Hyper Japan 2011
I decided to go to this literally four days before the event. As I live in Somerset, I can get cheap travel to London at a set rate which is why this was doable! (Berrys London superfast coach service)
As it was only a one day event, I'll set it out like my JE journal, was neater that way anyway.
Hyper Japan
I went on Sunday. I was worried about the queues as I was getting constant facebook and twitter feeds from people that went on Saturday and they had been queuing up for 3hrs and then got turned away and sent to queue up for a further hour if they want a refund. Which is ridiculous really, some people had travelled for hours only to spend their whole day out in London queuing for an event they couldn't get into. Luckily for me, I only had to queue for 2 minutes on Sunday so I'm glad I picked that day over Saturday.
The event itself was lovely, I can see why it's so popular. They had pretty much all things a fan of anime, Japanese culture, etc could ever want. Fashion shows, plenty of merchandise on sale, lots of Japanese food (I tried some green tea ice cream onomnomnom), maid cafe, everything! Also had anime screenings and video game previews which haven't been released in Europe yet. I'm not a massive fan of lolita, however it was nice looking at all the brand Hyper Japan were able to get. Again, not a massive fan, but it was nice seeing the figure collections they had there.
What impressed me most however, was the artist wall. They had a whole wall dedicated to artworks from various talented artists. It's something that MCM Expo and most other conventions in the UK are lacking. Sure, every event has an artist gallery, but I loved how they had everyone's artwork on display and you could really appreciate people's art better that way. They had a number beside each one so if you did one to purchase a print you'd just say the number - I didn't buy anything though as I have no room on my wall and it'd only get screwed up on the coach journey home! I honestly could not pick out a single bad piece of art though, each one was top quality!
Of course, every convention has various dealers with lots of cute stuff. I like cute things, here's my crap photos of them!
Kanon Wakeshima
Truth be told, actually I think everyone knows this. But only reason I went to Hyper Japan was to get the chance to see Kanon Wakeshima live. She only did a 30 minute concert, I was quite disappointed by that fact but she sounds amazing live so I didn't care. She's so pretty, like a real doll! She also sang some of my favourite songs and so I was very pleased. If she ever comes to the UK again for a proper concert then I will be on the tickets like a hawk. For some reason people on YouTube say she's crap live, maybe she just did really well at Hyper Japan because I've only heard good comments from HJ and I completely agree.
Cosplay
I ended up being Haine from Gentlemen's Alliance, hadn't done a Tanemura cosplay all year this year so I thought I'd actually finish off Haine by making the leg warmers! At 2am! 8'D I was being stupid and didn't measure them out properly, so they were a bit big and kept falling down all day, I'll fix that for my next rewear. Was going to do Mio from K-On!! but I could find my big red bow, didn't want to cosplay her without it and couldn't be bothered to make a new one (as I need my hoard of red fabric for another cosplay) so cancelled that plan.
The cosplay at Hyper Japan was mainly mainstream which I was surprised about... I was expecting the huge number of Square-Enix cosplays due to the competition occurring that day. But other than that, mainly Vocaloid, Bleach, more Vocaloid... Actually I only remember there being lots of Vocaloid. There weren't that many cosplays in general! Lots of lolita, no surprise again though as the main guest of honour seems to always be big lolita stars. It was lovely seeing lots of proper lolita though.
Conclusion
It was a nice event, I'd go again. It's bigger than I thought it would be as I assumed it'd be tiny as it's pretty new. It was absolutely melting in there so hopefully next time they will have better air conditioning, or I'll pick a costume which involves less layers :P Have to say I'm extremely excited for the next guest they'll bring out! If it's another singer I will be happyyyyy! Of course it was lovely seeing friends again, especially those who aren't going to Ayacon, wouldn't get to see them till October Expo otherwise!! As it's way smaller than Expo it was easier to bump into people so it was great seeing people!
As it was only a one day event, I'll set it out like my JE journal, was neater that way anyway.
Hyper Japan
I went on Sunday. I was worried about the queues as I was getting constant facebook and twitter feeds from people that went on Saturday and they had been queuing up for 3hrs and then got turned away and sent to queue up for a further hour if they want a refund. Which is ridiculous really, some people had travelled for hours only to spend their whole day out in London queuing for an event they couldn't get into. Luckily for me, I only had to queue for 2 minutes on Sunday so I'm glad I picked that day over Saturday.
The event itself was lovely, I can see why it's so popular. They had pretty much all things a fan of anime, Japanese culture, etc could ever want. Fashion shows, plenty of merchandise on sale, lots of Japanese food (I tried some green tea ice cream onomnomnom), maid cafe, everything! Also had anime screenings and video game previews which haven't been released in Europe yet. I'm not a massive fan of lolita, however it was nice looking at all the brand Hyper Japan were able to get. Again, not a massive fan, but it was nice seeing the figure collections they had there.
What impressed me most however, was the artist wall. They had a whole wall dedicated to artworks from various talented artists. It's something that MCM Expo and most other conventions in the UK are lacking. Sure, every event has an artist gallery, but I loved how they had everyone's artwork on display and you could really appreciate people's art better that way. They had a number beside each one so if you did one to purchase a print you'd just say the number - I didn't buy anything though as I have no room on my wall and it'd only get screwed up on the coach journey home! I honestly could not pick out a single bad piece of art though, each one was top quality!
Of course, every convention has various dealers with lots of cute stuff. I like cute things, here's my crap photos of them!
Kanon Wakeshima
Truth be told, actually I think everyone knows this. But only reason I went to Hyper Japan was to get the chance to see Kanon Wakeshima live. She only did a 30 minute concert, I was quite disappointed by that fact but she sounds amazing live so I didn't care. She's so pretty, like a real doll! She also sang some of my favourite songs and so I was very pleased. If she ever comes to the UK again for a proper concert then I will be on the tickets like a hawk. For some reason people on YouTube say she's crap live, maybe she just did really well at Hyper Japan because I've only heard good comments from HJ and I completely agree.
Cosplay
I ended up being Haine from Gentlemen's Alliance, hadn't done a Tanemura cosplay all year this year so I thought I'd actually finish off Haine by making the leg warmers! At 2am! 8'D I was being stupid and didn't measure them out properly, so they were a bit big and kept falling down all day, I'll fix that for my next rewear. Was going to do Mio from K-On!! but I could find my big red bow, didn't want to cosplay her without it and couldn't be bothered to make a new one (as I need my hoard of red fabric for another cosplay) so cancelled that plan.
The cosplay at Hyper Japan was mainly mainstream which I was surprised about... I was expecting the huge number of Square-Enix cosplays due to the competition occurring that day. But other than that, mainly Vocaloid, Bleach, more Vocaloid... Actually I only remember there being lots of Vocaloid. There weren't that many cosplays in general! Lots of lolita, no surprise again though as the main guest of honour seems to always be big lolita stars. It was lovely seeing lots of proper lolita though.
Conclusion
It was a nice event, I'd go again. It's bigger than I thought it would be as I assumed it'd be tiny as it's pretty new. It was absolutely melting in there so hopefully next time they will have better air conditioning, or I'll pick a costume which involves less layers :P Have to say I'm extremely excited for the next guest they'll bring out! If it's another singer I will be happyyyyy! Of course it was lovely seeing friends again, especially those who aren't going to Ayacon, wouldn't get to see them till October Expo otherwise!! As it's way smaller than Expo it was easier to bump into people so it was great seeing people!