Second New York-Tokyo Anime Festival Announced

The second annual New York-Tokyo Anime Festival of electronics, sci-fi, robotics and music has been announced for October 11-18th. Endorsed by Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the City of New York, and the Consulate General of Japan, the New York-Tokyo Anime Festival will kick off with an outdoor event in Central Park featuring speaking appearances by Leiji Matsumoto, Hideo Kojima (the creator/director of Metal Gear Solid and Zone of the Enders), and Rodney Alan Greenblat, creator of Parappa the Rapper. The outdoor event will be followed by viewings at Cinema Village Theater throughout the week, including American premiers of Satoshi Kon’s Millenium Actress, the Peter Chung/Madhouse co-production Alexander, Leiji Matsumoto’s new full 3D CGI Galaxy Express 999: Clare of the Glass, and the 3D experimental film Gundam Mission to the Ride, supervised by Katsuhiro Otomo. Other events include a public “anime theme party” and an Electronics Pavilion showcasing the latest electronic gadgets from the U.S. and Japan.

Founded in 2000, the Festival was originally produced by SCI-FI as the New York Anime Film Festival. Held simultaneously in the cities of New York and Tokyo, the Festival is intended to broaden public awareness of the anime industry in both the US and Japan.