Japan Expo Paris 2025 Report
Date: 2025 July 20 15:41
Posted by Joe
France is the biggest manga market in Europe, accounting for round 50% of all manga gross sales in Europe. In consequence the French anime and manga scene is very large. Many individuals take pleasure in France’s thriving Bande dessinée tradition of comics, however Japanese manga and tradition can also be very talked-about in France.
With this in thoughts, we determined to go to Japan Expo in Paris. It is an occasion purely targeted on Japanese tradition, that includes anime and manga, video video games, Japanese meals and conventional Japanese tradition. The July 2025 occasion attracted 230,000 guests making it the third largest occasion in France for guests per day! Having skilled the London occasion scene many a time we had been eager to discover what the colossal French occasion seemed like.
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Once we acquired to Japan Expo it was clear that it was a properly oiled machine. The entry course of was fast and environment friendly. As soon as we acquired via the speedy safety and ticket checks, we had been within the large occasion halls of Paris Nord Villepinte. The Expo itself is split into clear logical zones, as soon as we had been in it was time to discover!
Photograph Credit score – Joe Curzon
This yr’s headline visitors had been horror manga maestro Junji Ito; acclaimed anime director Kazuya Tsurumaki; and DISCIPLES(REDICE STUDIO) the artist behind the Solo Levelling WebToon.
Photograph Credit score – Justine Van Mastrigt
As Junji Ito was one in every of headline visitors of honour, there was an enormous gallery to showcase his work, with the historical past of the manga artist and plenty of ugly examples of paintings on show. The gallery included a haunted home sort alley you stroll alongside and horrors from his tales flash up and scare you.
The online game space was dominated by an enormous Nintendo space selling the Swap 2 and Mario Kart World. There was a Nintendo pop-up store the place you should buy particular Nintendo merchandise comparable to t-shirts, key-rings and different enjoyable stuff.
Streaming giants Crunchyroll had an enormous presence with varied enjoyable actions and with free goodies for subscribers. Gachiakuta was one of many most important titles promoted this time round.
There have been loads of stalls promoting merchandise, comparable to figures and little blind field units from standard collection. They had been largely grouped collectively in their very own product owner’s space.
Photograph Credit score – Joe Curzon
Within the artists village numerous unbiased artists had been showcasing and promoting their very own paintings. A number of artists had show playing cards itemizing which languages they may converse (e.g. English and French, French and Chinese language, and so on). We noticed a number of artists we recognised from the UK scene.
Photograph Credit score – Joe Curzon
The manga part of Japan Expo was colossal. France is the largest manga market in Europe and we might see that from the choice. The most important French manga publishers dominated with cabinets and tables stacked excessive with this seasons favourites. Smaller unbiased publishers had been additionally current too. Some publishers had unique editions or had been promoting issues forward of launch date. Some had offers the place in case you purchased a number of books you’d get a little bit of merchandise comparable to a tote bag. All of the manga offered right here is French. With the extra standard releases French manga could be one or two volumes forward of the English language launch. There are lots of titles which have but been licensed for English obtainable in France too.
There have been stalls promoting books and manga in Japanese. We loved searching all kinds of artbooks, spending our time deciding which one to carry again to recollect the occasion.
Photograph Credit score – Joe Curzon
These in want of lunch weren’t ignored, with a meals part promoting standard Japanese road meals, from okonomiyaki, yakitori, sushi and extra. It was tough to decide on what to eat as we felt spoilt for alternative. In case you had been in search of Bubble Tea that they had you coated with quite a few stalls providing completely different twists on the drink.
Photograph Credit score – Laurent Ducassou
There was a Wabi-sabi space crammed with a market of Japanese crafts and small Japanese unbiased companies promoting varied issues. There have been many examples of conventional Japanese tradition, crafts and demos happening all through the expo. We significantly loved searching the wealthy kimono materials.
Throughout the a number of phases there have been J-Pop performances, martial artwork demonstrations, panels with the visitors, and business panels too. There’s a lot to do throughout the entire conference.
Photograph Credit score – Joe Curzon
Cosplay was properly represented with the ECG Finals held at Japan Expo. Varied cosplay teams had shows and workshops operating all through the weekend.
The occasion was simple to navigate, even for individuals who weren’t French audio system. The Japan Expo Web site and app can be found in English, the place you possibly can entry a map of the halls together with a schedule. Signage is in French and English in most locations on the occasion too.
Photograph Credit score – Christopher Kibali
Japan Expo itself is at Paris Nord Villepinte the biggest exhibition centre in France. It is easy to get to; you possibly can fly in from Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport, after which take a prepare or taxi from the airport. In case you’re coming in from Eurostar, Gard Du Nord is prepare experience away from the Paris Nord Villepinte station. There are many accommodations a brief bus or taxi experience away. The entire space may be very stroll ready too.
We had an important weekend and returned house with an enormous bag of treasures! We will certainly be seeking to go to once more.
Supply: Otaku Information
