And welcome back to the second part of my report from this year’s Animecon. If you missed the first part, you can find it again by pressing on the link right here. So, it will probably not come as a huge surprise that since the convention is called Animecon you are able to watch a lot of anime there (No really? That’s astounding! Never would have guessed that!). Okay, let’s quit with the joking and check out what I saw at this year’s con.
Otaku no Video (1991)
This was the opening film of Animecon and a classic that I had not yet seen myself. At the time of it’s release it spurred quite a bit of controversy as it portrayed fans (Otakus) as people who were ashamed at themselves for being fans, and included live action excerpts of a documentary. This version though, must have edited these segments out, as I saw not a single one of these. What remained though was a comedy about a young man named Ken Hubo who gets invited by a former friend to a group of anime and manga enthusiasts. Eventually Ken sets out to become the Otaking and take over the entire world making everyone a Otaku. It was a completely over the top and at times quite hilarious anime film. Part of it’s charm was the old school animation style and music, and a lot of older animes like Gunbuster and Macross were also featured in this film. It was an okay film, nothing more, nothing less.
Garo: Vanishing line Episodes 1-5 (2018)
Ahh, now this was more like it. This was shown late at night and rightfully so, as it was quite brutal and scary, but definitely highly enjoyable. Garo: Vanishing Line takes place in the future where a conspiracy is taking place in a dark city. A man named Sword is trying to get to the bottom of it all, his only clue a word: El Dorado. What I really liked about this anime were the fight sequences. Sword drives around on a big and quite frankly spectacular motorcycle, fighting against all kinds of monsters that some of the citizens are turning into. It also featured quite a bit of fan service, but mostly this served as a kind of comic relief, and luckily did not become the focus of the series like for instance Highschool of the Dead. The first five episodes were shown, and I am definitely going to finish this series soon, as it left me thirsting for more. You can expect a full review for this series somewhere in the future.
Your Name (2017)
This was the only movie that was shown on all three days of the convention. Most of you that watch anime will probably already have seen this film. It’s been hyped and gotten rave reviews all over…..and that usually let’s warning signs go off in my head. This was for me the first time that I watched it, and I have to honestly admit that it did not live up to the, admittedly, high expectations that I had of it. Does that mean that I did not like the movie? No certainly not. A movie this big though, deserves a proper review and synopsis, and that’s why I am not going to eloborate any further but save it for an upcoming review of this film later this month. I will also watch it a second time before I am going to write it, just to let it sink in better and maybe even change my final verdict for it.
Comic Girls Episodes 1-5 (4) (2018)
On the last day I had to wait a bit to kill some time, so I decided to give Comic Girls a chance, the first animeseries that was shown on sunday. Well, you know how much I am a fan of comedy series (erm NOT!) and this was a full on comedy, not two ways about it. In Comic Girls we follow a bunch of cute girls as they aspire to become manga designers. Sounds interesting? Well…I have to be honest, this was just not for me. If you love magical girls/comedy series you will probably love this. I did laugh a couple of times but eventually the high pitched voices of the girls and the slapstick antics started grating on my nerves. I made it to four episodes, and with only one more to go I left the theatre not looking back. Sorry Comic Girls, my sincere apologies.
Revolutionary Girl Utena the movie (1999)
This last movie was a surprise. Not in the sense that it was a surprisingly good film, but more that it was kept secret until the last second, something that they do every year. With this film the convention also came to an end. And wow, talk about your seriously weird animes, this one should probably rank at the top of your list. Apparently (I did some research after seeing this), this movie isn’t supposed to make much sense if you haven’t seen the animeseries it self. Strangely though this is a retelling of the original tale and stands on it’s own. I would be hardpressed to tell you what this film is about. It deals with magical girls, lesbian sexual tension, swordfights and girls that turn into cars for some strange reason. It was very hard to follow it all, and at times it felt like I had taken some kind of weird psychedelic drugs or something like that. Either way, and that’s the even stranger part, I still enjoyed it. Oh well, maybe we all were under some kind of spell when watching this.
Well, one thing you definitely need when you go to a con is money. Unless you are a sadist and want to torture yourself with looking at all the stuff that you can’t buy. This year’s Animecon just had way too much stuff that was a serious health hazard for my wallet. Needless to say I bough way too much, that’s for sure. I made a slideshow of all the best items, and I am going to let the pictures speak for themselves.
Yesterday I mentioned something that was for me the highlight of the convention. It wasn’t anime, it also wasn’t a movie, nor was it all the delicious food. No…it was a performance by the band Necronomidol. I discovered this band about a month ago and was both surprised and delighted to hear that they were going to be performing at Animecon. Their music is very hard to describe as it is a mix of dark wave, black metal, hardrock and even small dance influences. The show began about twenty minutes too late, but boy was it worth the wait. The energy they brought to the stage was infectious and they truly managed to urge the crowd to go completely nuts. The set lasted well over an hour, and was incredible and one of the best concerts that I ever attended. They even spoke to the crowd in a few Dutch words, which was absolutely delightful. After this show, even though I already like their music, I became an instant fan, and managed to buy a few nice merchandise items as well (see the picture below). You could even meet the girls in person later on the day, but as there were a few things more I wanted to check out, I declined. (Honestly I probably would have been to shy to say a single word anyway, lol). If you want to find out more about the band, you can find them on Spotify. (I highly recommend listening to the song Skulls in the Stars, which is absolutely amazing).
And with that this year’s report from animecon draws to a close. But what is that ominous note above mean? A call to arms? Are we all going to go to war? Erm no…but I had a crazy idea. How cool would it be if we could all go to Animecon together next year? In 2019 Animecon is going to be held in the city of Rotterdam (yes they are going to change cities), and will start on the 14th of June to close it’s doors on the 16th of June. If any of you ever had plans to visit Holland in the first place and love anime how incredibly awesome would it be if we could all meet up. Hell, I will even buy the first round of bubble tea. Seriously though, it’s a crazy idea, I know, but it would be really cool if we could somehow realise it. We all talk here every day, and it would be incredible if we could meet up on an event that is this cool and share our love for all things Asian. Well, just a thought. Interested? Let me know in the comments section.
Anyway, that’s it for this post! I had an incredible time at this con, and after all the crap of the past few weeks it was pretty much what I needed. Tomorrow Raistlin0903 is going to be back in business as usual. That means I’m finally going to be performing my normal blogging routine, which means reading your posts, placing comments and of course sharing new reviews about all things geek! Thanks all for reading, and your patience in letting me come back. Have a great day!
Aaaaw, looked like you had a great time.. I’m happy for you… 🙂 🙂
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Thank you so much: that is very kind of you to say 😊😊 I really had a great time and enjoyed the con so much. After the crappy past weeks, it was pretty much what I needed 😊😊
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We all need a break and time to have fun, to treat ourselves once in a while. 🙂 🙂
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We just had Comic-Con international here. The Bard won 2nd prize for his Crash Bandicoot costume.
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That sounds awesome as well. Those cons are probably even bigger than the ones we have here. Would love to visit those one day: and wow, second place huh: that’s great! 😊😊
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Personally I wanted him to do Raistlin feather falling…
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Haha lol!!…Yeah probably would have ended up with a huge bunch of feathers 😂😂
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Getting more powerful 😈
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Seems like you had an excellent time and got some cool stuff too! 😀
Looking forward to your thoughts regarding Your Name. Curious as to if you watched it dubbed or subbed because to me that made a HUGE difference in my enjoyment.
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It was incredible. As much as I loved last years con, this one was even better! (and so as the loot, lol 😂😂). Well, this might sound strange, but I alwyas watch in the orginal language. Never in dubs (and that’s not only for anime, but for everything that I watch). I have a bunch of posts ready that will be published over the coming days, but I hope to write the Your Name review somewhere in the weekend after my second watch of the film 😊😊
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That’s great! Never been to a con myself but always happy you hear folks having a good time at them 🙂
Ah, got ya. Well I’ll look forward to all your content!
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It’s something you definitely should consider doing one day: especially a con like this. It does wonders for one’s mood, that’s for sure.
Thank you: there is a lot coming out in the coming days (if all goes well that is :)) Hopefully it will be enjoyable 😊
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I definitely want to!
Your welcome! I’m sure that whatever you have planned will be AMAZING! 😀
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I watched the first 6 or so episodes of Comic Girls and found it quite boring tbh
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Totally agree with you. It just isn’t my cup of tea. I’m usually not a big fan of this kind of anime. Oh well…can’t win them all 😊😊
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Sounds like you had a fantastic time and I loved seeing some of the cool stuff you found. And as much as I would love to go to the con, and to visit Holland, and hang out with you, unless something changes unfortunately I couldn’t make those dates work. It just doesn’t align with when I can take leave even if I managed to get the funds together. However, one year, it would be amazing to do.
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I do however, have it on good authority that 2021 is looking like a good year for travel.
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Well…that would be so cool!. It would surprise me if there wouldn’t be an Animecon in 2021…(short of the world ending, zombie apocalypse or alien invasion happening), so that would be really cool if that were to happen! 😊😊
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I’ll watch out for the alien invasion.
But I’m definitely planning travel in 2021, I’m just not sure of a definite where though Europe in general was looking appealing.
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Haha…well let’s hope it won’t come to an alien invasion (although I am itching to finally give that Mobile Gundam Suit a try that I have been storing for ages 😂😂)
Europe is great, there are so many cool places to visit (although of course I am very partial to Holland lol). Seriously though, there are a lot of wonderful countries to visit. Pretty sure you would love it 😀
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I’ve only ever been to London and Paris previously as far as Europe is concerned and I really would like to see much much more.
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I’ve been to Belgium, Germany and France myself…so not as much countries as you would expect from a European lol. Paris is pretty nice though. I visited that place when I was still at school, but quite liked it 🙂 Still so many countries I would love to visit one day. Oh well…still plenty of time left I guess 😊
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That is the wonderful thing though that there is always somewhere else to go and see. For me, the biggest barrier is that Australia is a long way from anywhere and flights are pretty expensive (and long) so every journey starts with a massive time allocation and cost.
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Sorry for the late response…got hit by the flu…so I just came back (again) today…Well…I have an even bigger problem than distance: I am afraid of flying. So even though there are loads of places I still want to visit (Australia and Japan to name a few) I first have to conquer that.. But …I never give up that easily so who knows..one day I will conquer it for sure 🙂
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I’m less afraid of flying than I am of driving. There are less chances of a plane being hit by another plane than there are of my car being hit by some idiot who can’t follow road rules.
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Yeah, that’s what people keep saying to me. It still hasn’t convinced me to step into a plane though lol. But then again I never say never. Especially considering the fact that I really want to visit some countries that I truly want to see before I die 😊
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As much fun as last year was: this was even better. So much cool things to do, the things I bought were so cool, and then there was the concert as well. It was totally awesome!
Well….no problem. This event is getting bigger every year (and one ony has to look at the size of the crowds and the lines to see that), so I imagine that this is going to be around for a very long, long time. So no worries…maybe one year: and that would of course make the con even better than it was already 😊😊
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Hmm now that’s a tempting invitation
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Haha…well it will always be open having no expiration date whatsoever 😊😊
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I’m definitely going to have to check out “Otaku no Video” I don’t know how I’ve missed that one.
Ill also have to check out a bit of comic girls as I admit (I’m sorry) that magical girls/comedy are 2 of my guilty pleasures. Ha ha! Sometimes it’s nice to turn the brain off (well, enough, but so I can still read.) and laugh at mindless cuteness. 😉
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Otaku no Video was pretty funny at times. It was a completely insane comedy, and especially if you like comedies you will probably enjoy it even more than I did.
Lol…as for comic girls, well then I know you will definitely get a kick out of that one. And you might enjoy School Life as well (as it does something very unique…) But true, sometimes it’s nice to turn the brain offf (not too much though lol 😂😂)
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That’s an insane amount of loot!!!
Glad to hear that you had a great time and lots of discoveries at the animecon! Looking forward to read your review on ‘Your Name’, unfortunate that the overhype and expectations do not match for you. 🙂
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Haha…yeah I know, it got completely out of hand (that’s the great thing about cons though ….or is that a bad thing never quite can remember 😂😂)
Well…Your Name certainly was a good film, but the thing with overhyped movies is that expectations are usually raised to a point that they are off the charts…and hardly ever those expectations are met. Still, maybe my second viewing of the film will change my opinion for it. 😊
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Amazing loot!!! Gosh, that looked like an amazing time and glad you enjoyed it!
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The loot was even better than last year (not that I had any complaints last year either). It is a seriously amazing and highly entertaining con. It’s pretty much what I needed, that’s for sure 😊 Thank you so much!
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Dark wave, black metal, hardrock. You’ve given me a lot to think about. I’m seriously going to have to check Necronomidol out hehe 🙂
Love your loot. Your DVD haul, looks amazing. I’d say you’ll have great fun reviewing some of those 🙂
Glad to hear Animecon has cheered you up, after the rough time you’ve been having lately 🙂
Also your “call to arms” idea is so awesome. If that happens it would be incredible 😀
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It was such a powerful performance. It was a crazy coincidence. I literally stumbled across this band last month on spotify and liked their music. To see them performing live and give such a good show was something else and has turned me into a lifelong fan. If evere they give a performance here again, you can be sure I will head to that concert again 🙂
Haha…rest assured there are a lot of reviews for that stuff heading to the blog. Your Name will be the first and will appear somewhere next week.
As for the idea: it is crazy to be sure, but one never knows. We all live on the same planet, and if in some way we could make this happen, it would be the best thing ever. I think we would all have so much to talk about: and probably will not get any sleep whatsoever lol 😂😂
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I will check this movie out at some point, but I’m not in a rush. I’m a huge fan of 1-6, but have been disappointed with the films since George Lucas hasn’t been involved. They just don’t have the same magic. I didn’t like Rogue One, but I thought 7 & 8 were fine enough as long as I sort of tried to view them as separate movies from the original 6 since comparing them made them really fall flat. So I figure I would like this one fine but still not anywhere near the first 6 movies. Glad it was a good one for you and gave you a better experience this time around 🙂
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Sorry for the late response. Of course after my return I had to get hit by a fu bug..so I just came back (again).
I have to agree with you on everything you wrote. The new films just lack the magic of the originals…though admittedly Episode VII came very close. This one is just a fun adventure film that really has this old and nostalgic feel to it. Not nowhere near as close to being as good as the orginal films, but fun nonetheless. You will like it more than Rogue One..that’s for sure 😊😊
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Your Name was a good movie, but I will agree that it was over hyped.
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Hi..sorry for the late response…I got hit by a flu bug (go figure pretty much right after coming back), but am hopefully back for good now.
Well…I saw the film a second time, and changed my opinion. It was a very good film….the hype is still a bit too much, but I enjoyed it much more the second time around. Have to get started on my review for it! 🙂
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I am glad to hear you liked “Your Name” better the second time. For me, personally, this film is an animation masterpiece. I really think there are few animations out there in this world that could match this one emotionally and artistically.
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True enough, though I would highly recommend watching Grave of the Fireflies if you haven’t seen that one yet. As far as emotions go, that one is at the top of the list 😊
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You got your hands on some Battle Angel Alita stuff (the sequel stuff, if I’m correct). I recently read the first 2 volumes and had a pretty nice time with it! I so look forward to completing the run and checking out the sequel stuff. Amazing haul, man. And wow, at all those animes shown at the event. Garo sounds and looks really fun! Thanks again for sharing all this! 😀
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Battle Angel Alita is certainly one of my favorite Mangas…though it is slowly being pushed back by Monster (more to come on that later this year), but the manga I acquired here are a prequel actually. Haven’t started reading it yet, but it’s about a very, very young Alita when she was just a child.
Definitely am very happy with all the thing I got at this con. Garo is freakishly cool…will continue with that one, the upcoming month 🙂 Thanks for your great comment as always!
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I’m so happy you had such a great time!!!💜💜💜 You deserved it!💙😘
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Aww….thank you so much sweetheart. Your kindness always makes me smile😘😘
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You’re welcome, Love!😘😊
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