News

Two New Conventions Announced in Melbourne

Both events were being promoted at Supanova Pop Culture Expo Melbourne earlier this month. The new conventions follow on from last year's closure of Manifest and the announcement of ChaOZ earlier this year.

The 2014 Convention Calendar has been updated with the new events.

Melbourne Anime and Manga Festival

Organised by the Swinburne Anime Club, MAMF will be taking place on Saturday the 2nd of August at Federation Square as a free event. A flyer was being handed out to promote the event at Supanova Pop Culture Expo Melbourne with links to facebook and a website.

While not much information on MAMF has been posted on their website and facebook page at the time of writing this article the following was posted about the event's aims;

At the event we are hoping to provide an opportunity for those who would otherwise be unaware of the the cultural aspects associated with the fandom of these art forms.

By providing opportunities for anime and manga related stores and traders including Madman Entertainment, Hanabee Entertainment Siren Visual and many more, as well as those who partake in costume play and some aspects unique to Japan we hope to achieve our outcomes.

The flyer does state there will be a cosplay competition, traders, performers and artists. ANN has emailed the organisers asking for further information about the event but we have not received a reply. We will post any further developments as it happens.

Details

• Where: Federation Square, Corner Swanston St & Flinders St, Melbourne VIC 3000.
• When: Saturday the 2nd of August 2014 from 10am to 8pm.
• Cost: Free Entry.
• Website: http://melbanimanga.swinanime.net/.

Animaga Expo

A new convention on the block, Animaga Expo aims to "develop the anime industry and to broaden the horizons for anime and Japanese culture in Australia". Their first event will be taking place in the same venue as Oz Comic Con Melbourne and they plan to have Karaoke, Cosplay, Gunpla, Concerts, Maid Cafes and more. We inquired with Animaga Expo as to what they would be planning and Animaga's President Colin Chan responded that they are looking into inviting guests and will have many surprises in the months to come.

Animaga Expo is owned by Colin Chan who also owns Anime Base United, an anime goods stall that mainly trades at conventions.

Details

• Where: Royal Exhibition Building, 9 Nicholson St, Carlton VIC 3053.
• When: Saturday the 27th and Sunday the 28th of September 2014.
• Cost: Prices are currently unknown.
• Website: http://animaga.com.au/.