J1 An-Ex 2 Review



(Right to Left) Katara Cosplayer, Gaara
Cosplayer and an attendee striking
a pose.



Friday, September 9, 2011 was the date of the J1 Anime Experience 2 (J1 An-Ex 2 for short), the mini-convention hosted by J1 Studios. A day where hundreds of anime fans came from all sections of Philadelphia to fill the Hawthorne Recreation Center with their love of anime, video games, and all things Japanese. And while hundreds of people came out, there were plenty more that missed out on the second installment of the An-Ex.





So what happened on this month's An-Ex, you ask? Well, for starters, the premiere of REDLINE, a title that has been in development by MADHOUSE studios for 7 years. The movie had the audience in awe with it's crisp animation and insane action. Plus, the president of J1 Studios tested out card game series of his own titled Virtual Tournament Fighters (VTF for short). The card game, which took a lot of fundamentals from fighting games, was well received by the participants who tested it out, some even asking for a release date.

Yet nothing topped the chaos in the video game room. It seems to be an unspoken rule that when you enter in, you must bring your A-game because competition is fierce. Players went at it in Street Fighter 3rd Strike: Online Edition, Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 and Super Smash Brothers Brawl, showcasing an intense level of competition.
The main room held the vendor area, where artists displayed their best work for sale. From comics, posters, jewelry, and even Pokeball cupcakes, you could find some unique stuff. This time, the An-Ex was graced with the presence of female wrestling superstar Annie Social, who brought custom-designed T-Shirts and merchandise with her for everyone to buy.

Pokeball Cupcakes, courtesy of one of the vendors in the main room.

The major highlight was the cosplay contest, where the brightest and unique cosplayers showed off their costumes. From a Jigoku Shoujo cosplayer, to an FLCL cosplayer, and even a guy in a panda suit, there were great cosplayers that came out to this event.

The one thing about this event is that it keeps getting bigger and better with every month. And while there's a lot of the same faces that show, there are always new faces that attend with each event. So if you missed this one, show up to the one next month. Because there's always something different and better that happens each month and you don't want to miss out on it.



Cosplayers taking a picture in front of a vendor booth.