Today marks the completion and the end of the event, “Best of Anime”. Now in its fifth year, it has delivered a much-awaited lineup of guests to date.

The event itself is chock-full of booths, merchandise, activities and performances. It is no surprise that the venue was filled with people up until into the afternoon.

As each ticket costs X to X (including the concert), one would ask if the event itself was worth it.

Event Highlights

One of the most exciting parts of the event are the guest perfomances from Eir Aoi, Uchuusentai Noiz, and from Joe Inoue. These powerful and wonderful acts have hade their waves across the hall, and will make your stay in the event memorable.

Maybe out of licensing or out of security, photos and videos are not allowed during the event.

…looking back in hindsight, this avoids the part where people at the back won’t be able to view the concert because of phones and cameras being held overhead.

Since I can’t take a photo of every performer, here’s a shot of everyone on stage.

One highlight of the event is the sheer amount of available merchandise you can sink your teeth (and wallet) into. From Gunpla to Figma, there is something definitle for everyone.

You have ten seconds to comply.

Japan Embassy Activities

Another highlight is the activity from the Japan Embassy. In your visit to their booth, you will be able to write your own name, or even take the Kanji challenge. No worries, there is no competition here, and everyone is rewarded with bonus reading materials for your pleasure and study.

It just shows that regardless of your reason to attend the event, there is something to learn about when you leave the place.

Event Lowlights

Nothing much can be said about the event lowlights, except for the usual crowd control and space issues. It will, I repeat, it WILL take some time for you to move from one end of the hall to another, and you will definitely will bump into people. Though there are some incidents of pushing, it really is a given due to the spacing between the booths.

With that, it maybe really is a given due to the nature of the event.

Is it worth it?

Ah, the final question. Is this event really worth the money, the wait, and the crowd?

My verdict:

Yes.

You see, it isn’t an easy feat getting together an event like this, where your lineup has something to offer your community. Especially the tremendous effort just to get these foreign artists here. I believe it is something to look forward to, and something that will make your stay worthwhile. The crowds WILL definitely be an inconvenience for you, but it is something tolerable given the nature of the event. And even if you are just a wandering person who just happened to buy in the event, heading to the Japan Embassy booth and staying behind to watch a bit of the Tagalized version of Ruroni Kenshin would at least provide you some entertainment to go by.