Melbourne Anime Festival, colloquially known as "Manifest", was a three-day
fan convention held in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Australia. It focused on the art of
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
and
manga,
East Asian culture, and its associated
fandoms
A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant ...
. Manifest was held at the Parkville campus of the
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...
until 2009, when it moved to the
Melbourne Showgrounds
Melbourne Showgrounds is located in the inner north-western suburb of Ascot Vale, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, next door to Flemington Racecourse. The largest and most flexible indoor/outdoor venue space in Melbourne the Showgrounds ...
. It was held in August each year. Following the 2013 convention, Manifest closed.
Manifest was run by the
not-for-profit organisation MAFI (Melbourne Anime Festival Inc.) and staffed entirely by volunteers. The organising committee held regular meetings to plan and organise the event, and was made up of 30-75 people. In addition, more than a hundred individuals volunteered their time on the event weekend to help run the convention.
History
Manifest was originally held at the University of Melbourne until 2009, when it moved to the
Melbourne Showgrounds
Melbourne Showgrounds is located in the inner north-western suburb of Ascot Vale, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, next door to Flemington Racecourse. The largest and most flexible indoor/outdoor venue space in Melbourne the Showgrounds ...
. On 1 December 2013, it was announced that Manifest would not be running again in 2014 due to financial and staffing issues.
Event history
See also
*
List of anime conventions
This is a list of noteworthy anime conventions from around the world, as distinct from comic book conventions, furry conventions, gaming conventions, horror conventions, multigenre conventions, and science fiction conventions. This list is sectio ...
References
External links
Manifest official Facebook pageManifest official twitter page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manifest (convention)
Conventions in Australia
Defunct anime conventions
Recurring events established in 2000
Recurring events disestablished in 2013