What's On?

Animania Festival 2011 brings you a range of events for fans of anime and manga - young and old.

• Activities
• Art Area
  
• Cosplay
• Gamer Room
• Karaoke
• Origami Mini-Workshop - Limited Spaces Available!
• Over 9000 (game show)

Activities

From classic favourites to the slightly quirky, various interactive games will be held at Animania's Activities area. Animania staff will lead you through the following fun activities:

1. Cosplay Chess - a lively game of chess, but instead of regular chess pieces we use Cosplayers
2. Giant Twister - the classic game of flexibility and giant coloured spots!
3. Battleship - The team that sinks the most battleships wins.
4. Origami Mini-Workshop

 Art Area

Animania's Art Area is home to the next generation of manga artists and showcases not only their work, but also artwork created by attendees on the day for entry into the Doodling Art Competition.

Drop by and support Australia's finest independent artists as they provide their works for sale.

A list of Artists attending the Festival can be found on the stallholders page.

Cosplay

Perhaps the most remarkable part of any anime convention is Cosplay, a costume spectacular that brings together vivid colour, extravagance, grace and eccentricity in a wild showcase of devotion by fans to their most favourite Japanese pop culture characters.

Animania's Cosplay event allows devoted fans to showcase their hard work to the rest of Australia (and the rest of the world in the case of the World Cosplay Summit!) from the humble cat-walk to full-on role played skits. Cosplay is open to anyone and everyone of all ages and backgrounds, from the young to the young at heart.

Do you have a costume in the works? Why don’t you check out all the new Cosplay events introduced for the first time at Animania in 2011.

This year, Animania Festival is introducing a whole new Cosplay experience to Australia. The Cosplay Competition has been split into 2 new events, the Cosplay Cat-walk and the Cosplay Show. Also, don’t miss out on the Cosplay Expo, Cosplay Panels and the WCS competition. Times will be listed in the Schedule on this website and in the Festival Guide.

Now, let’s go through the changes in detail, so you don’t get confused on the day.

• Cosplay Cat-walk (new!)

If you have a costume, homemade or bought, it doesn’t matter, the Cosplay Cat-walk will allow you to go on stage and have your few seconds of fame. During the Cosplay Cat-walk, you will be able to walk on stage to some anime music, and pause for a few seconds (and take any pose your character would) and then exit the stage. It’s that easy!

How do you get on stage? Well, that’s even easier. You need to go to the Cosplay registration desk (check the event map for the location) during opening hours 10am-12pm (2 hours), and pick up a token. The people at the desk will let you know at what time and where you need to be to access the Cosplay Cat-walk. That’s it!

By the way, this is not a competition. If you want to get a performance judged, check out the Cosplay Show, and if you want to get a costume judged, check out the Cosplay pre-judging.

• Cosplay Show (new!)

Do you enjoy watching or performing cosplay skits? Well, this is the event for you then. This is a competiton so obviously there will be judges watching the performances. Solo and group skits are both welcome, and there will be an award for each category. WCS Audition performances will also be presented during the Cosplay Show.

So how do you get into the Cosplay Show? Well it’s simple; you MUST register online at least 1 week before the Festival. You will automatically be accepted into the Cosplay Show, we just need you to register ahead of time so we can prepare for it. You are only judged on your performance, so it doesn’t matter if your costume is homemade or bought. Make sure to visit the Cosplay registration desk (check the event map for the location) during opening hours 10am-12pm (2 hours), to check-in and give your audio/video files. Pre-recorded skits are highly recommended!

For more info, check out the rules here: Animania Festival Cosplay Show rules.

• Cosplay Prejudging (new!)

This is pretty new too, although it already existed for WCS entrants, now it’s also for everyone else. If you made your costume and want to win an award for it, you MUST register online at least 1 week before the Festival.

You will automatically be accepted in the Cosplay prejudging but you will need to visit the Cosplay registration desk (check the event map for the location) during opening hours 10am-12pm (2 hours) to get prejudged. Judges will be on standby, waiting to judge your costume. If you come late, unfortunately you will miss out.

Several new awards will be given during the Award Ceremony at the end of the Festival so make sure to attend to see if you won an award.

The awards given as a result of Cosplay Prejudging are:

• Master Costumer (1st and 2nd place)
• Master Novice (for cosplayer with less than 1 year of experience)

In addition to the costume awards, there will be badge awards for separate categories:

• Master Wig Stylist
• Master Sewist
• Master Weapon Engineer (replacing Bankai, weapons only)
• Master Armourer (for armour only)
• Master Makeup Artist
• Master Crafter (accessories)

What’s so great of getting the badges? Well only 1 badge in each category is awarded at each event, and if you collect all 6 badges, you will get a big Prize, plus you get your own profile added to the hall of fame (as one of the top cosplayers in the country) on the Animania website.

For more info, check out the rules here: Animania Festival Cosplay Prejudging rules.

• WCS competition (A few small changes)

The WCS competition will run as per usual, but with a few small changes. Instead of Preselection Rounds, we will have Auditions instead. This means that there will be no more ranking of teams, and that Teams are either accepted for the Finals or rejected.

No specific prize will be awarded. However, because WCS entrants have to take part in the Cosplay Prejudging (instead of a separate prejudging), they are in the running for any of the awards given as a result of Cosplay Prejudging. The performance will be during the Cosplay Show (no separate WCS event for it). The Finals at Animania Festival Weekend in Sydney will be running be maintaining the same event style as 2010, with separate prejudging and performance events.

For more info, check out the WCS rules here: Animania Festival WCS 2011 rules.

• Cosplay Expo (merged with Bankai)

A major feature of Animania Festival is the Cosplay Expo. Costumes are exhibited on mannequins for everyone to see. This year, the Bankai competition has been merged with the Cosplay Expo and Cosplay Prejudging, so weapons/props of cosplayers entering the Cosplay Prejudging or Cosplay Show will be displayed in the Cosplay Expo.

How do you get your costume in the Cosplay Expo?

Simply send an email to the Cosplay Team at cosplay@animania.net.au.

How do you get your weapon/prop in the Cosplay Expo?

Simply bring it on the day, and take it to the Cosplay registration desk.

• Cosplay Panels (unchanged)

Animania Festival will be hosting Cosplay Panels at each event this year. There is one Cosplay Panel at each of the day festivals (and more held at the weekend long festival). All the panelists are experienced cosplayers, so make sure to come watch the panel if you want to improve on your cosplay!

Gamer Room

There can be no denying that video games are an integral part of Japanese popular culture, but do video games come from anime and manga, or is it the other way around? We see video games such as Initial D spawn from the original manga and anime, yet we also have original artwork inspired from video games such as Final Fantasy. Well, why not have the best of both worlds?

At Animania, relax and play video games that are intertwined with Japanese popular culture, from the classics of Mario Kart to newer titles found in the Japanese domestic market. There is something for everyone at the Gamer Room!

Owners of the Nintendo DS may wish to join in one of several Pictochat sessions, however please note that content is user generated and is not monitored by Animania. Parental guidance is advised.

Check out what Games Competitions will be on.

Karaoke

Karaoke (Karaoke from kara, "empty", and okesutora, "orchestra") is a popular Japanese past-time of singing a favourite song with support of a pre-recorded backing track (with or without the lead vocals) complete with a microphone and sound system to really amplify that personal sound! Whether you want to sing like the stars, or sing your own rendition of your favourite anime or J-pop tunes, there's something for everyone in Animania's Karaoke sessions.

Battle it out with another singer, or gather a group of friends and sing your hearts out. Even if you're not the singing sort, come along and join in the fun!

Anyone can sing those songs they've always loved or dreamed of performing - indeed, it's when that performer in you can get out and shine!

Origami Mini-Workshop

Literally meaning “folding paper”, origami is the art of paper folding. Did you know that you can create any shape or object from paper by just creasing and folding the paper? Objects can vary from simple paper cranes and boats to complex inflatable boxes and moving animals. Origami is a fun hobby for all ages.

Our friendly Animania Staff will guide you through all the techniques, simple and complex, to create a variety of shapes and objects. Once completed you can take your creation home as a souvenir! Places are limited!

Over 9000 (game show)

By combining the imaginative aspects of Japanese game shows and the exuberance of Japanese anime, Animania presents Over 9000.

The rules of Over 9000 are revealed on the day, however we can tell you that whatever it is there will be laughter, suspenceful music and some kind of audience participation. Anything and everything could happen (within the laws of physics), no doubt a variety of games for the audience to participate in and prizes to be won. So buckle up people, Over 9000 is coming to show you a good, (er,) show!

Over 9000 will feature on the Main Stage, with times listed in the Schedule on this website and in the Festival Guide.