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.