This weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting the Anicafe hosted in the Student Life Centre. The flyer mentioned entertainment, food, and cosplay, which intrigued me and a few other friends to attend. Personally, I’d like another chance to use my cosplay I bought over the summer which cost me a pretty penny, so this cafe was the perfect opportunity.
The team behind the event were the UW Animusic Ensembles. As such, they prepared a delightful set of music to play which featured songs from various anime and video games. It was like a blast from the past hearing the music from shows I forgot that I had watched. The team was very skilled with instruments and singing; they must’ve practised a lot beforehand which paid off. The music provided a lovely atmosphere for the cafe-goers to enjoy while they ate and chatted with friends. Even though they had a set, they still provided the option of song requests after 9 or 10 pm.
As for the menu, the food and drinks were very cheap with most being in the $2.50 range, which is very cost-friendly for many students to enjoy. There was the option to pay in either cash or e-transfer. Also, if you dressed up, you’d be given a free drink which was even more of an incentive to cosplay. They had a good amount of food choices on the menu which mentioned dietary restrictions next to the treats, showing what could be eaten by those with said restrictions. It was kind of them to make such an inclusive menu for everyone.
I especially enjoyed the special charm that the Animusic Ensembles added to the food, like the frog cookie and the Gojo Satoru mochi.
The service the Animusic Ensembles provided was excellent, with servers bringing food to customers. It didn’t take very long to be served your food which is always a plus. Not to mention, the servers were dressed as maids, butlers, or also in cosplay like some event-goers. The staff behind the counter were also in some really nice cosplay, and I enjoyed seeing all the different characters with such careful attention to detail. Plus, it wasn’t just restricted to anime cosplay; there was plenty of video game cosplay as well.
They also had a merch table for people to buy from which reminded me of a few conventions I had been to before.
Overall, this event was extremely well done by the Animusic Ensembles. They really outdid themselves when they put together this event and catered extremely well to the attendees. This is definitely an event I’d like to attend next year. For fans of anime and video games, this is the event for you. You’ll absolutely love it here.