I have attended the London Expo a few times in the past and to be honest I have felt that the quality of the Expo has been falling. This year; I’m afraid to say, has continued with the decline. The stalls were sparse and unorganised with a lack of choice, focusing mainly on the Manga/Anime side of MCM. In addition, no free bags thus no attempt to really draw attention to any specific highlights of the Expo. The sound systems were poor as usual with the frequent, ear-drilling feedback. What is going on with the guests, did anyone actually queue for a signature? I remember a time when I actually knew who was there and could tell you at least two shows/films they were in. Maybe I’m just getting old?! And I can’t say I have ever cared a great deal for the whole Cosplay stuff…but boy where they in their masses!

At one point I felt like I had entered a Primark-style free for all of Anime Plushies where people were stealing as many of the cuddly characters as possible. One person went as far as to knock one on the fall and kick it along until it was safe to bag it! Imagine a car-boot sale for the best part, full of over-priced, mishapen cuddly toys and equally over-priced keychains. If were looking to start up a business in tacky Anime toot…here’s where to start. I was there on both days and if I thought Saturday had a poor selection, Sunday was ten times worse.

As the creator of the Weekly Webcomic; my interest was with the comic book artists. However, unlike last year they were far and few between. It should also be mention they weren’t all as friendly as the guys from last year who I spent ages with and ended up spending a fair bit to get some of their work.

There was a general “leave-you-to-it” kind of feel. The game previews were minimal with no real attempt to gain any interest. It was amazing to see such different people come together through their love for games; there were the stereotypical geek-type with the costumed Anime characters next to the fully-fledged gangster-look type! It seemed as though The Prince of Persia kept people playing, although it may just be the only way to master the controls. Street Fighter IV had a popular crowd and it was great to see they still capture the classic arcade look but with much more stylised 3D environments. Koei Games tried their best to maintain a crowd and seemed to manage, however, the main feature was Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. The sense of promise from this game could be felt from across the room and this is set to impress. This was definitely the highlight for the gaming community.

All in all a bit of a let down. There were a few highlights which hadn’t receive enough advertisement or attention and therefore nearly went unnoticed in a messy, unorganised Anime car-boot sale. Let’s just hope next year gets better…