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Answerman - How Do Japanese Guests Get Invited To Conventions?




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crosswithyou



Joined: 15 Dec 2007
Posts: 2892
Location: California
PostPosted: Wed Jul 31, 2019 2:45 pm Reply with quote
I've worked on both sides of the fence with this. Justin pretty much hits the nail on the head.

Another thing to consider is that sometimes it's just not worth it for the guest to take nearly a week out of their busy schedule to attend. If they're someone who is high in demand, it's very likely that they can make more in Japan during that period than they would by attending an overseas convention. (That's why Asian countries and their close proximity to Japan have such an advantage.)

That isn't to say that money is everything, but it can play a large role. If someone has to reschedule their work in Japan in order to attend a convention, they're basically owing a debt to that company. It's all about relationships and they have to decide whether or not owing that debt is worth it, and a larger payday can be the tipping factor.
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Phrunicus



Joined: 23 Oct 2018
Posts: 33
PostPosted: Wed Jul 31, 2019 3:32 pm Reply with quote
The small, local(-ish) convention that a nearby university's anime club puts on every year has managed to get Japanese guests the last two years. Not sure how they got her, but this year it was the singer Eri Sasaki (who I knew from the Yuru Camp ED), who did a concert both days.

Last year, they had Koyama-san and Wakabayashi-san from Studio Trigger, who I dunno, were maybe hitting the convention circuit at that point? I started noticing articles here about them saying something / showing off something / being at some other conventions / etc. shortly after.
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GNPixie



Joined: 25 Jul 2018
Posts: 293
PostPosted: Wed Jul 31, 2019 5:24 pm Reply with quote
This was an interesting read simply because I have zero experience with the US con scene. My last few times I've gone to Anime North, I've noticed that they had a good number of guests from outside the usual in terms of not just being actors and the like. Even the voice actors they tend to get end up being varied. I know the year I started going again, they had Hiyama. This year, they had Megumi Toda and Yuriko Yamaguichi.
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Narutofreak1412



Joined: 22 Feb 2015
Posts: 338
PostPosted: Wed Jul 31, 2019 9:22 pm Reply with quote
Germany is really good at this, they keep managing to get very difficult high profile guests, who are usually really shy and turn down invitations like this. Like for example how they got Akira Toriyama or how they managed to get Gosho Aoyama, who is a fan of soccer, by sponsoring him a ticket to 2006 soccer world championship. Or Tite Kubo, who was still drawing Bleach at that time and the manga took a week off in jump, so that he can travel to germany alongside his editor for a week, meet fans and answer questions.
I wouldn't be surprised if they manage to get Oda sometime in the next few years.
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Ermat_46



Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Posts: 721
Location: Philippines
PostPosted: Thu Aug 01, 2019 12:19 am Reply with quote
I guess it's easier for Crunchyroll to do that for their Crunchyroll Expo. Given that they're inviting a handful of Japanese guests every year for that, I'm wondering if they're making money off running CR Expo or are they just losing money in order to promote their site.
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Aresef



Joined: 22 Jun 2005
Posts: 909
Location: MD
PostPosted: Thu Aug 01, 2019 10:52 am Reply with quote
Bigger cons go beyond having relationships with individual guests to forge relationships with Japanese animators, agencies and labels.
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