The annual Animation-Comic-Game fair kicked off on Friday amid fanfare at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, attracting comics lovers from around the world.

One visitor, Chen from Guangzhou, said he had attended Ani-com fairs several times and is drawn by Hong Kong’s original products.

"The Ani-com features many original products that appeal to me, especially licensed intellectual property merchandise and limited-edition items."

Another traveller, Ola Klaus from Poland who currently lives in China, said she saw an Ani-com advertisement on the subway and decided to visit.

She was amazed by the event's scale and was looking for genuine items here, having come across fake goods in the past.

"It's special from Japan, imported, or maybe it's some fake stuff. So I'm happy to get it from an original store."

One exhibitor, Ray Chan, said stalls are offering more products this year, including figures and dolls.

He hopes the greater variety will attract more visitors and boost sales.

"I expect better sales than last year, since we've a larger booth, more resources and expanded our product range this year."

Another exhibitor surnamed Li, whose stall features products such as umbrellas and clothing that come with IP patents, also hopes to see a 10 percent increase in sales because he thinks the Ani-com turnout will be higher this year.

Meanwhile, the doujin events – World Doujin Paradise Hong Kong and Creative Paradise 2025 – will move from Hall 1 to Hall 3 this year. Combined with CosParadise, this creates a larger space for participation by both local and overseas doujin circles.

A new policy prohibits visitors from re-entering Hall 1 after moving to Hall 3, which has resulted in fewer people visiting the doujin area.

Pios, cosplaying as The Destined One from the popular game "Black Myth: Wukong", told RTHK the event's layout wasn't clearly organised.

"The lines were way too long, so it moves too slow and chaotic. The instructions weren't clear enough either, and having different pricing zones made things inconvenient for us cosplayers."

A Doujin stall exhibitor noted that while Hall 3 offers more space for doujin events and cosplayers, fewer visitors come to this location. Some attendees said they weren't even aware that Hall 3 hosts these events.

The event will run until July 29.