• Submissions
  • Support Us
  • nl Nederlands
  • en English
AVO Magazine - One click closer to Japan
  • AVO Magazine
    • AVO Magazine, who?
    • About us (日本語)
    • AVO Magazine presents
    • AVO Magazine Podcast
    • Join AVO Magazine’s Discord Server
    • Support AVO Magazine
  • Staff picks
  • Music
    • Japanese Music News
      • Concerts and festival news
      • Musical Snack
    • Curtain-raiser
    • Weekly MV Roundup
      • About: 7 New Music Videos You Need To Check Out
  • Japan-related Events
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
  • Reports
  • Colophon
  • Contact
    • Submissions
    • Join the AVO Magazine team
No Result
View All Result
AVO Magazine - One click closer to Japan
No Result
View All Result
Home Reports Reports: Anime Events

Anime 2018: goodbye to a beautiful location and on to Ahoy!

Francisca Hagen by Francisca Hagen
1 August 2018
in Reports, Reports: Anime Events
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A
0
AnimeCon 2018 at World Forum Theater The Hague | Photography: Vi Young

AnimeCon 2018 at World Forum Theater The Hague | Photography: Vi Young

After the last edition in 2017 rumours were circulating already: is Animecon going to move to a bigger venue? A few weeks before the 2018-edition this was announced officially: Ahoy will be the new location, starting next year. This means that visitors during this last edition would be walking through the World Forum for the last time. The location is interesting, because of the various embassies and even Europol surrounding the World Forum, the building itself is pretty light and has various locations indoors and outdoors for photography and videography. It’s a beautiful location with a lot of room, but still the feeling of cosiness due to the placing and decoration of the various rooms.

No resources were wasted to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the anime convention properly. The first performance of JAM Project in The Netherlands has been at Anime 2018 and this was the cherry on top regarding the music-related events, but there were more musical acts from Japan which were invited to perform in the World Forum under the name of Live Houses. A rock band, DJ-acts and even an idol act could take the stage in the Amazon Room. They all attracted various groups of interested people, and the idol act NECRONOMIDOL was close to 160 people as their audience. The combination of Deshima Sounds with the dj-acts Savage States and Numb’n’dub during the Saturday evening and night appeared to be the last pieces of the puzzle to create the complete experience.

There was enough room to get familiar with these acts, but the focus of every edition of AnimeCon is cosplay. And that’s not so strange, since the biggest anime convention of The Netherlands has to reserve a lot of room in their schedule for various interesting cosplay competitions. For fans of cosplay, this convention is perfect, especially because you can enjoy various big names who dare to take the stage in the Koning Willem Alexanderzaal to show off their cosplay creations. Aside from cosplay, there were various interesting games available in the game room, a good shopping opportunity, the whiskey tasting was a big success and this year there was a maid- and ninjacafé who came especially from Japan to join the convention. The location of the maid- and butlercafé Sparkling Potpourri and Royal Roulette had been adjusted to the ground floor, but the decoration had been done beautifully. Even though it was a bit too dark, the atmosphere was great because of the original decoration.

The take-outs from the various food options went great. The sales of Japanese foods remains as popular as ever among the visitors, especially when these are prepared right in front of you while you wait. The combination of the loaded schedule with over 200 events and various food and drink options ensured that you wouldn’t want to leave the location. That’s positive, because if there’s always something to do, even if it is meeting familiar people, then you did a great job as an event!

This year AnimeCon knew how to be a convention for different kinds of people. It was very interesting to see how the location had successfully arranged more musical acts. Hopefully, this trend will be continued in the next location. It’s extremely exciting to see how AnimeCon 2019 will look. To keep the feel of the anime convention there will have to be a lot of adjustments at the location, because this one is more like an expo or a comic con. Still, the organisation has assured they are working hard to get the visual aspect just like they want it. With the experience that is present already, there was a celebration for AnimeCon’s 20th year of activity just now, after all, it will surely be alright in the end.

20 years of AnimeCon has been celebrated beautifully in the World Forum, and it was a great goodbye to a beautiful location. But who knows, we might find ourselves in the World Forum sooner or later. There was something that the organization of AnimeCon was hinting at, while we might take that as a joke. You never know what happens behind the screens.

Photography: VI Young (except for NECRONOMIDOL and X Made Alcoholic Santaclaus: Francisca Hagen)

Tags: 2018
ShareTweetShareShareShareShare
Previous Post

Product Review: Popin Cookin – Tsubu Tsubu Land

Next Post

BAND-MAID goes on World Domination Tour 2018

Francisca Hagen

Francisca Hagen

Never satisfied, always exploring. Started with AVO in 2003. Now active as a writer, reporter, reviewer, promoter, photographer, interviewer and presenter. Can be found regularly at conventions and concerts in the Netherlands and sometimes elsewhere in Europe or even in Japan. Big passion for Japan and music, can be made happy with coffee. (click on Soundcloud logo)

Related Posts

Band photo of the three-piece band Maya Ongaku sitting next to each other at a cosy cafe or diner. The seating arrangement is near a couple of windows allowing natural sunlight to shine inside the space, giving it a warm atmosphere. Photography by Kenta Sawada
Reports: Japanese Music Events

Live Report: Psychedelic Sounds At The Shacklewell Arms with Maya Ongaku and Lando Manning

by Peter Dennis
4 August 2025
0

Perhaps the greatest delights in London are to be found tucked away from the bright lights, and hiding in the...

Read moreDetails
Photo shows a lively scene of the band kanekoayano performing at the Hare & Hounds in Birmingham. There are five musicians on stage. Photography by JJ Grant/wonderlens

Live Report: Ayano Kaneko sets her sights on the future with her band at Hare & Hounds in Birmingham

1 August 2025
Live Report: Silky sounds at The Lower Third with Nao Yoshioka

Live Report: Silky sounds at The Lower Third with Nao Yoshioka

17 July 2025
Green Milk From The Planet Orange at The Tin Arts in Coventry, all members are sitting on stage during the performance, while the audience is fully focused on the stage performance. Photo by Peter Dennis

Live Report: Technicolour tunes at The Tin Arts with Green Milk From The Planet Orange

12 July 2025
Photo of Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. at Corsica Studios in May 2025. The band is performing in front of a densily packed audience. Stage lighting and a colourful screen illuminate the stage in the background, while the surroundings are dark. Photography by: JJ Grant/Wonderlens (at Corsica Studios on 15.05.2025)

Live Report: Space Rock Lands In Bedford with Acid Mothers Temple

7 July 2025
Next Post
BAND-MAID goes on World Domination Tour 2018

BAND-MAID goes on World Domination Tour 2018

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

AVO Magazine is more than just an online magazine about Japanese music and culture. In addition to covering Japan-related events in Europe, AVO Magazine also supports and organises them. Under the banner AVO Magazine presents, several concerts and festivals have been held, including AVO J-Rock Festival (2013) and AVO J-Music Festival (2018), featuring performances by Japanese (indie) musicians. More information about AVO Magazine can be found here.

Have news related to Japan or Japanese music you'd like to share? Feel free to send us an email.

Recent articles

The picture shows the two women of AINAKANNA sitting on the ground and surrounded by traditional decorations (fan, umbrella, swords, masks, toys, tableware) and a gold-coloured wall. They are dressed in Japanese traditional clothing, kimono, and one is holding a pipe, while the other holds a small cup.

European tour for AINAKANNA across the United Kingdom, Poland and Lithuania

7 August 2025
The photo features MAD JAMIE's Akubi Kanjosen with white-blond hair sitting on a red cloth. She is wearing an elaborate outfit with pastel colours and white, blue and black, frills, gems, chiffon, and ribbons.

The Mad Parade: MAD JAMIE on European tour with stops at Abunai!, RakuCon, J-POP UP, and Norak Asian Festival

4 August 2025
Band photo of the three-piece band Maya Ongaku sitting next to each other at a cosy cafe or diner. The seating arrangement is near a couple of windows allowing natural sunlight to shine inside the space, giving it a warm atmosphere. Photography by Kenta Sawada

Live Report: Psychedelic Sounds At The Shacklewell Arms with Maya Ongaku and Lando Manning

4 August 2025
Music Video Roundup logo on top of a design with the red dot (inspired by the Japanese flag) on top of a photo of an old television, placed on a chair with orange-coloured tiles on the background. (Photo by Hamed Asad, edited by Francisca Hagen)

7 New Music Videos You Need To Check Out (Week 31, 2025)

3 August 2025
Apart from the addition of the band logo and the song title placed, the background is completely black. In the centre of the image, two robotic hands are shown and in the middle of these hands a coin with an eye on it is placed. This is surrounded by a sort of halo and green smoke.

Music Review: Green Milk From The Planet Orange – Tragedy Overground (Single)

1 August 2025
Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube Soundcloud Discord
Online magazine since 2012 and based in the Netherlands. AVO Magazine is a Japan-related entertainment website with information about events in especially in Europe. There is a big focus on Japanese music. Other contents we publish are reports, reviews, informative articles, and interviews. AVO Forum, founded on May 16, 2003, served as the foundation for AVO Magazine.

Contact (Francisca Hagen): hello[@]avo-magazine.com

Please do not use text and photos made by AVO Magazine without permission. An email is easily created. Let's support each other!

Affiliates

JPU Records 1_General CDJapan

Featured on

  Lucydafirst - Crate Culture Podcast LOGO

AVO Magazine Approved

  • ANGURA
  • Arlequin Photography
  • Get Your Genki
  • Idol is SHiT
  • iPod of mine
  • J-POP streaming
  • Japan Jams
  • Japone Artists
  • The Sushi Times

Copyright © 2012-2025 AVO Magazine

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • AVO Magazine
    • AVO Magazine, who?
    • About us (日本語)
    • AVO Magazine presents
    • AVO Magazine Podcast
    • Join AVO Magazine’s Discord Server
    • Support AVO Magazine
  • Staff picks
  • Music
    • Japanese Music News
      • Concerts and festival news
      • Musical Snack
    • Curtain-raiser
    • Weekly MV Roundup
      • About: 7 New Music Videos You Need To Check Out
  • Japan-related Events
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
  • Reports
  • Colophon
  • Contact
    • Submissions
    • Join the AVO Magazine team

Copyright © 2012-2025 AVO Magazine

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.