Favourites on Friday - Hyper Japan 2015
A day late for the post, but we went to London yesterday for the Hyper Japan festival. This is the third year running we’ve gone, this time at a new venue, the O2. It’s part of a large entertainment area in Greenwich in southeast London, with an indoor arena, cinema, restaurants, clubs …
Yes, it is possible to get up top and walk over the dome!
Inside the arena ...
I really like this - a wall of 'sound' - speakers, cassettes, record albums, video tapes. The blue screen parts (next to the guy) are actual music centres, you can plug in your headphones and listen to music!
Whereas in previous years, the venue in Earl’s Court was purely for the festival and nothing else, at the O2, areas dedicated to the festival shared space with everything else that normally goes on. Getting in was quite straightforward ... thought it was all going swimmingly well. The actual queue was inside, nearer the festival area! All festival-goers had to wear wristbands, which allowed them access to the festival areas, and stopped the non-paying public. Each time we went from one area to the other, we had to ‘flash’ our wristbands … the boys said it was like doing a fist-punch each time we entered! Except their airhead of a mother kept showing her bracelet instead – duh!
I didn’t take as many pictures as I did previous years, mainly because I wasn’t really in the mood for picture-taking. Also there weren’t that many people cosplaying. We enjoyed ourselves, even though we found the layout a bit tedious – Area 1 was mainly for games, figures and swords; Area 2 was for everything else, like fashion, books, food, accessories. Strangely, they weren’t next to each other, but far enough apart that you couldn’t actually see one area while in the other. And the entertainment was in a completely different area. I’m sure it made sense to them …
These guys and pretty young lady weren't cosplayers, I think they were part of a swordplay 'entertainment' group. They walked among the crowd, quite happy to pose for pictures, either on their own or with people posing in their midst.
The big draw for us, especially the boys, was one of the music acts, a singer they really like, Eir Aoi, who does a lot of the songs for a fair number of their favourite anime. She’s performed quite a bit in Asia, Europe and America, and this was her UK debut. Despite the fact that the audience was fairly small compared to her concerts, still she gave it her all and put on quite a show. We couldn’t believe how close to the stage we were, and had a fantastic view of her. The boys’ day was made.
Using my camera, I took this of her last song, 'Sirius', from the anime 'Kill la Kill', a very fun series.
Having diligently saved their money over the months, the boys blew it getting, more or less, what they’d planned to :) And I treated myself to a few bits as well.
Gordon's 'stuff' - sword no. 2, he is very drawn to anything 'dragon' ...
The very first anime he discovered, 'Sailor Moon', is still one of his favourites. One of the reasons I liked that he and Liam enjoyed this anime was, despite being a fantastical story, as most anime are, it dealt with very 'human' issues - like finding your place as you grow up; falling out with your friends and making up again; dealing with body image issues in a positive way; being responsible ... all good stuff.
Sailor Venus (L), and Sailor Moon
Liam's first sword, used by the main character in one his favourite anime, 'Sword Art Online' ... It is heavy! When he held it using only one hand, within minutes his arm was shaking slightly with the effort of holding it still.
On the one hand, Liam watches quite 'dark' anime, featuring the undead (!), but he also enjoys anime that feature music, especially high-school-against-the-odds type musicals. I got drawn into this one when he was watching it - 'Love Live' - it wasn't just the music, it was their fab costumes! This was an unplanned buy - 2 picture books, when put together make up one whole picture :)
My 'treats' - the second print I've got from this artist, the first one being the soldier riding a horse. Annoyingly, I forgot to ask the artist his name.
Pretty chopsticks ...
Last year, I bought 2 books by this artist. So pleased that she was back again this year ... I find her zodiac representations most interesting. Unfortunately, she barely speaks English, I barely speak Japanese so couldn't pick her brain ...
Gordon's sign, Aries, looks more water but does have a little lamb ...
Cancer, Liam's sign, has us stumped!
My mum was a Sagittarius, and I love this.
As for Scorpio ... I like :)
I also bought a set of 18 prints, for the ridiculous price of £8!
With the pumpkin, and her glass slippers, this must be Cinderella ...
Snow White ...
Going out on a limb here but I'm betting my bottom dollar this is Alice!
Considering there had been a tube strike Wednesday and all day Thursday, the journey - from when we got on the train at Bournemouth in the morning, through London, and home again - was totally hassle-free, especially when compared to last year's fiasco. A most enjoyable day.