So what do we know November for? We know it as the month that holds Thanksgiving and as the second to last month of the whole year. But on Friday the 18th, anime fans throughout Philly knew it as the fourth installment of the J1 Anime Experience (J1 An-Ex 4). Returning to the Hawthorne Center in South Philly, hundreds of anime fans gathered to celebrate and enjoy the monthly mini-con once more.
For starters, the game room was (as always) a room packed with contenders ready to duel on the sticks. This time, with the premiere of Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, the chaos was taken up a notch than before. From over-the-top combos to amazing come-backs and even a lawyer shouting "Objection!!!", things got a bit crazy in there. And for the non-fighting game fans, the card game room was packed with players ready to duel in Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon and more. Virtual Tournament Fighters (VTF for short) made its return to the An-Ex, letting players experience the fighting game based dueling that the president of J1 Studios created.
Cosplayers lined up for a photoshoot!
But nothing was more entertaining than the Cosplay Competition. We were greeted with some creative costumes from a Catwoman cosplayer, a Ms. Kreuger cosplayer and a Dr. Stien cosplayer for all the Soul Eater fans. Even though there were no panda sightings this time around, we still had an enjoyable competition.
Finally, possibly the more noteworthy event of the night was the discussion of Anime, from past to present. Held by the president of J1 Studios, he broke down what anime is now in comparison to how it was in its Golden age. From the funny comments - "How many ninjas do you know wear orange jumpsuits" - to the more informative parts, he taught the crowd a thing or two about anime. Overall, it was a great discussion.
The president of J1 Studios schooling fans on anime in the discussion panel.
For a small convention, the J1 An-Ex brings out a great crowd. From returning fans to the newcomers, the An-Ex continually expands each and every month. And there's always something new that happens each and every month so you don't want to miss one.
It's October now, the month for putting on costumes and running around like children. There is a culture out there that supports this activity, and an event that panders to that culture, but it isn't All Hallows Eve (Halloween) that I'm talking about. It's the J1 Studios Anime Experience! In it's third iteration as an official anime convention, the An-Ex was fantastic and the fans couldn't be happier with the growth! The Hawthorne Recreation Center was filled with tons of anime fans and nerds of all kinds on the eve of Friday the 7th.
The Main Event hall was as always a major attraction for the evenings. All available tables were filled with vendors selling everything from original art to costume accessories to baked goods and even some BBQ ribs for whoever got hungry (they were good). The head table was there as well, with an energetic Mario acting the host and chatting up anime with everyone that passed. A crowd of cosplayers passed through during the traditional Cosplay Competition, and their custom threads were fantastic!
It's-a me, Mario!
The Game room was another recurring location with the usual free-play of various games and this time an unusual twist. An official Mortal Kombat 9 tournament was held! Many people participated, but only one was the ultimate winner, though 3 of the participants were able to walk away with a fabulous victory prize for their fighting prowess, and everyone had a good time. Adjacent to the Game room was another familiar sight, the Card room, where the room was packed wall to wall with card game enthusiasts, playing impromptu matches of Magic and YuGiOh, and even a showcasing of J1 Studios own fighting-game-style trading card game VTF, the Virtual Tornament Fighter!
Winner of the Mortal Kombat Tournament
An-Ex also had a Video Room with back to back Anime for the growing audience, including a showing of the new Bleach movie 4: Hell Chapter!
All in all, there was quite a lot to do in the few hours of the Friday evening at a certain Rec Center in South Philadelphia (1200 Carpenter Street). Many people had a good time and many more have promised to return, which they should, because the An-Ex is a growing convention that you know will only get better!
'Ben
PS:
Pictures can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/j1studios
(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.
Who can remember being apart of a convention since before it was incepted? Over two hundred people from the Greater Philadelphia Area can make that claim now, as they were the ones to come out on Friday, August 12th, for the opening of the first J1 Studios Anime Experience. Sadly, there are millions of future fans who missed out on this opportunity, but they will be able to reap the benefits of the growth next time and beyond.
Small photoshoot of the contestants in the Cosplay Contest.
In previous instances, the gatherings were known as the J1 Anime Event. A slightly-more-formal-than-someone's-garage setting where members of J1 Studios gathered people who were as into Japanese media as they were, and entertain them with the same. As the popularity of these Events grew, so too did the scope of which the J1 Staff took to expand and further entertain their growing circle of fans.
Cue the Anime Experience. With the inclusion of full blown Vendors, Professional artist guests, seperate rooms, and a small entrance fee, the small gatherings of like-minded fans evolved into a fully recognized Anime Convention.
J1 Staff member Ben manning the J1 Table.
Hundreds of people lined up outside the doors to the Hawthorn Recreation Center in order to partake of the experience. Once inside, they encountered tables selling everything from Onigiri (Japanese rice balls) to action figures to comic books. Artists spread their wares and opened for commission. Dozens of wallscrolls lined the walls, sometimes mirroring the dozens of cosplayers who wandered around. Some anime was playing on a big screen in one room, while several video game tournaments broke out in the next. Many gathered in the main room for the Cosplay walkoff, others stepped outside to listen to the Korean rock band, and everyone had a good time. Not bad for a couple of hours on a Friday.
2nd shot of the cosplay entries for the Cosplay Contest.
The J1 An-Ex may be small, but it's local. Fans who come by get the full experience of the big conventions, but without the full brunt of their big price. The best thing of all is, instead of waiting an entire year for a repeat or spending entire life savings to travel across the country, the An-Ex operates monthly, giving everyone plenty of opportunities to experience the Anime Experience for themselves.
So for a while now, I’ve been wondering why there haven’t been many anime events in Philadelphia. Honestly, the city is big enough and you run into a lot of anime fans if you know where to look. But considering that everyone can’t travel to Otakon, AnimeExpo, Katsu-con and other major anime conventions, you have a good amount of people wishing there was something here.
Then I found out about The Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational - or TAKII for short.
What exactly is TAKII, you ask? TAKII is a local Asian culture gathering held at the Rotunda (a small concert/event hall next to The Bridge Theater) right in the heart of University City. From what I know of it, it's been running for almost 5 years on a bi-yearly basis. Anime fans throughout the city come to this event to meet up with others and embrace their love of all things anime and Japanese on this two day event. And it's not just sitting back and watching anime, there are events ranging from a talent show contest (Asian American Idol), a cosplay competition, live concerts, a video game tournament, and even a rave for all the ravers in the building.
From first glance, it seems that TAKII is a mini-con held for the Philly anime fans. However, after experiencing the first day, you can tell that it’s deeper than just anime love. TAKII pays homage to all Asian Pop Culture, including video games, music (mainly Japanese and Korean Pop), cos-play, treats and – obviously – animation.
D-Chan judging the winners of the
Asian American Idol contest.
One of the things that are attractive about TAKII is the atmosphere itself. To be honest, TAKII feels like it’s just a large family reunion rather than a convention. For starters, you get in for free. And that’s something that anybody will fall in love with. It’s one of the things that organizer Damian “D-Chan” Christopher has kept to make TAKII stand out as a gathering with friends.
And does it feel like a gathering with friends? That answer is yes. The atmosphere’s a highly sociable one, meaning you’re guaranteed to be cool with a few people by the middle of the day. Even one new attendee had this to say about it:
“What I like about TAKII was the atmosphere. The atmosphere made it fun to socialize with people while having fun and not making me feel uneasy.”
The TAKII 10 Cosplay Competition's entries.
This being my second time there, I had to make a return trip. My first time there was at the insistence of a friend and well, what I experienced there was more than enough to bring me back again. And when I came back, it was an epic experience despite the cold weather. Just remembering the acts that took place in the Asian American Idol Competition on Saturday keeps me laughing still.
The second – and final – day of TAKII was the perfect end to the festivities. I won’t go into much of it because of space constraints, however I will say that between the musical chairs event that I walked in on to the Cosplay Competition, it was the perfect build-up for the final event: the video game tournament. This season, the game was Soul Calibur 4 but was switched to Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit due to technical difficulties.
And that’s one thing that I give D-Chan: he came prepared for that situation. This is something that I’ve seen some bigger local conventions fail at when it comes to game tournaments.
Needless to say, the tournament was insane. From the opening where two contenders ran onstage and held an air guitar jam session to the opening video – yes, that actually happened – to the matches, it kept everyone on the edge of their seats until the end. Both teams had good matches and for an instant, it seemed that the team that took an early lead was destined to lose in the second round. But in the end, the team that took the early lead managed to make a comeback and take the win.
Saturday night's performer Sin with a back-up dancer as she performs "The Real Folk Blues".
And that’s all I have to say on TAKII 10 at the moment. Even though the memories will stay fresh in my head – and my laptop via .MOV files – TAKII is done for the year. However, the date for the next season of TAKII is already set. So if you want to experience this event for yourself, mark down May 14th and 15th on your calendars because that’s when TAKII returns for its 11th season. And check out the TAKII site here: http://takii.pdnmz.com
