SHAH ALAM, July 22 ― Visual Arts Expo (VAX) 2017 kicks off today with renowned names including from Japanese animation (anime) studios Trigger and MAPPA, hoping their works can continue to break cultural barriers with local fans here.

Speaking to the media in a roundtable session yesterday, the anime talents were both pleasantly surprised and proud that their works and Japanese comics (manga) have found resonance with Malaysian viewers.

"Nobody expected it to be as popular as it did. It totally surpassed our imagination,” Studio MAPPA chief executive Ohtsuka Manabu said, referring to its hit series Yuri!!! on Ice (YOI).

Released last year, the series was not only well-received in Japan, but became a global phenomenon for its positive depiction of homosexuality within the figure skating sports world.

"It really breaks down barriers, whether on borders, linguistics, when it comes to gender, or many other issues,” Manabu, who is also a producer, replied when asked about what contributed to YOI’s popularity, including here.

"It’s important to not get caught up with barriers, whether with gender or sexuality. Really to just draw from the raw human emotions, and that perhaps is more than anything what the viewers responded to,” he added, explaining co-creators Mitsurou Kubo and Sayo Yamamoto’s goals.

YOI also caught the eye of Malaysian viewers for its representation of a Southeast Asian ― Thai figure skater Phichit Chulanont ― among its diverse international characters, something that character designer Tadashi Hiramatsu credited to the duo’s intensive research.

Meanwhile, screenwriter Masafumi "Pierre” Sugiura was surprised that Malaysian viewers enjoyed the critically-acclaimed anime adaptation of Barakamon which he wrote for, despite its esoteric rural setting in the remote islands off Kyushu in Japan.

"I grew up in a rural setting, so I feel more connected to it,” Sugiura explained.

Similarly, anime singer AiRI said she feels delighted whenever foreign audience sing along to her Japanese songs

"When that happens I feel extremely touched. It feels like my heart and the audience’s hearts are connected as one,” she said.

Studio Trigger’s managing director and co-founder Kazuya Matsumoto (centre) speaks at VAX media roundtable in Shah Alam, July 21, 2017. — Picture courtesy of Visual Arts Expo

Part of the global appeal of anime, including in Malaysia, may be down to its earnestness and the creative freedom afforded to the industry, according to Studio Trigger’s managing director and co-founder Kazuya Masumoto.

"In Japan, anime and manga are not bound by any religion or ethnicity, and the whole public can access it,” Masumoto said.

"It is a strange country where ‘naughty’ and violent contents are acceptable, but only in fiction. Children are exposed to different genres since young, and when they grow up they turn out to be more accepting.”

VAX2017 will be held today and tomorrow at the Shah Alam Convention Centre, Selangor.

Walk-in tickets are available at the door for RM25 per day entry, and more information are available at their website.