The Tokyo Anime Center (東京アニメセンター) is a facility that was created to market

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

to residents of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and foreign visitors. The facility hosts events such as live radio interviews with creators, voice actors, and merchandising fairs. It once included the AKIBA 3DTheater. It dubs itself "the definitive spot for anime and anime-related entertainment." It was previously located on the fourth floor of the

Akihabara is a neighborhood in the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo, Japan, generally considered to be the area surrounding Akihabara Station (nicknamed ''Akihabara Electric Town''). This area is part of the and Kanda-Sakumachō districts of Chiyoda. There is an ...

UDX building near JR Akihabara Station. In 2007, many promotional displays for the then-upcoming ''

Rebuild of Evangelion ''Rebuild of Evangelion'', known in Japan and on Amazon Prime Video as , is a Japanese animated film series and a reboot of the original ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' anime television series, produced by Studio Khara. Hideaki Anno serves as the ...

'' movie were set up inside the Tokyo Anime Center, including life-size cardboard stand-ups of

Rei Ayanami is a fictional character from the ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' franchise created by Gainax. In the anime series of the same name, Rei is an introverted girl chosen as the enigmatic pilot of a giant mecha named Evangelion Unit 00. At the begi ...

and interactive demos. More permanent sections of the center contain merchandise from popular anime series, such as mugs, keychains, promotional flyers, mouse pads, etc. On January 10, 2011, the Tokyo Anime Center temporarily closed. It reopened on a trial basis on February 26 of the same year, under the sole management of

the Association of Japanese Animations The Association of Japanese Animations (AJA; , ) is an industry group consisting of 52 affiliate animation production companies. AJA's duties AJA's scope of duties are to work on various issues concerning the Japanese animation industry, w ...

, and then renovated and officially reopened on April 12. It closed again in February 2012 and then reopened on August 25 of that year under a joint management agreement with Apaman Shop Network. The facility was renamed "Tokyo Anime Center in Aruaru City," after a facility operated by Apaman Shop Network in

Kitakyushu is a Cities of Japan, city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fuk ...

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...

. On July 29, 2017, the Tokyo Anime Center ended its operation inside the Akihabara UDX building due to the expiration of its tenant contract. It subsequently changed its management to Dainippon Printing Co., Ltd. and moved to DNP Plaza in the

Ichigaya is an area in the eastern portion of Shinjuku, Tokyo, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. Places in Ichigaya *Hosei University Ichigaya Campus *Chuo University Graduate School *Ministry of Defense (Japan), Ministry of Defense headquarters: Formerly Headqua ...

-Tamachi district of Shinjuku, Tokyo. The facility reopened on October 28, 2017, with the new name "Tokyo Anime Center in DNP Plaza." On April 16, 2021, it moved to the 2nd floor of "Shibuya Modi" in

Shibuya is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. A major commercial center, Shibuya houses one of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shibuya Station. As of January 1, 2024, Shibuya Ward has an estimated population of 230,60 ...

, Tokyo, aiming to provide new experience that combined the real and virtual. The name of the facility was changed to "Tokyo Anime Center in DNP PLAZA Shibuya. On April 13, 2024, the first overseas location opened in

Japantown, San Francisco , also known historically as Japanese Town, is a neighborhood in the Western Addition district of San Francisco, California. Japantown comprises about six city blocks and is considered one of the largest and oldest ethnic enclaves in the Unite ...

, California.

References

External links

Tokyo Anime Center

Tokyo Anime Center - About the San Francisco venue
Museums established in 2006 2006 establishments in Japan Anime clubs Culture in Tokyo Anime and manga museums in Japan Museums in Tokyo Buildings and structures in Shinjuku Museums in San Francisco {{anime-org-stub