Melbourne Anime Festival (MANIFEST) 2009

Trust me… if you’ve never been to one… be it you’re a hardcore anime fan that’s bordering on being/is a weaboo (that’s street/slang for being a total Jap wannabe), or just enjoys anime at a healthy level or just wanna see chicks in skimpy clothes without hitting a skin bar, this is the place you wanna find yourself at!

MANIFEST, as it’s called, has been on for 10 years running. So yes, this is the 10th MANIFEST and its first time doing it in the Melbourne Showgrounds a.k.a Flemington Showgrounds a.k.a VU Examination Venue. So yeah… it’s motherfreaking damned close to my house. Just a short bus trip and I’m there.

So yeah… the dude that talked me into it was Mr. Danniel Adi Putera. Resident otaku and borderline weaboo. It didn’t take much talking into, really. I do watch anime… and I wanna see chicks in skimpy clothes without hitting a skin bar. So I hit 2 of the less degrading categories. What? Someone said pervert. Let’s skip the chatter and skip to the good stuff, shall we?

Danniel "Ichigo" Adi Putera



His friend, Willias, as a character from Soul Eater



The cast of Samurai X




Some chick



Kairi and Sora



Trader's Market Hall



Merchandise, merchandise and more merchandise!



Naruto in a noodle cup!

First off, I would like to say that I spent more than an hour in the line getting my pass. However, loads of colourful cosplayers passed by to get to the back of the line. I remember there was that DOA chick… which we could clearly see her thong. Others incluce a group of chicks trying to be the Ouran High School Host Club crew, the Red Power Ranger, Kingdom Hearts Cloud and a Masamune-less Sephiroth.

I gotta say, that the MANIFEST crew really are serious about this shit. While I was there, I saw so much merchandise on display and so much Japanese stuff. From Pocky to Japan’s most favoured soft drink! Or so I think…

The Trader’s Market Hall was packed with all these stalls… selling manga, magazines, figurines, anime CDs, Gundam kits and all the Japanese junk you can imagine. No hentai or any of that kinky Japanese “toys” though.

Pity.

There were other larger halls that they rented out at the showgrounds, one for screening anime the whole day, one for having special presentations the whole day round, like recommending some rather unknown mangas, and another one for main events, like the cosplay specials. Now, more pics!

Little kid as "L"



Me with Kirsten "Tifa" Dunst. No, she's not really Kirsten. I think.



A sim was spotted



Tobi, or should I say, Uchiha Madare?



Officer Jenny

I went for two panel shows… which were essentially just presentations. The 1st one I went for was for introducing some mostly overlooked manga/anime to the masses. Surprisingly, one was Ouran High School Host Club. I’ve watched that shit since CIMP! It’s a tad gay, with all the handsome kids being the main stars and the main heroine devoid of any estrogen. But still, the whole thing is just HILARIOUS and sad to say, the whole romance near the end has got me hooked. Yeap, call me a god-damned softie.

Picture time.

Rikku. It's gotta be cold eh?



Shit!!! It's the Red Ranger!



Ichigo meets his hollow self



Most of the Bleach cosplayers



HOLY CRAP SOMEONE REMEMBERED GENJO SANZO!

Let’s see… well in the end, I gotta say that the dude in the 00 Gundam suit won the cosplay competition. What? You wanna see the 00 Gundam suit? Here you go.

Seto Kaiba versus Jaden Yuki (?)



It's Ash from Pokemon! Get 'im!



I forgot which DOA chick is she supposed to be. Nice thong, though.



Oh... this chick. Choiy.



The winning entry (possibly) of MANIFEST '09's Saturday cosplay competition

Ahhh… it was a long day, but a rewarding one at that.

Anyways, I’m off. No work, luckily. I’ve done all that needs to be done for this week.

*grin*

Peace.