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Del Toro, Gunn Headline Crunchyroll's Inaugural Anime Future Forum

The forum marks Crunchyroll's first global summit held outside Japan, a move the company said is intended to expand worldwide awareness of anime and deepen ties with Japanese publishers and creators.

Key Facts

  • The Crunchyroll Anime Future Forum takes place Oct. 7 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York, one day before New York Comic Con opens at the same venue.
  • Guillermo del Toro, James Gunn, and executives from MAPPA, Toho, Shueisha, and Aniplex are among the confirmed speakers.
  • Sony Group president and CEO Hiroki Totoki will deliver opening remarks, and Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini will close the forum with remarks and news.
  • More than 400 industry figures are expected to attend the invitation-only summit.
  • Crunchyroll reported surpassing 21 million paid subscribers worldwide as of the end of March, announced alongside the forum's initial plans in May.

Reporting from 4 sources: The Hollywood Reporter Anime, Cartoon Brew, Animehunch, OtakuKart Anime.

Del Toro, Gunn Headline Crunchyroll's Inaugural Anime Future Forum

Crunchyroll has announced the first slate of speakers for its inaugural Anime Future Forum, an invitation-only industry summit set for Oct. 7 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York. The event runs one day before New York Comic Con opens at the same venue. Filmmakers Guillermo del Toro and James Gunn headline the lineup, joined by senior executives from Japan's anime and manga industry, including MAPPA president and CEO Manabu Otsuka, Toho executive officer Taichi Ueda, Shueisha's Shonen Jump+ digital editor-in-chief Yuta Momiyama, and Sony Music Entertainment Japan president Atsuhiro Iwakami, who also chairs Aniplex. Sony Pictures Animation president Kristine Belson will moderate a panel with Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse directors Bob Persichetti and Justin K. Thompson. Olympic figure skater Amber Glenn, rapper Big Sean, and content creator Jordan Howlett will participate as anime superfans. Sony Group president and CEO Hiroki Totoki delivers opening remarks, and Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini closes with remarks and news. Themed "Designing for Anime's Future," the summit expects more than 400 industry figures and will organize discussions around fandom, technology, storytelling, and intellectual property protection, with sessions on transmedia storytelling, theatrical experiences, manga's future, and influencer roles.

  • Amber Glenn is described as an Olympic gold medalist figure skater in the sources, not merely an Olympic figure skater.
  • Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse is scheduled for release in 2027, per Animehunch and OtakuKart.
  • Ravi Ahuja, Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman and CEO, will deliver midday comments during the forum.
  • Crunchyroll first announced the forum in May, at the same corporate strategy briefing where it said the streaming service had surpassed 21 million paid subscribers worldwide as of the end of March.
  • Planned sessions include "Transmedia Storytelling: Bridging Gaming, Live Action & Anime Fandoms," "The Evolution of the Theatrical Experience," "From Page to Platform: The Future of Manga," and "The Influencers Shaping Anime: Voices, Vision & Viral Power."
  • Crunchyroll's own description says the forum is "intended to open doors to the future of anime, sparking new alliances and fostering creative discussion among established and emerging leaders, creatives, and executives from Japan and around the world."
  • New York Comic Con runs Oct. 8-11 at the same venue.

Synthesized by Yomimono from the 4 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.

Guillermo del Toro James Gunn Bob Persichetti Justin K. Thompson

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