Animagic was held August 2nd till 4th of 2024 in Mannheim, Germany
Animagic 2024 was amazing for me. I mean...lots of Digimon panels and Ayumi Miyazaki performing. There was Horror manga icon Junji Ito as guest! An both Kappei Yamaguchi and Ryo Horikawa, such iconic voice actors!
I prepared well to visit every panel I wanted (Excel-sheet and all) and I don't think I would have been able to visit everything I wanted without it. I'm also very thankful that I was in good heatlth and my body held up.
Friday
Friday startet with waiting in line for my entry bracelet and then again for entry. The waiting was long but it was organized and I knew beforehand that it would take long so it didn't feel that bad.
After I got in I changed into my costume (from Digimon of course). It was the only day I cosplayed.
First I went to the Digimon Adventure 02 - The Beginning Q&A with Eri Shimomura: I even sat at the very front row. Very nice panel with a very good interpreter so we got to learn all about the movie. There was also a mini cosplay "contest" were they gave away goodies for the winners. I didn't win anything but it was a really nice experience. The panel also wasn't overcrowded. Everyone who wanted in got in.
Next was the Ayumi Miyazaki concert in the main hall. And it was packed, there was no free seat left. Everyone on the audience got these blow up sticks to make some noise :D. It was so amazing hearing Brave Heart live with everyone singing along. Digimon is a big, big thing for Anime fans my age (Butterfly is like the inofficial hymn of Animagic). There was an amazing atmosphere and a wonderful experience.
Last but not least I did something I haven't done in the last 20 years of con going: Watching an Anime. I'm a big Slam Dunk fan and the year before Slam Dunk - The first Slam Dunk was promoted at Animagic and shown...but sadly very late. So finally a year later I could watch The first Slam Dunk!
It was a fantastic movie and I enjoyed every second of it. There weren't that many people at the screening, so it was very chill. Also loved how everyone went "Ooooooh...." when Ryota screamed at his brother to not come back.
That's how my first day at animagic 2024 ended!
Saturday
The next day started with the entry line and a Horror Q&A with Horror manga legend Junji Ito and Dominik Jell, a germany mangaka and tattoo artist. It was a very fun and wholesome panel since Dominik is a big fan of Junji Ito. Both got to answer questions about their insporation, what scares them and what horror tropes they prefer.
After that I went to the Toei Animation Festa 2024 panel. It's a showcase of current and new shows by Toei. Nice panel and everyone got a fabric tote with an pin with the Toei mascot and some One Piece stickers.
After hearing all about the Digimon Adventure 02 - The Beginning movie I took my chance to watch it right there at Animagic. I was surprised how dark it was (not complaining)...but a great experience watching it with pther Digimon fans.
I rushed to the main hall for Anime in Concert and I was incredibly lucky: The doors were already closed, but they let a few more people in to fill in the last few seats and I got a very good place with a good view. The performance was great again like every year. It's so nice hear iconic tunes performaned by a live orchestra with a packed hall full of fans.
Next was the preview event of the 27th Detective Conan movie with Kappei Yamaguchi and Ryo Horikawa. I was very excited and wasn't disappointed. There was an interessting interview with the producers and both voice actors and the mc hyped us all up for the movie. They showed the first 30 minutes of the movie which wasn't out in cinemas yet. After the event everyone got a very pretty postcard.
Sunday
The last day of Animagic started with...lines. I was in line to get into the convention as soon as possible and rushed to the line for the Juni Ito live drawing panel. I started to queue 45 minutes befor the panel started and got only a place in the first of the room. And it was a big room. Since I'm a small person I could not see that well, I can't imagine how little people in the back were able to see. Well, you could see the drawing on screen but not much else. Still it was incredible seeing Junji Ito bring a piece of work to live. He drew Tomie and answered a few questions about work and drawing process.
Next I went to see the Ryota Kikuchi piano concert. Very nice and fun. He is an amazing pianist and improvises based on the audiences reaction and his mood so every performance is a bit difference.
My last panel of Animagic was the Bones 25th anniversary panel with Toshihiro Kawamoto. I did not exspect much, but was very surprised at how fun that panel was. They talked about the history of the studio and new stuff they worked on. The was also lots of audience interaction as people were asked and could about their favourites from the studio. Toshihiro Kawamoto also played jankenpon against the audience who could win not one, not two, but like 5 different original drawings by him. He said the night before he drew some more in his hotel. That was so sweet! He made some people very, very happy. (I didn't win but also didn't mind not winning. It was just fun.)
After that I spent more time checking out the different booths and dealers room. Like I got this cool Mario tote bag from the Nintendo booth (already on Friday). I really liked the Toei Digimon booth where they displayed merch and original drawings for the Digimon Adventure 02 movie.
All in all I had a great Animagic 2024 packed with great panels, concert and movies. A 3-day ticket cost like 130€ which is a lot of money, but with everything I enjoyed that weekend I feel it was well spent.
My loot!
Food
