TOKYO -- March is a major month for Japan's anime industry. Last weekend, the warrens of Tokyo's Ikebukuro neighborhood hosted the 12th annual Tokyo Anime Award Festival, whose boastful theme, "Tokyo is the HUB of contemporary ANIMATION!," draws filmmakers from Japan and elsewhere to compete in feature and short-film categories.
Less than a week later, on Saturday, the third annual Niigata International Animation Film Festival, focusing on feature-length animated films and running for six jam-packed days, opened its doors to hundreds in the northern port city of Niigata on the Sea of Japan. And on March 22 the biggest of Japan's anime trade shows, AnimeJapan, will launch its 11th annual event, drawing hundreds of thousands of industry players and cosplayers to the Tokyo International Exhibition Center, also known as Tokyo Big Sight, in the Odaiba area of the capital.
