meteordust | SMASH! 2018

Last month, I went to SMASH!. It was the first time it was at the newly rebuilt International Convention Centre in Darling Harbour.

I rocked up at 11:40am, figuring I would have avoided the opening time crowds. Surprise! The line was huge. At least, the line to buy tickets was huge. The line for presold tickets was empty. Apparently, they stopped presales a week before the convention, so obviously lots of people were forced to buy tickets on the day. It took almost an hour to get in, compared to the fifteen minutes I'm used to these days.

Once I got in, it was fine. I had fun catching up with fluffyduck, leareth, aerias, K, S and G.

Panels

I actually didn't attend any panels this year. But I noticed that the program listed an event called "Golden Oldies Trivia", which was described as "All the older series you know and love! No questions about anything released post 2008!" Which made me go D: because "golden oldies" should be shows like the original black and white Astroboy. Then again, their screenings of "Anime Classics" included Cardcaptor Sakura, Trigun, FLCL, and Code Geass.

Shopping

I picked up a copy of AarinSecret (also free to download online!), and scored a complimentary Finder poster. It's a BL magazine by the AarinFantasy team, full of cool art, features, interviews, and reviews. A happy discovery, though it seems to be the final issue.

I also came across a postcard set about the birds of Sydney by Kenny Mak. I bought the postcard of the seagulls devouring chips at the Sydney Fish Market, a scene I have personally witnessed, only with more swooping of hapless humans.

I picked up as gifts an adorable reversable octopus (TeeTurtle now makes plush toys) and a Spirited Away pencil case (Curious Empire draws in a super cute style).

I also checked out the game demo of Qinoto, an intriguing paper folding puzzle adventure.

Photos

The line from hell.

Line