Abu Dhabi is set to become a magnet for fans of Japanese animation on Friday (July 15), after snatching the world premiere of One Piece Film: Gold from Las Vegas to host it at Emirates Palace – eight days before its cinema release in Japan.
The movie, from the popular Toei animation studio, might not be a household name outside of the world of anime devotees, but it is the 13th film in the popular One Piece franchise, which set the world record for Most Printed Comic Series by a single author when 1997's Weekly Shonen Jump sold an impressive 320 million copies worldwide. The premiere will be attended by animators and actors from the movie.
So how did a blockbuster Japanese anime project come to have its premiere in Abu Dhabi?
The answer lies with the capital’s Manga-influenced animation house Ego Punch Entertainment, creators of the Middle East’s first anime production, the in-development Torkaizer.
“We visited Tokyo Games Show last year – we’re involved in games development as well – and were surprised to find a lot of companies visiting our booth wanting to talk about partnering with us,” says Ego Punch chief executive Ahmed Al Mutawa. “Initially when we talked to Toei we had no intention of working with them, we just really liked what they did, but things moved on.”
"We have a subsidiary company, Ego Space, that focuses on events and exhibitions," says Mohamed Al Jneibi, Ego Punch's chief creative officer. "That's who's doing the One Piece premiere, and we're also serving as consultants to the forthcoming Yas Island anime event that the Middle East Film and Comic Con guys are doing in October."
The collaboration is quite a coup for Ego Punch.
"Toei are one of the most famous animators in Japan," says executive producer Mansour Al Dhaher. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for One Piece fans.
“They were intending to do the premiere in Las Vegas. We said, ‘Why not think of the Middle East?’ They were unsure if the infrastructure was there, so we said, ‘Guys, why don’t you just get on a plane, come and visit this beautiful country and check it out?’
"They did and they loved the island, the Grand Mosque, Emirates Palace – the whole city. So they decided to give it a go. We've teamed up with Etihad, who had previous experience from working on the Star Wars premiere in December, and they were keen to do a similar event, especially as it's a quiet time of year. They wanted to create a buzz, and Abu Dhabi Tourism [and Culture Authority] have helped out by promoting it as part of the Summer Season package."
Star Wars was a major blockbuster coup for Abu Dhabi, while anime is more of a niche market – but the team are convinced the audience is here.
“Fans have been phoning up Emirates Palace and showing up at our building looking for tickets,” says Al Dhaheri. “The social-media buzz is strong and we’re confident people will show up. We expect a sell-out.”
Content delivery specialist Adam Farskoury agrees: “We think the anime community in the region is underserved. We think there’s huge potential for both production and events that could strike a chord with a lot of people here.
“We want to use this event to show Japanese producers and content owners that there is a big market in this region that could be to their advantage. I think regionally anime fans actually outnumber traditional comic-book fans, so we hope we’ll see more in future.”
• The premiere of One Piece Film: Gold is at Emirates Palace at 7pm on Friday, July 15. To purchase tickets, visit www.tixbox.com
cnewbould@thenational.ae