Collaboration aims to bring global anime fans to Virtual Akihabara

Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd and Akihabara Area Tourism Organization are partnering with manga community and database MyAnimeList to promote “Virtual Akihabara,” a metaverse space that recreates the iconic anime site in Tokyo.

Virtual Akihabara was launched in April as part of the XR Machizukuri project. Visitors can stroll around Akihabara’s shops, galleries and famous advertising signage in the virtual space using VR goggles on their PC or smartphone browsers.

MyAnimeList is one of the world’s largest anime and manga information websites, with over 18 million monthly active users in more than 200 countries and regions worldwide.

The collaboration aims to cater for the needs of anime fans and travellers from outside Japan, most of whom have been unable to visit Akiba due to the Covid-19 pandemic since 2020. 

In its first phase, an online event “MAL Bunkasai (culture festival)” will be held at MyAnimeList’s website from September 17 to 19, featuring fun events, capsule toys and athletic events at Virtual Akihabara.

The three organizations will set up a space for anime fans from all over the world to gather and interact, as well as work with intellectual property (IP) holders and businesses in order to boost their business both domestically and internationally.