One of the most memorable anime series from the ’90s hits the big screen for the first time in the country this week at SM North EDSA with the advance screening of Hunter X Hunter the Movie: Crimson Rouge. Hundreds of avid and lucky fans came to watch the movie for free at this special event sponsored by Pioneer Films, SM Cinemas, and Animax Philippines. Otaku Urule, one of the leading student organizations that promotes Japanese pop culture, was also there in full force to take part in the festivities.
The event had many attractions held at the lobby of Cinema 3, where the registration for the participants was held that afternoon. Cosplayers in Hunter X Hunter-themed characters showed their stuff to the delight of the crowd, with many participants eager to have photos taken of them and with them. There was also the Animax photo booth where participants can have their photos taken as souvenirs of the event. The booth was well received to say the least as it was enjoyed to the fullest by participants, organizers, and cosplayers alike.
At around 7 in the evening the crowd was allowed inside the cinema and everyone was seated. Just when the participants thought that the amazingly free advance screening couldn’t get any better, they could barely contain their joy at seeing the lovely Rhianna, the wildly popular host and AniMate on Animax. She hosted the presentation of the movie as well as gave away lots of Animax goodies in several raffles to the utter joy of the crowd.
As for the movie itself, it was a decently entertaining film featuring an original story with the same characters from the series. Fans of the original manga , anime and OVAs will definitely enjoy this movie as it includes the appearances or cameos of quite a number of interesting side characters from the series, something that will definitely put the smile on the face of any die-hard Hunter X Hunter fan.
Rhianna returned at the end of the movie to give away more prizes and giveaways from Animax and thanked all those attendees for taking part in this awesome event. And with that, everyone filed out of the cinema, many, if not all, with big smiles on their faces and happily chatting away with each other about the great movie they just saw.
We at arkadymac.com as well as the rest of the anime-loving community would like to thank the sponsors and organizers for bringing this wonderful movie to Philippines shores. I must admit that seeing an anime movie on the big screen and surround sound is definitely an amazingly different experience. Our thanks to Pioneer Films for taking a brave step forward. Our thanks to SM Cinemas for allowing Hunter X Hunter and other anime movies to be screened at their theaters. Our thanks to Animax for sponsoring this event, promoting anime that people like, and for being so generous with their prizes. Our thanks for Otaku Urule for making the event lively and inviting cosplayers to participate in the festivities.
We recommend fans of the Hunter X Hunter manga and series to watch the Crimson Rouge movie, with regular screening beginning May 15 at all SM Cinemas. We of course hope to experience more movies and more events like this in the future.
About The Author
