Amecon Hangover

By: Matt Kamen
Date: Wednesday, August 16, 2006

It was convention time again this weekend, as the University of Leicester played host to the second bi-annual Amecon event. After the first Amecon was held in 2004, incidentally becoming the largest anime and manga convention ever held in the UK, expectations were high. Pleasantly, they were met and over 1200 con-goers attended.

The three-day festival of all things Japanese kicked off on Friday 11th August at midday. The committee had clearly learned from some of the minor hitches of the previous event as registration this time was much smoother, with attendees split according to surname. Plus, everyone was given a free box of Pocky, Japanese snack food with addictive properties to the anime-enthused.

An assortment of panels and screenings filled the rest of the weekend, with the welcome addition of Japanese cultural elements such as kimono demonstrations and tea ceremonies. The screening rooms, in a change from most conventions, stuck strictly to licensed shows which did lead to some repetition of content but stands as a notable endorsement of the still relatively small UK anime industry. Many shows were introduced by the star guests, voice actors Monica Rial, Greg Ayres and Chris Patton three very talented people who really seemed to relish being able to interact with fans.


For many, the highlight was the cosplay masquerade held on Saturday night. Presented in a fashion show format with entrants parading along a catwalk, onlookers were treated to an assortment of anime and game characters brought to life via the slavish dedication of their fans. Added kudos goes to the techies who created an animated host for the masquerade, voiced on-the-fly by Monica Rial. It was a nice extra touch that wasn't necessary but the effort taken to get it working was appreciated by most.

There were so many other events worthy of note over the weekend that to detail them all would be folly cosplay workshops for people to get help making their outfits, the ever-popular dealer room, art areas, a gaming zone, industry panels, karaoke, parties, entertainment shows, Q&A sessions, an Elegant Gothic Lolita picnic, introductory panels to sub genres of anime and Japanese pop culture such as yuri, yaoi, visual kei and far, far more besides but suffice to say, Amecon 2006 was a very successful and enjoyable entry into the UK convention scene.

While there were a few minor quibbles such as the odd panel starting a couple of minutes late, most negative points were due to the University's facilities I've heard some horror stories about the on-site accommodation and the main building's lift broke down, making disabled access a near-impossibility and largely out of the organiser's hands. Even then, I noticed discernable efforts made to ensure everything went to plan with as little disruption as possible.

Praise goes to Will Blewitt and the whole of the Amecon committee and their assorted gophers for a monumental and, most likely, thankless job well done. I, and many other attendees, will be eagerly anticipating the next Amecon as a result, which I'm sure will be an even bigger improvement.

Meanwhile...

This weekend also saw the second of this year's Memorabilia fairs at Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre. Memorabilia is a warehouse-sized hall full of dealers hocking their wares and an assortment of 'star' guests making personal appearances and signing stuff for hideously exorbitant fees. While some of the lustre has worn off the event, largely due to ever-increasing entry ticket prices and the event itself being too frequent and wearing its appeal thin, Memorabilia is still an enjoyably geeky and decidedly commercial way to spend a weekend.

This weekend's event was a little different though, due to the terrorist threats at Heathrow, leading to doubts over many guests from the US being able to attend. Defying odds, most guests made it through in time though it was seemingly very close to opening time before they started appearing. It's perhaps appropriate that there was a larger than normal presence from the UK Garrison - what better security than Imperial Stormtroopers?

The third Memorabilia event of the year will be held at the NEC again from 25-26 November.

New DVD Picks for 14/08/06

Black Books Complete Series

Yes, it's a re-release, but since the original pressing of this three-disc edition has long been unavailable, it's a welcome one. Black Books was one of the funniest UK sitcoms in recent years, crediting the audience with intelligence enough to follow its humour, delivered through witty and equally intelligent writing - enough to make you wish UK sitcoms ran for more than six episodes at a time.

Forbidden Zone

This complete head-trip of underground cinema rightly became a cult favourite following its release, arguably out-kitsching the Rocky Horror Picture Show as it did so. An early appearance by Danny Elfman, who later went on to more refined roles as composer on practically everything Tim Burton has directed, playing the Devil is one of the saner points in the film. The DVD is replete with extras, including commentary, deleted scenes, a making of and music videos. Do not watch while drunk or operate heavy machinery afterwards.

Spaced: The Definitive Edition

I angsted a lot over picking this the same week as Black Books given the heavy crossover elements between the two shows but Spaced is just too good to overlook. Spaced is essentially the precursor to Shaun of the Dead and spring-boarded Simon Pegg into the limelight with its blend of late-20's malaise and endless pop culture references. The show is a perfect representation of cult fandom and is one of the few comedies I would label hilarious without hesitation. The DVD set delivers the complete series and comes with a third disc full of extras.

That's it for this week. Thoughts? Comments? Hatemail? Contact me at mattkamen@gmail.com