japanamerica

Authors: Hideo Furukawa, Mieko Kawakami, Rebecca Brown, Linh Dinh Editors: Ted Goossen, Roland Kelts, Motoyuki Shibata *All events are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. April 27 Wed, 6:30pm: New York University (7 East 12th Street, Room 321, New York, NY) April 28 Thur, 6pm: Kinokuniya Bookstore (1073 Ave of the Americas, New York, NY) *Brown and Dinh will not appear at this event April 29 Fri, 7pm: BookCourt (163 Court Street bet. Pacific & Dean Sts., Brooklyn, NY) April 30 Sat, 2pm: Asia Society (725 Park Avenue at 70th St.) : Monkey Business: Japan/America Writers’ Dialogue. Ticket $15 MONKEY FB

Anime biz sings the praises of shows By ROLAND KELTS The first time I attended AnimeJapan, the industry’s annual spring showcase in Odaiba, Tokyo, it was called the Tokyo International Anime Fair. Members of the public couldn’t enter during the first two days, amateur cosplay (costume play) was prohibited, and while there were some presentations, most of the offerings were brochures, catalogs and swag bags. It was primarily a trade show and almost everything was printed in Japanese. Not so at last month’s AnimeJapan 2016, where five stages kept the main halls booming with live music, variety shows, voice-acting demonstrations, panels and seminars. One stage hosted an anime career counseling center. Another presented a nearly nonstop lineup of mascots and singalongs for parents and kids under 12. An expanded Cosplayer’s World section replete with dressing rooms, stage sets and an outdoor platform encouraged fans to pose and preen, then eat anime-inspired cuisine at an adjac...

Artist and writer Satoshi Kitamura's illustrated account of the Monkey Business team in Manila.

Please join us if you are in New York!

As manga has gone global, so has its fandom and its businesses. I started out as an American kid who watched anime without knowing it was anime, got interested in manga as a teen, began writing professionally about it, became involved with publishing companies to adapt and help edit manga, and am now releasing my first book on the subject, Manga Art for Beginners . When I began writing about manga, it felt like literature’s best-kept secret in America. There were all these manga titles being brought over and sold in the manga section of bookstores, yet many people stayed away from reading manga because it was too“different” from what they’re used to (i.e., American comics). However, tides are changing.

Kinokuniya Bookstore, Shinjuku, Tokyo, 4/2: Tollywood, Shimokitazawa, Tokyo 4/1: