It was a one hot Sunday in Quezon City when I visited the other end of Maginhawa St. in Quezon City. In Quezon City, if you want to pig out, you take note of this area, where a lot of specialty restaurants popped out, making it among the destinations for foodies.

Just a long walk away from the UP Diliman Campus is the Red Monster Shop + Cafe. I’ve heard of Red Monster in conventions before as a merchandiser, but it’s really great that they have their own physical shop as well — many themed fan-gathering events are held on this space, some of which are related to either LoveLive! or Yuri!!! on Ice. Heck, they even have an upcoming Osomatsu-san themed cafe there.

It’s the cold, hard truth: Those who like Kaki are from Venus, and those who like Misao came from Mars.

I went there to see the first Seiyuu Fans Philippines Meetup (Seiyuu = Japanese voice actors). Once I entered there, I can feel the fans’ hype over their seiyuu biases. The thing is this: I am among the three guys who are there, which makes me wonder if I can relate to them. They talk about Aoi Shouta, Kousuke Toriumi, and Daisuke Namikawa; but I talk about Aoi Yuuki, Saori Hayami and so on. It’s the cold, hard truth: Those who like Kaki are from Venus, and those who like Misao came from Mars.

Then the event started. We started playing games such as Human Bingo and the Trivia Game, and then we watched video clips from Mamoru Miyano, UtaPri and so on.

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I’ve got two funny stories from there: First up, they had a raffle and I got booklets and leaflets of Nana Mizuki and THE iDOLM@STER. The thing is, I didn’t realize that my ticket got called until my name was mentioned. Second is when I broke a glass because I am too hyped reading the Seiyuu Gran Prix magazine.

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Now for the food: Red Monster’s curry katsu is mild in taste, and it’s really recommended to eat it while hot. Best to eat on an empty stomach, as it’s a heavy dish.

To sum it up, I’m happy with the event — the gifts I received and the things that I did there are great. I was able to see the some latest episodes of Tokyo Encounter that I wished to see, and they obliged. Dreams do come true.

The organizers are just starting, and they aim to gather fans within the metro for their initial roadmap. Looking forward to see them in future events!

Special thanks to Sarapyon and the SFPH admins for the audacious reception.