Event Report: Monster Hunter Festa 2011
Hunters of Fukuoka Unite!
On August 7th beasts, monsters and armour-clad cats descended on Japan’s southern-most island, Kyushu, for what was the Fukuoka-leg of the national Monster Hunter Festa 2011.
Three new instalments to the Mon-Hun (Monster Hunter) franchise have been introduced since last year’s festival (i.e. “MHP 3rd,” “MHP 3rd HD” and “Monster Hunter Diary: Poka Poka Airu Village”) and if the fervour of the fans is anything to go by then the series is surely only going to get bigger!
Three new instalments to the Mon-Hun (Monster Hunter) franchise have been introduced since last year’s festival (i.e. “MHP 3rd,” “MHP 3rd HD” and “Monster Hunter Diary: Poka Poka Airu Village”) and if the fervour of the fans is anything to go by then the series is surely only going to get bigger!
The event is mainly geared towards fans/actual gamers of the series with designated areas set up for duelling with fellow hunters, and of course, a monster hunter tournament, the victors of which go on to duke it out with the nation’s best at the finals in Tokyo. Gaming aside though, there is also a whole throng of Mon-Hun merchandise available at the sales booth corner, Mon-Hun original artwork on display, a collection of cosplay outfits, Mon-Hun itasha (car bodies decorated with characters of anime, manga or, in this case, video games), gigantic (supposedly life-sized?) inflated monsters from the series – which made for some great photos! and not to mention an array of themed foods available at the snack counter for all the hungry hunters (e.g. rice-balls encased in meat, meats on sticks, vegetables on sticks…a very “rustic” selection of provisions, shall we say?)

There's rice in there...somewhere...
There were also special guest appearances by Maki Goto (commonly known as “Gomaki”) of Morning Musume fame, and comedian Kuro-chan.
During her on-stage interview Gomaki professed to being an avid gamer and die-hard fan of Monster Hunter herself – to which this reporter was somewhat sceptical; however, she soon turned any cynical naysayers in the crowd (including myself) into believers by proving her hunting skills/aptitude with a controller and slaying a Jinouga (Monster Hunter’s flagship monster) in 7 minutes!
The Monster Hunter Festa will run for two more weeks before it’s all over for another year! The next round is on this weekend (Sunday 28th August) in Osaka! Check the official website for details (Japanese)
Article by Dan - editorial dept.
During her on-stage interview Gomaki professed to being an avid gamer and die-hard fan of Monster Hunter herself – to which this reporter was somewhat sceptical; however, she soon turned any cynical naysayers in the crowd (including myself) into believers by proving her hunting skills/aptitude with a controller and slaying a Jinouga (Monster Hunter’s flagship monster) in 7 minutes!
The Monster Hunter Festa will run for two more weeks before it’s all over for another year! The next round is on this weekend (Sunday 28th August) in Osaka! Check the official website for details (Japanese)
Article by Dan - editorial dept.