Anime North

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Convention
Name: Anime North
Dates: 1997-present
Frequency: Annual
Location: Toronto, Canada
Type: Fan run
Focus: Anime
Organization:
Founder: Donald Simmons
Founding Date: August 9, 1997
URL: Anime North
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Anime North is an annual fan run convention focusing on anime and manga, taking place in Toronto, Canada.

History

Anime North began in 1997 as a one-day mini convention, hosted by a club from the University of Toronto.[1] Over the years it grew to a full weekend event. The con is entirely fan run, and in 2012 required 700 volunteers.[1] As of 2016 it was the fourth largest anime convention in North America.[2]

Panels

Panels cover a variety of topics. Panels focus on different anime series, the voice actors and the artists who create anime and manga.[3] A large portion of attendees are cosplayers so there are many panels on costume creation.[4]

Other events include the Anime North Music Video Competition, guest autograph sessions, the All-Star Charity Auction, the Momiji Award (with brunch), Anime Improv, "Super Hardcore Anime Wrestling" (a co-production with GCW) and Yaoi North.

Press Surrounding the 1997 Convention

Organized and supported by anime appreciation clubs from Ottawa, Hamilton and Toronto, Anime North is a new fan-run convention for devotees of modern Japanese animation - known to connoisseurs as anime (pro- nounced "annie-may").

The convention, which will be held this Saturday at the Michener Institute (222 St. Patrick St.), is the result of months of collaboration and planning between seven anime appreciation clubs from Ottawa, Hamilton and Toronto. Its simple goal: To bring anime awareness to the Toronto faithful....

Panels will address such concerns as anime fan fiction ("Do-It-Yourself Fandom," or what to do when the series you're craziest about runs out of new stories), the state of cyberpunk ("Digital Tokyo Dance," focusing on the new wave of "hard SF" programming) and the delicate issue of "User- Friendly Anime" - or, as the panel notes put it, "What anime do you show a friend to introduce them to the hobby, and what do you not show to a girl you're trying to impress?"

Norman Wilner, Toronto Star, August 7, 1997 [5]

Con Reports

2007 convention:

What I found to be better about Anime North’s masquerade was a more spacious green room and more help available to the cosplayers. Like the stage ninjas being available to pick up things you leave/drop onstage, offering to carry off cosplayers who died in their presentations, and giving warnings if people get too close to the edge of the stage. The MC also came around to speak to people and go over entry forms. And they brought in some food for the participants.[6]

2012 convention:

Considering that Anime North is the biggest anime convention in Toronto, it’s a little disappointing that there aren’t more industry representatives leading discussion panels[7]

2015 convention:

While it’s not unusual to see a lot of cosplayers at any convention, I had never seen so many people in costumes in one concentrated area until I went to Anime North. Costumes are a massive part of the experience, and the grounds near the event were filled with thousands of cosplayers posing for cameras or chatting it up with their similarly-dressed peers.[8]

Vids Fans made about Anime North

Resources

References

  1. ^ a b "Anime North: where fantasy gets real". Archived from the original on 2021-11-15.
  2. ^ "Largest North American Anime Conventions of 2016". Archived from the original on 2018-01-30.
  3. ^ "Anime North 2003 Report". Archived from the original on 2015-10-24.
  4. ^ "Highlights from Anime North 2013". Archived from the original on 2022-05-23.
  5. ^ Toronto Star, Thursday August 7, 1997, Page J5
  6. ^ "Anime North report".
  7. ^ "Anime North 2012: Con Report Part 2 (the Industry Panels)". Archived from the original on 2021-04-14.
  8. ^ "What to expect at Anime North". Archived from the original on 2021-11-03.