“Fate/Grand Order Fes. 2019 ~Chaldea Park~” (herein “FGO Fes. 2019”), an event celebrating the fourth anniversary of the smartphone RPG Fate/Grand Order (herein FGO), was held for two days on Aug. 3 (Sat.) and 4 (Sun.) at Makuhari Messe International Exhibit Halls 4-7. ANX sponsored the event and was among the exhibiting companies, and SMS was in charge of the executive office.
One and a half times bigger than last year’s event, “FGO Fes. 2019” was themed after a theme park with new events never before held, an abundant variety of attractions to experience the world of FGO, stage events at which the latest news was announced, and more for the approximately 24,000 fans who attended. Fans were also fired up over the exclusively drawn artwork for the event, of course, as well as specially recorded clips from the voice cast that were freely played.
This time, we bring you Vol. 1 of our “FGO Fes. 2019” event report.
[Event Details]
Name: Fate/Grand Order Fes 2019 ~Chaldea Park~
Venue: Makuhari Messe International Exhibit Halls 4-7 (2-1 Nakase, Mihama, Chiba 〒261-8550)
Dates: Aug. 3 (Sat.) & 4 (Sun.), 2019
Sponsor: FGO Project
Cooperation: Nippon Cultural Broadcasting
Exhibitors: ANX, Ichijinsha, Kadokawa, Good Smile Company, Seikaisha, Chugai Mining, DELiGHTWORKS, Bandai, Bandai Spirits, Pixiv, Plus One, Nippon Cultural Broadcasting, Ufotable
Contents: Company booths (exhibits, product sales, etc.), special stage shows, organized projects, etc.
Official Site: https://fes.fate-go.jp/
Official Twitter: @fgoproject
Executives: FGO Fes Management Office (SMS)
■ Welcome Street
Just through the entrance, visitors were greeted by the Welcome Street that was appropriately opulent for a theme park (over 25 meters long!). Servant standees were lined up along the street on either side, and on top of that there was a roughly 20-meter-long monitor on which characters jumped around playfully (left photo). At the very back of the Welcome Street was a facade featuring the Imaginary Numbers Submersible Shadow Border*, which overwhelmed visitors with its massiveness (right photo). (*Unofficial translation)
At the back left side of Welcome Street there were full-scale noble phantasms from FGO on display (left photo), and at the back right side was a chronology of FGO where fans could look back at the events of the series so far (right photo).
■ Grand Castle Stage
Exiting Welcome Street, we came upon the towering Grand Castle Stage on which a variety of stage events were held. Many performers and guests took the stage for seven events each day, for a total of 14 throughout the festival. We attended the “Fate/Grand Order Anime Stage Day 2” and “Fate/Grand Order Chaldea Broadcasting 4th Anniversary SP” events held on Day 2.
Fate/Grand Order Anime Stage Day 2
This event on Day 2 featured members of the voice cast from the TV anime Fate/Grand Order – Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia which begins broadcasting this October, including Nobunaga Shimazaki, Ayako Kawasumi, Kana Ueda, Saori Hayami, and Takahiro Sakurai. Each had stories to tell from the recording process, and each talked about their thoughts which included statements like “I gained a deeper understanding when the character I play became animated” and “I’ve come to like my character even more.”
Also, Episode 0 of Fate/Grand Order – Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia that surprised fans at the stage show on the first day was also screened during the second day. The stage event came to a close with thunderous clapping and excitement after it was announced that for a limited time starting at 7 pm after the event a surprise would be available in the FGO app.
“Episode 0: Initium Iter” – a detailed animation which builds through Part 1, Chapter 6
Fate/Grand Order Chaldea Broadcasting 4th Anniversary SP
The last stage event to be held on Day 2 was a fourth anniversary special of the irregularly broadcast Chaldea Broadcasting. Mafia Kajita was the MC of the event, and fans boiled over in excitement as guests from the voice cast took the stage including Kenji Akabane, Rumi Okubo, Ayako Kawasumi, Nobunaga Shimazaki, Minami Tanaka, Satoshi Tsuruoka, Saori Hayami, and Aoi Yuki.
For the second half of the show the director of the development of Part 2, Yoshiki Kano, was welcomed to the stage to debut the latest information that FGO fans had been long awaiting. Thunderous clapping and loud cheers erupted as a bevy of content was announced including 10 major campaigns, the addition of seven new Servants, and a special fourth anniversary ★5(SSR) Leonardo da Vinci (Rider) card. There was a particularly powerful reaction to the newly added Servants. Being a big FGO fan myself, even I was moved to tears. The mounting excitement of fans was answered with these announcements that exceeded expectations.
The show ended with Kawasumi commenting, “It’s thanks to all of the fans and their continued support that Fate/stay night has continued for 15 years. FGO has continued past its third and fourth anniversaries, and maybe Fate/stay night will welcome its 20th. So everyone, please keep up the excitement for Fate.”
■ Chaldea Palace
Walking into Chaldea Palace, we were first welcomed by the lord of the palace, Qin Shi Huang, who gave a greeting to visitors in an opening movie. Entering the grounds, visitors were led to a booth where they could enjoy chatting with eight Servants.
Exiting that area led to the palace’s main room where visitors were welcomed by the summoned Servants.
■ Luluhawa Island
The attraction Luluhawa Island was themed after a resort and recreated the Servant Summer Festival event held in 2018. Beginning with the airport, the attraction was packed a hotel, beach, and even the event venue for Servant Summer Festival.
The attraction was built to look just like the venue of the doujinshi convention Servant Summer Festival. The more we looked the more details we noticed, including advertisements seemingly improvised and written on the spot, offset printed doujinshi, and more. The gigantic 7-meter-tall Ivan the Terrible Slider* (Summer Ver.) slide (right photo) was so popular it had a wait time of an hour. (*Unofficial translation)
The resort feeling was brought out even more through a grand display themed after a beach featuring 22 Servants in swimsuits.
■ Halloween★Town
An attraction themed after an FGO Halloween event. The Čachtice Pyramid Himeji Castle was enshrined inside.
Halloween★Town was a roaring success with its elaborate mini games that had constant lines!
In the center of the area was a gigantic tower themed after those seen in FGO along with a display of Servants.
■ Battle Arena
Photo sessions for the popular “Manga de Wakaru! Fate/Grand Order” kigurumis as well as official cosplayers were held here. Tons of fans crowded around each time a photo session was held. You can see just how popular it was from the photos.
Tons of fans gathered around for each of the several photo sessions held.
The Battle Arena was decorated with exclusive artwork for the event and featured areas to demo FGO Arcade and the board game FGO Duel -Collection Figure-. A tournament was also held for the limited time festival event “Challenge Quest” available on the FGO app. There were intense FGO battles unfolding in a variety of forms all around.
(from the left) FGO Arcade which had a never-ending line, the board game FGO Duel -Collection Figure- which uses figures and cards, and “Challenge Quest.”
Even the banners hanging from the ceiling (Blue Team and Red Team) featured exclusive art.
■ Fate Project Bazaar [Aniplex Booth]
The Fate Project Bazaar featured exhibit booths from a variety of companies, one of which was the Aniplex booth. This year’s booth was themed after a movie theater. Visuals were displayed in front and Fate-related videos were playing on the main monitor, including a trailer for Fate/stay night [Heaven’s Feel] Chapter III: Spring Song. Each different area had a photo spot as its main display, and visitors could also take part in a stamp rally that included each area. The bazaar was bustling with fans throughout the festival.
The latest Fate series goods were also available to fans at the bazaar including festival-exclusive advance ticket sales for Fate/Grand Order the Movie: Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot which will be released in 2020, goods for the upcoming TV anime Fate/Grand Order – Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia, and goods from the TV anime Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files {Rail Zeppelin} Grace Note that began broadcasting in July.
■ Chaldea Market
Inside Chaldea Market was Chaldea Kitchen where there were long lines for food painstakingly prepared by the staff, including items so popular they sold out in the morning. The lineup this year featured an abundant variety that had visitors leaving with full stomachs, including hearty food for surviving the blazing sun (?!) and even original drinks that were refreshing just to look at.
[Sun King’s Infinite Splendor Bowl] [Anastasia’s Favorite Mazesoba]
[Event exclusive drinks] [Elaborately planned food from Chaldea Wagon]
For the finale, a spectacular show unfolded as the “Manga de Wakaru! Fate/Grand Order” kigurumis and dancers themed after each attraction danced on the Grand Castle Stage. Like the climax at a theme park, attendees gathered together in excitement to bring the emotional two days of “FGO Fes. 2019” to a close.
“The unusual content at the booths was interesting.” “I was surprised at how much bigger it was than previous years.” It wasn’t just fans from the Kanto area that came out to “FGO Fes. 2019,” fans from all over Japan attended, and the festival had them shouting for joy everywhere.
■ Click here for the “Fate/Grand Order Fes. 2018 ~3rd Anniversary~” event report
■ Click here for basic information on FGO including game flow and terminology
■ Click here for the Fate/Grand Order official site