Crunchyroll is bringing together some of the biggest names in anime, Hollywood, gaming and entertainment for its first Anime Future Forum, an invitation-only industry event scheduled for October 7, 2026, at New York’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
The one-day gathering, which will run alongside New York Comic Con, is expected to host more than 400 executives, creators and other industry figures. Crunchyroll has positioned the event around the theme “Designing for Anime’s Future,” with discussions focused on fandom, technology, storytelling and intellectual property protection.
The first confirmed speaker lineup reflects just how far anime’s influence now extends beyond Japan’s traditional production ecosystem. Representatives from several major Japanese companies are set to attend, including Jump Plus editor-in-chief Yuta Momiyama of Shueisha, TOHO executive and film producer Taichi Ueda, MAPPA president and CEO Manabu Otsuka, and Sony Music Entertainment Japan group CEO Atsuhiro Iwakami, who also serves as chairman of Aniplex.
Hollywood will have a significant presence as well. Guillermo del Toro, whose interest in Japanese animation and manga has been well documented, is among the confirmed participants. James Gunn is also scheduled to appear, adding another filmmaker whose work has drawn from animation and genre storytelling.
Sony Pictures Animation will use the forum to put some attention on Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, currently planned for 2027. Directors Bob Persichetti and Justin K. Thompson are due to take part in a discussion moderated by Sony Pictures Animation president Kristine Belson. Their appearance is particularly relevant to a forum examining how visual styles, global fandoms and franchise storytelling increasingly overlap.
Crunchyroll is also bringing in personalities from outside the traditional entertainment executive circuit. Olympic figure skating champion Amber Glenn, musician Big Sean and content creator Jordan Howlett are all expected to participate as prominent anime fans, highlighting the role celebrities and online creators now play in expanding anime culture beyond established fan communities.
Sony Group president and CEO Hiroki Totoki will open the event, while Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman and CEO Ravi Ahuja is scheduled to speak during the day. Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini will close the forum with remarks and additional announcements.
Programming will explore subjects including manga’s transition from print to digital platforms, the changing theatrical market, influencer-driven anime culture and the relationship between anime, live action and video games. Those topics arrive at a useful moment for the industry. Anime has become increasingly central to streaming strategies, theatrical releases, merchandising and international licensing, but that growth has also intensified questions around production capacity, rights management and how intellectual property moves between formats.
Crunchyroll’s decision to create a dedicated executive forum suggests the conversation around anime is shifting from whether it can become a mainstream global business to how companies intend to manage that scale. The more interesting test will be whether the event produces substantive discussion about the pressures accompanying that growth, rather than simply celebrating anime’s expanding commercial reach.
