News
SMASH! on in Sydney this Weekend
posted on by Georgia Blair
SMASH! (Sydney Manga and Anime Show) is being held this Saturday, July 16th, from 9:30am to 5:30pm at the Sydney Convention Centre.
The convention is in its fifth year, and has moved to its new venue after the previous event received a record 2810 attendees. SMASH! has a strong focus on artists and will host a large number of artist stalls, as well as other vendors and exhibitors. Events include cosplay competitions and cosplay chess, the Australian round of the Bandai Model Kit World Cup, others competitions, panels and gaming.
In the evening after the convention, members of Eminence Symphony Orchestra will perform a concert titled Memories of Fantasia, featuring composers Kenji Itō and Hiroki Kikuta--well-known for composing the soundtracks to various Squaresoft games, including Romancing SaGa and Secret of Mana--and debuting vocalist Mari Yoshida. The concert will feature music from video games and anime, and will be a premier for an animation titled The Last Goodbye, with a live soundtrack provided by Eminence and Mari Yoshida.
Kenji Itō, Hiroki Kikuta and Mari Yoshida will be at the SMASH! convention as guests. Also attending the convention as guests will be anime director Shinichi 'Nabeshin' Watanabe (Excel Saga, The Wallflower, Nerima Daikon Brothers), and LittleKuriboh, the creator of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged Series parody.
Preregistration has closed but tickets may be purchased at the door for $30 (children under 7 admitted free). Tickets for the Memories of Fantasia concert cost an additional $35 and may be purchased at the same time. The schedule is available online online and more information can be found on the website.
