Earlier last month, we visited the London Anime Gaming con, held at the London Metropolitan University’s Rocket Complex on Holloway Road. Run by AnimeLeague, the London Anime Gaming con is an amalgamation of the separate Anime and Gaming conventions the group would hold in the venue, as they have done in previous years. By bringing both events together in one con, the LAGC is filled with many events for anime fans such as talks from internet personalities and industry professionals on anime and Japan-centric culture, special guests and anime merchandise, as well as loads of attractions for the gaming crowd, from tournaments, competitions and sections dedicated to various games new and old.

More than 2000 fans of all types and ages attended LAGC over the weekend to take part in the feature-packed event, spanning two floors of the rocket complex in its largest ever event. As a new addition this year, several rooms were added to the convention to accommodate all of the extra gaming content added for this year. Areas like the Monster Hunter themed section, game & merchandise sellers , an expansive retro area featuring many games from past and present consoles. and Namco Bandai’s booth housing several unreleased titles were all present for gamers to dive into while exploring the con.

The tournament room held several heated competitions between players across multiple games on console, pc and even arcade machines. The League of Legends and Super Smash Brothers proved to be really popular among players, with many players facing off against each other, with crowds spectating the action. This year’s tournaments also had support from retailer GAME from their sponsorship with the LAGC for the gaming events. The Retro area housed dozens of consoles, from the Atari 2600 right up to the Nintendo Wii, with all console generations in between represented. Rare consoles like the Panasonic Q and the PS2 Bravia TV also made an appearance among those on show, giving gamers a chance to revisit popular games from days of old.

Elsewhere around the convention, many vendors selling anime-themed goods and ‘kawaii’ merchandise were positioned on both floors, while 2 stage areas played host to multiple panels and events throughout the weekend. Colleen Clinkenbeard, who voiced many game and anime characters, including Lilith from Borderlands and Android 18 & Gohan from the Dragon Ball Z series, held a panel talking about her work and gave fans a chance to get their games / anime / merchandise signed during her autograph session. Our very own Aisha Anime featured in a panel about cosplayers on TV, focusing on the recent TV series, ‘Geeks’ shown last year on E4. As one of the main focus points of the event was around japanese culture, a fashion show featuring a range of different japanese-influenced garments was also one of the main events, showcasing a wide range of interesting clothes.

 

With all of the stuff packed into the show, there was always something interesting to see or do during the weekend of the con. Whether it’s discovering new games, meeting like minded gamers and anime fans, and checking out the informative panels, the London Anime and Gaming Con had lots to keep you occupied. As the biggest event held by AnimeLeague so far at the Rocket Complex and being really popular during the event, the next LAGC has already been scheduled, and fans can look forward to even more of the convention later this summer!