New England Anime Society
The New England Anime Society, Inc. is a Massachusetts-based 501 non-profit organization dedicated to furthering American understanding of Japanese language and culture through written and visual media. Founded in 2001, The New England Anime Society, Inc. is the parent organization of Anime Boston, one of the largest anime conventions in North America. In 2011, The Boston Phoenix selected Anime Boston as the city's "Best Nerd Gathering", beating out contenders such as New England Comic Con and PAX East. The convention won the award again in 2012.
At Anime Boston 2007, the New England Anime Society announced that they would be starting Providence Anime Conference in the fall of 2008. It was the first anime convention for attendees 21 and older and the first anime convention with a minimum age limit that did not focus on the "adult" aspect of anime and manga.
In addition to anime conventions, The New England Anime Society has also provided assistance with other events such as running anime screenings at First Night Boston, costume contests at Tokyo Kid in Harvard Square, and anime screenings at the Belmont Film Festival in Belmont, Massachusetts and Sudbury Day in Sudbury, Massachusetts.
Trademark dispute
In late 2017, the New England Anime Society sued Interactive Meet and Greet Entertainment, LLC and Fantastic Gatherings, Inc. for infringing on its Anime Boston trademark with an event called "Boston AnimeFest". On Thursday, December 7th, the New England Anime Society was successful at receiving a preliminary injunction which required IMAGE and FG to change their use of "Boston AnimeFest" in promotional materials before their event on December 9th.Event history
The New England Anime Society has produced the following events:- Anime Boston Annual event with attendance greater than 20,000 since 2012.
- Anime Screenings at First Night Boston
| Name | Dates | Location | Atten. |
| Dance Dance Revolution Tournament | 2003 August 17 | Playoff Arcade, Worcester, Mass. | |
| Arisia 2004's Anime Room | 2004 January 16–18 | Boston Park Plaza | 2,283 |
| Belmont World Film 2005 – Family Festival | 2005 April 17 | Belmont, Massachusetts | |
| Sudbury Day 2005 | 2005 September 17 | Sudbury, Massachusetts | |
| Belmont World Film 2006 – Family Festival | 2006 March 12 | Belmont, Massachusetts | |
| Providence Anime Conference 2008 | 2008 October 3–5 | Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence | 375 |
| Anime Boston Day | 2018 December 1 | Museum of Science, Boston, Massachusetts | |
| Anime Boston Weekend | 2019 November 2-3 | Museum of Science, Boston, Massachusetts |