J1 Culture Force Anime Event!! A first time spectacle for J1 Studios’ fans that love anime and manga. It was held at the Hawthorne Cultural Center: on 12th and Carpenter in South Philadelphia. Mrs. Theresa Williams, the Director of the facility and Mr. Windle, one of the supervisors were delighted to have such a multi-faceted, cultural event held at a center that thrives off diversity. The event was broken into segments for trivia, musical performances, and home movie premier of “Sword of the Stranger.” All the while artists were seated at their commission table; gamers had their fill of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 via Playstation 3, and a space for Yu-G-Oh fans to dual each other. The event was graciously catered by Maru Global with an assortment of their famous pancake balls known as “takoyaki.”
For the trivia, participators were placed into groups of five that numbered in Japanese. Example: Group one was “ichi” and group two was “ni.” This portion of the event started off a little disjointed but became quite rush once the questions were being asked. The trivia proved to be a challenge only after eight or so questions though, the age of contestants ranged from 13-26 years old. Ultimately, group “San” became victorious after they trudged through an array of tie-breaker questions. The group members of team “San” are part of the Community College of Philadelphia’s Anime Club. They won the first three manga volumes of Samurai Deeper Kyo and Wayne P. Lammers Japanese-English Translation Book.
Agumon Scarf was the musical talent for the evening with rousing support from family and friends. The band consists of five young men that are all still in high school. Even their manager, Basheer, known as Bazie, still attends high school. They showed no fear, as they were pumped full of energy during their performances. The band played the second season opening of Narurto, “Haruka Kanata”, as well, as originals songs like “Kenturo” and “Zach Fair.”
The artists at the commission table were busy interacting with each other and who ever stopped by to see their creative talent in action. Their skill leveled ranged from silly cartoon characters to very detailed drawings that you commonly see in American and Japanese comics. For some if not most, it was the first time they have exposed their talent to the public. The gamers showed off their flare for card games with a few matches of Yu-Gi-Oh or their skill with a PS3 game controller when dueling on MVC 3. Others displayed their liking for Japanese pop fashion and anime with their cosplay outfits or usual clothing attire.
Though the night was winding down, those who were able to stay watched “Sword of the Stranger.” Directed by Masahiro Ando, the featured filmed surrounded a swordsman with no name and a golden-haired assassin as circumstances draw them toward a mysterious young boy. If you happen to be a fan of Samurai X/Rurouni Kenshin then, this movie is a must-see. Others who managed to stay longer and did not watch the movie, conversed with members and guests of the event.
Mrs. Williams was so taken by the festivities that she was inspired to design a bread bowl that represented the crazy excitement the event brought to the center. Also, she and Mr. Windle were honored to allow J1 Studios use the recreational center as its permanent home to host further anime events and the like. All members and fans are allowed to use the facilities of the center during hours of operations after first, consulting a time frame with either Mrs. Williams or Mr. Windle.
Interesting enough, guests were still arriving even up to the very end. The all around support from members, fans, and guests encourage more fun-filled times to arise. Overall, the event was a success for its first running but there is always room for improvement.
To see more photos click HERE.
To see more photos click HERE.
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