Largest Anime Festival in the UAE Comes to Abu Dhabi October 23rd

Anime fans, it’s time to expand your domain and show off your power levels at Animenia Abu Dhabi, the largest anime festival in the UAE! Running from October 23rd to the 27th, Manarat Al Saadiyat will feature interactive panels, performances and shopping experiences for every kind of otaku, from the ‘Dragon Ball’ warriors to the ‘Sanrio’ (‘Hello Kitty!’) lovers amongst us.

Animenia Abu Dhabi will include live concerts by the likes of Japanese singer Yoko Takahashi, who you might recognise from the theme song for ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’, Syrian singer and actress Rasha Rizk, who sung the opening song for the Arabic dub of ‘Detective Conan’, and J-Pop band FLOW.

The Q&A panels will have some of the biggest names in the industry to answer your questions and maybe even sign some autographs, such as Ryo Horikawa, the voice of Vegeta from ‘Dragon Ball’, Naoto Ohshima, the designer behind ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’, Yutaka Abe, an artist who has done work with the ‘Detective Conan’ series, and Yoko Shimomura, the composer behind hit games like ‘Kingdom Hearts’ and ‘Super Mario RPG’.

The festival will also feature the largest cosplay competition in the region with a AED 400,000 prize pool. So, if you've been perfecting that Naruto run, this is your moment. Oh, and Tokyo is coming to Abu Dhabi in the form of street food, with all the ramen and mochi your kokoro desires. Exclusive anime merch will be available as well, from collectibles to trendy streetwear - so you don’t even need to become king of the pirates to get your hands on some great loot.

Tickets are now available and start at AED 65 for a day pass.