Crunchyroll’s inaugural Anime Future Forum, which the company has described as the anime industry’s first global summit, will bring together major figures from the anime, manga, technology, gaming, and retail industries, including filmmakers Guillermo del Toro and James Gunn and executives from MAPPA, Toho, Shueisha and Aniplex.
The invitation-only event is scheduled for Oct 7 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York, one day before New York Comic Con begins at the same venue.
The event will be held under the theme “Designing for Anime’s Future” and will focus on four key areas: fandom, technology, storytelling and IP protection.
It will include sessions such as “Transmedia Storytelling: Bridging Gaming, Live Action & Anime Fandoms,” “The Evolution of the Theatrical Experience,” “From Page to Platform: The Future of Manga,” and “The Influencers Shaping Anime: Voices, Vision & Viral Power.”
The invitation-only event is expected to bring together more than 400 industry professionals.
The first slate of confirmed speakers includes Manabu Otsuka, president and CEO of MAPPA; Taichi Ueda, executive officer at Toho; Yuta Momiyama, editor-in-chief overseeing the digital side of Shueisha’s Shonen Jump+; and Atsuhiro Iwakami, president and group CEO of Sony Music Entertainment and chairman of Aniplex.
Sony executives will also have a significant presence at the summit.
Sony Group President and CEO Hiroki Totoki is scheduled to deliver opening remarks, while Sony Pictures Entertainment Chairman and CEO Ravi Ahuja will speak during the event.
Bob Persichetti and Justin K. Thompson, co-directors of Sony Pictures Animation’s upcoming Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, which is scheduled for release in 2027, will also participate in a panel moderated by Sony Pictures Animation President Kristine Belson.
Crunchyroll President Rahul Purini will close the forum with remarks and is expected to make announcements from the company.
Moreover, Olympic gold medalist figure skater Amber Glenn, rapper and author Big Sean, and content creator Jordan Howlett are among the confirmed participants.
Crunchyroll first announced the Anime Future Forum in May 2026 alongside the news that its streaming service had surpassed 21 million monthly paid subscribers worldwide.
At the time, Purini said that anime has become a central presence in the global entertainment industry and noted that holding the summit outside Japan for the first time is expected to expand worldwide awareness of anime further.
According to Crunchyroll, “the forum is intended to open doors to the future of anime – sparking new alliances and fostering creative discussion among established and emerging leaders, creatives, and executives from Japan and around the world, recognizing anime’s future state. From animation studios, distributors, creators, artists, and voices from Japan, to counterparts across the globe in television, film, music, gaming, technology, merchandising, and more, the focus is singular – where is anime going and how can those assembled shape its future.“
Source: Press Release
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