SMASH 2023
mon 3.7.23
tag: rambling | view more rambling posts
(originally posted on cohost)
so on saturday (1st july) i went to SMASH (Sydney Manga and Anime Show). the last time i attended was back in 2019 and well, we knew how the world was from 2020 onwards... so it's been a while since i've gone to a convention in general. gonna share some ramblings about my day below, but for a tldr:
- met sungwon/prozd in person for an autograph, he was very wholesome
- my wallet cried over buying a lot of nice fan merch
i remember being a little worried not making it to sungwon's signing since i was still stuck in line while it was almost starting, and i wasn't quite familiar enough with how these signings worked in the first place, what if i took too long to get into the queue and miss out? but fortunately it all worked out (despite me asking for directions because i was confused on how to navigate to the signing area...).
his wife was sitting next to him while he did all the signings, and i recall the time when i handed over an art print i drew for him + letter as a gift.
him: oh nice! did you draw this?
me: yeah!
him: that's awesome. so where did you want me to sign this print?
me: oh no it's for you
him: IT'S FOR ME?!
her: yeah of course it is. didn't you see the letter at the front?
him: oh! wait can i read this right now??
and honestly his reaction was just, so genuine and wholesome. not to say i was expecting anything bad, but i suppose it feels special when you're there in-person. he also bought the print with him while we took a photo together which had me screaming on the inside haha.
leaving this here so i can remember it actually happened. my art is on the left, drew some RGG characters he voiced in like a dragon and judgment.
i was hoping to catch his panel as well but there was a queue(!!) just to enter the theatre, and so i gave up after 10-15mins in because i figured the panel would be mostly finished by the time i could enter.
usually the main thing i do at SMASH is buy fan merch, so most of my time would be spent browsing the artist alley. this year was no different, and basically everything i bought on the day was from there. i made sure to visit tables which had merch that i knew i wanted to buy first. you could kinda group all the merch i bought into the following: me liking blue, lots of aquatic and starry themes, and still obsessed with trigun haha.
i've tried to be more selective in what i buy (otherwise who knows how much more money would have been spent...), and overall i'm quite satisfied with what i got! now if only i could be better at chatting with fellow artists instead going in to buy then quickly leaving cause crowds were crazy haha.
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