A cultural event that’s a blast for everyone!
Introduction
AFA, also known as Anime Festival Asia, has captivated attendees all across Southeastern Asia with its enormous event catering to fans of Japanese culture. Starting back in 2008 it’s the biggest one of its kind, and since then has continued to flourish. However, C3AFA Tokyo 2018 is the more recent addition, which was inaugurated just last year and, since then, it has become one of the staple events for anime fans in Japan to participate in. C3AFA Tokyo 2018 combines just about everything from gaming, doujin products, anime, manga, and even the likes of pachinko, all under one roof. It’s a wonderful venue that continues to attract more attendees, and this year’s event seemed to bring in more than last year! Japan already has a plethora of events for otaku to attend, but what’s great about C3AFA Tokyo 2018 is that it incorporates so much more which is great for the entire family.
Basic Info
| When it Established | Established - 2008/2017 in Japan - C3AFA Tokyo 2018 Website - https://www.c3afatokyo.com/ |
|---|---|
| Length of Event | August 25 - 26 |
| Place/Location | Makuhari Messe, Chiba, Japan |
| Admission | 1,500￥ |
What to Expect
Much like any other event in Japan that caters to the otaku demographic, C3AFA Tokyo 2018 makes sure to deliver and provide enough entertainment for those attending to truly enjoy. Whether its an eSports event that focuses on Gundam EX Versus, booths that allow you to purchase limited items, or simply just a place to kick back and relax from the hot summer air, C3AFA Tokyo 2018 is the place to be. It’s full of exciting activities that you can participate in and feel good doing so, such as dancing to eurobeats or simply taking photos of cosplayers! That’s the real beauty of the event and you can never go wrong with cosplayer photos, because they’re always willing to pose for the camera; if you ask kindly, they’re even willing to take selfies with you. C3AFA Tokyo isn’t a major event like say Tokyo Game Show, Anime Japan or even Comiket, but what it does is it takes bits and pieces from each respective event and glues them all together for its own unique purpose. C3AFA Tokyo is a two-day event and so, if you ever do come to Japan to visit, be sure to come prepared for both days. There’s always something new to experience!
What to Bring in Order to Enjoy the Event
C3AFA Tokyo is no different from any other event and so it’s important to carry the essentials, such as a camera, backpack, extra cash and —most importantly— some proper walking shoes. We say walking shoes are important because you’ll be on your feet for most of the time, walking around an checking out the many booths that are on display. Sure, there are areas for you to sit and rest, but it’s still imperative to keep your feet feeling comfortable and not fall prey to cramps, which would certainly be a painful ordeal if you’re not careful. For any event connoisseur you’ll definitely need to have a camera on hand, as it’s the quintessential tool for capturing just about everything within the venue. Whether it’s cosplayers, a concert, the many booths, figures... a camera is more than necessary to have so that you can hold onto some precious memories!
A backpack or just a bag in general would be a good option to have since it provides you with something to place any items in, be it your own food, drinks, or things you’ve purchased at the event. Most events of this nature tend to provide you with venue bags as a service but we recommend carrying your own just in case one happens to break. Lastly, if this one wasn’t obvious already, money is the one thing you definitely need to have with you. For starters, you’ll need it to enter the event because unlike Comiket that’s free, C3AFA Tokyo is 1,500￥ to enter —but once you’re in you get access to a plethora of things! It’s also good to just carry money around in general since there’s a high chance you’ll feel either very thirsty or hungry, and with so many restaurants around the venue, making sure to stay well fed and hydrated is imperative to truly enjoying yourself. With all that being said, let’s dive into what actually went down at the event.
What to do While There / What is Available
After buying your ticket and walking into the venue, the first you’re going to see are a ton of booths, ranging from your typical anime merchandise booth to ones that you normally don’t see everyday, like a dancing booth. The dancing booth was a place where you could jam away to some really otaku-esque music and stay in shape in the process! We participated in all the fun and, to be honest, it really helped to wash away all of the tiredness since it just keeps you constantly active, and everyone around you is smiling and enjoying themselves. Such a positive environment to be in even if your dancing skills aren’t the greatest!
There were also plenty of booths that showed off some really cool-looking games, such as Bandai Namco’s booth, which allowed us to play Soul Calibur VI as well as Ace Combat 7, and that totally made our day. Not many people lined up to try the game out so we made sure to take advantage of that, and spent a great deal of time invested in learning how to play with some of the Soul Calibur VI cast. A truly fun experience and we totally can’t wait for the game to release!
Popular pachinko company Sankyo was in attendance once again, and this time it showed off some of its new pachinko titles, but we just wanted to sit in their comfortable ball chairs and admire the booth babes who looked jolly when posing for the camera. The one area we were totally amped to check out was the figure booths because there’s always a surprise waiting for you, and these figures are a wonder to look at. The Gundam figures were on display at the Bandai Spirits booth and, as expected, the amount of quality and detail put into these things is astounding. The photos we managed to take do no justice and will require that you see these things up close because they are a marvel to see in person. The popular shounen titles were on display at the event as well such as One Piece, and Boku no Hero Academia, along with other major titles such as Sword Art Online.
What surprised us the most was the lack of cosplayers in attendance, especially when compared to other events. There were of course plenty but nothing like that of say Comiket or even Jump Festa, which had a ton of them wandering around. We assume it may have been to the excessive heat because both days of the event were a scorcher, and being outdoors for too long could prove to be a dangerous feat. Fortunately though, the ones that were available looked incredible, especially a Gundam cosplay that totally blew our minds! The sheer amount of detail put into this costume was impressive, and the fact that the cosplayer was able to walk around in it freely as if it were just a regular piece of clothing, was incredible in itself. After taking photos and grabbing some items we took one last look around to find anything intriguing, and the doujin area was the place to go.
There were a lot of small booths set up with doujin artists waiting patiently for someone to purchase their works, and we took the opportunity to grab some photos to show you just how much talent these folks have.
Final Thoughts
All in all, C3AFA Tokyo 2018 was an enjoyable event, but we wished there was more to see and do this time around. Paying 1,500￥is quite a lot and the venue wasn’t as massive as other mentioned events, which tend to offer much more and for less. Hopefully, with next year’s C3AFA Tokyo event there will be much more to experience, and much more things to buy! For now, we hope you enjoyed our field report and look forward to more event content from us in the future! Be sure to follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest event news, as well as anime and gaming news from around the world!
For all things otaku, be sure to keep it locked here on Honey’s Anime!
Author: Rob "NualphaJPN" B.