Manifest 2005

RANT

Manifest 2005 (23 - 25 September) was the first major anime convention that I've ever been to. And I must say, I was impressed by it. Most of my time was spent watching anime due to me being a volunteer. That suited me well, as the main purpose of me attending was to watch anime anyway. So why not help out and enjoy the anime at the same time? In total, I've watched 36 episodes of different anime during the course of the three days. That's quite an achievement, given that I don't even watch that much anime at home (in three days, that is).

And while I was not watching anime, I wondered off to the traders area. For reasons unknown, I was expecting to see a lot of traders selling DVDs. But in actual fact, there were only 2 that were selling R4 DVD, and one of them was Madman, the company responsible for bringing anime to Australia. There was also some traders that sold R1 DVDs... at a price. So let me try to remember what other stuff did they offerl:

- plush dolls
- model kits (lots of Gundams)
- PVC models
- trading figurines
- lots of artbooks
- lots of pencil boards
- loads of JPOP / Anime CDs
- loads of manga
- and million other little things.

I wanted half the things the vendors were selling, but in the end I only got:

- Ghost in the Shell: Innocence OST
- Ah My Goddess Movie OST
- Ah My Goddess Colour (Manga)
- a full set of Najica Blitz Tactics manga

and my prized purchase of the entire weekend:

- You're Under Arrest File X

I never expected to find it there. I was ecstatic when I picked it up. But of course, I've got to consider the price as well. I can't afford anything like those people in the auction (more on that later). It wasn't too expense, so I happily (I think) handed over my money.

All in all, I went to the traders 3 times, the last time being close to closing time. I was hoping to cash in some bargains. Unfortunately, there was only one trader that was doing the "closing-down sales". Most things were 50% off (they were offering 20% earlier in the day). Too bad there was nothing that I wanted. Actually, there was, like the DOA and Onegai Teacher trading figures, but they are not in my "really really want" basket. So I restrained myself from spend more money.

The money I did spend was on two Sakura Wars TV series Volume 2 and 3. I was at the auction on Sunday afternoon, the only event that I attended other than screening anime in dark rooms. It was a fun experience. There were weird stuff on auction, and there were weird people who were willing to pay for weird stuff. A set of used Gravitation Manga (12 volumes in all) sold for more than $200! You can get a brand new set for probably cheaper. The entire set of .Hack games (4 volumes) sold for $200, which was actually quite reasonable, considering that it cost about $90 per game brand new.

The full set of Evangelion DVDs went for $62 only. That was a bit of a surprise. I thought it would have gone for more. And then there were artbooks, figurines, old NewType magazines, as well as many original Japanese Manga. I wanted to get the set of Magical Knights Rayearth manga, but was outbidded :(. Then I had a little bidding war with one guy on the 2 Sakura Wars DVDs. Now that I won, I just need to find the other 4 volumes.

Things to do next year (pending on the availability of events):

- volunteer again (this year was fun)
- spend more (yes, I've got enough money, just didn't buy enough.)
- go to trivia (missed it this year)
- go to auction (that was so fun; might put something up for auction as well)
- check out the cosplay (I've heard it is popular)
- bring a camera and take photos of volunteers!
- and of course, watch more anime!!!