AniZona was an annual anime convention

Anime convention

An anime convention is an event or gathering with a primary focus on anime, manga and Japanese culture. Commonly, anime conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels or college campuses. They feature a wide variety of activities and panels...

 based in Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

 that takes place annually on Easter

Easter

Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...

 weekend (from Thursday to Sunday), hosted by AniZona Inc., a non-profit volunteer organization. The convention is no longer being run. The inaugural convention, also the first full-scale anime convention to be held in the state, occurred between March 25 and 27, 2005 at the Embassy Suites in Phoenix

Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

.

Popular events include a Cosplay Contest, Karaoke Contest, and an Anime Music Video Contest. AniZona features numerous programming items involving voice actors in the anime industry, generally from North America, as well as webcomic

Webcomic

Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....

 artists, though the main Guest of Honor for the first convention was Yoshitaka Amano

Yoshitaka Amano

is a Japanese artist. He began his career as an animator and has become known for his illustrations for the anime Vampire Hunter D and for his character designs, image illustrations and title logo designs for the Final Fantasy video game series developed by Square Enix . His influences include...

, and at least one Japanese guest, manga artist Haruka Miyabi has been confirmed by the convention for the third AniZona. Sponsors have included distributors in the North American anime industry as well as local businesses in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

After two years at the Embassy Suites Phoenix North, the third AniZona was held at the Phoenix Marriott Mesa and Convention Center in Mesa, Arizona

Mesa, Arizona

According to the 2010 Census, the racial composition of Mesa was as follows:* White: 77.1% * Hispanic or Latino : 26.54%* Black or African American: 3.5%* Two or more races: 3.4%* Native American: 2.4%...

, April 5–8, 2007. Unlike most anime conventions, there is no at-door registration at the door; all registration is to be handled prior to the convention, through the Internet or by mail. In addition, there is an attendance cap. Pre-registration for AniZona 1 was capped at 800-850 attendees, although actual attendance was estimated at higher due to a limited number of at-the-door registrations sold.

History

The convention was founded by Anthony Grutta (who served as convention chair for the first year), David Hungerford, and Jason Bustard. AniZona was the first convention dedicated to anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 in the state. Although numerous small-scale anime and anime-related festivals had been held, there had not been any anime-specific conventions in Arizona.

Event history

Dates	Location	Atten.	Guests