Animatsuri: A day at Chennai’s anime home
Co-organised by the Chennai Anime Club and other anime fanclub organisations, Animatsuri will take place at Primrose 131 at Luz Church Road on September 17 from 10 am to 9 pm.
Anime Mascet
CHENNAI: Large eyes, untamed hair and visually distinct features remind us of our childhood, where we all grew up loving anime. Sure, there was a point when it was a niche, when the idea of anime was a thing only a select few had heard about.
The Sunshine House, an artistes collective and event organisation company has brought to life the world of anime to the city with Animatsuri, a place where anime lovers can enjoy their favourite anime activities, along with like-minded admirers of what has become Japanese’s neo-cultural thing.
“Not just a cartoon, anime is an art form which dates back to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the evolution of the nuclear plant, with Godzilla representing them. Anime and Manga are a way to channel these stories,” explains Jonathan Faust, founder and creative head of The Sunshine House.
The anime fest will provide a space where, according to them, anime enthusiasts and ‘Japanophiles’ can interact, participate, and experience various facets of anime in all its delightfulness, under one roof.
“There will be a Cosplay contest which will see people parading on the stage with their material and artiste pop up stalls where each stall will have the option to choose specific time slots to curate workshops. There will also be online gaming championships, along with physical games of a Japanese theme nature, which will be board games played for 20 to 30 minutes,” adds Jonathan.
Anime enthusiasts can also look out for other exciting events, ranging from anime quizzes, a Sushi-making workshop, merch stalls with anime-centric merchandise, and many more fun activities.
“We aim to replicate an anime festival, which is a very common concept around the world, but lacks here in the city. We have a demographic expectancy of 17 to 31 years of age for the event,” says the founder of The Sunshine House, who expects people to accept and indulge their love for anime, without having to hide, and a place to culturally experience and celebrate the art form through Animatsuri.
