朝聖全明星特展區 / Checking Out the All-Star Exhibition
當人們提到「全明星」，大家的腦中浮現的會是甚麼？以籃球領域來說，全明星賽最大的特色，就是讓球迷有機會看到平常在不同球隊效力、甚至彼此競爭的超級球星，同場競技，此時，球迷們可以暫時放下意見分歧，單純欣賞球星們的精彩身手，而全明星特展區也是類似的概念，它集結各大熱門漫畫、動畫的經典與流行角色，如寶可夢、排球少年、鬼滅之刃、三麗鷗以及蠟筆小新等，一次展出給大家，不論是那個人氣角色的粉絲，都有機會在這裡和同好交流。
如此巨量的展示精品，其實仔細觀看的話，是可以看很久的，不知為何，策展方把展區設在戶外，在這樣悶熱的天氣，人們幾乎都快快走過，走馬看花一番，就快速離開了，我後來想了一下，應該是室內空間不夠，假如只有三、四個展示櫃的話，絕對可以找到室內空間陳列，不過，二十多個經典動漫畫的代表性角色，有些角色已經走紅三十多年了，不但累積大量的粉絲，也出過不少限量商品，光要決定要展示那些商品，就已經很傷腦筋了，所以只能有效地利用戶外空間，不過，就苦了粉絲們了。
有點意外，會在這裡看到《Keroro軍曹》的展示櫃，這部作品在2011年完結之後，已經沒有太多消息了，不過想到這部作品，主角 Keroro 本身就是個超級鋼彈迷，從原作到動畫都有滿滿的《機動戰士鋼彈》梗，它會出現在這裡，也不意外，還有不少人是為了收集鋼彈紀念明信片而來的，他們只要跟著展區地圖，前往會場的指定地點，蒐集套色印章，就可以拿到鋼彈紀念明信片了。
我其實是蠻喜歡「全明星特展」這個想法的，透過集結多部人氣作品，讓整個特展不只是單純展示商品，而是變得更加有趣、豐富，也更有逛展的樂趣，畢竟每個人的喜好都不一樣，有人喜歡鋼彈，有人熱愛寶可夢，也有人是衝著動漫角色與限定周邊而來，像現場的試玩體驗區，就能親手組裝鋼彈模型，對模型玩家來說，這種自己動手玩的體驗，肯定比單純隔著玻璃欣賞展示品有意思得多，限定快閃店裡面有各種人氣動漫公仔、角色周邊與限定商品，對收藏迷來說就是一個挖寶區，如果這些活動全部安排在室內，對我這種怕熱又喜歡到處逛展的人來說，簡直就是完美組合。
When people hear the phrase “All-Star”, what comes to mind? In the world of basketball, the biggest appeal of the All-Star Game is that fans get to see superstar players who normally play for different teams, and even compete against each other, and then share the same court. For a moment, fans can put their team rivalries aside and simply enjoy watching these amazing players show off their skills. The All-Star exhibition area is based on a similar idea. It brings together classic and popular characters from a wide variety of manga and anime series, including Pokémon, Haikyu!!, Demon Slayer, Sanrio, Crayon Shin-chan, and many more. Everything is displayed in one place, so no matter which character you’re a fan of, there’s a good chance you’ll find something you love—and maybe even meet other fans who share the same interests.
There are actually so many displays that you could spend quite a while looking at everything carefully. But for some reason, the organizers decided to set up the exhibition outdoors. In this hot and humid weather, most people just walked through the area quickly, taking a quick look before leaving. After thinking about it later, I guess the main problem was probably a lack of indoor space. If there were only three or four display cases, it would probably be easy to find an indoor space for them. But there are more than twenty classic anime and manga franchises represented here, and some of these characters have been popular for more than 30 years. They have built up huge fan bases and released countless limited-edition products over the years. Just deciding which items to display must have been a huge headache for the organizers. So, I guess they had no choice but to make good use of the outdoor space. Unfortunately, that meant the fans had to suffer through the heat.
I was actually a little surprised to see a display case dedicated to Sgt. Frog (Keroro Gunso). The original manga ended back in 2011, and there hasn’t been as much news about the series in recent years. But when you think about it, it actually makes perfect sense. Keroro himself is a huge Gundam fan, and both the original manga and anime are packed with references and jokes related to Mobile Suit Gundam. So seeing Keroro here really isn’t that surprising after all. There were also quite a few people who came specifically to collect Gundam commemorative postcards. All they had to do was follow the exhibition map, visit the designated spots around the venue, and collect a set of special stamps. Once they completed the stamp collection, they could redeem it for a limited-edition Gundam postcard. It was actually a pretty clever way to encourage people to explore the entire exhibition area.
Personally, I really like the idea of an “All-Star” exhibition. By bringing together so many popular franchises, the exhibition becomes much more than just a place to display merchandise. It makes the whole experience more fun, more diverse, and definitely more interesting to walk around. After all, everyone has different tastes. Some people are huge Gundam fans, some love Pokémon, while others come mainly for their favorite anime characters and limited-edition merchandise. There was even a hands-on experience area where visitors could build Gundam models themselves. For model-kit fans, actually getting to build something is definitely more fun than simply looking at models behind glass. And then there’s the limited-time pop-up store, which is basically a treasure hunt for collectors, with all kinds of popular anime figures, character merchandise, and exclusive items. If all of these activities were held indoors, especially with air conditioning, it would be pretty much the perfect exhibition for someone like me who loves checking out events but really doesn’t enjoy standing around in the heat.