Doujin Overload 07 sum up

Sunday the 8th of July saw yours truly awake at a god forsaken time of the morning (for a Sunday, that is.) I wanted to be in the city by 8.30 so I could get good parking, and meet up with my friend Nadea for coffee.
After having a most delicious flat white at the Hyatt Regency hotel bar (where Doujin Overload was taking place) we made our way down to where the event was taking place.

The room that was being used was a vast improvement from last year’s location. Not too cold, not too hot, and heaps of space for the artists and public to move around. Unfortunately the lighting wasn’t ideal, especially for photography. There were also a lot more artists at the event compared to last year (according to the Doujin Overload website 23 in total.)

After meeting and greeting a few people we knew, we strolled around and checked things out. I won’t bore you with the nitty gritty detail, but instead talk about the highlights of the event for me…

- Meeting Kylie aka Keysha! I had commissioned her to draw me a mermaid to pick up at the event, and I was very very pleased with it! I actually think that although I had asked for a piece worth $40, I got something way more than that.

Kylie was a lovely lady to chat with, and I really hope we can get to know eachother better. Her table was busy for most of the day too, which I am happy about.- Seeing the figure display, and feeling pleased to know that what was there that I did like, I already had most of. The rest just didn’t appeal to me.

There were a few pieces that I do want to get my hands on, but they were rare to begin with. I also wish they could have asked around for others to bring figures to display. The figures there were supplied by 5 guys, and while nice, they definitely showed interest in very “specific” niche interests within the fandom e.g. moe/catgirls. I know some of my figures would have looked lovely there. I think people were also expecting to see some more high end, resin/cold cast and large figures on display.

The more the better I say, especially when you read stuff like this.- The Haruhi dance by A.O.A.dan – Ending theme song dance of the anime series “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.” Very funny but very cool. Especially when audience members got to join in too. Poor Hayden, some of the girls I was with, wondered if he was gay ;_;

- Looking at all of Alex’s and Edmund’s cels. Oh my god was it amazing, and also a reminder of just how expensive this hobby can be. I own two cels, but they don’t compare at all to what these guys had!

Every time I see their collections, I am driven to wanting to start collecting a few myself. Then I am reminded of just how much cels can cost *sighs*

p.s. Alex, sorry if I was calling you Andy every so often during the event @_@
I was feeling pretty dead/tierd by that point, and having a really bad cold and chest infection didn’t help either. And yes, I did know where those two cels were from
If you ever see the 3rd and 4th season dvd box sets that Geneon released (uncut/undubbed) for sale, you know I want them!- Edmund’s utterly cool Kanu Uncho statue, which quite frankly, was the nicest figure/statue there. Resin and custom painted so beautifully, the added bonus with this figure was that you could remove her top, and look at all the prettiness beneath ^_^
(there are pictures in the gallery, but fyi warning, not for under-age viewing.)

- Seeing Woof’s amazing hankens, and seeing how he had bought cels that had actually been used for covers of artbooks & magazines. That added just a whole new level of uniqueness to cel collecting, and puts new meaning to “owning the original piece” XD

- Catching up with Angela and chatting about Armageddon and how things went for her and Michaela. I honestly and completely sympathise guys @_@
Armageddon is a massive event, and having to deal with all the egos (not only from catty/nasty cosplayers but also people who think they’re in charge) is never ever easy.- Scoring some neat sketches from the guys at Hiyaku Studio & also their doujinshi and Junk Book

All in all, a great time, some things that do need improvement, but I think the organisers are aware of those things.
One thing I am a bit perturbed about was the fact that GNC were there selling goods. I thought the whole point of Doujin Overload was not to focus on retailers, but on the artists… and, if stores were allowed to attend, why wasn’t Doujin Overload open to other retail stores that sold anime/manga products?
I know that GNC sponsered the event, but were other retailers/distributors approached re: sponsership/advertising? I know quite a few of them would have been keen.
As for the cosplay, for a first time event at Doujin Overload, it was ok – music was too loud so poor Macy had to kinda shout, and the cosplayers and Macy kept moving around so much it was difficult to take good photos! Needs to be better organised and planned for next year though, but I am sure it’ll happen I didn’t actually buy that much, more because of being strapped for cash I guess. What I did get, I am very pleased with indeed. Was going to get a sketch from Amy of Urd from Ah! My Goddess, but she decided to take it home and colourise it for me, so am eagerly waiting to see what she does!
Just hope that the GNC will stock the doujins that were for sale at the event so I can get em later.

A huge thanks to everyone involved, and see you all next year ^_^

p.s. Pictures from the event can be found in the gallery.