The Anime Contents Expo ends on April 1st

4:00 PM on 10.24.2011   |   Josh Tolentino

As in "April Fools' Day." Good thing it starts on March 31st, lest we think it some sort of prank. And it's definitely not a prank, if you remember how ACE got its start. If you don't here's a quick refresher:

Remember earlier this year, when the Tokyo Metropolitan Government went a bit crazy and passed a bill that more or less banned anything perceived as distasteful in manga (and possibly anime and games)? Yeah, that happened, and needless to say it pissed off a bunch of people, from otaku who are into distasteful things to major publishers who cater to said otak,u to creators with genuine concerns about the bill's chilling effect on creativity and freedom of speech.

Some folks fought back, of course, with things like well-reasoned arguments and petitions, and others with sharp-yet-informative satire. And then the big boys stepped in. A gaggle of publishers and production companies opted to boycott 2011's Tokyo Anime Fair. With the boycott, the TAF would have lost something like a third of their exhibitors, including such huge publications as Shonen JUMP. To add insult to injury, the boycotting companies founded their own anime fair in neighboring Chiba prefecture, called the Anime Contents Expo.

Unfortunately for the industry (and all of Japan), the great Tohoku earthquake happened, and both shows were cancelled. 

But next year, things are on, specifically at the end of March, when ACE is scheduled. It'll be kicking off a full week after 2012's Tokyo Anime Fair, so it'll be pretty interesting to see who ends up a no-show, and how ACE will compare to TAF. Will the boycott work? Will ACE drink TAF's anime-fan milkshake?

MOAR Tokyo Anime Fair:

The Anime Contents Expo ends on April 1st

Tokyo Anime Fair, ACE canceled due to quake (UPDATED)

Later this year, Last Exile ~Fam, the Silver Wing~

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