The Frontier Anime Festival and Comic Expo Kick Off – Anime Fans Go Wild!

▲The Frontier Anime Festival crowd packed the venue. (Photo / Taken fromthe official Facebook page of Frontier Anime Festival FancyFrontier,stock photo)

Tourism Center / Comprehensive Report

Packed to the brim: The "Frontier Anime Festival," a themed event showcasing domestic anime merchandise, kicked off on the 27th and 28th at the National Taiwan University Sports Center, attracting over 40,000 anime fans. The queue stretched from the Xinhai Road entrance all the way to Xinsheng South Road, taking around 4.5 hours for everyone to enter. A National Taiwan University student surnamed Chen said that people had started camping out as early as Tuesday (the 23rd). The upcoming "Comic Expo" in mid-August at Hall 1 of the Taipei World Trade Center is sure to drive anime fans into a frenzy again.

▲Anime expos often host peripheral merchandise sales. (Photo / Taken fromthe official Facebook page of the Comic Expo,stock photo)

This year’s Frontier Anime Festival saw nearly a thousand circles set up more than 1,500 booths. Popular local manga artist Huang Yu launched his new work “Steel Girls: Valkyrie of the North Sea.” Additionally, voice actress Megumi Nakajima, who voices the main character Hoshizora Miyuki in the anime “Smile Precure!” also appeared for a performance. Inside and outside the exhibition venue, over a hundred cosplayers dressed elaborately, drawing crowds of anime fans for photos and admiration.

% level ?? enough to see many cosplayers (character players) dressing up elaborately and competing in flamboyance. (Photo / Taken from the internet)

The event opened for entry at 10:30 AM, but due to the overwhelming number of attendees and limited space, it took until around 3 PM to clear the queues. Staff said that because there were no other major events during the summer vacation, all the anime fans turned out, and almost all the anime merchandise sold out instantly.

The annual highlight of the anime world, the "2013 Comic Expo," will also debut on August 15 at Taipei World Trade Center Hall 1. This year’s Comic Expo has the highest number of exhibitors in its history. Voice actress Yui Ishikawa, who plays the popular anime “Attack on Titan” heroine Mikasa, will be making her first visit to Taiwan for a signing session. Popular manga authors like Kouji Mori (“Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic”) and Yuu Koyama (“Assassination Classroom”) will also be present for autograph events.

Comic Expo Information
Date: August 15 to August 20, daily from 10:00 to 18:00
Venue: Taipei World Trade Center Hall 1
Ticket Price: NT$120
Autograph Session Events
• August 16: Voice actress Iori Nomizu from the anime “Date A Live” autograph session
• August 17: Manga author Yuu Koyama from “Assassination Classroom” autograph session
• August 18: Voice actress Yui Ishikawa from the anime “Attack on Titan” autograph session
• August 19: Manga author Kouji Mori from “Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic” autograph session
For more details, please visitthe 2013 Comic Expo official website