commercial film production, distribution of TV programs and movies domestically and internationally.
Official Website: http://www.tfc.co.jp/
Interview
Ms. Nomura discussed that Touhokushinsha Film Corporation has been around for many years and that they specialize in promoting various films. The issue is that their overall global reach is still very small, and so that they’d like to close that gap more by introducing a larger handful of films and anime to fans globally such as Garo. Her message to the world was quite simple and it’s that she’d like more of the world to know about Touhokushinsha Film and their large catalog of films. She’d like to spread more of Japan’s film and pop culture around the world so that foreign fans can truly fall in love with Japan’s beauty and talent.
TV Asahi Corporation
What They Do
TV Asahi Corporation is highly recognized for its classic TV Animation series like "Doraemon", "Shin chan", seeking for the business opportunities to exploit the international licensing business.
Official Website:
http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/
http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/
Interview
Ms. Toyosaki stated that TV Asahi Corporation’s strengths are they promote popular anime such as Doraemon and Crayon Shin Chan and have been doing so for many years. They can handle popular titles and distribute them nationwide. Her message to fans worldwide is that she’d like everyone to not only enjoy the typical anime and manga format, but to also look forward to various other events that are presented. They’ll begin to market their mascot Go-chan overseas so please look forward to his global debut.
U17 Animation
What They Do
U17.com was founded in Beijing in 2009. Over 40,000 cartoons are available on our website and the number of registered users go over 13 million. In 2012, U17 Animation began to adopted our original cartoons into anime. In 2015, U17 Animation became a wholly owned subsidiary of China's largest entertainment group company Alpha Entertainment, initiated as the greatest tie-up of Chinese cartoon/animation business.
Official Website: http://www.u17.com/
Interview
Mr. Xin’s originally created digital comics, but now they’re using their popular manga ideas and transforming them into anime adaptations. They hope that the anime will also become popular. Their message to overseas fans is that before Chinese animation wasn’t so sophisticated in terms of design before, but these past few years the production quality has improved dramatically. So if you have the opportunity please watch and you’ll be surprised by the fresh new development.
Yomiuri-TV/YTE
What They Do
Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation/ Yomiuri-TV Enterprise LTD handles the global licensing of TV programs. Our programs include dramas, documentaries, variety shows, and animations; such as the new animation series “Time Bokan 24” and popular series “Detective Conan”
Official Website: http://www.ytv.co.jp/index.html
Interview
Ms. Suzuki stated that Yomiuri-TV/YTE’s strengths are that they provide nationwide programming, and Tokyo MX is one of the channels they work with. They have two types of anime, one that’s catered to the general audience nationwide and other to more passionate fans. Her message to fans worldwide are that their market is catered to a niche audience and would like their simulcasts to become more popular in Europe and North America.
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