Tag: anime

Con-ventionally Exhausted

On By kyndarisLeave a comment

Though it’s only hit the halfway mark, 2026 has proven to be a historic year in human history. Whether for good or ill, it has certainly made its mark with the number of disasters around the world. And while The Horrors do not usually sit heavy on my soul as I go about my day-to-day living, there is a certain weariness that has crept into my daily routines. Worse, this amlaise does not seem relegated only to me. Rather, it has seeped into the very fabric of society as a whole. And even once fun events have taken on a more jaded approach.

2026 was supposed to be a year of new beginnings. In fact, I had been keenly looking froward to more personal growth as the year on (and I suppose when it comes to writing horror novellas during the editing phase of my grander fantasy novelist ambitions, this has gone swimmingly. I just need to publish them). But what I was looking forward to the most was hanging out with friends as we attended one convention after the other.

While I think it started off strong with Animaga in February (a convention that its roots in Melbourne), the enhusiasm has been slowly whittled away by large claustrophobic crowds and the controversy of allowing international artists to man stalls at the Sydney Manga and Anime Show (or SMASH! for short). In between the two anime heavyweights, there was also the pop culture giant, Supanova, with a smorgasboard of celebrities to meet and greet. These included, but were not limited to, Holly Marie Combs, Simon Pegg and Christopher Lloyd.

Yet as I meandered my way through the stalls, the once bright spark that eagerly fuelled my earlier years of attendance was gone. I suppose some of it might be due to the lack of a franchise that has captured the imagination of millions. Yes, there are live action shows for Avatar: The Last Airbender and One Piece but the hype has died down. Even Kpop Demon Hunters saw a dip in fan merchandise being peddled at the artist alley.

And while the finale for The Amazing Digital Circus had only recently been in theatres, the merchandise was not exhaustive. True, there were charms and stickers but there was also plenty of Helluva universe goodies and Critical Role fanart on display too.

Admittedly, I am more appreciative of more diverse fandoms being represented (there were several longs years where Genshin Impact was the only heavyweight carrying the dreams of the starving artists putting their work out for public consumption), I do think a part of my discontent with attending conventions has come with age and the practicalities of many of the merchandise options.

What do I do with the million pins available? I can’t stick them to every single piece of clothing I own. Nor can I jab them into the leather bag I use for work. Then there are the countless charms and keychains. But the worst offender are the posters. Still living at home (and after a heated fight several years back), I was adamant I would be moving out. But in so doing, I took down all the amazing art I had populated on the walls of my bedroom and my cramped upstairs gaming area. Since then, and despite the reparations in family relationships), I have not seen fit to put them back up. After all, I still intend to move out and the numerous landscapes are intended to calm the raging hurt deep within my soul.

Instead, as bleachpanda, can attest, my interests have veered towards crochet dolls. Yet even here, I find myself beset by another problem: space. After all, there is only so many I can buy. And as someone who also indulges in a lot of other physical media (books, board games and Lego), there is only a limited number of square metres I can devote to all my various interests and hobbies.

And on that note, it should also be acknowledged bleachpanda has also lost much of her previous enthusiasm due to rise of Vtuber guests and fewer Japanese voice actors she’s interested in attending SMASH! That said, she did spend an exorbitant amount of money on earrings while at Supanova and seemed to have enjoyed herself much more at the smaller Animaga (even buying a varsity jacket that I still haven’t seen her wear every time we catch up).

On a more worrying note, there has also been a rise in collectible cards taking up more space at these conventions too. Especially when it comes to exhibitor stalls manned by businesses with cash to splash around. This was especially true at Supanova where every second stall was hawking rare Pokemon cards.

And this is from a Disney Lorcana collector, who barely sees any interest for the fandom apart from social media posts. Honestly, I’d like to see more of a scene in Australia but I’m also too much of a homebody to go out. Which probably only adds to the problem.

Trading card games aside, there are still a few more conventions coming to Australian shores. And while past me would have gladly attended, I find myself a little more reticent to participate. Oz Comic Con may have already stacked the odds by inviting Miranda Otto but despite all the investment I’ve put in, it just feels like there’s been too few returns.

That said, if they manage to wrangle some of my favourite fantasy authors, I may give it a second look.

As for now, I am a little tuckered out by the three conventions I’ve already attended since the start of 2026 and dismayed by the lack of merchandise for the fandoms I am still a part of.

Will 2027 be different? Who knows. For now, I’ll just settle for the vain hope the world will still be intact as I indulge in all the new video games that will, no doubt, keep my interest engaged as everything else implodes around me.

See! Optimism!

Why does everyone think I’m a pessimist?

Crowd Control

On By kyndarisLeave a comment

If there is one thing that has become abundantly clear after years of attending pop culture conventions, it’s that the number of those attending has become almost nigh untenable. Or, perhaps, organisers have simply become bad at controlling the high volume of people eager to spend money inside the hallowed halls of fandom. Whatever the case, I no longer share the same enthusiasm I did years ago (though if you were to ask bleachpanda, they’d probably say it was the almost forty minutes it took just to get in the ICC for the Sydney Manga and Anime Show (or, as it’s more commonly known, SMASH!)).

While I am usually the instigator behind taking the two of us to nerd conventions like Supanova (or those with a more Western pop culture bent), my friend bleachpanda is what many would describe as a weeb. SMASH!, being a celebration of manga and anime, has a lot more merchandise and art that cater to their tastes rather than mine. Be they omamori charms, playing cards with Demon Slayer or One Piece characters, as well as fan art featuring classic anime like Inuyasha, Sailor Moon or Ranma 1/2.

The day started early for the two of us. Bleachpanda and I met up at Town Hall before making our way down to Darling Harbour. As it almost always the case, i arrived early and had to wait for them to make an appearance. Thankfully, i was able to pick up a hot chocolate to keep me warm in the shadow of the Queen Victoria statue before relocating to outside the actual Sydney Town Hall. Why, I hear you ask, dear reader? To avoid someone who decided it was a good idea to hock up phlegm in public and then harass a tourist.

It wasn’t long before we managed to insert ourselves into the lengthy queue for SMASH! One that winded from the entrance of the ICC down to the harbour before doubling back around Tumbalong Park and across a pedestrian bridge. Unfortunately, as we got closer to the end, a couple cut the line. And though I did want to tap them on the shoulder and tell them where the end of the line was, I’d initially thought they’d accidentally stumbled into it as curious bystanders.

The rage I felt when I saw they had a ticket for SMASH!? Almost incandescent.

By then, however, it was too late. So, off we trotted to be sorted into a myriad of lines to have our tickets checked before being handed a lanyard so we could enter exhibition halls.

First on the list? The newly designated Level 4 with a limited number of exhibitors and the lion’s share of Artist Alley. Bleachpanda and I wandered the aisles, looking over the merchandise on display. While there were still plenty of prints, enamel pins and charms dominated the market. The two of us picked up a few that caught our eye before moving on.

Yet, unlike previous years, there did not seem to be any one anime that ruled them all. Unlike previous years, nothing truly dominated. No Attack on Titan. No Demon Slayer. No Spy x Family. Not even Genshin Impact could retain its hold on the very saturated market. Instead, what stood out to me were the callbacks to old favourites like Naruto, One Piece, Pokemon and Sailor Moon sprinkled in with some of what made a significant impact on the public conscious such as Kpop Demon Hunters, Hazbin Hotel, Helluva Boss and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (a game which I bought upon release but have yet to play because I am SO GODDAMN BEHIND! At time of writing, I’ve been trying to make my way through Dragon’s Dogma 2. Not to mention the hundreds of hours of other games I also have from 2024. Why were there so many open-world games? Why were so many of them role-playing? Why were they both? Readers, if there is one thing I’ll ask of you, it’s simply to pray for my sanity).

When we had finally taken a tour of the Artist Alley on Level 4, bleachpanda and I headed out of the ICC to find some sustenance to fuel the second half of our day.

Knowing the Food Hall in Darling Square would be packed with people, bleachpanda and I opted for a fairly safe option: that of a nearby Italian restaurant Uliveto. Despite the hour, we managed to secure a seat inside and made our order – though I did have to flag the waitress down a few times to confirm if the seasonal lava cake was available before it promptly appeared BEFORE the mains – of salmon and scallops risotto, and lamb ragu parpardelle.

Once we had refuelled, it was back into the heaving mass of humanity to start the second leg of our day. Perhaps because SMASH! was split between two floors, the exhibition hall on the first floor did not seem as tedious. We breezed through the lower Artist Alley and even caught up with an ex-colleague of mine who had attended the event with her partner.

I do fear I may have been a little distracted and dismissive. For that I do apologise (yes, I know you read this though it’s a 50/50 chance you’ll deep dive into THIS particular post).

Together we scoured the first few aisles of the first floor before my ex-colleague decided to call a break after being on her feet for most of the day. Bleachpanda and I finished off the rest of Artist Alley, rounding off the day when I stopped by an Australian artist who created her own brand of tarot cards based off Critical Role characters (and is a friend of a friend).

To bleachpanda‘s surprise, I also then spent a veritable fortune to purchase 15 Final Fantasy themed Magic the Gathering cards. In hindsight, perhaps I should have kept them all but there were two people I was to meet the next day at an extended bachelor party that I’d give five packs each (keeping the last five for myself).

As we scoured the last of the exhibitor stalls, we looked at all that was on display but steered clear from any other major purchases. By 4:30 PM, the two of us had called it a day and slowly trudged back to Town Hall for the train ride back home. But not without a stop by Kinokuniya so I could look through the variety of books on display.

Could we have stayed a little longer? Perhaps. There were a few things I wanted to buy but chose not to.

That said, it was announced there would be a chibi SMASH! in November at its old stomping ground at Rosehill Racecourse. Whether or not bleachpanda and I attend is still up in the air. But if we do, I know I’d be wanting to pick up a few more prints and maybe a few funky socks.

As I told bleachpanda, I’ve had FAR too many white socks over the course of my 13 years of primary and secondary education. While I’ve had a string of various different socks, I’m always on the lookout for more. Especially thick ones I can wear during winter where almost every extremity of mine is all but frozen.

I’m a cold person, bleachpanda. Deal with it!

However, I DO want to point out that the attempt to crowd control artist alley once again by blocking off entrance from one side of a huge aisle was a TERRIBLE idea because it prevents the more efficient way of actually looking at all the stalls. WORSE, it was ever ONE aisle. The rest of the aisles going up to Q on the alphabet were NOT managed. AT. ALL.

Please stop.

Especially since you’ve also SPLIT Artist Alley to TWO floors (and hence, splitting the amount of people who would be perusing Artist Alley anyways).

But I digress.

Now, of course, there’s only PAX remaining (unless of course bleachpanda and I choose to go to chibi SMASH!).

From Supanova to SMASH – A Convention-al Story

On By kyndarisLeave a comment

In the city of Sydney, Australia, there aren’t too many events where nerds can get together to celebrate pop-culture. Sure, we have a somewhat lowkey medieval fair that’s located about 62 kilometres away from the heart of the city (or, as we Sydneysiders like to call it: the CBD, which stands for central business district) as well as a few few board game events, but the ones that really catch the attention of most people are the holy trinity: Supanova, SMASH and OZ Comic-Con. None of which are as big as any of the events held overseas. That means that many of the guests certainly aren’t as up to snuff as those that attend similar events in America. We certainly don’t attract A-list Hollywood actors for a start!

Although, several years back, we did have Chuck Norris down under. So, that’s a plus?

Long story short, San Diego Comic-Con, this is not. There is no dedicated Hall H to showcase all the latest films that are in the works. Nor do we have attendees like James Gunn or Jamie Lee Curtis coming through.

It’s a far simpler affair than all that.

One that I had intended to check out again with Bleachpanda. Unfortunately, to my dismay, my friend couldn’t wouldn’t attend with me. She said she’d undertaken a translation course with mandatory classes on the weekend. I called bullshit, of course. But she was adamant that there were limitations to how many classes she could skip. 

So, I was left to attend Supanova on my lonesome.

Or so I thought!

Enter MrsArmageddon!

A starry-eyed Generation Zed that I’d taken under my wing at work as the older, wiser and cooler colleague. Little did SHE know that I was actually a cantankerous miser who shook my fists at all the younglings throwing out words like ‘slaaay’ and ‘yaas queen.’ 

I think I might have thrown up in my mouth a little.

Anyways, she’d recently joined my team and I’d threatened that if she so much as thought to ask me questions, I’d bore her to tears by listing useless facts about Star Wars or Harry Potter or whatever video game that I could think of in that moment. But instead of being turned off, she’d actually seemed excited! In fact, she wanted more!

After some light Facebook stalking, I discovered she was one of those Tumblr fiends back in the day. One who was tangentially involved in the SuperWhoLock fandom. 

But more importantly, she was ALSO big into musicals. And, although, she didn’t read as much fantasy fiction as I did, she had delved deep into the realm of YA.

I had found…a kindred spirit. A mini-me! One that I could sculpt into my own image with just the right encouragement.

Purely by chance!

Okay, well, maybe it might be a tad bit impossible to make them COMPLETELY like me. I am, of course, the superior and more worldly lifeform that is perfect in every way – an Apex Predator if you will – in the world of social interaction.

Honestly, it’s not everyday that I find someone that ticks most of my interest boxes and gets all of my references. This was something special. I could feel it in my bones.

(Editorial Kyndaris here: The claim of being an Apex Predator? Yeah, that’s a lie. I’m actually the complete opposite. Honestly, I’m definitely more of a wallflower. And an incredibly awkward one at that. I’m a person who sits on the sidelines and who just thinks terrible thoughts of the people around me. NO-ONE should idolise me in any way and I’m certainly not a good role model for anyone to emulate).

In any case, MrsArmageddon was not good at making financial decisions. So, despite already going to Dreamhack in Melbourne, she still wanted to go to Supanova. Something I, the enabler, well…supported! After all, going to such events is much more fun with friends. Even those that you meet through work. 

Is it a little strange to see them outside the work context and free from the confines of Microsoft Teams? Sure. But well, what can you do?

Arriving early at Supanova, I snuck in late to the Cristina Vee panel before sitting down for a discussion on the art of writing with Levi Grossman. The panels themselves did have their highlights but, especially with Levi Grossman, author of The Magicians, it just wasn’t as exciting as I had hoped. Once again, I was reminded that even authors, be they great or small, are just human. Not all of us are great orators.

Even in our field of supposed expertise, we can struggle.

Still, it was good to learn that Levi Grossman had learned some of the tricks of the trade by working in the field of journalism before becoming a bestseller author. Along with the fact that he had written other books prior to his breakout novel starring the likes of Quentin Coldwater but it had been a struggle to find his voices.

So, maybe there’s hope for me yet!

MrsArmageddon, unfortunately, was late for our very first out-of-office meetup. By the time she’d arrived, I’d already done a tour of the artist stalls and had picked up gifts for my friends, including Bleachpanda.

Bleachpanda, I hope you’re happy!

As we resumed roaming the halls, I got to meet MrsArmageddon’s circle of friends (which was nice because most of my friends…well, they tend to like going to SMASH over Supanova). It’s always good to expand my circle of associates. One never knows when that can come in handy.

I jest.

In truth, I only met MrsArmageddon’s friends in passing before they disappeared to buy more merchandise from a stall.

By the time our feet were telling us to take a break, it was almost 4 PM. Since I had arrived at about 10:30 AM, I was exhausted but glad that I was laden down with impressive prints and a crocheted Appa, key Sky Bison of the Avatar Gang. 

Not even two weeks after Supanova, I was back at it again. This time, I was attending SMASH with Bleachpanda. We arrived there early but still had no luck in nabbing spots at the maid cafe. A little disappointing, but no matter. There was always Japan.

Given that Bleachpanda didn’t have a panel she wanted to see until 12, we wandered through the stalls to see what goodies were being sold by entrepreneurial creatives. Much like Supanova, there were plenty of prints and artwork to be had. Although, there were more options for sexy anime figurines to make a grown man blush.

In the end, I purchased a blind box and an Ai Haibara keychain. 

Yes. I’m one of those. A huge fan of the Detective Conan anime series. Which, honestly, isn’t getting as much recognition as it should outside of Asia. Who WOULDN’T love Kaitou Kid? 

Honestly, it’s a surprise given how prolific Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie are in the Western world.

Alas.

After nearly choking in the mass of humans congregating in artist alley, we headed to Pyrmont Theatre for a panel with the one and only Toru Furuya. The iconic seiyu for many a character including Yamcha, Tuxedo Mask, Sabo and Toru Amuro. For me, who wasn’t as impressed, the panel was a little tedious due to the requirement for translation. That wasn’t to say Toru-sensei wasn’t enthusiastic. He was gregarious and suave throughout all his interactions.

When it ended, though, Bleachpanda was sorely disappointed that we didn’t get snippets of his voice acting talent. Rather, that had been relegated to the Sunday panel. Something that irritated Bleachpanda to no end as we then waited outside another room for an otome panel.

Of course, I’m not one to play otomes though I do very much like the visual novel style of games. After all, I played through all of the Ace Attorney games. But by 1:10 PM, the doors had yet to open. And I was starting to feel hungry. Beyond that, my old high school friend had texted me that they’d be at a nearby cafe. So, I thought, why not join up with them rather than wait in line for something that looked incredibly boring?

And I think it was a good call overall. For, as we walked past, sneaking a glance into the room, the otome panel appeared to be just a normal PowerPoint presentation to regale the audience of all the great things that can be found within.

Even Bleachpanda was taken aback by the lack of interesting slides that were on display.

Unfortunately, I walked in the wrong direction because there were TWO cafes with the SAME name within the immediate vicinity. So, rather than catch-up with my high school friend then and there, Bleachpanda and I ended up buying some food at a nearby food court. 

But because of all the puttering about that we were doing, I missed out on the panel with Sungwon Cho, AKA ProZD!

The despair I felt then! Even as I trudged up to World Square to pick up a copy of the latest game from Spike Chunsoft, Master Detective Archives: Rain Code. Junko Enoshima would be proud.

We returned to the convention after fuelling up and spent the rest of it going through artist alley, finally catching up with my high school friend and watching a performance on the Hobbyco stage. I even bought a Good Game mystery box, walking away with three new board games that I’ll play sometime in the distant future.

It sucks to live so far from friends that one can play board games with. But, it’s the hand I’ve been dealt in life and one I’ll simply have to learn to deal with.

Overall, I’d have to say that the two conventions I attended this year had both perks and downsides. It was a shame that I didn’t get to see ProZD but, at the very least, I got a chance to hang out with my friends that I so rarely see now that we’ve hit our 30s and are busy trying to carve out a career, or in the case of my high school friend, contemplate if now is the time to have a baby.

I, for one, am still on the fence on whether I should just accept the fact that I’ll never find THE ONE and just put in some research on IVF and Australian sperm donors. While I like the idea of having a child, going it alone is going to be tough.

Of course, there’s still time. So, while I ponder my next steps, I’ll just enjoy my new Eunie, Tora and Reyn pins (characters from the Xenoblade Chronicles series), along with the fantastical artworks that I bought that will decorate the walls of my future abode if my mortgage doesn’t force me to sell off my property.

What a time to be alive!