Anime Evolution 2015 - We're Back!

Jumping right into things after our nearly two-year-long hiatus, we found ourselves attending for the very first time AniEvo, held in the University of British Columbia. I've been wanting to attend this convention for quite some time now, and being finally able to participate in this three-day event and reacquaint myself with familiar faces as well as making new connections was definitely without a doubt, a great way to kick back into action. This post serves as a brief summary of what to expect in the coming weeks as we post updates on our exclusive interviews and photos.



Given that this was our first time attending AniEvo, coincidentally the first time it was held in the newly constructed UBC AMS Student Nest, this was an exciting experience for us. The Nest is essentially the hub of the campus for student-centered activities welcoming students to eat, shop, study, and socialize. Built to LEED Platinum standards, the five-story tall building, spanning 250,000 square feet, is definitely a gorgeous structure and the perfect location to hold an anime convention, with more than ample space for all events. Traditionally considered to be a more cozy, tighter-knit anime convention as opposed to other anime conventions around the area such as Anime Revolution or Sakura-Con, now that Anime Evolution has relocated into this brand new, much more accommodating venue, I foresee a significant amount of growth moving forward.

This year, we will exclusively be featuring photoshoots carried out by many local cosplay photographers, to showcase some of the local talent in terms of both the cosplayers as well as the photographers, so definitely look forward to that as we put together several feature cosplay posts from AniEvo!

One of the most engaging aspects of anime conventions is the opportunity to see, speak to, have a photo taken with, or have something autographed by one of the special guests attending the conventions. We had the chance to exclusively interview Sakaguchi Daisuke, most famous for his roles as Shinpachi in Gintama, Uso Ewin in Mobile Suit Victory Gundam, Sunohara Youhei in Clannad, and Himuro Kei in Paprika. Other guests present include Phil Guerrero, Michael Daingerfield, Sarah Williams, and cosplayers Starkorialist with Tarah-Rex.

From giant Pikachus and classic video games, to endless plushies and wall scrolls, the dealers' hall was everything you'd ever want an anime convention to have available to purchase.

And of course, AniEvo being held in the University of British Columbia, we paid our good friends and affiliates at the UBC Anime Club a visit.

All in all, our first time attending AniEvo was certainly a memorable one, in the company of great friends and acquaintances. Attending this event definitely felt like I was comfortably at home, with a type of warmth and friendliness from everyone around not often found at other anime conventions. AniEvo has proven that relocating to a new venue doesn't just mean having more space to do things, it also means that content and involvement has to be upped to match the increased pace and excitement, which the organizers of AniEvo has done so flawlessly this year, so big props to Will and his team!.We will definitely be back next year!

We would like to thank Will Box for another successful year of AniEvo in Vancouver, as well as D.I.S/C Photography for partnering up with us to assist with photography and videography of our exclusive interview with Sakaguchi Daisuke.