As usual on this kind of living room, various stands of goodies of all kinds are present. T-shirts, figurines, manga, etc., there was enough to empty your wallet. But a little more behind are also present small craft shops, whether jewelry or larger accessories. I admit that I did not pay much attention to these last stands, but there seemed to be nice things. There were also offers for larger budgets, gaming chairs and large PC gamers.
In the categories of purchases, the important presence of ASMODEE and HASBRO , which were there with a fairly large area. The big plus of these publishers was that there were several tables to try their games. In the case of the first, it was a whole bunch of board games, with the assistance of the staff present for the occasion. On the other hand, curious not to offer more attractive prices for the show (for those checked, it was the same as the Cultura or Fnac standard, damage). The fact remains that the principle and logistics of the thing were good. For the second, it was Hero Quest (Le Remaster) and Donjons & Dragons 5th edition. It was the latter who particularly attracted my attention. Indeed, there were several people making the game master (MJ) and offering very short parts (about 30 minutes) to learn the genre. There was even a scenario planned for the little ones. I admit that I did not carefully observe the three MJs, but from Visu, the players seemed to be interested and have fun. For a little more personal note, I was able to participate in a game with Quicky, and then observed several others (sometimes in the same story to observe the variations) with him (that is a little stalker, right?). Very good MJ, the explanations were clear, the top animation, and him very friendly. In short, very good idea of Hasbro, I recommend trying there on another opportunity for those who would like to discover the genre.
A large part of the space was occupied by various exhibitions. There were magnificent superhero costumes on mannequins, or small sketches with figurines, of the same theme. One in particular caught my attention, the manga and animated dioramas (accompanied by illustrations above the manufacturing of the same theme). It was very successful. There were also various exhibitions of paintings, illustrations, photo-montages, perhaps in a little small quantity each time, but nice. Obviously, the famous 501st Legion was present with a small stand and its members which traveled the surroundings. There was also a makeup, initiation to GN, but I admit that I did not linger on it.
A few words about the presence of a few series elements to take a picture, such as the sofa of Friends,or the Tardis of _Dr Who. This is again, an animation that seems to have had a little success since there was very often someone during the passage in front. For the anecdote, the Tardis was between the game for the photos with the stars and the toilets. And it seems that Matt Smith was caught on the way, he let himself be taken in pictures (free) with a small group of fans.
For the video game side, there was something to do too. The Nintendo League, an association, was there to offer playing games Switch . Whether in testing (recent or not games) or for small friendly tournaments, there were a good dozen consoles and perhaps a dozen animators. A space for the arcade was also there, with more than twenty terminals available for various more or less classic games of the genre, and without having to put a piece to launch a game! Finally was a small retrogaming part via the MO5 association to try or have the pleasure of finding old games on old consoles.
This whole video game part was not very magnitude. I would have appreciated that the retro space was a little larger for example, but it was again a good section, in particular the part of the association on Nintendo.
Two schools were present to train in the cinema, audiovisual and video game profession. The thing is appreciable without a doubt. But one could formulate a small reproach on the fact that there were only the first or second years only, for training which generally has five. Beyond the simple fact that they did not have a great decline and the experience of several years, that makes a little think that the school has not given more interest than that to the idea… The fact remains that the young people I was able to discuss with were very nice and there was something to find out.
Last part, and not the least important, animation. With two scenes, a large and a much smaller, this is where the different shows, conferences, questions / answers, rhythmed the festival.
The opening of the festivities is made on a Capella choir session by Negitachi. It is rather of quality but I found the number of pieces a little light. Followed by a K-POP session by the Stormy Shot group. Full of energy (at the same time it is better), they gave a beautiful spectacle to each of their representation. Two passages over the two days for the first group and four for the second.
During the weekend therefore took place various events on the main scene, such as cosplay, quizzes, etc. It’s not really my thing but it seems to have liked a lot of people. On the other hand, I had much more interest in Q&R sessions. Located on the secondary stage for the first, there were quite interesting subjects, with speakers who were in general too. Unfortunately it was spoiled by a fairly mismanagement of sound and space (scenes too close to each other, not enough to do enough barrage). For example, I looked forward to the session with Fortiche Studio (the directors of the Arkane series) to finally leave after a few minutes, it was barely audible, especially because of bad sound equipment settings… This problem was much less present on the main scene but which also had a lot of saturation in sound, problems on returns, etc.
Finally the presence of stars of the small screen obviously caused a sensation, because there were beautiful people all the same. At the head of the poster, the presence of Tyler Hoechlin (teen Wolf or more recently his very good interpretation of the famous Kryptonian in the very good series superman & Lois) and Matt Smith (the extraordinary eleventh doctor of the series doactor who). Obviously, there have been the usual autographs and photos (against remuneration), but also half-hour Q&R sessions. For having followed several, it was very good, both on the side of the behavior of the latter and on the side of the Festival staff. The opportunity to talk about Dan Cardosso who officiated as a translator for these passages. A regular for fan festival, he enabled very fluid exchanges and in a very good atmosphere with celebrities. It is incidentally someone very friendly and accessible, for having been able to exchange with him. Let us mention Ted Etienne who kept the main scene very well during these two days, it was he who ensured almost all of the animation. Joy, good humor, he has certainly contributed to the right atmosphere.
There are still things to say no doubt, but it already seems a good summary of the festival. So in concluding? It is not the Japan Expo, far from it, nor the Paris Games Week , phew. But there was in this living room a real good atmosphere, a true love of pop culture, whether exhibitors, animators, speakers. There were obviously logistics faults, and content in the end very limited (hard to spend a whole day there and even more the two days, without being interested in a particular conference) but it was the first edition. For those who knew it, the show made me think a little about the video game festival , and it’s a good compliment. In any case, these two days at Paris Fan Festival were very friendly and interesting. A good little living room that begins, which will certainly grow and become better. Look forward to seeing the next edition.