I was given the opportunity to attend Seattle’s Anime Impulse as Press pass holder!
After several years of going to many different anime conventions, I was curious to see what Anime Impulse would bring to the table here at Seattle. Turns out it was a little more than just anime.
What I didn’t realize at the time was Anime Impulse was only a component of the entire convention, of the “Impulse Universe.”
When I saw K-Play Fest, Sneaker Expo and Collector’s Expo, I thought they were unrelated conventions that happened to share the space the same time Anime Impulse was. It makes sense, now that I’ve learned that it’s part of Impulse Universe’s mission of wanting to bring a wide collection of different cultures together under one roof.
Although those other three other little expos were not really part of my sphere of interest, it was pretty neat to see them under the same space. I know that these interests do cross over with each other so it does make sense for them to co-exist with each other.
That aside, I was definitely interested to experience the Delicious in Dungeon panels as Anime Impulse was not only able to bring in some of the voice actors from the show, but they brought in both the English (Damien Haas as Laios and Casey Mongillo as Chilchuck) and Japanese (Kentaro Kumagai as Laios and Asuna Tomori as Chilchuck) voice actors together, making the experience a bit more unique for both the attendees and even the actors themselves.
I don’t have any footage or photos of the main panel they held in the convention as they were prohibited, but I took a few notes of what did happen. I’ll just write down the two highlights of the show.
One of the little activities the show did was to have the actors do a live dubbing of a scene from the show. Many people will probably recall the scene where Laios started singing (awfully) when the sirens appeared. That was the scene they decided to do a live dubbing of, including the singing.
In both the English and Japanese voiceover of the show, only the Japanese version of Laios’ singing was used. So when it was the English voice actor’s turn to do the live dubbing, we got a rare opportunity to hear Damien Haas do the siren song! It made it even more unfortunate we were unable to do any sort of recording, especially since Kentaro Kumagai joined in the singing, making it a fun duet between the two actors
Of note, to celebrate the two working collaboratively in this event, they brought each other different snacks unique to their country for them to try. Appropriate considering the anime in which they both voiced in.
For the Japanese voice actors, Damien brought Jalapeno Cheetos noting how American Cheetos tastes very different compared to Japanese ones. Casey brought Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and… Sour Patch Kids flavored Oreos???
The Japanese actors found the flavor of the Cheetos to be quite remarkable and mentioned they might even like it better than Japanese Cheetos.
Tomari was very enthusiastic over the Reese’s Cup candy. She’s always loved peanut butter, so she naturally loved the Reese’s candy. She also really liked the Sour Patch Oreos (specifically mentioning she liked all the colors it had).
Overall, Kentaro felt he couldn’t really specifically choose which snack he liked the most, saying that they tasted great in tandem with each other. Tomari surprisingly enjoyed the Sour Patch Oreos the most.
For the English voice actors, Kentaro Kumagai brought a potato chip snack (I believe was) called JagaRico and a chocolate bar called Black Thunder. Asuna Tomari brought a matcha dessert (which is commonly bought as a souvenir) and another kind of dessert that uses a special kind of sugar. I was far in the back of the stage so I couldn’t really see any of the snacks they had brought.
The English actors really enjoyed the matcha dessert and the Black Thunder chocolate a lot. Speaking from personal experience, I can understand where they’re coming from. Many of Asian desserts tend to be a bit more subtle in sweetness, making it a bit easier to consume. Though that’s more of a personal opinion.
Those were the highlights of the show, and honestly for the convention as a whole. I don’t think the convention will be all that memorable for me, but for all the people who came for the Delicious in Dungeon panels and especially the people who came for the Vtuber meet and greets, I’m sure the convention was a great experience!
Who knows, if Anime Impulse returns next year to Seattle, they might have more to experience! Until then, I think the convention will just be another anime event in Seattle, which I honestly wouldn’t mind!
You can find more of Anime Impulse’s information and locations at:
