In July in Shanghai, the "anime" enthusiasm rose with the temperature.
In just one month, a series of unprecedented and influential "anime" animation exhibitions were staged in Shanghai in turn. The 2024 China International Anime and Game Expo (CCG EXPO) just concluded at the beginning of the month; One after another came the big offline event, Bilibili offline carnival (BW), hosted by the largest anime community station B in China; Just a few days later, China International Digital Interactive Entertainment Exhibition (ChinaJoy for short), one of the largest and most influential digital entertainment exhibitions in Asia and the world, opened again... Shanghai is like a huge "anime" magnetic field, attracting countless "anime" fans who love ACGN (animation, comics, games, novels).
In this "dimension breaking" carnival, we can't help asking: How did the "anime" craze sweep through the city in just one month? What kind of impact will it bring?
Consumer groups break through barriers and grow
On July 26th, ChinaJoy officially opened, and early in the morning, the Shanghai New International Expo Center was packed with people. The same scene has appeared in multiple comic exhibitions. On July 12th, the first day of the Bilibili Offline Carnival (BW), a large number of young people gathered at the entrance of the National Convention and Exhibition Center. Many people rushed from out of town, carrying suitcases to the scene, and even started "night rehearsals" in the middle of the night. Part of the platforms near the venue on Metro Line 2 have become the makeup "backstage" for a group of cosplayers. Many young people carrying "pain bags" or wearing "cosplayers" are rushing to the comic exhibition
Manmiyuan (online name) woke up early in the morning and lined up outside the exhibition center. I have been participating in BW since 2019, and tickets were not so difficult to buy at that time. I was also very lucky to get this ticket. I came early to visit more booths and collect more 'free materials' when there were fewer people in the queue after entering the exhibition hall. The' free materials' he referred to were the free anime and game merchandise distributed by the booth. At BW site, scenes of fans exchanging 'nothing' can be seen everywhere. According to the data, over 615000 people made reservations for BW tickets. On the day of ticket issuance, 27000 VIP members had priority to purchase tickets and sold out within 30 seconds, while 100000 regular user tickets were sold out within 1 minute.
From ancient style anime role-playing, to derivative product exhibitions and sales, from live battles among console game players, to immersive virtual idol shows, fans from all walks of life lined up in the exhibition hall. At the ChinaJoy exhibition, the PlayStation booth was packed with people. After only 2 hours of development, the game "Infinite Warmth" distributed all the "Today's Trial Qualification Vouchers", and each player was limited to playing for 10 minutes. On BW, such a grand occasion has also become the norm. Game company Lingyoufang showcased "Blade of Shadows Zero" at BW, bringing the first offline public trial in China. Although there is still a long time until the official release of the game, it still attracts many players to queue up. Pan Anni, Director of Market and IP Operations at Lingyoufang, introduced: "During the three-day exhibition, more than 3000 players participated in the trial." After BW ended, "Blade of Shadows Zero" continued to participate in China Joy. The target audience for the two exhibitions is different, BW leans towards anime, while ChinaJoy leans more towards gaming
The White Paper on China's anime Content Industry shows that the number of "pan anime" users in China is growing, reaching nearly 460 million in 2021, of which 120 million are "core anime" users. In recent years, with the popularization of the Internet, the rise of the consumption power of Generation Z and the deepening of cross-cultural exchanges, the "anime" culture has gradually moved out of the "house" world and into the public vision. The "pan anime" consumer group continued to expand, and the social acceptance of the "anime" content increased. The stereotype that "anime games are for children" has changed. The "anime" culture is sweeping across all gender and all age consumer groups at an astonishing speed, achieving a breakthrough from the minority to the public.
The surrounding industries are thriving and thriving
Since July, a number of large-scale animation exhibitions are increasing the "magnetic attraction" of urban culture and tourism, driving the development of accommodation, catering, transportation and other related industries, and promoting the hot sales of hotels around the "anime" business circle and the venue of Shanghai Manzhan. According to Meituan data, Shanghai Comic Con has driven a 59% increase in hotel bookings. Hotels within 5 kilometers of the Shanghai National Convention and Exhibition Center priced below 800 yuan have a 20% early sell out rate, while high star hotels have a 90% hourly room sell out rate. Some hotels even offer "room+direct comic exhibition shuttle bus", allowing guests to have one-stop direct access to the site, and the service is constantly refined. High star hotels near Manzhan are popular, highlighting the agglomeration effect and consumption capacity of the "anime" group.
The "siphon effect" brought by a series of diffuse development has further promoted the continuous emergence of "anime" business. In the landmark business districts such as Bailian ZX Mall, Xujiahui Meiluo Mall and Jing'an Joy City, known as "Shanghai Qiuyeyuan", the concentration of "anime" is also rising. More and more "valley eaters" carrying "pain packs", various IP dolls in their hands, and a bag full of "bazaars", just as their front feet spread out from each major store, their rear feet appeared in the front row of the "grain store" in the mall, and they began to stroll around, punch in and flash out activities, and purchase a one-stop "anime trip" manually organized around them.
In response to the summer "anime" craze, Wang Yan, general manager of Shanghai Jing'an Joy City, said: "This summer, Jing'an Joy City will hold about 14 IP temporary exhibitions+flash store activities, including" Enchantment Return "," Blue Forbidden Area ", and" Silver Soul ". For activities such as ChinaJoy, buses will also be arranged to open the" last mile "to the mall."
Empowering diverse urban development
The three "animation exhibitions" held in January not only promoted the development of "anime" culture, but also brought many impacts on the urban development of Shanghai. The prosperity of the "anime" culture has made the city more young, diverse and inclusive, attracted more young people's attention, created conditions for the city to attract talents, provided more opportunities for personal development, and created a strong cultural atmosphere for young people to stay in the city. The insiders said that the "anime" economy will promote the diversified development of the urban economy and inject new vitality and growth points into the urban economy. Moreover, the pursuit of quality, experience and cultural connotation by the "anime" consumer group will lead urban consumption to a higher level and promote the optimization and upgrading of urban economic structure.
In addition, the "anime" boom has also driven the "anime" industry to flourish in Shanghai. As an early established and well-known leading enterprise of anime in China, Station B settled in Shanghai, which promoted Shanghai to attract and gather relevant enterprises in the anime field. Many anime related enterprises set up headquarters or branches here, covering animation production, game development, IP operation, derivatives production and other fields, forming a complete industrial chain. "New consumption scenarios, such as virtual concerts, are always the first to be welcomed in Shanghai. With a dominant user base, Shanghai brings more possibilities for anime games or ecological chain development," said Wang Xuan, vice president of Leyuan.
CCG EXPO, BW, ChinaJoy... these intensive and large-scale exhibitions originated in Shanghai have developed and expanded in Shanghai, taking creativity as the source and consumption as the direction, showing the attraction of "breaking the dimension" and highlighting the vitality of the "anime" economy in Shanghai. Today, the "anime economy" is providing new development opportunities for cultural consumption, and the future of the "anime economy" is worth looking forward to and imagining.