Over 7000 fans gathered at the Vancouver Convention Centre situated in the heart of Downtown Vancouver on August 16 to 18 for Anirevo (short for Anime Revolution) 2013! Anirevo is a celebration of Anime and Japanese culture and is held with the purpose of gathering and encouraging fans to proudly and freely enjoy their hobbies.
Over the weekend, fans flocked the East Wing of the Vancouver Convention Centre dressed up as characters from various series be it anime, games, comic books, tv shows, and movies. Like every anime convention, the cosplayers who attend make the whole event all the more enjoyable . With the variety of costumes present, people are given a lot of opportunities for photos and some fun role playing.
To hype up the festivities, Anirevo flew in an ample amount of guests including profilic North American voice actors Vic Mignogna, and Todd Haberkorn; popular internet personalities such as Jessica Nigri, and Doug Walker; leading industry companies such as Funimation, Aniplex, and Crunchyroll; and many more! In addition to this, popular Japanese voice actors Kappei Yamaguchi, and Toru Furuya made in appearance in Vancouver for the very first time, along with Angelic Pretty designers Maki and Asuka.
Fans flew from all over to meet and receive autographs from both Kappei Yamaguchi and Toru Furuya as fans rarely get an opportunity to do so in Japan. Yamaguchi-san is well-known for voicing characters such as Usopp from the popular Jump series One Piece, the eccentric detective from Death Note named L, the highschool detective from the east called Kudou Shinichi and the phantom thief, Kaitou Kid, from the Detective Conan series, and many others. Furuya-san, on the other hand, was popularized for his performance as the Gundam Pilot Amuro Ray from Mobile Suit Gundam, Tuxedo Mask from the Sailor Moon franchise, and Pegasus Seiya from Saint Seiya to name a few.
Anirevo also marks the first break through for lolita fashion brand Angelic Pretty in Canada. Fashion designers Maki and Asuka visited Vancouver, Canada to showcase designs through a fashion show; and also showed appreciation to their supporters by hosting a tea party.
Aside from meeting voice actors, we also go the opportunity to attend panels discussing topics such as Attack on Titan, Cosplay Horror Stories, and Awesome Anime Openings. The popular panels were the Q&A with voice actors such as Kappei Yamaguchi, Toru Furuya, and Vic Mignogna where fans got an opportunity to ask their favourate voice actor a question or a request. Another popular panel was the Voice actor script reading roulette where a mash-up of voice actors are asked to perform a random script while emulating their famous roles.
There was also a contest called Anime Idol where contestants competed to take home the title of Anirevo Idol 2013. Other contests includes the cosplay contest, the Anime Revolution Swimsuit Contests, Anime Music Video Contests.
It doesn’t end there however, as the number of attractions includes a concert by ORIGA, a Russian singer who gained popularity in Japan for providing the Opening for Ghost in the Shell, and Leleica, a local cover band that focuses on covering Jpop songs.
A big draw for attendees is the exhibition hall where vendors, aspiring artists, and exhibitors gather for guests to visit. This year, Anirevo showcased two itashas, which are basically vehicles wrapped in anime character themed decals, as well as a number of large paper craft creations based on series such as Dragon Ball, Gundam, and Legend of Zelda.
Another big part of the anime and otaku culture that people got to experience at Anirevo was the maid cafe where servers donning maid costumes give you a specialized service experience. In addition to this, you could also play games and take polaroid photos with the servers. We got lucky as we got to see a performance by the servers just before our time was up!
Artists from all walks of life also gathered to showcase and sell their artwork at the artist alley. Artists of various skill levels offer fan-art posters from various anime series and games for sale at great prices!
Overall, Anirevo 2013 was a big improvement from last year and we’ll hopefully see more growth in a year’s time! Anirevo is set to happen in the third week of August in 2014. Visit their website and follow them on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and details.
