Celebrated anime platform Crunchyroll is set to explore the evolving anime industry through its inaugural thought leadership summit, scheduled as a lead-up to the New York Comic Con this October.
The Crunchyroll Anime Future Forum will take place on October 7 at New York’s Javits Convention Center. The event will feature conference tracks dedicated to four major themes: fandom, technology, storytelling, and intellectual property protection.
Prominent speakers at the forum will include director Guillermo del Toro, a fervent supporter of anime, director James Gunn, along with Bob Persichetti and Justin K. Thompson, directors of Sony Pictures’ forthcoming animated sequel “Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.” Anime influencers such as Amber Glenn, Big Sean, and Jordan Howlett are also slated to participate.
The event will highlight leading anime studios, featuring representatives from Toho (Taichi Ueda, film producer and executive officer), MAPPA (Manabu Otsuka, president and CEO), and Sony Music’s Aniplex (Atsuhiro Iwakami).
Executives from Sony Corp. will be present in full force to back the event. Since 2021, Crunchyroll has been under the Sony Pictures Entertainment umbrella, following its acquisition and merger with Sony’s Funimation unit. The platform has grown into Sony’s largest streaming presence, providing unique content for the company. Crunchyroll teamed up with Sony Pictures for the 2025 theatrical release of “Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle,” which broke U.S. box office records for an anime film.
Hiroki Totoki, president and CEO of Sony Group Corp., will be present to give remarks, along with Ravi Ahuja, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment. The forum will conclude with insights and announcements from Rahul Purini, president of Crunchyroll.
The New York Comic Con is scheduled from October 8-10 at the Javits Center.
(Pictured: Crunchyroll’s Rahul Purini and Mitchel Berger at Variety’s screening of “Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle” in November 2025.)
