Anime streaming service Crunchyroll is set to host their first ever summit in New York called Crunchyroll’s Anime Future Forum. The event is slated for October 7th and will be hosted at the Javits Convention Center, a day before New York Comic Con makes its run at the same venue on October 8th-October 11th. Crunchyroll’s summit is focusing solely on the theme of fandoms, tech, IP protection, and storytelling with a multitude of Japanese anime and manga companies.
Initially, it was claimed that famous director Guillermo del Toro would be making an appearance alongside American director James Gunn for the event. However, Guillermo took to social media platform X to deny these claims on August 28th, 2026, citing “Not me. I’m not going.”
Alongside Gunn, MAPPA president and CEO Manabu Otsuka and directors of the widely anticipated Sony Pictures’ sequel “Spider-Man: Beyond the Spiderverse” Bob Persichetti and Justin K. Thompson are noted to speak at the one day event. Sessions for the event include thoughts on storytelling in the anime genre, the future of manga, and the role of influencers and their impact on anime fandom culture. Additionally, president and CEO of Sony Group Corp Hiroki Totoki will deliver the opening remarks about the event as well as chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment Ravi Ahuja. Finally, Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini will close the forum with remarks and news. Crunchyroll has been part of the Sony Entertainment group since the company’s merger in 2021, and recently partnered together on the theatrical release of Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle which earned multiple awards and set breaking box office records during its run. Sony and Crunchyroll have also surpassed over 21 million paid subscribers worldwide as of the end of March, describing anime as an important growth for the company with its sudden surge in popularity.
