Tokyo Anime Fair

Tomorrow John and I will be attending the Tokyo Anime Fair (TAF). Anime is the short word for Japanese animation, marked by it's distinctive often fantasy story-lines, buxom characters, and don't forget the variety of talking animals. If anyone has ever been to an anime convention in the US, it is....well....unusual. People dress up as their favorite anime characters and all manners of social awkwardness ensues as anime attracts a decidedly more geeky crowd.

In Japan though, anime is serious business. TAF has actually been happening this entire week. The first part of TAF is closed to the public. It's the "business" part and is designed for executives in the animation field to have round table discussions and panels. You won't find any green-haired teenagers dressed as Sailor Moon (a popular anime character), only men in business suits exchanging business cards and being extremely formal with each other.

This weekend, TAF opens to the general public. Like anything Japanese, attendance comes with a strict set of rules. No one is allowed to dress as their favorite anime characters. Many locations are off-limits for picture taking. The people who will be dressed up have been pre-approved by the TAF committee.

I don't really know what to expect at this point. TAF was cancelled last year due to the March 11th earthquake and some disagreement with the mayor of Tokyo over how much anime should be censored. The event usually attracts over 10,000 people in the two days it is open to the public. I'll take lots of pictures and do a follow-up post.