Pacific Media Expo 2011: Day 3 by Nergene Arquelada (J!-ENT Interviews and Articles)

Pacific Media Expo 2011 concluded on Sunday in Los Angeles.  The final day of the convention included a wide array of events.  For the third consecutive year, the convention hosted the Way of the Stick and Blade:   Tournament of Filipino Martial Arts.  The tournament featured the martial arts of  Eskrima, Kali, and Arnis and included forms, full contact stick fighting, and padded stick fighting.

The fashion show is one of the highlights of the convention.  This year’s show featured designs from ATELIER-PIERROT, which is known for their classic Gothic Lolita styles.

There was also a panel with some of the cast and crew from the upcoming indie thriller, Innocence Blood.  The panel included actors C.S. Lee and Alexandra Bokyun Chun.  Also on the panel were child actor Lance Lim, director, writer, and producer Sun W. Kim and director DJ Holloway.  The film is scheduled to be released next year.

Other events on Sunday included a full day of workshops and demonstrations devoted to Asian ball-jointed dolls.  It was an opportunity for those who wanted to learn about these dolls or share advice about their care and maintenance.  Another panel featured the American voice actresses from the classic anime series Tenchi Muyo.  Appearing at this panel were voice actresses Petrea Burchard, Rebecca Forstadt, Ellen Gerstell and Sherry Lynn.  This was a year for very diverse programming at Pacific Media Expo.  There were many new and unique events for this year.  Pacific Media Expo will return to the LAX Hilton next year and promises to be even bigger.

 

Pacific Media Expo 2011: Day 2 by Nergene Arquelada (J!-ENT Interviews & Articles)

Day 2 of the Pacific Media Expo Asian pop culture convention in Los Angeles included a full day of panels and event.  Gourmet food trucks are all the rage in Los Angeles and for the third year in a row, upscale food trucks have included Pacific Media Expo on their schedules.  The Kogi food truck made a short appearance on Day 0, a day before the convention officially got underway.  The Takoyaki Tanota mobile cart fed attendees on Friday night.  Truck Norris, a truck that specializes in Filipino fusion cuisine, arrived in time for lunch on Saturday afternoon.  These trucks are a welcome sight for con-goers looking for an alternative to the very few eateries within walking distance of the convention.

Cosfest, the convention’s cosplay contest took place Saturday afternoon.  Although this convention usually gets far less entries than other conventions, the competition is fierce due to the cash prizes that are awarded to the most deserving contestants.

Unlike other cosplay competitions, Cosfest allows costumes from all aspects of Asian entertainment including music, television, and film.  Cosfest is always one of the more popular events of the convention. This year’s contest was one of the largest ones in recent years.

During Cosfest’s intermission, the audience was treated to musical performances by various groups as well as a viewing of the best videos from this year’s anime video contest.

Saturday night’s concert was opened by local band, Lemon Drop Kick.  Lemon Drop Kick has made several appearances at Pacific Media Expo.  Their first appearance at this convention was in 2005.

Music guests of honor D headlined Saturday night’s concert.  It was their second concert during this year’s convention.  The set list for this Saturday night’s show was different from Friday night’s concert, and true fans made sure to attend both shows.  The crowd was very enthusiastic for both shows and this year’s concert series for the convention was very successful.

Pacific Media Expo concludes Sunday at the LAX Hilton in Los Angeles.  Sunday’s programming includes a fashion show featuring designs from ATELIER-PIERROT, a panel featuring C. S. Lee and Alexandra Bokyun Chun from the upcoming thriller, Innocence Blood, a Filipino marial arts tournament, and a full day of workshops for fans of ball jointed dolls.

 

Pacific Media Expo 2011: Day 1 by Nergene Arquelada (J!-ENT Interviews and Articles)

The eighth annual Pacific Media Expo Asian pop culture convention is currently underway at the LAX Hilton.  This convention is known for its wide range of guests and programming spanning many aspects of Asian pop culture.   Not only are there events related to Japanese anime and manga, there are also guests and events related to fashion, martial arts, music, Korean drama, and Asian-American entertainment.  The convention returned to its former venue after being at the Pasadena Hilton last year.  Fans were given the opportunity to vote for this year’s location and so it was decided that the convention return to the LAX Hilton.

 

The convention’s first big event was opening ceremonies.  Most of the guests of honor were present including anime director Yasuhiro Imagawa, who is known for directing Giant Robo and Tetsujin 28.   Suzumi Atsushi, is this year’s manga guest of honor.  Her works include Venus Versus Virus and Haridama Magic Cram School and Amefurashi: The Rain Goddess.  Also in attendance was mecha designer  Tsuyoshi Nonaka, who has worked on mecha designs for Mazinkaiser SKL, Shin Mazinger Shōgeki! Z-Hen and DICE.  Finally, this year’s fashion guest of honor is Yuko Ashizawa of ATELIER-PIERROT.  Opening ceremonies concluded with Ashizawa filling in the first eye of the ceremonial daruma.

Live programming continued into the afternoon and evening, including a panel featuring guests of honor Imagawa and Nonaka, who delighted mecha fans with a joint panel.  Another panel was devoted to Allegiance,  a musical production about the World War II Japanese internment.  Producers Lorenzo Thione and Jay Kuo were there to discuss this unique musical as well as cast members Paul Nakauchi and George Takei.  Later in the afternoon, guest of honor Ashizawa held her EGL fashion related panel.  This was the first appearance for ATELIER-PIERROT in Southern California.

Music and live concerts have always been a big component of Pacific Media Expo.  Friday night’s concert was opened by local band, Dig Jelly, who were making their fourth appearance at Pacigic Media Expo.

Headlining this year’s music program are music guests of honor, the visual kei band D.  Fans of D lined up hours early to get the best spots to view Friday night’s concert.  D will also headline Saturday night’s concert, featuring a different set of songs.  Pacific Media Expo continues at the LAX Hilton through Sunday.  Saturday’s events will include panels by guests of honor Suzumi Atsushi and D as well as the conventions CosFest cosplay contest, where cash awards will be given to the the show’s best performers and costumes.  D will perform is second concert, which will be opened by local band, Lemon Drop Kick.

$5 Off for registration for Pacific Media Expo (Special J!-ENT Code)

Are you planning to attend Pacific Media Expo at the Hilton Los Angeles on November 11-13? Remember to use the code: QJENT for $5 off your registration! Tell all your friends!

Pacific Media Expo 2010

Pacific Media Expo (PMX) 2010 was held on November 12-14 at the Pasadena Hilton.  This was the 7th PMX.  This was also a new location for this convention after being held at the LAX Hilton for the past four years.  Guests of Honor for this year included animator and director, Hiromi Kato, and actress Amy Okuda of the web series, The Guild.  Representing Japanese fashion were Miki Nohmoto from Alice and the Pirates, which is a sub brand of Baby, the Stars Shine Bright, and Yumi Fujiwara from Innocent World.  The Nom Nom Truck became the first food truck  to be a Guest of Honor for this convention.    Also, for the first time, PMX had Korean Guests of Honor with actor, Jang Dong-gun and director, Sngmoo Lee.

One of Friday’s featured events was the Asian Food Challenge.  There was a slight change in format for this year’s contest.  Instead of rounds in which contestants ate various exotic dishes from Asia, there was simply one round to see which contestant could eat this year’s mystery food in the shortest amount of time.  The food turned out to be balut, a boiled duck (or chicken) egg with a nearly developed embryo inside.  Contestants had to eat six of them. The prize for winning was a $100 cash prize.

Friday was also capped off with a concert.  Concerts are a staple for PMX.  In the past, major acts from Japan have performed at this convention.  In the past few years, there were concerts on every day of the convention.  This year, there was only one concert and it featured three local bands.  New to PMX this year was Tanuki Suit Riot, which played covers of anime and video game music.  Also returning to PMX were local rock bands, Lemon Drop Kick and Dig Jelly.  While it wasn’t the biggest concert that PMX has ever hosted, these local bands still managed to fill the room with enthusiastic fans.

Saturday was filled with a wide variety of events.  For the second year in a row, PMX included a martial arts tournament devoted specifically to Filipino martial arts.  This event started early in the morning and lasted throughout the day.  New for this year was the Starlight Fashion Festival, which was basically an EGL carnival.  Attendees paid an extra fee to enter this event that included various games and activities for prizes.  Saturday also featured CosFest, PMX’s Cosplay Competition.  The top prize for CosFest is $300, which tends to bring out some high-quality costumes.  It’s still one of the shorter cosplay competitions.  This year, there were about 20 entries.  It’s one of those contests where the halftime entertainment lasts just as long as the actual competition.  CosFest is also different since entries aren’t limited to Japanese animation, manga, or video games.  Other genres such as Asian music, film, and EGL are accepted.  This year’s Best of Show winners were a group doing a musical number from the Korean group, SNSD.

Sunday is usually a slow day at conventions, but at PMX, some major events still remained for the final day.  For the second consecutive year, PMX featured a fashion show showcasing the designs from the fashion Guests of Honor.  It is one of the more popular events of the convention.  One of the the final events of the convention was The Warrior’s Way panel, featuring Jang Dong-gun, Sngmoo Lee, and producer, Barrie Osborne (Lord of the Rings, The Matrix).  A short clip from The Warrior’s Way was shown followed by a Q & A session using pre-selected questions submitted by fans.  Surprisingly, a panel featuring a Korean guest was extremely popular and every seat in the auditorium was full.  Some attendees and media came to PMX specifically for these guests.

PMX 2010 showed a slight improvement in overall attendance from the previous year. That’s quite interesting when you take into account that there was no major musical act performing this year.  The new venue showed it’s weaknesses as it was apparent that its space was not adequate for an event of this size.  It was much smaller than the LAX Hilton, which resulted in smaller rooms for just about everything.  The main floor was basically a series of very narrow hallways.  A few attendees said that it made them feel claustrophobic.  Elbow room was hard to find at this particular location and that seemed to be one of the major complaints for this year.  Cosplayers didn’t like it because there could be no location to hold large group gatherings and photo opportunities.  On the bright side, the neighborhood was nice for photos as long one was willing to go off-site.  There are some beautiful buildings within walking distance of the hotel.  The location was also better for after-hours activities and dining than the LAX location.  Another success was the expansion of the food truck program.  Over the weekend, five local gourmet food trucks were a part of PMX.  All of them did very well and some of them completely sold out of food.  Lines were long, but attendees seemed to be willing to wait.  It will be interesting to see what this convention does next year.  If more growth is expected, who knows where this event will be in 2011?

Korean Actor Jang Dong-gun and Director Sngmoo Lee Will Appear Exclusively at Pacific Media Expo for The Warrior’s Way

PASADENA, CA – Pacific Media Expo (PMX) welcomes acclaimed movie actor Jang Dong-gun as its first Korean Guest of Honor. Jang Dong-gun, along with director Sngmoo Lee, will be appearing at PMX on Sunday, November 14, 2010 for a panel and autograph session. This will be Jang and Lee’s only convention appearance before The Warrior’s Way opens in theaters nationwide on December 3, 2010.

“We at Pacific Media Expo are extremely honored to have an actor of Mr. Jang Dong-gun’s caliber as our guest. We are happy to be the first convention to host his debut into American cinema. We welcome him with open arms,” says Mike Tatsugawa, PMX’s Founder and CEO.

Attendees are encouraged to register for Pacific Media Expo early for Mr.Jang Dong-gun’s panel. Autographs will be given only to those who come to Jang and Lee’s panel. Go to http://PacificMediaExpo.com/info/reg.html to register.

About Pacific Media Expo:

As America’s first major media trade show dedicated primarily to Asian-Pacific popular culture and entertainment, Pacific Media Expo (PMX) is an industry event sponsored by the Pacific Media Association. Pacific Media Expo will be held November 12-14, 2010 at the Pasadena Hilton. The convention will feature honored guests, live performances, panel discussions, autograph sessions, Asian cinema, animation, and Korean drama video rooms, and art exhibitions at one of the country’s only exhibit halls dedicated solely to Asian media and pop culture.