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| Visual Arts Expo 2015 banner, taken upon arrival at MIECC. |
After four months of hiatus (not including my latest post here), thanks to writer's block and depression, I'm finally back into writing a new article. This time it's about my visit to Visual Arts Expo 2015 (VAX), held at MINES International Exhibition & Convention Centre (MIECC), located just beside MINES Shopping Fair. My decision to go to Visual Arts Expo 2015 at MIECC is because this year's Comic Fiesta is also going to be held at the same place, so I need to know more about getting there.
And so begins the most boring writing I have ever done, as I am still having a bit of trouble writing due to my health conditions.
GETTING THERE
Although MINES Shopping Fair is within walking distance from the Serdang Komuter Station, I have safety concerns when getting there, as I feel somewhat unsafe when walking to the destination. Using the bus to get there might have been a slightly safer option, but I didn't know which bus stop I should be at. There are two bus stops; one is exactly at Serdang Komuter Station, the other is located at the other side of the main road.
Anyway, once I entered MINES Shopping Fair, I started to have trouble finding my way to MIECC, and I ended up getting a bit lost. Good reason for that, as I have NEVER been there before. And guess what? It took me almost 10 minutes to find my way to the convention centre!
ARRIVAL AT MIECC
Upon arrival at MIECC, I immediately noticed that there was no queueing at all at the ticket counter, while outside, there are a number of 'Itasha' cars (cars wrapped in Anime vinyls and stickers). I took photos of the cars first (this shall be revealed later), then bought the tickets and finally, entered the exhibition hall.
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| The stairs that leads to the fourth floor of MIECC and also to Mines Shopping Fair. This is the route I used to get to the hall. |
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| The ticket counter. This photo was taken after I have done my visit inside the hall. |
INSIDE THE HALLS
The moment I entered the hall, to my surprise, there were not as many people inside, and it was about 10:51 a.m. at the time I took the first photo of one of the exhibits at the hall. Before I arrived there, I was expecting a large crowd much like last year's Comic Fiesta, but it turns out to be different than I thought.
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| This is the first photo taken once I entered the hall, taken using sweep panorama mode. |
And so, after taking the photo above, I proceeded to take more photos of the available booths and exhibits, where I circled the hall more than five times in the process (photos shall be revealed later). I even had the chance to take a photo of the manga artist, Keitaro Arima, during the Q&A session at the stage, although there was this funny incident happening around that time where a toddler was seen going up the stage, causing the visitors there to laugh.
There are also special guest appearances by Ladybeard, anisong artist Aimee B and J-Rock band BACK-ON, but I was absent during their appearances, as not only I left the area at about 12:40 p.m., I was also absent on Day Two of the event.
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| This is the photo of Keitaro Arima, taken during the Q&A session. On the left is the translator. |
GAMES & ACTIVITIES
Besides the sales and exhibition booths, there are also games and activities sections. Among those are a video game section by KITAMEN (taken from the Malay phrase 'kita main,' which means 'we play' in English) video game rental service, where they also have a racing simulator for a Formula 1 racing game (F1 2015). On the right is Hearthstone, and further, is MAGIC The Gathering, W40K, BSR and TCG tabletop games. I tried playing the Formula 1 racing game, and guess what? I was so bad at it!
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| This is the racing simulator by KITAMEN, which is one of two PlayStation 4 services provided for rental. More information at www.kitamen.net. |
Also, located on the left of KITAMEN section is a room where the Special Interests panel is held. There is also a Workshop room further left, where hobby workshop activities and Autograph session is held.
IMAGE GALLERY
Now onto the photos taken in the gallery below. On that day, I took more than 50 photos, which is much less when compared to my Comic Fiesta articles, although more than during CosMart 2014. While there are cosplayers around, I didn't take photos of them.
Anyway, some of the photos I took below are not as good as in my previous visits to ACG events (Comic Fiesta and Animax Carnival), as I have sleeping problems on that day.
IMAGE GALLERY 1: INSIDE THE HALLS
IMAGE GALLERY 2: ITASHA (TAKEN BEFORE ENTERING AND AFTER LEAVING THE HALL)
CONCLUSION
Once again, it's a mixed feelings affair. Although the number of visitors present was fewer than what I've seen in Comic Fiesta, I am happy to be there for two reasons: One is that I finally had the chance to meet up with my forum friends there (I didn't meet up with them since 2011). Two, is because I enjoyed the racing simulator, despite the fact I was so bad at it!
However, there is one thing that I highly recommend for all ACG (Animation, Comic and Games) events held here in Malaysia: a luggage storage room. At the event, there is a luggage storage room located just beside the Workshop room, where cosplayers can store their luggage there and take a number tag given by VAX staff, which I find absent in last year's Comic Fiesta (during Comic Fiesta, I noticed all the bags carried by the cosplayers are left at the changing room).
RemainUnknown522 Out.
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