Anime Village @ ExCel October 2005!

[UltraMatt]

Well today me and Genocider took a trip to visit the ExCel Entertainment Centre in London to go to the Anime Village Expo! It's two days but we just went for today. It featured:

Guests Manga
Guests The Neo Magazine Team
Ubisoft and Hasbro Guests
Freestyle Wrestling Academy matches :198:
Appearances from BRD and Devon aka Team 3-D from TNA!

Our first thought was to look around and get a feel to the place considering we'd be there for the next 5 and a half hours. We saw some really cool stalls selling awesome merchandise but then we found the mother of all manga stalls! A stall that sold Rich (Genocider) volume 14 of Battle Royale. YAY! He went as Ryoma from Prince of Tennis and we were both shocked to see FOUR other people dressed in the Seigaku Tennis Club outfits! Two were girls which I have a pic of with Rich here

I also got a video of some FWA wrestling which is 5 mins long and really good. FKs right, any wrestling is better than WWE. WWE Superstars are only big cos it's a huge company that made then famous that way. In the final match which was a tag-team match. Guess who sat next to me?! BUBBA RAY DUDLEY!! He then moved over to let someone stand next to me. That someone was....D-VON!!! OMFG! Bubba's a dick, doesn't like the camera. But D-Von loves the camera AND the fans! They were great. FWA wrestlers are great too, me and Rich loved all matches. There were some cool Robots from Robot Wars there that I took a couple of pics of but my camera started to die. But then Rich got his camera out. I got a pic of a guy in a Vash The Stampede costume whilst Rich got a pic of a girl in Elena from Grandia II and Kaiba and Yuna! :dance:

We got some cool posters as freebies! DragonBall Z Budokai Tenkaichi (which I beat Rich at in my first ever go on it, and he owns the game! :laugh: ), AKira, Manga Revolution and Street Fighter Alpha Generations.

I'm gonna leave you with some pictures then when Rich is home and online, he'll upload henshin pics of him and me and also some other Cosplay pics as well as fill you in on the other details. Either way it was bloody brilliant!!!

I also have a 5 minute wrestling video to offer but stopped it right before a Tornado DDT and pin! I'M AN IDIOT! And I never got the Sweet Chin Music or 619 on camera! That's right! Some guy connected Sweet Chin Music followed by the 619!

DAMMIT! CAMERA'S DEAD! I swear as soon as it's charged, i'll post the pics and video k? Rich has the best pics anyways.

 

[Genocider]

Yeah, the two of us went along to our first ever convention... and to be honest, it really was pretty freakin' cool.

Entry was a pretty smooth process... we could queue up in the horrifically long queue or we could pay a few quid more for the fast-track ticket; which got us to jump the queue and experience the delights before those other folks.

As Matt said, we spent around five and a half hours going around and checking the place out. We saw some really hot ladies... especially the Ubisoft crew. Pwoar~ I'd have some of those lucious ladies any time. I really wish I'd taken a few pictures of them now... but alas, I losted my balls.

We saw some really cute ladies... and got a few of them to pose for us in pictures. Heck, even I got to swing with a couple of them. Of course, all credit goes to my Seigaku Tennis Club uniform for being the attraction. There was a proper cute asian lass who dressed as Lulu from FFX... but I couldn't bring myself to ask for a picture and I don't think Matt could either. It was pretty much a case of having to look in awe. We apologise for lacking the shot... but hey, I guess we'll see somebody else next year.

FWA was a cool little section of the whole convention. The matches were actually very good... even if some of the action looked a little shabby. Bubba and D-Von were there to sign glossies of themselves... but at £15 a pop, I really couldn't afford it. As for what Matt said about Bubba, he's spot on the money. Some lad tried to get a little of him on tape... and within a few seconds, he was making the "cut" gesture. I don't see the harm in a little video footagen but he didn't like it. D-Von on the otherhand, seemed OK with the whole shabang and didn't do anything.

My pictures are alright... but to be honest, I think I should have taken a lot more. I left a lot of the cosplay shots a little late because I didn't realise that the awards ceremony for best costume and stuff was happening. Heh, we were too busy watching the FWA bout when it started. By the time we made the top... the small section was packed.

[Photobook]

... and here we are at the convention entrance. Well, just inside and beside the little helpdesk. Can you guess which one I am? h34r:

... and here we are in the same spot... just with a different pose and our devices have mysteriously changed places. Some kind of government ploy? After all, despite wearing the Faiz belt for a good chunk of time, nobody approached us and asked.

Well, some guy asked us when we were entering a comp for a latex chainsaw... but he did so only because we were all, "Damn, not one person has asked us about Toku!"

Kaiba and his girlfriend Yuna... at least, Matt and I could only come to this conclusion as the two lovebirds spent their convention time joined at the hip. Personally, I thought his Kaiba costume was very cool.... same goes for the Yuna gear. Luckily, this was taken just seconds before Thundercat boy bounced into the picture. :redface2:

Matt and I saw this little minx toward the end of the FWA show. I cooly approached and asked for her picture... to which she gave her bag to a dejected male and stood firm for my shot. Looking at the picture again, I don't think it does her justice.

I believe this lass was Elena from Grandia II. Matt pointed her out to me and we decided to take a picture. We almost crash landed... what with Matt's camera being a pain in the ass but hey, we pulled through in the end. The second hinky-jink saw a young man with a wig telling her his life story... or so it would have seemed. He eventually got out of the way though...

Alucard from Hellsing~ At least, I think thats the guy this one is cosplaying. I would like to say that I'm 100% sure but that's a show which I've not seen anything of. I would recognise the character... but the name for me was a '... eh?' subject. We asked and he confirmed our beliefs... so it was all good.

During our travels, we found this row of tables that sold all kinds of models, toys and what-not. Well, we were looking around and my Dad caught a glimpse of the Terminator skulls that were lined up. They looked pretty smooth although I had absolutely no idea as to their cost.

One of the few robots that were on show in the Robot Wars corner... and it wasn't even a corner; just a couple of tables with a few bots and a small game of bot football. If anything, this seemed to be more of a laugh. ^^;

A few more of the bots from that same show. Nothing flashy... but they were somewhat larger than I had expected them to be. Damn TV and it's deceptive ways... grr.

... and finally, my final picture of our first bunch... some very, very cool models. I believe that one on the right of the image is an assassin droid from Star Wars. Which one? I don't know. Do I even really know if it is? No, I don't. XD;;;

All in all though, it was a great day out. If some of you guys were living around the London area, I'd certainly try to get some of y'all together to visit as an HJU contingent.

 

[UltraMatt]

Yeah, the two of us went along to our first ever convention... and to be honest, it really was pretty freakin' cool.

Entry was a pretty smooth process... we could queue up in the horrifically long queue or we could pay a few quid more for the fast-track ticket; which got us to jump the queue and experience the delights before those other folks.

As Matt said, we spent around five and a half hours going around and checking the place out. We saw some really hot ladies... especially the Ubisoft crew. Pwoar~ I'd have some of those lucious ladies any time. I really wish I'd taken a few pictures of them now... but alas, I losted my balls.

We saw some really cute ladies... and got a few of them to pose for us in pictures. Heck, even I got to swing with a couple of them. Of course, all credit goes to my Seigaku Tennis Club uniform for being the attraction. There was a proper cute asian lass who dressed as Lulu from FFX... but I couldn't bring myself to ask for a picture and I don't think Matt could either. It was pretty much a case of having to look in awe. We apologise for lacking the shot... but hey, I guess we'll see somebody else next year.

FWA was a cool little section of the whole convention. The matches were actually very good... even if some of the action looked a little shabby. Bubba and D-Von were there to sign glossies of themselves... but at £15 a pop, I really couldn't afford it. As for what Matt said about Bubba, he's spot on the money. Some lad tried to get a little of him on tape... and within a few seconds, he was making the "cut" gesture. I don't see the harm in a little video footagen but he didn't like it. D-Von on the otherhand, seemed OK with the whole shabang and didn't do anything.

My pictures are alright... but to be honest, I think I should have taken a lot more. I left a lot of the cosplay shots a little late because I didn't realise that the awards ceremony for best costume and stuff was happening. Heh, we were too busy watching the FWA bout when it started. By the time we made the top... the small section was packed.

[Photobook]

... and here we are at the convention entrance. Well, just inside and beside the little helpdesk. Can you guess which one I am? h34r:

... and here we are in the same spot... just with a different pose and our devices have mysteriously changed places. Some kind of government ploy? After all, despite wearing the Faiz belt for a good chunk of time, nobody approached us and asked.

Well, some guy asked us when we were entering a comp for a latex chainsaw... but he did so only because we were all, "Damn, not one person has asked us about Toku!"

Kaiba and his girlfriend Yuna... at least, Matt and I could only come to this conclusion as the two lovebirds spent their convention time joined at the hip. Personally, I thought his Kaiba costume was very cool.... same goes for the Yuna gear. Luckily, this was taken just seconds before Thundercat boy bounced into the picture. :redface2:

Matt and I saw this little minx toward the end of the FWA show. I cooly approached and asked for her picture... to which she gave her bag to a dejected male and stood firm for my shot. Looking at the picture again, I don't think it does her justice.

I believe this lass was Elena from Grandia II. Matt pointed her out to me and we decided to take a picture. We almost crash landed... what with Matt's camera being a pain in the ass but hey, we pulled through in the end. The second hinky-jink saw a young man with a wig telling her his life story... or so it would have seemed. He eventually got out of the way though...

Alucard from Hellsing~ At least, I think thats the guy this one is cosplaying. I would like to say that I'm 100% sure but that's a show which I've not seen anything of. I would recognise the character... but the name for me was a '... eh?' subject. We asked and he confirmed our beliefs... so it was all good.

[To be edited again shortly]

I followed Alucard around for ages cos I was talking to someone on the London Expo forums who said he was gonna be Anderson from Hellsing and I embarassed myself by asking him "Excuse me, are you Anderson from Hellsing?" and he replied with "Alucard!" Well that taught ME a lesson. There's another one in May and there are many choices for me and Rich to go as:

DekaBreak and DekaKnight civilan clothes (kinda like DekaJoe, would ask smtemp to make them)
Yugi and Kaiba
Goku and Vegeta (Possibly SSJ)
Me gaining some muscles, fake tan, spending $100 on a replica mask and spending $100 on smtemp making pants for me to go as Rey Mysterio. Some guy went as him today and had a replica mask!
My fave idea - MagiRed and MagiYellow civilian form. Would need the jackets made for us and we'd need to buy MagiPhones.
Naruto for me, Prince of Tennis gear for Rich....again

 

[Misfits923]

That's awesome! I guess people change, because when I met the Dudleys(keep in mind, this was about 6 years ago), they were fucking cool as hell. I met the whole clan that was w/ ECW at the time(this was the day before their first PPV, Barely Legal, which I flew from IL to PA to see!)

 

[Forever Knight]

Aw3some stuff. I'm glad you Brits had fun. Those pics are sick. So not 1 person asked about the BrayThrottle and Faiz gear?. Dammit.

Lucky lucky to meet the Dud.... Team 3D. :redface:

 

[UltraMatt]

Aw3some stuff. I'm glad you Brits had fun. Those pics are sick. So not 1 person asked about the BrayThrottle and Faiz gear?. Dammit.

Lucky lucky to meet the Dud.... Team 3D. :redface:

Yeah, I was wearing my Dino Minder for 2 hours. Then after lunch (bloody expensive might I add!) I strapped on the Thundersaurus Morpher. Then I walked around with the Brace Throttle and Rich the Faiz Belt. I saw some people staring and looking interested. We were pissed off to see NO Toku merchandise being sold either! The most popular merch was Star Trek, Star Wars and Yu-Gi-Oh!

 

[Genocider]

Yeah, I was wearing my Dino Minder for 2 hours. Then after lunch (bloody expensive might I add!) I strapped on the Thundersaurus Morpher. Then I walked around with the Brace Throttle and Rich the Faiz Belt. I saw some people staring and looking interested. We were pissed off to see NO Toku merchandise being sold either! The most popular merch was Star Trek, Star Wars and Yu-Gi-Oh!

Yeah, bloody expensive seems to be something of an understatement. They completely ripped us off... but with no other choice of place to eat around; it was a lose-lose situation.

xD; I didn't even realise that people were looking, dude. I just thought they were walking around. Oh well, it's good to hear that you noticed some attention.

... but yeah, by far the most popular merchandise seemed to be the card games. However, despite the vast number of stalls selling YGO cards; be they as individuals or packs/decks; Upperdeck did NOT provide the appropriate table for duels. Instead, their focus for the card-based games were Duel Monsters and Magic. They may very well be every bit as amazing as YGO... but I wasn't interested in either to be honest.

A lot of Trekkie stuff was about as Matt pointed out. Quite a few tables of merch which wasn't too bad for the Trekkie nut. As for Star Wars, they did have some really hot stuff on offer. One item of which was a vintage Millennium Falcon. :198:

 

[UltraMatt]

Yeah, bloody expensive seems to be something of an understatement. They completely ripped us off... but with no other choice of place to eat around; it was a lose-lose situation.

xD; I didn't even realise that people were looking, dude. I just thought they were walking around. Oh well, it's good to hear that you noticed some attention.

... but yeah, by far the most popular merchandise seemed to be the card games. However, despite the vast number of stalls selling YGO cards; be they as individuals or packs/decks; Upperdeck did NOT provide the appropriate table for duels. Instead, their focus for the card-based games were Duel Monsters and Magic. They may very well be every bit as amazing as YGO... but I wasn't interested in either to be honest.

A lot of Trekkie stuff was about as Matt pointed out. Quite a few tables of merch which wasn't too bad for the Trekkie nut. As for Star Wars, they did have some really hot stuff on offer. One item of which was a vintage Millennium Falcon. :198:

Yeah. I was waiting for people to come up to us and ask us what the Faiz Belt and Brace Throttle are about. Next May, we gotta hand out leaflets about Toku! We GOTTA do that! XD I was dying for someone to ask to get a pic with me! HENSHIN! EMERGENCY! DEKABREAK! Well me and Rich also believe that it would be extremely cool to hook up with some HJU members at the Reactor in a couple of years but he's saving up for a trip to Canada while I'm saving up for a 2-4 month trip to Japan. Got just over £800/$1300(ish) saved up!

Ahem...

THE ARMY OF SEIGAKU STUDENTS IS GROWING! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!

 

[Genocider]

... as sorrowful as it may seem, there is no limit as to how proud I am of this picture. :dance:

 

[Ragna "D" BloodEdge]

You guys got any more pics or is this it?