Scrolling through Instagram the other day, I stumbled across an ad for an anime rave. It was part of a multi-city tour, each stop a one-night-only event. At first glance, it seemed a bit chaotic — “skits,” as I like to call it — but what caught my attention was the mention of one of my all-time favorite characters: Rias Gremory, the “Coca-Cola type” queen herself.
Naturally, I had to bring this up to my crew — affectionately dubbed the “Shadow Wizard Money Gang” in our group chat. After some deliberation, the consensus was clear: We’re going.
With that decided, the next step was planning outfits. I was set on going as Kamina from Gurren Lagann — a bold choice, but one I was excited for. I gathered all the essentials for the costume but, true to form, only managed to pack the body paint for the tattoos. The rest? Left behind in the chaos of moving house. (And yes, I somehow forgot I was supposed to move that same weekend — peak timing, right?)
Thankfully, one of the guys came through, lending me a pair of shades that, while not identical to Kamina’s, worked well enough to complete the look. Crisis averted.
With everything sorted, we hopped on the train and made our way to the event….
As we rolled up to Loganlea Station, I couldn’t help but marvel at the fact that the trip only set me back 50 cents. God bless Labor for keeping fares low, even after all the back-and-forth with the "shadow mining government." On top of that, I discovered you can use your debit card to tap on, and it only charges 10 cents — no sneaky extra charges the next day. You better believe I was triple-checking my account, though.
The rave itself was at The Wickham, and as expected for an anime-themed event, it had a bit of an awkward start — think school dance vibes, with people split into groups on opposite sides of the floor. But after a couple of Rock Lee-inspired shots, I was in full *Eight Gates* mode. I ripped my shirt off, jumped into the pit rocking my Jordan 3 Cement Blacks from JD Sports, and absolutely tore it up with some jumpstyle moves.
The energy shifted instantly. People who were hanging back started vibing, and even outsiders who seemed skeptical at first joined in. I’d like to think I made the night for everyone in that pit.
It wasn’t just me, though. One guy showed up cosplaying as Kaneki from *Tokyo Ghoul* and fully leaned into the theme, bringing some serious energy to the floor. After making my mark, I decided it was time to make my grand exit.
The rave was stacked with banger opening and closing anime themes — some moody, some absolutely electric. The playlist alone could’ve carried the vibe, but shoutout to the rave chick with the fan who really came through. She put some balm on my face after clocking that I was practically sun-baked from moving house earlier in the day. I’d been so caught up, I forgot to hydrate, and honestly, if it weren’t for her, I might’ve hit the floor after going all out.
On another note, what’s with the Hello Kitty crowd acting like guys don’t know about Sanrio? It’s 2024 — people aren’t that uncultured. That said, I might be biased as someone who’s non-binary and openly built different. Cinnamoroll stan for life.
After the rave, me and the squad shared a spliff at Meadowbrook to wind down. We capped the night with a late-night servo run — nothing too wild, but we did stumble across a Paw Patrol light-up toy, which somehow became the highlight of the pit stop. Small wins, I guess.
Instagram: @tenno_training
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