Day 5, The Hong Kong Game Fair!

Friday, July 29th: The HK Game Fair and Comics Festival!


"Who am I? I'm FATMAN!" (Note the big gear wheel...)



Supersized Superheroes!

(I'm way behind, here, but today's a rest-at-home day before we trek to a bar for Dixieland Jazz tonight!)

The day started off normally enough. We would need visas to get into the People's Republic of China when we fly to Beijing...


The Great Seal of the PRC! (Note the big gear wheel...)

So on Friday, the 29th of July we all three went down to the visa office near the Central Plaza tower building. On the way, we noticed a girl walking on the street dressed like a very fancy French maid, complete with lace-edged cloak. We wondered among ourselves at her unusual outfit, quite out of place on the normally staid streets of Hong Kong. (I have yet to see a single Goth Chick or Guy, but they must be here somewhere... Maybe they stick to the nighttime club scene?)

After we ran the security checkpoint and applied for our visas, we sat for a cup of coffee in the first floor lobby of the Central Plaza tower. H. had to go to work, so E. and I had the rest of the day to explore. I'd noticed a set of express elevators to the 46th floor, and remembered reading about a view lounge in one of the downtown Hong Kong office buildings that was located on a 46th floor... This was the place!

We went up to enjoy the view, stepping off into a gigantic marble lobby that encircled the building...


The people look like ants!

Here are a few shots, starting to the north-northwest and circling the building clockwise...


The organic-looking roof is the HK Convention Center


Looking east at Causeway Bay, and down at, let's see... 58 red taxis!


It's a long, narrow city...


Looking off toward Victoria Peak, which is due south of...


Off to the west, it's THAT building! My old friend 2IFC!

E. and I had been seeing the ads for the Hong Kong Games and Comic Festival for days, and it suddenly occurred to me that it started TODAY! That explained the girl in the French maid outfit! She was a Con attendee on her way to the Convention Center!

We decided to attend our first Con, and walked over the the Center. We were not alone... Thousands of people streamed toward the place, coming off the streets, the overpass walkways, through the buildings and up out of the MTR station. Signs directed us all in a huge loop around the front of the building, ensuring that no one took the short cut through the classy shopping center attached to the Convention Center.

We approached the ticket windows and were excitedly directed to the far left window, where I purchased a ticket for myself and E.

The girls at the counter had a little survey form for me that they were obviously supposed to give to anyone who looked like a tourist. After I checked off my country of origin and listed how I had heard ot the Con, we were directed to a special entrance to one side of the hordes of kids and young adults waiting in line to get into the Convention Center hall itself. A security guard took the crowd barrier apart and waved us through, saying "Follow the yellow line!" We passed some of the costume contestants waiting for their moment on stage...


French Maid outfit explained...

The faithful yellow line, at least two hundred yards long, led us up the stairs and all the way into the main lobby, past literally thousands of ticketholders waiting to get in. We came across one of the Convention's official mascots...


Note the jealous faces of the crowd behind the barrier...

It turns out that it wasn't our 'tourist-ness' that got us preferential treatment, but, like the lady in the above photo, the fact that I was obviously there with my kid. The yellow line led to a separate entrance marked "Parents And Kids!" and we breezed right on in...

To a MADHOUSE!


Geeky fanboys are the same everywhere...

The huge hall was jam-packed with every conceivable form of comics (manga) and animation (anime) product available in the southeast Asian area. There were hundreds of booths offering comic books, games, videos, figurines, you name it.

I didn't recognize a single name or title with the exception of a few really obvious ones, like Gundam, the Power Rangers' parent company, and HelloKitty! The Con attendees swarmed over every booth, buying up things like it was a fire sale. Welcome to Opening Day!

E. found out that the "Game Girl 2005" contest was about to start, and insisted on pressing to the front of the crowd to watch. Apparently the contest was sponsored by a company that makes tiny little MP3 players, which each of the girls was wearing on a cord around her neck. As they paraded onstage, they were careful to hold up the little devices as each was introduced in turn for the TV cameras. Ah, our old friend the Promotional Tie-In!

Apparently the company also paid for the plastic clothing worn by the girls. That or they all shop at the same store...



As each girl came to center stage to explain (I think) why SHE should be the 2005 Game Girl, cheering would erupt from her friends and fans in the crowd, with sign waving and camera flashes going off like chain lightning.


Especially Samantha's fan club!

It was like being in the pit at a rock show. But some of the girls didn't have family or friends or fans in the audience, and the silence as they were introduced was deafening, so I cheered for each of them, but especially for Karen!


I think I've seen her in a Star Trek episode or two!

We never did find out who won. It seemed to go on forever, and may have involved multiple days, so I finally had to drag E. out of that particular press on we forged our way through the crowds. I loved the signs above the booths. Here's one you may have already seen:


Tennis, anyone?

The artwork for this one was striking, but I really liked the very angry horse...


He'll bite your head off, and stomp you flat, and eat all of your OATS!

There was a band competition, which was exactly what you'd expect for local garage bands, not bad, but not good, either. Cue more screaming friends and fans!


It was a bit like live karaoke, only far noisier.

I found two girls working a booth who'd been taking a break and just talking quietly in the middle of this sea of jostling people, and I tried to take their photo to show the contrast, but each time I asked, they kept jumping up to pose, holding out their flyers and smiling. A crowd had begun to gather when I finally asked them to simply sit with me while E. took our photo. As soon as I sat down, out came the cameras, and the chain lightning effect started up. In the picture, I'm using my high-pitched Voice Of Command and crooning at E. "Take the picture! TAAAAAAAAKE THE PIIIIIIIIICTUUUUUUUUUURE!"



Budding photographer that she is, she waited until she had it framed just so... In the meantime, I'm in probably fifty or a hundred other photos. I was literally blind in spots for a number of minutes... It was crazy!

Right away, a woman who was on the Convention organizing committee came over with a microphone and notebook to interview us. She wanted to know how we'd heard of the Convention, and went into raptures about how "You don't have anything like this at home!" while I tried to explain to her that, well, yes, we do, but she had her Promotion hat on and wouldn't listen... I did manage to mention Disneyland a time or two. Go, me!

Then we found the greatest exhibit of fan art, all in 3-D sculpture! You've seen "Fatman", so here are more highlights:


The stitching on the denim Mickey's was outstanding, and look at the HAT!

This was interesting...



Then a tribute to Mickey's tough-guy side...



And finally there was...

The Che Guevara Action Figure!


He don't need no stinking Motorcycle Diaries!

On our way out, we passed through the smaller booths, selling every clothing and decorative arts item you could imagine, and found a booth dedicated to Bob Marley and Cannabis...


Ah, illicit drugs, the universal language!

It was fun, but it would probably be a lot more fun if you actually read the comics or watch the shows. Although I'm going to start looking for "Full Metal Alchemist" in English after seeing some of the Costume Play folks and the painstaking trouble that they went to to put together their outfits.

Especially this guy:


This guy is a computer programmer by day. His costume took six months to build...

Quite a show, and quite a long day.

Next stop, Saturday the 30th of July! I went for a little hike into Tuen Muen!