JEDDAH — On May 19, Anime Village finally opened its door as part of the Jeddah Season 2022's City Walk attraction. The zone included 50 human-size figures of one of the most popular Animes, and eight sections dedicated to each world, including Attack on Titan, Naruto, Captain Tsubasa (Captain Majed), and an ANIMAZE that includes more beloved shows. The village also featured a Pacman area with various arcade games, a Japanese shop named "Animate" that sells unique anime merchandise, and Saudi Arabia's largest Cosplay Parade, where many people dressed as their favorite characters pose for photographs with visitors. The staff of the attraction are double the size of any previous events and are highly cooperative and knowledgeable about the Japanese culture. The village stage hosted a variety of performances, including Ai Show, the most famous YouTube show for anime in Saudi, starring Mohammed AlNamy, Majed and Ibrahim AlAmer. Mohammed AlNamy, one of the Ai Show presenters, said, "People warned me ten years ago that no one would be interested in anime or the things we do, and we were given a parking spot to promote our work. And now, ironically, I'm on a stage that's far larger than that parking space." Originally many anime enthusiasts used to have online communities on popular websites in 2000s like Mexat but they shifted to social media apps and the community kept growing more. The extremely popular Japanese singer Eir Aoi performed on May 20 and thanked the Saudis for their warm welcome. Before she begins singing, she said to the audience: "Yesterday, I lost my phone in a mall and a young Saudi lady found it and brought it back to me. If hear me, please know that I love you!", according to Twitter user Muath @justmoazz. JAM Project, a popular Japanese band who sang many theme songs for famous animes like One Punch Man, came on May 27. They shared on Twitter the trips they made around Jeddah city wearing traditional Hijazi clothes and enjoying Saudi food. They also brought Mitsuhiro Arita, a Japanese Mangaka (Comic Artist) who is famous for illustrating more than 500 Pokémon cards. He posted on his Twitter account on May 28: "Thank you for having me for this event. It's my pleasure to be here. I'm excited to see more fans at the stage tonight!" He also shared his sketches of City Walk gate and Jeddah F1 Circuit which fascinated him in addition to the different traditional food he tasted. Anime Village plans to welcome more bands, artists, and performers this season, in order to serve as a cultural bridge between Saudi Arabia and Japan.
