A Manga Mini-Con is coming to Westfield Woden and they had us at ‘My Hero Academia’

Posted on 28 August, 2023

Are you a manga and anime lover? A comic collector? A cosplay enthusiast? In exciting news for fans, a Manga Mini-Con is coming to Westfield Woden this September.

And yes, there will be plenty of My Hero Academia and Demon Slayer references.

Coming to Canberra thanks to national retailer QBD Books, this free event will be running from Thursday 7 September until Sunday 10 September, drawing inspiration from the popular Oz Comic-Con and Supanova conventions—which centres on manga, anime, cosplay, and video games.

Running in a special pop-up location in Woden’s Westfield Shopping Centre, across the four days manga fans will have access to popular titles such as Chainsaw Man, Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Spy x Family, with a special ‘buy one get one-half price’ offer available on Viz titles.

And to top it off, there will also be plenty of giveaways, gift vouchers, cosplay competitions, manga/anime character standees, and more.

Forming part of QBD’s wider Book Fest activation, the aim of the event is to bring a convention feel to suburban and regional consumers, who may not always be able to access these events.

According to Sarah McConville, Fiction Buyer and Category Manager at QBD Books, Mini-Con will cater to the incredible local community of manga, anime, comics, and cosplay fans, as well as a new generation of readers.

“One of the things people love about manga is the community it generates – when you find someone who likes the same thing as you it’s super exciting, and when you find a community in your local area, it’s like coming home,” she says.

“Manga appeals to a lot of different people because the stories are easy to read, and mostly consist of fun, action-packed adventures. As a genre, shonen manga has always been a gateway to reading for young adult male readers, but it is now reaching a broader audience, with adults snapping up these titles as well.

“Manga is an inclusive community that is also popular with all genders in the 18 to 38 age range, but we’re now finding these demographics are being broken down as families and older readers begin to immerse themselves in manga.”

Four days of manga and anime? Sign us up.

Images supplied.