Since Anime Evolution ceased operations after 2010, Anime Revolution (note the extra “r” in evolution) was created to fill the void in Vancouver’s Japanese comic and cartoon scene. The event was held August 17^th through 19^th, 2012 under the white sails at Canada Place on Vancouver’s waterfront. 

Over the last few months, Anime Revolution has been trying to build its image as that of a premium event. As part of their goal to help bring in attendees, the organizers worked to reunite much of the English vocal cast from Sailor Moon as part of the series’ 20^th anniversary. Names like Sugar Lyn Beard, Katie Griffin, Susan Roman, Vincent Corazza, and Terri Hawkes – the voice of Sailor Moon herself. Other notable names included Jouji Nakata, Doug Walker and the 404s.

Due to a conflicting schedule with regards to my trip to Texas, I only made it out on Saturday to explore the convention. I originally had planned to pre-register, but after seeing that the online registration form wasn’t encrypted, I was skeptical about progressing due to the safety of my payment information. Instead, I ended up paying at the door, shelling out $67 CAD (including tax) for a one day pass (I would have paid over $80 CAD for a three day pass).

Once I had my badge, I was happy to see a lot of people in cosplay roaming the main hall of Canada Place and on the promenade outside. From my first impressions, everything seemed rather organized. Registration and an information booth were at the main entrance to the convention centre, and there was plenty of signage and staff. A very good start.

Traversing the single hall that runs the length of Canada Place, dozens of costumed fans were lined up along the walls posing for pictures as convention centre staff tried to keep the middle free for everyone else. Some parts of the convention centre’s foyer and alcoves wreaked havoc on my camera forcing me to use the flash, but I still managed to get some nice shots near the windows and in the exhibition hall.

The dealers room shared the same hall as artists alley and the autograph booths. The dealers were an eclectic mix of vendors hawking DVDs, manga, merchandise, cosplay accessories, video games, and paintball. Despairingly, I saw a couple booths with bootleg items. One aisle was decorated with cherry blossoms and Japanese lanterns strung across the booths giving it festival-like feel. Roped off rows sat in the middle of the hall with signs on the end advertising which line was for any given guest signing autographs. At the opposite end were the artists alley booths. Rounding it all off was an inflatable sinking ship where people could climb and then slide down the slanted deck; an interesting attraction for a convention.

I didn’t check out any of the panels, instead spending my time wandering the main hall, the dealers room/artists alley and promenade. The promenade around Canada Place offers spectacular views of downtown Vancouver, Stanley Park and the North Shore mountains. This time, those views included colourful costumes.

Amusingly enough, with Canada Place’s status as a tourist attraction, having a cruise ship-Holland America’s Zuiderdam-docked next to the convention made for some interesting reactions from visiting vacationers. A handful were confused as to what was going on; others were taking pictures, even finding a familiar outfit.

Although I was not present for all three days, I did enjoy what I saw on Saturday. I would suggest that the organizers revisit their pricing structures and make some minute adjustments. Something slightly more affordable would be  friendlier to all. I would also like to see better site security when pre-purchasing a badge online (I’m not sending my credit card info through an unsecured web form). Aside from that, Anime Revolution got off to a good start. Let’s see what happens next year.

All photographs from Saturday are available on Gallery.

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