Convention Report- Dublin Comic Con Anime Edition 2018

I recently attended the first Dublin Comic Con Anime Edition event with a press pass. I’ve been attending Dublin Comic Con since the first event five years ago but this event was a new version that mainly focused on anime (the main event is still taking place in August as usual and I’m really excited about it). Like the last three August conventions it took place at The Convention Centre. I attended the press night on Friday evening and the Sunday of the con itself.

I have to start by saying that I really enjoyed Dublin Comic Con Anime Edition and hope that it will become a yearly event like the main DCC. The only thing I will say is that I think it should be on a different weekend as some people have other plans on Easter Weekend that may have liked to attend. That said, the event still had approximately 6,000 attendees over the two days which is still very impressive. I think the anime event (if it does become annual) could definitely benefit in the future from being on a different weekend though.

This was the first convention I had attended that put on a press night the night before the event started. It was a lot of fun getting a preview at the guests signing area and the artists alley when it was very quiet and only fellow members of the press (along with a few staff members) were around. They were still setting up the exhibitor’s area so we unfortunately weren’t able to get a sneak peek at the stalls and props. I had to wait until Sunday to see those.

One of the things I want to highlight about this event was how good of an idea I think it was to have the press night. It was nice to get the preview of the event but it also made a lot of sense as it meant I could concentrate on buying merchandise, taking pictures and video etc on the Sunday as interviews were only allowed to be done on the press night as long as I had been approved for an interview. I was fortunate enough to be approved to interview Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon star Eric Stuart and I had a lot of fun talking to him (our interview with him should be up on YouTube in the next few days). I think the press night is definitely something the Dublin Comic Con staff should use for all future events from now on.

I really enjoyed the Sunday of the event as well. Going into the event I knew I wanted to get Eric to sign a Blue-Eyes White Dragon card so that was one of the first things I did after arriving. I’m a big Yugi fan but I’ve always been amused by Eric’s hashtag #YugiCheats on his Yu-Gi-Oh! related posts on social media so I couldn’t resist asking him to include that in the autograph. It’s definitely one of my favourite autographs in my collection and hopefully I’ll be able to meet more Yu-Gi-Oh! cast members and get more cards signed. That’s something I’m definitely hoping for if Dublin Comic Con Anime Edition becomes a regular event (and more Pokémon guests too).

I was quite pleased with my haul from the event. As well as getting the card signed I also got some great merchandise from the stalls including the Yugi & Kaiba Collector Box which was only released a couple of days before the event. I was very surprised but delighted that Forbidden Planet’s stall had it as I thought it might take a few weeks to reach the Republic of Ireland. I also bought four more Dimensional Guardians packs for my Yu-Gi-Oh! collection. Outside of Yu-Gi-Oh! I bought some Lego Star Wars mini-figures at a stall including an official one in Jabba the Hutt and some customs like Bo-Katan and a few Clone Troopers. Another stall also had a set of custom The Walking Dead mini-figures (Rick, Daryl, Michonne and Negan) so I bought those as well. I’m really impressed by the work that went into the custom mini-figures. I thought the stalls were quite good and that, while there was naturally a lot of anime stalls, there was still a good variety. I was disappointed that a few stalls I usually see weren’t there but hopefully I’ll see them at other conventions this year.

As usual the cosplayers were fantastic and I saw some great costumes on the Sunday. Considering it was smaller than the main DCC I thought I’d see less cosplayers but in a strange way it was like the reverse in that because there were less attendees I was able to notice the cosplayers more. The costume I was most impressed by was the Deathstroke but unfortunately I wasn’t able to get any pictures of that cosplayer. I was also very impressed by the Mera, Doctor Strange and Shadow Stormtrooper cosplayers.

The guest line-up for the first Dublin Comic Con Anime Edition was very impressive. As well as Eric also meeting fans were Seth Gilliam (The Walking Dead), Brent Spiner (Star Trek), Tara Strong (Batman Arkham series), DC Douglas (Resident Evil) and Kira Buckland (Final Fantasy). Eric, Seth, DC and Kira took part in a group panel on the press night and it was a lot of fun to see them bounce off of each other in the panel. As someone who has been a fan of Yu-Gi-Oh!/Pokémon and The Walking Dead respectively for years I have to say it was strange seeing the voice of Seto Kaiba, Brock and James sitting next to Father Gabriel from The Walking Dead. I just went full geek didn’t I?

In summary, I had a really great time at Dublin Comic Con Anime Edition. It was a lot of fun and I hope that we’ll see the anime event become a regular event. I know I’d attend again if they do more Anime Editions. My only criticism is that I feel it should be held on a weekend other than Easter Weekend as I feel like it would get more attendees on a different weekend. I was very pleased with the addition of the press night and hope that the organisers do it for all future Dublin Comic Con events. The guest line-up was great, I think the stall of merchandise at the stalls was good and the cosplayers were great as well. I’m already looking forward to Dublin Comic Con in August.

By Ruari Williamson

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You can watch our footage from Dublin Comic Con Anime Edition below: