Middle East Film & Comic Con opens its first Otaku District at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi from Friday 11 to Sunday 13 September 2026.
Gulf News published the interviews on Wednesday: a zone built entirely around anime, manga and Japanese pop culture, grown from the Japanese Village introduced in 2024.
The official MEFCC site lists the same dates at ADNEC, with doors at 3pm–11pm GST on Friday and 12pm–11pm on Saturday and Sunday. VIP early access on Friday is listed at 2pm.
Otaku District: karaoke, Janken and a catwalk
Ayman Akaily, content manager at MEFCC, told Gulf News the 2024 village made the next step obvious.
Since then, we’ve seen an incredible surge in demand for anime, manga, and Japanese pop culture, with communities such as otaku, cosplayers, collectors, and idol fans continuing to grow year after year. It felt like the right time to give these fans a space they could truly call their own.
Ayman Akaily, content manager, MEFCC
The official Otaku District page, sponsored by Crunchyroll, describes a modern Asian downtown look: neon, street-style sets and a stage that stays live. The bill includes J-Pop and J-Rock, karaoke, anime quizzes, Janken tournaments, a cosplay catwalk, idol dance sets, anime choreography workshops, Random Play Dance sessions that pull in K-Pop fans, and an Asian bites stop.
Akaily pointed to two titles driving the floor. Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is now the highest-grossing anime film ever made, he said, and One Piece has had a year across anime, manga and Netflix’s live-action series. Both rank among the most popular cosplay themes, with Artist Alley filling up with illustrations, plushies and handcrafted collectibles.
Thanks to blockbuster films like Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle and the global success of Netflix’s One Piece live-action adaptation, they’ve introduced millions of new fans to anime, making them true cross-generational and international phenomena.
Ayman Akaily, content manager, MEFCC
Mackenyu, Netflix’s Roronoa Zoro, is on the 2026 celebrity bill. tbreak has already covered John Cena and Simu Liu among the same MEFCC guests.
GCC fans heading into MEFCC
Show director Loy Pinheiro told Gulf News that fans now travel in from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, booking flights a year out. He described MEFCC as the region’s pop culture pilgrimage, and pointed to strategic partner DCT Abu Dhabi and its push to position the emirate as a cultural capital.
Last year’s attendance passed 46,000, Akaily said. Artist Alley has shifted from a largely local stall-run to an international marketplace, and Cosplay Central now draws more regional and overseas participants, including professional cosplayers running workshops and judging panels.
MEFCC remains a family-friendly floor. Akaily said costumes should respect UAE cultural values while staying true to the character, which in practice means extra layers, armour and modest reinterpretations rather than sitting the look out.
Tickets are on sale via the official MEFCC tickets page. The Otaku District is part of the 11–13 September show at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi.
