Mohamed Benmessaoud, head of the City’s communications department, underlines the growing success of this event which has become essential in the Loire region and well beyond: “This show is the only one in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region to be completely free . It is an event which aims to be family-friendly and attracts more and more fans. »
This year for this 8th edition, visitors were able to discover two new features. “The opening of the show late Friday from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. with video game tournaments adapted to each age. Some 800 people came. Second point, a laser game is installed outside the room. Participants pay 1 euro for two games, this sum being donated to the Telethon. Firminy is gradually becoming the meeting place for Japanese pop culture. »
The late-night opening met its audience
It is true that there is a real curiosity, manga now touches all generations and many visitors strolled with their families, from grandparents to the youngest, in order to take part in a quality event, always surprising.
From TV series to animated films, including manga, martial arts and video games, the spearheads of Japanese culture continue to win over new fans.
At Firmament, visitors were able to test the art of calligraphy, drawing, ironing beads, the makeup workshop, virtual reality, origami, buy or browse manga albums, retrogaming and even the latest games. generation. The queues were sometimes long to access his favorite stand.
A very family-friendly living room
This show was of course an opportunity to learn about another essential symbol of Japanese pop culture: cosplay, a hobby consisting of playing the role of a fictional character by imitating their appearance as best as possible. On Saturday afternoon, a competition rewarded the most successful character.
The “Just dance” also allowed the most daring to go on stage and, for those who were a little hungry or thirsty, volunteers from the Soleil-Levant social center were behind the refreshment bar.
There were many fans roaming the aisles and, whether it was Alexy, Lilian or Léane, they all admitted to being in love with Japanese culture: cosplays for Alexy, the desire to live and work in Japan for Lilian and the drawings or beads to iron for little Léane.
