The Business of Anime and Manga September 12, 2007

Manga and anime have become big business in the U.S. market. But it didn't happen by accident. Word of mouth and boutique publishing brought Japanese pop culture across the Pacific, but it took savvy business sense and careful marketing strategies to catapult it into a mass-market phenomena, with shelves in Borders and Walmart overflowing with translated manga and anime DVDs.

Seiji Horibuchi, Founder & Co-Chairman of U.S. manga powerhouse Viz Media, and Ken Iyadomi, President & CEO of industry-leading anime contents and merchandising company Bandai Entertainment, will discuss what it takes to sell Japanese pop culture content to American audiences at this special Japan Society of Northern California event on Wednesday, September 12th. They will be joined by JETRO LA Office market analyst Yuki Machida, and Viz Media VP for Marketing Liza Coppola.

How did marketers teach Middle America to love Japanese content? What impact have their strategies had on domestic U.S. competitors? How is it affecting the industries back home? Let this high-powered panel of industry professionals take you behind the scenes of the Japanopop invasion.

$15 General Admission; $5 for Members and Students with student ID.

Official Website: http://www.usajapan.org/