Made in Asia 5

This past weekend, the fifth edition of Made in Asia (aka MIA), a convention focused on Japanese anime, manga & culture, took place at the Brussels Expo.

Although I did not attend in 2012, did visit the third edition in 2011 which I quite enjoyed, in fact enjoyed it more than the FACTS convention that is usually held near the end of October in Ghent but has little anime or Asian culture content in comparison.

Am not really into cosplay photography so usually don’t take all that many photos, especially considering the packed crowds and poor lighting one faces at such an event, but just had to snap a photo of this kid cosplaying as Hitsugaya Toushirou from Bleach.

The ‘Japanese village’ featured a stage with taiko demonstrations, a tatami where different martial art clubs showcased their skills, a bonsai association, a go tournament, workshops on making sushi, flower arrangement, calligraphy… and many more more cultural activities.

Where previously at events like MIA or FACTS you might see Beez or Dybex showcasing & selling their licensed anime titles, noticed such companies were absent.

The booths that offered an amount of anime on DVD or BluRay that was worthwhile to mention were but a few compared to those that sold figures or other trinkets. Was surprised there were multiple large booths selling display and replica weapons, from plain katana to anime or game inspired swords.

Next to stores like La Cité des Nuages or Alix Online, Archonia was also present with a nice, sizable booth, while their choice in available manga and DVD was plentiful, personally felt that their choice of available figures was rather limited compared to what they offer online, missing figures from brands like Alter or Max Factory.

My loot from this year’s Made in Asia is quite small, picked up a wallscroll of Saber in her incarnation from Type Moon’s “Fate/zero” based on this gorgeous artwork by Takashi Takeuchi.

Also got the simply adorable Snow Miku: Strawberry White Kimono Version, an event exclusive figure which was for sale at Good Smile Company’s booth.

It was truly a packed weekend for me, had tons of fun! However, didn’t fill those two days by simply wandering around the event grounds, met with the comrades from Shadonia for a Dollfie Dream meeting and worked at the Good Smile Company booth.

Will post more about those terrific experiences at MIA soon!