The New England Anime Society, Inc. is a Massachusetts-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to furthering American understanding of Japanese language and culture through written and visual media.
[2] 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.
[5] 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,[6] 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.
In late 2017, the New England Anime Society sued Interactive Meet and Greet Entertainment, LLC (IMAGE) and Fantastic Gatherings, Inc. (FG) for infringing on its Anime Boston trademark with an event called "Boston AnimeFest".
[7][8][9] On Thursday, December 7, 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 9.