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tbh how can ppl keep making gifs for so long, I only got back into it a few years ago and rn I'm so exhausted like more than drawing wtf no wonder so many delete their accounts without a word;;;;;;;;;

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Kouta Hirano Super Expo: Osaka

Hellsing and Drifters exhibit at Namba Parks Museum May 23-June 8. it was done earlier in Ikebukuro and will be held again later in Nagoya but I wanted to write down my experience. this is mainly focused on Hellsing.

The journey of me getting to Osaka was pretty chaotic: took the bullet train late from Tokyo and needed to do 2 exhibits that I could only fit in my schedule on the same day;; I had to speedrun the Capcom exhibit first then rush over for this.

I already read everything on the website, it was a weekday so I didn't need to buy a reserved ticket at Lawson and could get it at the venue instead. when I got there, the entrance was dead empty and only a staff member was standing outside. after some confusion, he directed me inside but problem was NOWHERE ON THE WEBSITE DID IT MENTION CASH ONLY?????? a nice lady came out and clarified to me but I didn't have enough for 2300 yen, however she told me there was a 711 atm on the second floor WE'RE ON THE SEVENTH FLOOR so by the time I ran back inside to the counter WITH ONLY 1 MIN TO SPARE AND WAS SO STRESSED OUT OF MY MIND;;;;; she recognized me and gave me double thumbs up while I clutched a huge stack of cash then threw into the money tray not bothering to count it up;;; she asked if I wanted the add-ons and I was SO TEMPTED to get Anderson’s bayonet letter opener but didn't want to get questioned at airport security;; you get a random free ticket card upon entry and I got the Hellsing maids, it's like a bookmark.

I had 1 hour to look around before closing but took my time and made it fine. The first section was Hellsing and the second was Drifters then a gift shop at the end. Photos are allowed so I took pictures of anything that caught my eye but some couldn't be taken without a reflection glaring off it;;; it wasn't busy at all since it was last entry so I did my best. They had some cool photo spots set up for you to take a picture in and there's TV screens scattered around playing out scenes from the OVA that was just loud enough not to be distracting.

The art on display was done by hand so I needed to look at all the paint strokes and lineart, some you could even see the sketch underneath to see the entire process. pictures can't entirely do them justice, you'll need to see them in person to truly appreciate all that work. a few I've never seen before like Alucard originally wearing black clothes so it was a cool surprise and there were these awesome pieces done just for the exhibit that looked amazing???? the combination really made me feel immersed. everything was shown in chronological order but at the start there was a huge timeline of the events including before 1999 and confirmed Alucard's birthday. there were sections introducing each character and divided up into arcs. it covers the entire story so spoilers for anyone not caught up with it yet but I only saw a few manga panels from the Dawn. it's basically all visual and the timeline was the only text-heavy section. otherwise, there wasn't any huge new lore or info.

After that it was Drifters and tbh I haven't read or watched much of it but didn't skip it, recognized some of the characters from fanart and I still enjoyed it. it was formatted similarly to Hellsing’s with plenty of drawings and props. although the manga isn't finished, there was lots of content and it's good to see that attention was taken to make sure it gets representation done right.

Once done, it leads to the gift shop and cameras aren't allowed but there were lots of merch and an endless loop of Gospel of the Throttle playing in the background lol can't complain that song is literal fire and I thought about buying only one thing but walked out with a lot LOL they actually ran out of some items like the exclusive Anderson and Alucard stance acrylic stands tho so I had to snag the last huge Alucard one instead;; the T-shirts looked super cool but a little too expensive for me;; unfortunately they didn't have themed bags at checkout and I kinda hoped there would be special art/designs made just for the expo merch;;

And here they are!! safe and sound from the journey across the ocean, all made in Japan and the print quality is clear. ngl at first I didn't know the record was actually a coaster;;;; I thought it would look cool to display LOL it's hard bumpy plastic with a glossy image.

The acrylic stand was durable but some pieces were pretty loose when I assembled it, they didn't fit in that well so I had to smack them to stand straight;; and the images were printed on the back. There’s some merch that had randomized designs and a few included from both series, the record and button pins were gacha luck.

For the buttons whoever pitched the idea at the table to attach stands on them DESERVES EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD TYSMM they're adjustable so you can have them all standing at the same angle. there's two secret sparkly designs and I was REALLY lucky prob the other is young Walter.

I got the box to store cards from Daiso, it's a little thin so be careful if using it in your bag. print is glossy but the box is like matte?? hard to describe but it's not a shiny finish so keep it clean! they sold a lot of different things like framed artwork, stickers, keychains, fake blood bags, and bath salts so you'll definitely find smthg to bring back.

You also get a random clear card for buying enough (I spent 6600 yen) so I got Hijikata from Drifters, the clerk had a lot of trouble trying to put it in the bag so I stopped him and stored it in my purse instead lol now you're prob thinking since the ticket was cash only, the gift shop would also do the same WRONG G THEY ALSO TAKE CARD I just wished they clearly stated the accepted payment methods beforehand;;

Overall, I was pretty happy and had a great time despite the rough start but definitely will carry more cash in case smthg like this ever happens and force myself to wake up early;;;; it's so worth seeing if you're a fan of either series but the exhibit didn't run for long, it's around for a bit over 2 weeks so plan accordingly. the staff was really nice and helpful despite near closing. a few know English otherwise they'll use Google Translate but using basic Japanese is good enough to get by. imo just buy whatever you want here bc I didn't see any at Suruga-ya, BOOKOFF, or Mandarake. the yen is still weak so most of the merch was well-priced but looking back, I should've went ballistic LMAOOOO even if I didn't really need some and still had suitcase space in the end;;;;

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WTF THERE GOES ALL KF MY GOOD RNG NOOOOO GACHA GODS SAVE MEEEE

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ORHGHHHHHH I RUSHED IN TO SEE IT BUT HOY HIT WIT CIGARETTE SMOKE IT WAS A PACHISLOT HALL;;;;

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THEY HAVTE T O LOKC UP THE CRWCKETS DONT TRY RO GYILT TRWIP MEEEEE;;

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A STAFF MEMBER COMPLIMENTED MY YOSHI SIHRT YESSSSSS IM SO GLAD GREAT WAY TO END MY 7 HOURS IN THIE CROWDED VHAOS

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WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?????¿?

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OJ YEAH I FOUND DMC SKETCHES PPL DREW AT THE EXHIBIT!!!!! MY WHIT E HAIRED BOIS

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ALL RIGHT I NOW WAIT IMPAIETNTLY FOR ONLY ONE AREA THEN IM FUKCITJG OUT

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JFC. YM HANFS MUST BE BLESSED VY TH E GAVHA GODS THEMSELVES BC MY PULLS HAVE BE EN ON FIRE LATELY????? AHHH

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WELL THEY ONLY TAKE CADH AND NOWEHERE ON YHE WEBSITE IT SAYS THAT SO NY BRO JAD TO RUN 5 FLOORS DOWN TO YHE 711 ATM FOR ME AND I JAD 1 MIN TOTAL CHAOS AHDHFKSLAJLALAHHHHH

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OMFGG I HAD ONLY 5 MINS TO BUY MY TICKET AND RUN UP ESCALATORS TO MAKE IT TO THE CAPCOM EXHIBIT BEFORE CLOSING AND SPEEDRUN IT ALL IM STILL SO DTRESSED YHRN NEED TO GO TO HELLSING

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oh yeah I'm across the ocean AND ABSOLUTELY STNLCKED DTILL CAN T VEKUEVE IT IM HAVING SO MUCH FUNNNNNN YEEEE

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OUGHHHGGH I DIDNT KNOW THEY NEEDED RESERVATIONS;;;; SO I JUST TOOK SOME PICS FROM AFAR;; THEN WHEN I WAS HEADING VWCK THE PIKMIN BOOTH WAS CLOSING ;w;

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SDFJLAHKKEYESSSESEIUDFHSALLDSFLLKERKHFSLAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH PLS RELEASE ALL THE OTHER AVATARS AS TWINS TOO IM BEGGING;;;;

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