AnimagiC
Encyclopedia
The AnimagiC is a German annual anime convention
and one of the largest of its kind in the German-speaking
world with currently about 12,000 visitors.
, Germany
. Due to a growing number of visitors the event spread to a growing number of additional premises. By 2005 it additionally spanned the Kurfürstliches Schloss, two cinemas and a Koblenz discothèque named “Circus Maximus”.
In 2006 the event was relocated to the Beethovenhalle
in Bonn
as Koblenz no longer could provide sufficient capacity for the increasing number of visitors.
, cosplay
), video rooms, a cinema program, a traders room, bring and buy stands, show acts, Japanese guests, role-playing game
s, drawing courses, concerts, and much more.
The guests of honor who attend the event every year include well-known people (graphic artists, directors, etc.) from different animation studios, Japanese manga artists
and singers. Among the most renowned guests was Tadashi Ozawa (free animator for Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, The Castle in the Sky, Akira
und Record of Lodoss War
) who from 2000 to 2006 held drawing workshops for selected visitors.
at Paris
, France
that annually takes place at the beginning of July and attracts over 164,000 visitors followed by the Salón del Manga de Barcelona in Barcelona
, Spain
, that annually takes place at the end of October or beginning of November and counts over 65,000 visitors.
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...
and one of the largest of its kind in the German-speaking
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
world with currently about 12,000 visitors.
History
From the first event in the summer of 1999 through 2005 the AnimagiC took place in the Rhein-Mosel-Halle at KoblenzKoblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Due to a growing number of visitors the event spread to a growing number of additional premises. By 2005 it additionally spanned the Kurfürstliches Schloss, two cinemas and a Koblenz discothèque named “Circus Maximus”.
In 2006 the event was relocated to the Beethovenhalle
Beethovenhalle
The Beethovenhalle is a concert hall in Bonn. It is the third hall in that city to bear the name of Bonn-born composer Ludwig van Beethoven.- History :...
in Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
as Koblenz no longer could provide sufficient capacity for the increasing number of visitors.
Agenda
The agenda of the three day long event includes Japanese pop culture (Japanese rock music, visual keiVisual Kei
is a movement among Japanese musicians, that is characterized by the use of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics. Some sources state that visual kei refers to a music genre, or to a sub-genre of Japanese rock, with its...
, cosplay
Cosplay
, short for "costume play", is a type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Characters are often drawn from popular fiction in Japan, but recent trends have included American cartoons and science fiction...
), video rooms, a cinema program, a traders room, bring and buy stands, show acts, Japanese guests, role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
s, drawing courses, concerts, and much more.
The guests of honor who attend the event every year include well-known people (graphic artists, directors, etc.) from different animation studios, Japanese manga artists
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
and singers. Among the most renowned guests was Tadashi Ozawa (free animator for Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, The Castle in the Sky, Akira
Akira (film)
is a 1988 Japanese animated cyberpunk science fiction film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, written by Otomo and Izo Hashimoto, and starring the voices of Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama and Taro Ishida. The screenplay is based on Otomo's manga Akira....
und Record of Lodoss War
Record of Lodoss War
is a franchise of fantasy novels by Ryo Mizuno based around the work he originally created for a world called Forcelia for role-playing games . There have since been multiple manga, anime and computer game adaptations, several of which have been translated into English...
) who from 2000 to 2006 held drawing workshops for selected visitors.
Scale
The total number of visitors of the three day event currently is around 12,000. Contrary to widespread assertions AnimagiC is not the largest anime convention in Europe; this record is held by the Japan ExpoJapan Expo
Japan Expo is a convention on Japanese popular culture, taking place in Paris, France, although it has branched out into a partnership festival Kultima and expanded to include some European and US pop culture as well...
at Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
that annually takes place at the beginning of July and attracts over 164,000 visitors followed by the Salón del Manga de Barcelona in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, that annually takes place at the end of October or beginning of November and counts over 65,000 visitors.
External links
- Official Homepage (German)
- Images of the AnimagiC 2009, website of the daily newspaper Kölnische Rundschau, Köln (German)
- Announcement of the AnimagiC 2010, Website of the town of Bonn (German)
- AnimagiC 2009, article of boersenblatt.net (German)