Over two months have passed since the Greek anime event, AnimeCon. As we mentioned you in Previous article We had a great time. Below is an interview with the Con organizers, whom we thank very much for answering our questions. The interview was taken by COMIX & PhantomDuck.
1) Over the years manga & anime spread more. The same happens in our country. How do you feel about AnimeCon returning after 7 years to Thessaloniki in a more different environment?
The anime & manga scene in Greece is a constantly evolving scene that changes day by day and is heading to become a mainstream entertainment medium. Especially in the last three years the evolution of anime & manga in our country has been rapid and we predict that in the future it will be even faster. Seven years ago the public was still learning what Japanese Pop Culture is. It is now consolidated as a means of entertainment with original stories and a different culture than the Western mode of entertainment promotes. We are very happy to be back with the AnimeCon event: RUN Thessaloniki, an event that laid the foundations of the celebration of Japanese Culture in Thessaloniki.
2) This year's event is for a day. Are you considering the success this year of increasing to two days of the year?
The world's turnout this year was beyond prediction. S.K. Ioannis Vellidis filled from edge to side with visitors who worship Japanese Pop Culture, Art and Tradition and showed their love in the call of the event. Our first concern is to increase the venue for the event, so that everyone can fit in and since the factors allow it to grow during the event by adding more creative and original activities than Japanese Culture.
3) The improvements of this year's Animecon are evident. The event has its own logo and is more organized with full schedule, interesting speeches and many guests from abroad. How hard was all the preparation?
Like all events, so in AnimeCon: RUN Thessaloniki, the preparation is intensive and becoming more intense as the date of the event arrives. The more activities and guests we join the event, the more demanding preparation is. The fatigue and stress of the event was reciprocated this year by the great turnout of the world that exceeded our expectations. For this reason our goal next year is to organize an AnimeCon: RUN Thessaloniki of a larger area, to satisfy all visitors.
4) If you could bring a mangaka from Japan in the future who would it be?
Our keen desire is to bring to Greece a Japanese mangaka as an official guest. We want to believe that this objective will be achieved and that it will be an opportunity for people to know in person the authentic creative source of the works that many people love to read and see. The list of mangakas from Japan that we want to call is huge and certainly stand out many known names. If we had to choose a name, then it's George Morikawa, the mangaka of the famous manga series Hajime No Ippo, who loves our team.
5) Would you try to cooperate with more well-known sponsors from abroad in the future?
Our priority is to gather more bodies of Japanese Pop Culture, Art and Tradition in Greece, because AnimeCon: RUN Thessaloniki is the event that celebrates the entire spectrum of Japanese Culture, with an emphasis on Pop Culture in our country. Nevertheless, we already have collaborations and exhibitors from abroad, such as Lucca Manga School and Panini from Italy. We hope for the next events to have more exhibitors than the international stage.
