Anime Expo

Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention that usually takes place on the July 4 weekend for four days each year in Southern California. The convention tries to include July 4 in its dates, except on the years when July 4 falls on a Wednesday. Anime Expo is hosted by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). SPJA has also held Anime Expo conventions in New York and Tokyo, which took place in 2002 and 2004 respectively. Anime Expo has frequently collaborated with the anime industry, and as the convention has grown, so has the visibility of Anime Expo's industry sponsors as evidenced by their towering presence throughout the convention site.

Programming
Many of the convention attendees cosplay at some point during the convention, while attending seminars, panel discussions, vendor booths, and more. Popular events (in addition to guest and industry panels) include the masquerade, concerts at the Nokia, karaoke contest, anime music video contest, and "AX Idol" contest. Anime Expo is a 24-hour convention, offering late-night dances, all night video and gaming rooms, and open-mic Karaoke in the nighttime hours, where some of the activities were held at the Westin Bonaventure.

History
Anime Expo began as an anime and manga convention in Northern California. Many of its original staff came from Anime Con, an anime convention held in San Jose, California in 1991, and later absorbed by the SPJA in 1992. In 1994, Anime Expo made a strategic relocation to Southern California and has resided there since.

The convention continues to thrive due to the growing popularity of anime and maintains a strong draw due to the many notable Japanese guests it has been known for. It currently holds the title of America's largest anime convention, a title which it has consistently held every year except 2003 in which its attendance was slightly edged out by its rival east coast convention Otakon. From 1,750 attendees in 1992, Anime Expo's size has increased to over 44,000 in 2009, which makes Anime Expo the largest anime and manga convention in North America and one of the largest in the world.

Organizational structure
The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA), the parent organization which produces Anime Expo, is a federal and California state registered 501(c)(6) non-profit corporation. The staff of Anime Expo is broken up by division, and each division is composed of a number of departments. The Divisions are: Membership Services, Operations, Programming, Audio Visual Services, Exhibits, Interactive Events, and Guest Relations. Additionally, the SPJA arm has several departments that also service Anime Expo, these include Marketing, Staff Resources and Finance. There were over 500 staffers and volunteers at Anime Expo 2006.

Although Anime Expo is primarily staffed by volunteers, due to its continuous growth it was deemed necessary starting in 2005 to offer a wage compensation to key year-round staff members in positions such as the Chairperson, Directors, and Division Managers. The wage is offered to avoid running afoul of California HR laws and is minimal, in most cases equivalent to eight hours per week at minimum wage. The SPJA, which is the parent organization of Anime Expo, has a small handful of full-time employees among which are the CEO, CFO, and office manager. In addition, there are several consultants for outsourced functions such as marketing and legal representation/consultation.

As of March 27, 2009, Chief Executive Officer Trulee Karahashi, who had been a part of Anime Expo and the SPJA in various capacities for 11 years, left the organization.

In September 2009, former Universal Studios executive Michael Lattanzio was hired as the SPJA's new CEO.

In January 2010, four Anime Expo division managers publicly resigned over strong disagreements over the direction of the organization set forth by the SPJA's new CEO. One significant point of contention was the CEO's decision to refocus and restructure the SPJA's marketing efforts starting with the termination of a PR and marketing contractor whom the convention management have had a close relationship with since 2004.

Other Anime Expos
The SPJA has twice run conventions outside of California: Anime Expo New York in 2002, and Anime Expo Tokyo in 2004.

Anime Expo New York
Anime Expo New York (AXNY) was held in 2002 in the Times Square district of New York City, New York. The event was originally a joint effort with Central Park Media and its industry event, Big Apple Anime Fest (BAAF). Due to differences, the event ran as separate entities within the same time frame and venues, with BAAF hosting the theatrical film screenings, and Anime Expo New York hosting the convention. The events shared some resources, with notable guests listed in the program guides of both events. The SPJA ran the event in order to demonstrate that it could run events outside of its home state of California. The event was a precursor to Anime Expo Tokyo which ran in Tokyo, Japan in 2004. The SPJA has not run any events outside of California since 2004.

Anime Expo Tokyo
Anime Expo Tokyo (AX Tokyo) was held in 2004 at the Sunshine City Convention Center in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan. It was not technically organized directly by the SPJA, but rather was organized by the Japanese Association for Science Fiction (JASFIC) with assistance from the SPJA. JASFIC had two goals for Anime Expo Tokyo. The first goal was to establish in Japan a non-corporate sponsored convention dedicated to anime. The second goal was to demonstrate to the organizers of the World Science Fiction Convention (WorldCon) that Japan could serve as a suitable venue for conventions that attract foreigners. Although Anime Expo Tokyo did not go on to a second year, JASFIC was ultimately successful in attracting the 65th World Science Fiction Convention to Japan in 2007.

Anime Expo Tokyo had a staggering list of over 40 guests such as manga artist Ken Akamatsu, MiQ, Under17, Hiroshi Aro, and many others, although a small handful had to make last minute cancellations. Anime Expo Tokyo was also the very first Anime Expo that officially hosted guests from the U.S. anime industry such as producer Fred Gallagher and voice actor Crispin Freeman.

Of Anime Expo Tokyo's 4,249 attendees, approximately 300 of that number were estimated to have traveled from abroad. In addition to the attendance numbers were 240 members of the press, 40 of which were from overseas. An additional 430 people were composed of dealers, guests, or staff.

No plans to host another official Anime Expo outside of California have been announced.