Animax Carnival 2016

Hey guys and girls, it’s time for me to talk about my experience at Animax Carnival 2016 and unlike the previous anime conventions that were held at the second (or third) floor of SMX Convention Center, which has 5 Function Rooms there, the event will be held at the larger, more spacious Exhibition Halls at the first floor.

This post will cover both days as I got lucky when I bought Oo-kun’s Golden Ticket.

And this is what I got after showing the Golden Ticket. This sack bag contains a duffel bag and a hat, although I’m not sure if this applies to lower-tier tickets.

Oh well, at least I got a souvenir and that’s what counts!

Anyways, let’s go first to the stage area at Hall 2 where it features a talk show with ELISA.

Sorry for the blurry pics, I don’t wanna get sued but here’s what you’re gonna expect in the concert later!

Let’s move onto what’s inside Hall 1 where various stalls and activities are present. Some are interesting like the Sony booth and the Edo Traditional Games parlor, while others are left to be desired such as the Toyota and the Sky Cable booth.

By the way, I was gonna try the maid cafe but I got snubbed on both days. One was I got a bit late on registration during Day 1, and two was bringing new rules like completing the travelogue in order to claim the reward during Day 2. Seriously, I rather have the “first-come, first-serve” basis instead of making shit up!

But for those who want to know what’s inside the maid cafe, my friend Jay Agonoy made a blog post about his experience in Animax Carnival 2016 so check it out.

Now let’s go first to the Sony booth as it features various cameras and the PlayStation 4, which includes the recently-released PlayStation VR peripheral.

First of all, I played 3 games of Street Fighter V and while I mostly understands the game mechanics, I think that SFV feels incomplete. Speaking of incompleteness, it appears that the game didn’t include the DLC characters and various updates.

Next up is the PlayStation VR and while there are a few demo games installed such as The Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls Viewing Revolution and RIGS: Mechanized Combat League, most of the attendees played Battlezone which is a remake of an old Atari arcade game.

As for my initial thoughts about PlayStation VR? Well, it was a great experience that I was blown away a bit. Although I’ve used the DualShock 4 wireless controller when playing Battlezone and it went fine, I have to say that I would have an awkward experience when using the PlayStation Move motion-sensing controller.

Here’s the Animax City Autumn Stage where it held various activities, demonstrations, and talk shows.

Of course, it’s mostly related to cosplaying such as how to make costumes and props, as well as demonstrating combat techniques not only for showing-off during a contest, but also for self-defense as seen here.

Now let’s move onto Day 2 as I show you the ACPH Parade, but don’t worry though as I’ll tell you what happened in regards to the concert.

As you can see, it’s like watching a Japanese festival parade within the hallway!

Meanwhile, here’s the Edo Traditional Games stall where it featured four games to play: Fuku Warai, Hanetsuki, Tosenkyo, and Koma.

While visitors must complete at least 3 games to claim their prize, I’m aiming for completing all 4. While I got a bit lucky playing both Fuku Warai and Koma, as well as winning the Tosenkyo game after playing it two times, the only game I didn’t win is Hanetsuki.

I tried three times playing Hanetsuki and I was close to winning at my 3rd attempt. Ultimately, I gave up and decided to claim the prize anyway since I’ve completed 3 games.

And here’s the reward which is Oo-kun’s pillow. By the way, the Oo-kun fan is a free giveaway.

Still, it’s better to have prizes than having none!

And just before I go to the concert stage, I visited the karaoke booth to sing “Tears” by X Japan.

It would be nice if the organizers used Daichiikosho’s Live Dam Stadium karaoke machine instead of Keumyoung, but I guess they have different tastes.

Now let’s proceed to what’s important, which is the concert portion of this event as I’m lined up and ready to go inside the stage. Also, I’m lucky to have a seat near the stage all thanks to Oo-kun’s Golden Ticket, but let’s cut to the chase and tell you what my impressions on the concert for both days.

For Day 1, it’s ELISA taking the stage as I was blown away upon hearing ELISA’s majestic soprano voice, especially when she sang “Euphoric Field”, “Soba ni iru yo”, and “God only knows”. Afterwards, it’s Nagi Yanagi’s turn and while she said that her favorite OreGairu character is Yui Yuigahama, I was enjoying Nagi’s performance as I jumped around to her songs such as “Yukitoki”, “Harumodoki”, and “Vidro Moyou”.

For Day 2, it’s Ami Wajima making her opening act as one of the new faces in the anison genre. While she did perform a few covers such as “God knows…” before moving onto her original songs like “Eien Loop”, I feel that Ami Wajima (or Waji) will have a bright future on her music career. After Ami Wajima, it’s time for the main event and while she was supposed to appear in 2013 before the country was hit by Typhoon Haiyan, I’m glad that May’n arrived to perform in the Philippines as it was the hypest thing ever! From performing memorable songs like “Diamond Crevasse” to recent hits like “Belief”, it was truly worth the watch especially when she sang “Phonic Nation” where music connects everyone regardless of nationality.

And that’s the end of the concert for both days as I freaking enjoyed it! Too bad that there’s no encore performance as the organizers wants to wrap up the event early.

But hey, what’s important is that I’m happy to attend this year’s Animax Carnival at the SMX Convention Center. Of course, I’m not gonna watch Animax Asia due to their somewhat kid-friendly subtitles. I mean, they don’t like to say “damn”, “ass”, or “shit” all the time!

Anyways, I’ll leave you here as I make my exit… It was truly the best anime convention ever in 2016!