Once Upon a Smashing Saturday

(1) Garlic roll at Hurricane's Grill (2) A full rack of beef ribs with chips and garlic dipping sauce at Hurricane's Grill (3) Complimentary Mentos with the bill (4) Studio Ghibli prints by j-b0x (5) A Porco Rosso cosplayer participating in the cosplay competition. (6) Cosplay of a titan from the anime 'Shingeki no Kyojin' (7) A Batman cosplay. (8) A variety of soft toys being sold at the artist alley. (9) More cosplays.

On Saturday, August the 10th, an annual anime convention called Smash! was held at the Sydney Convention Centre.

If you know me, then you'd know that I am beyond clueless regarding Japanese pop-culture and thus was a little apprehensive about attending such an alien event. However, my friend Emichii was selling her products for the first time and thus made it quite exciting. Another friend, Manisay from eat your teacup, lived up to the challenge of venturing into unchartered territory together and so the adventures of last Saturday were born!

Rising early in hope of beating the queues, Mani and I boarded the 8:27am train to Central. Looking around, we noticed that many fellow commuters were speaking in otaku-jargon and also attending the convention. It took over an hour of waiting in buy-at-the-door queue amongst cheerful cosplayers (that is, dress ups, for better use of a term) but were were eventually admitted in.

Volunteers handed out small show-bags with a map and we explored was the artists' alley where artists sold their fan-made products (prints, badges, bags, stickers, soft toys etc.). Being fan-made, the products were expensive. Internet-famous names including Ry-Spirit and Cherriuki were amongst the vendors. Other activities held at the convention included anime screenings, discussion panels, autograph signings with famous voice-actors, competitions, a maid cafe and workshops. The workshops ranged from manga drawing to Gunpla (the craft of building plastic models).

Although we did not know of nor recognise the majority of fandoms, the presence of classics such as Sailor Moon, Pokemon and Studio Ghibli eased us into the world of anime-cons. A lot of talented people made amazing costumes while others purchased theirs. Many onesies were worn and lately they've been generally popular, what with the chilly Sydney winter. The crowds were a fun bunch but a minor few were awkward including the mc for the cosplay competition.

If you ask for an honest opinion, I wouldn't recommend attending 'Smash!' unless anime culture is up you alleyway. Next year they are relocating to Rose Hill which is a difficult trek compared to Darling Harbour. However, it is always fun to experience a different kind of cultural event. One of the better conventions for first-timers to attend would be 'Supernova' which is broader with pop-culture. Famous mainstream actors such as the Phelps who played Fred and George Weasley in Harry Potter made guest appearances there earlier in the year.

Lastly, you must be wondering why I have photos of food posted above. The Sydney Convention Centre is a harbour-side location and lots of brilliant (though expensive) restaurants are interwoven between cafes and fast food joints. Mani and I dined at Hurricane's Grill Darling Harbour where they are famous for their steak. Being a curious pair we deviated from the mainstream choice and settled upon a rack of beef ribs. To our surprise, the waiter tied disposable bibs around our necks and handed out wet-wipes so we suspected that it wouldn't be a neat eat. We were correct. Indeed the ribs could not be recommended as first date material but they tasted amazing. While by nature, ribs have a high bone to meat ratio, the full rack plus chips and garlic bread were enough to fill two hungry young adults. With your own pick of sauce, the ribs were tender and juicy with a bit of chewiness and a slightly charred taste. The waiters were polite and friendly and the atmosphere was classy but casual. Note that if you desire waterfront seating, it is strongly recommended that you ring up in advance for reservations.

And that pretty much sums up the long-winded adventures of last Saturday. Feel free to say hi and comment below. I'd love to hear from you! Hope you have a great week!