With my new Nikon D5000 in hand, Sakura-Con would be the first test to see how it held up at a convention. Overall, the camera worked amazingly well and the battery held up (along with my memory card). I just need to take pictures in a brighter light and adjust the flash in these scenarios for better shots. Until then, enjoy my collection of photographs from the Sakura-Con weekend on Gallery.
A review of the convention will be available in the next few days.
By now, most anime fans within Metro Vancouver has read the update posted on the Anime Evolution web site - there will be no convention this year. The AE Convention Corporation, the group behind the scenes, disbanded the committee that sets up and runs the three day Japanese-themed weekend due to financial and legal reasons. While we can only begin to guess the specifics that lead to this announcement, most of those who’ve attended previous conventions could see that Anime Evolution had been experiencing some significant issues in organization and management.
It is hoped that the AE Convention Corporation will work to restore and bring the fans, cosplayers and those curious an event where we can share our passion for anime, manga and Japanese culture. From the releases posted by the convention executives, they all want to make this happen and we all are looking forward to a convention in 2012.
Until then, there’s always Sakura-Con in Seattle, Tsukino-Con in Victoria, Kumoricon in Portland and A Taste of Animethon in Edmonton. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for smaller cosplay gatherings in your community too!
Located on the sunny coast of the Gulf of Mexico, Realms Con provided anime aficionados in Corpus Christi a chance to celebrate their love for for the medium, along with gaming and other aspects of Japanese culture. The convention operated over three days, from October 1st to 3rd, at the American Bank Center. While not a large event, like at Anime Central or even San Japan, Realms Con was something more of a relaxed and laid back convention with opportunities to browse and chill with other con goers.
Halo's Master Chief and Guilty Gear's Faust at Anime Evolution 2008
It’s almost that time of the year for Lower Mainland anime fans! Anime Evolution is just around the corner, which means cosplayers are putting the finishing touches on their outfits and last minute guest announcements!
The convention will be returning to the University of British Columbia from August 13th to 15th, 2010. In 2009, Anime Evolution partied in the brand new west building of the Vancouver Convention Centre in downtown Vancouver.
This year, Anime Evolution will be hosting Johnny Yong Bosch, Martin Billany, Richard Ian Cox, Spike Spencer, Chris Smith, Marÿke Hendrikse, Sam Logan, Team Four Star, Sam Vincent, and Kristie Marsden among others. A complete listing of guests is available on the convention web site.
If you haven’t signed up yet, take advantage of the pre-registration prices before it ends on Wednesday, June 30th. After that, registration can be done at the door.
It’s been thirteen years since Anime Central, or ACen for short, first made its appearance in 1998, and being my third time here, it didn’t disappoint. ACen is one of the larger anime and manga conventions in the United States and rightly so, seeing as fans of Japanese culture come from all over (myself being from Vancouver, British Columbia). This year, ACen returned to the Hyatt Regency O’Hare and Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois for all things dark and mysterious about anime, seeing as this was the thirteenth ACen.
View from the Hyatt Regency O'Hare
As per my custom of booking a hotel room at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare (seeing as I don’t like to travel too and from conventions during the day and it makes things easier to stay in the same building), our group checked in to our room. We discovered, to our delight, that we got a balcony and one that faced the entrance over Bryn Mawr Avenue. This would make for a great location when people watching over the weekend.
But back to our group – which consisted of four people: myself (as Vyse from Skies of Arcadia), Soul Eater Evans (of Soul Eater fame), Ban Midou and Ginji Amano (both from Get Backers). Of course, we had the obligatory visitors stop by for some balcony fun and dinner.
Ginji and Ban from Get Backers
This was my first time debuting another costume that wasn’t Naruto Uzumaki, this time going as Vyse from Skies of Arcadia, after I commissioned it from my friend. We set out and began our first full adventure of the convention for 2010.
The artist’s alley was spectacular again, including the return of our friend SHADi and new-comer, Joey Blondewolf2. Lots of talent and many with amazing prints and sketches and other neat trinkets were available for sale. I just wish I had space back home to display all of it.
The exhibitor’s room was expansive as always which makes it easy to get lost in, but you’d always find yourself at a booth that sold something interesting, unique or a shrine to Shaq-Fu. At the FUNimation booth, they had copies of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and the third Soul Eater box set for sale before their scheduled retail date which was pretty neat; a kind of bonus for fans of the series at the convention.
I purchased a few shirts, some Naruto Shippuden figures, the Soul Eater box set two and the entire Higurashi no Naku Koro ni box set (the latter alone was a steal primarily because HMV in Canada sells the individual DVDs for $40 CAD where this box set at the FUNimation booth for the whole series was $40 USD).
We also took advantage of DeathCom Multimedia‘s photo booth in the Hyatt for a few professional photographs together. I’d never done this before, but seeing as the Ban and Ginji in our group had done it and had shown how well their pictures had come out, I had to give it a try. Getting your picture taken is free, but there was a fee if you wanted prints (8½ by 11 or 4 by 6). It was worth it though.
Legend of Zelda photo shoot
Later in the afternoon, I attended the Legend of Zelda and Soul Eater photo shoots. Both featured amazing costumes and a lively atmosphere as everyone in character posed for the cameras. Amusingly, during the Zelda poses, the wind had picked up, and neither Links from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker were able to tame the breeze. My friend, as Soul Eater, had a fun time at his namesake shoot, being abused by Maka and frightened when Excalibur appeared. I unfortunately missed the Naruto and Fire Emblem photo shoots though. Need to plan better for next year.
Kouki Uchiyama signs a Soul Eater wall scroll
On Saturday, we picked up postcards from the FUNimation booth that listed the autograph schedules for the Japanese voice cast of Soul Eater. The first session was at 11:30 am with Yumiko Kobayashi (Black Star) and Narumi Takahira (Patty Thompson), where we were able to get a few wall scrolls signed. We returned at 1:30 pm when the rest of the cast would be available to sign my friend’s Soul Eater jacket. While we waited in line, Vic Mignogna made a brief appearance from behind one of the curtains dividing the autograph booths. My friend, who knows Vic quite well personally, was able to speak with him shortly until Vic’s fan girls found him and began screaming. For those who have never attended an anime convention where Vic was a guest, his fans are loud — not the good kind of loud at a concert, but the kind of loud that’s reminiscent of nails being dragged down a chalkboard. That sound even frightened Vic which was pretty amusing. After the line started moving, we were able to get our wall scrolls and my friend’s jacket signed by Kouki Uchiyama (Soul Eater) and Kaori Nazuka (Tsubaki), along with the producer of the animated series, Masazumi Kato.
People watching at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare
Most of the ACen attendees know how much trouble the elevators at the Hyatt can be, especially during the afternoon and evenings. Me and a friend had gone down to pick up our pizza from the front desk and upon entering the elevator (which also had a few other people bringing back their own dinner), we found that we were over the weight limit. Usually, the elevator makes a loud buzzing noise and the doors don’t close to alert the occupants. In this case, the doors did close and the elevator moved a foot before stopping – and then dropped about a half a foot which freaked me out. So about ten minutes later after repeating the same dropping motion over, some of the people exited and we were on our way (being stuck in the elevator wouldn’t have been half bad seeing as we all had food and drinks).
My friends however, made a smarter decision, and took the stairs instead; responding to comments of the building reminiscing the ShinRa headquarters in Final Fantasy VII.
Shinichi Watanabe strikes a pose
I found the convention to be much more organized and the staff was really friendly and helpful. I know in previous years, IRT would use brightly coloured zap straps or ribbons on approved props, but this year, they marked the back of the badges with a red star stamp. ACen badges are pretty unique among convention goers, since the administration has gone through varying styles to create something different and forgery-proof each year. This time, the badges were actual plastic badges with a printed label containing the badge name, number and other information on it.
All in all, Anime Central this year was pretty amazing. Only disappointment was that Doug Walker of That Guy With The Glasses fame wasn’t around all that much. Seeing as he’s busy making hilarious videos and was a last minute unofficial guest, I can’t fault the convention for it. But overall, it was well planned and was a fun weekend. I can’t wait to return in 2011!
Photos are now available online in Gallery. Videos will be posted shortly.
Cloud Strife in all his 32-bit glory
Fans of Japanese culture converged on Seattle’s Washington State Convention and Trade Center over the Easter weekend for Sakura-Con 2010 to celebrate all things related to anime, manga and gaming. Sakura-Con has been a mainstay in the Pacific Northwest for the past thirteen years, drawing in attendees from not only Washington, but Oregon, Idaho, California, Montana, British Columbia and Alberta.
The convention this year was well organized and had a variety of events, panels, exhibitors, artists and video rooms. Con-goers were treated to concerts and even an exclusive premiere of the latest Trigun movie, Badlands Rumble, which is scheduled for in Japan later this month. There was also the long line of respectable guests, including voice actors, artists, musicians and industry personnel.
One feature that I thought was pretty neat, was providing special wristbands to attendees who had booked rooms at con-approved hotels. These wristbands granted priority seating for concerts and additional privileges.
The trip into Seattle wasn’t eventful, thankfully. Our group arrived shortly after 8:30 pm on Thursday evening, giving us a half hour to park at the hotel and bolt for the convention centre to claim our pre-registration badges. Fortunately, we got in just as last few people were being admitted, so we were pretty lucky. We returned to the hotel to check in and unpack our costumes and prepare for Friday morning.
A family of Naruto fans!
I returned to the convention on Friday morning ahead of the rest of my friends who had elected to stay back and add some finishing touches to their outfits.
Unfortunately, one member of our group wasn’t able to pre-register online, and had to stand in line to get their badge. This turned out to be a five hour wait for him (which for a convention of Sakura-Con’s size, we hoped to have been much less).
While he stood in line, I wandered around for a bit, snapping photographs, having my picture taken, and running into other people that I’ve met at previous conventions (or work). There were lots of amazing costumes and it was great to see every one dressed up as their favourite characters. My friends arrived later; two of them dressed as Fire Nation Soldiers and as Toph, from Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender.
After a brief photo-shoot outside (in between the rain and light snow), we made our way indoors to one of the panels featuring a number of voice actors: Todd Haberkorn, Richard Epcar, Brina Palencia, Luci Christian, Kent Williams, Chris Patton and Wendy Powell. The group fielded all sorts of questions regarding the voice acting industry in North America, and even provided valuable tips and suggestions for those looking to get their foot in the door.
I checked out the exhibition hall later on, where there were rows upon rows of purveyors of anything and everything related to anime. Lots of booths with vendors hawking figures straight from Japan along with DVDs, books, doujinshi, manga, pillows, shirts, energy drinks, Pocky, katanas, kimonos and much, much more.
Various forms of Sora from Kingdom Hearts
After dinner and some rest, I returned to the convention centre to partake in some of the late night panels, particularly “Chris Patton Shares Too Much” at the suggestion of another friend. The name is pretty accurate, as voice actor Chris Patton, does indeed share too much, and it’s quite entertaining. However, like most late night panels, it is restricted to adults, and we were asked to produce identification upon entering.
My friends wandered off after Chris’ panel and checked out the Anime Swimsuit Contest and the Adult Anime Dating Game, but weren’t too impressed with the organization of both events.
Saturday was a good day, minus the schizophrenic weather. As per our tradition of visiting Sakura-Con, it’s not quite complete with a brief stop at the amazing Pike Street Market in costume (and venturing into the ever-so busy first Starbucks store).
Upon returning to the hotel to drop off my purchases, I encountered a full gathering of the Power Rangers, complete with Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd in the lobby. Pretty freakin’ epic, I must say.
Two Virals versus a bunch of Yokos
I knew there was a Naruto photo-shoot on Saturday at 2:30 pm (thanks to a fellow attendee staying in the same hotel), but wasn’t sure where it was being held (I’ve been to maybe one Naruto photo-shoot in all of the conventions I’ve attended – such luck). Since the weather had been fair for a few hours, everyone had massed outside in Freeway Park above the I-5 freeway where I caught the last remnants of the Naruto shoot as they were departing. I seem to run into almost every other photo-shoot except the ones I want to participate in, but maybe next time.
I made my way back in and rejoined my friends (who, ironically were amassing for an Avatar photo-shoot) after grabbing some shots from the Gurren Lagann and Bleach gatherings.
Yuusuke and Meg of HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR performing on stage
Later in the evening, a few of us made our way into the main stage for the concert featuring Dazzle Vision and HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR.
Dazzle Vision is an indie Japanese band, which is much harder than most J-rock bands, utilizing alternating vocals and heavier guitar playing. Dazzle Vision involves Maiko as the vocalist, Yu on guitars, Haru on drums and Takuro on bass.
J-rock band, HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR, is noted for their dual vocalists, Halca and Yuusuke, and their heavy sound. In addition to Halca and Yuusuke, Kazuto is on lead guitar, with Meg on the rhythm guitar, Mackaz on bass and Sassy on drums. HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR finished off their performance with the third opening to Bleach, Ichirin no Hana.
The concert was pretty intense, complete with crowd surfing and a mini mosh pit. I hadn’t seen anything like this since Black Label Society was at the Commodore Ballroom five years ago. It was a great experience to see these two bands from Japan live on stage.
Sunday was much quieter as con-goers packed up and prepared to head back home. All that was left was the Exhibitors, autograph sessions and a concert by Hsu-nami. Unfortunately, we didn’t stay too long on the last day since our group had to return to our individual homes before early evening.
Overall, Sakura-Con 2010 was pretty amazing and well done. Aside from a few missteps in the planning of some events, it was a great convention. I look forward to returning in 2011, when the convention is scheduled for the weekend of April 22nd – 24th.
Photographs from Sakura-Con 2010 are available on Gallery.
Ed starts an alchemic transmutation
Although it wasn’t a full scale convention, J-Fest was a preview of what would be at Anime Evolution; featuring an artists room, panels on costume design, a video room and registration for the convention itself. A small gathering of cosplayers showed up to debut their costumes and support their series at the one day event. Take a peek at some of the fans who came out on Saturday.
Anime Evolution is sponsoring a one-day event called J-Fest on Saturday, January 23rd, 2010, at Douglas College in New Westminster. Registration for Anime Evolution 2010 will be available, along with cosplay tutorials, gaming, videos, panels, artists and more! J-Fest only costs $10 to enter and runs from 10:30 am PST until 7:30 pm PST. Douglas College is one block north of the New Westminster SkyTrain station.
The dates and location for Anime Evolution 2010 have been released. The convention will be held on August 13th to 15th, 2010 at the University of British Columbia.
The date change was done to accommodate other conventions in neighbouring provinces and states, while the decision to return to the university was made due to room setup and configuration issues.
Personally, I liked the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre due to its location and proximity to public transit, food and accommodation. The bonus: everything under one roof with air conditioning! Wearing a jacket and wig in summer is not fun. However, beauty is skin deep and while it looks nice on the outside, the convention staff ran into some situations with room setup and other things.
Registration is not open at the moment and is expected to begin later this year.
Sakura-con 2009
The Pacific Northwest’s leading Japanese culture and animation festival, Sakura-Con, is celebrating their twelfth year on April 2nd to 4th, 2010 at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in downtown Seattle.
Pre-registration has already started for the 2010 event, so head over to the Sakura-Con web site to take advantage of the low prices (beats having to stand in line with cash, debit or a credit card). Prices are $40 USD until September 30th, 2009, before it increases to $45 USD.
See you there!
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