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AnimeCon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Animecon.
AnimeCon
StatusDefunct
GenreAnime, Manga[1]
VenueRed Lion Hotel
LocationSan Jose, California
Coordinates37°22′18.5″N 121°55′23.6″W / 37.371806°N 121.923222°W / 37.371806; -121.923222
CountryUnited States
InauguratedAugust 30, 1991; 34 years ago (1991-08-30)
Attendance2,000 total (est.)[2]
Organized byAnimeCon Corporation[3][4]

AnimeCon was an four-day anime convention held during August/September at the Red Lion Hotel in San Jose, California. It was the first anime convention in the United States to have significant industry guests.[1][5] The convention was sponsored by BAAS, BayCon's founders, Cal-Animage, Gainax, and Studio Proteus.[6]

Programming

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The convention offered an art auction, art show, charity auction, dealer’s room, a film room, guest of honor banquet, masquerade, Q&A sessions, and two video rooms.[7] The viewing rooms ran 24 hours a day.[5][8] The convention raised $4,500 for Ann Schubert's medical costs.[1]

History

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The convention took two years to plan and was organized by Toshio Okada, Toren Smith, and John McLaughlin.[1] Gainax provided significant guest support for the convention, with many staffers from Baycon staffing the event.[9] Due to many of the US staff being college students, they made use of digital communication tools like email, BBS systems, and Usenet.[9] Leiji Matsumoto was scheduled to be a guest but was unable to attend.[7] At times, autograph lines were several hours long.[7][10] The dealer’s room was noted for being incredibly successful sales wise.[9] Yasuhiro Takeda of Gainax considered AnimeCon a success, but commented it had staffing problems on the Japanese side.[5]

The convention in 1992 was to be held over the weekend of July 4th, but would not return due to its high costs of operation, with staff starting Anime Expo and Anime America.[8][9][11] Anime Expo considers AnimeCon its first year.[10] AnimeCon Corporation was formally dissolved in February 1993.[3][4]

Event history

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Dates Location Atten. Guests
August 30 - September 2, 1991 Red Lion Hotel
San Jose, California		2,000 total (est.)[12]Jerry Beck, Colleen Doran, Geoff Everets, Carl Macek, Ken Macklin, Johji Manabe, Luke Menichelli, Haruhiko Mikimoto, Robert Napton, John O'Donnell, Toshio Okada, David Keith Riddick, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, Toren Smith, Kenichi Sonoda, Rick Sternbach, Jeff Thompson, Adam Warren, Robert Woodhead, and Toshifumi Yoshida.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Patten, Fred (2004). Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 Years of Essays and Reviews. New York: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 9781611725100.
  2. ^ a b "AnimeCon 1991 Information". AnimeCons.com. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
  3. ^ a b "ANIMECON CORPORATION (#C1679437)". California Secretary of State (California Business Portal). Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Certificate of Dissolution" (PDF). California Secretary of State (California Business Portal). 12 February 1993. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Takeda, Yasuhiro (August 9, 2005). The Notenki Memoirs: Studio Gainax & The Men Who Created Evangelion. ADV Manga. ISBN 978-1413902341.
  6. ^ Tatsugawa, Mike M. (1997-04-20). "The Anime Timeline". Shogun. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
  7. ^ a b c "Animag Vol. 2 No 1". Anime The Magazine of Japanese Animation. 2. Malibu Graphics: 8–16.
  8. ^ a b O'Mara, Sean (30 August 2021). "AnimeCon '91: A Japanese Convention Report". ZIMMERIT. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  9. ^ a b c d "What was Anime Expo like in the early 90s?". Anime Expo YouTube. 30 August 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  10. ^ a b Expo, Anime (2 February 2016). "25 years of Anime Expo". Anime Expo. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  11. ^ Takahashi, Alan. "Alan's archive: Notes from Baycon and AnimeCon '91". Rreviews of Animecon '91. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  12. ^ Tatsugawa, Mike M. (1992-04-20). "Anime Expo '92 April Update". Newsgroup: alt.fandom.cons. Usenet: 1992Apr20.042613.1804@nic.csu.net. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
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Cosplay in America AnimeCon 1991

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