Has the Absence of NYAF Affected FUNimation? Part 2

Please read Part 1 of the interview before reading Part 2

FUNimation at the 2007 New York Anime Festival

New York Anime Festival vs New York Comic Con

So fans of New York Anime Festival (NYAF) knows what happened to the convention; it became a convention within NYCC then completely merged with it. I was curious to know how much has this action affected FUNimation and its anime presence. To my surprise, it did not have a major impact on FUNimation's participation at NYCC. The difference was just the conventions itself.

NYAF was independently held from 2007 to 2009, but with a much smaller attendance number, 5 figures vs NYCC 6 figures. Since FUNimation and Sheehan was there since the beginning of time, I wanted to know if there was any significant difference between how things were then and how it was in 2010 to the present in the treatment of the presence of anime?

"The way it was managed was the same but to a smaller scale being that it was a smaller show. It was 100% anime so there was more room for additional programing but overall we were treated very well then and have continued to be after the merger."

In 2011, NYAF became a convention that was part of NYCC. How or what did they take into consideration in deciding what to do for that year? Luckily, FUNimation has a close relationship with and has been treated well by ReedPop, the company that runs NYCC.

"They assured us we, and anime as a whole, would get the same treatment as we always have even without the NYAF name attached anymore."

With that reassurance, whatever they wanted to bring to the convention was not hindered by the convention situation.

"NYCC is a pop-culture and comic convention and we don’t bring out all of our items that we would bring to 100% anime conventions."

In 2012, another change to NYAF happened. It has completely merged into NYCC, and as a result the name “New York Anime Festival” will no longer be in existence. No separate anime/manga performance stage with an enormous banner behind it, and no division amongst anime/manga and comic book artists; there was only one artist alley that welcomed all artists. However, there was always one showfloor. Even though there was a complete merge of both conventions, it did not affect FUNimation’s consideration in what to do and bring to the convention. “It didn’t change anything that I can remember. We still treated as a pop-culture show.”

Now comparing the preparation process for NYCC/NYAF 2011 to NYCC 2012, including but not limited to the exhibitor/professional application process and booth set up, not much has changed. “From what I can remember things went just as they have always been for us, really well.” In regards to the company’s activities and booth for both conventions, it also had no real changes. However, they “refresh our booth for every con each year” based on the shows that they are promoting at the time.

There was one thing that FUNimation would have liked to have, but was unable to get it for either years. “We could have some more items for the booth like more carpet but the Javits Center is an expensive center for services and utilities normally.” The only thing that Sheehan would want the convention to improve upon is getting more space for the exhibit hall and larger panel rooms. Other than that, everything was smooth sailing for FUNimation.

Afterwards

Sheehan’s most memorable moment at the NYCC 2012 was the Mass Effect premiere. “The fans were great and really loved the film.” Because of the positive experience he had in 2012, he would like to relive that same positivity in 2013. Also, He would like the fans to know that “NYCC is not to miss if you can make it to NYC in the fall.”

© 2013 Linda Thai

Thank you Adam Sheehan for participating in the interview! Thank you for reading!

To learn more about FUNimation check out the FUNimation the website.

Photography by Linda Thai

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