History

History

SMASH! was founded in 2007 by Katie Huang and Paul Aeria. An accomplished artist in her own right, Katie was looking for an event with a stronger focus on art than most conventions in Australia had at the time (Paul just had some free time). Katie and Paul were quickly joined by others and the event expanded into a full-fledged anime and manga convention.

Later on, the organisers formed SMASH Inc, an incorporated non-profit organisation, to keep the SMASH! convention running after they had moved on. To this day, the convention still has a strong focus on art and creativity, despite almost doubling in size from its original incarnation, the fun, humour and irreverence it had retained from when it was just a couple of people sitting in Hyde Park saying ‘We should put on an anime convention’.

 

Past years and guests

SMASH! 2007

The first SMASH! was held at the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales and attracted an incredible 1,435 people. Which, you know, is pretty good for the first one.

SMASH! 2008

SMASH! built on the success of the first event and brought Hidenobu Kiuchi, the first Japanese seiyu (voice actor) to an Australian anime convention. The location was again the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales and this time 2,295 people came along.

Guests:
  • Hidenobu Kiuchi (木内 秀信)
  • Tan Kit Mun (AKA “Kidchan”)

SMASH! 2009

In its third year, SMASH! expanded into a two-day event. This time 2,709 people crammed into the Roundhouse and helped make 2009 the biggest event we’d run to date.

Guests:
  • Cuson Lo
  • Alexandra Szweryn

SMASH! 2010

In its fourth year, SMASH! brushed away a tear and moved to the Sydney Town Hall. It also brought over a stunning five international guests. Despite being just one day, attendance increased to 2,810 (so many in fact, that we had to close ticket sales and turn people away!).

Guests:
  • Yūko Miyamura (宮村 優子)
  • Tiffany Grant
  • Matt Greenfield
  • Shaun Healey
  • Mikiko Ponczeck

SMASH! 2011

Following up 2010 was always going to be hard but the Sydney Convention Centre ensured a stunning success. Attendance in our fifth year was 5,405.

Guests:
  • Shinichi Watanabe (渡邊 慎),
  • Martin Billany,
  • Hiroki Kikuta (菊田 裕樹),
  • Kenji Ito (伊藤 賢治)

SMASH! 2012

2012 was our best year yet, with over 6,000 people attending the convention!

Guests:
  • Shin-ichiro Miki (三木 眞一郎)
  • Sakura Tange (丹下 桜)
  • Yūko Miyamura (宮村 優子)

SMASH! 2013

2013 was even bigger, with over 8,000 attendees! It was a phenomenal year! Alas, the year ended on a bittersweet note as it was our last convention at the Sydney Convention Centre.

Want to see our special event? Check it out on the 2013 Vocaloid night website.

Guests:
  • Haruko Momoi (桃井 はるこ)
  • Hidenori Matsubara (松原 秀典)
  • LOVERIN TAMBURIN
  • Masakazu Morita (森田 成一)

SMASH! 2014

2014 had over 13,000 attendees! With new guests, our transition to our new home at Rosehill Gardens meant that we had more space, more events and a lot more fun!

Guests:
  • Kotono Mitsuishi (三石 琴乃)
  • REIKA
  • Toshihiro Kawamoto (川元 利浩)

SMASH! 2015

2015 was a time of experimentation. With new events, more artists and more exhibitors, SMASH! expanded into new horizons! We also held the first ever Australian Anisong.

Guests:
  • Danny Choo
  • Hiroaki Yura (由良 浩明)
  • KANAME☆
  • LOVERIN TAMBURIN
  • Noriaki Sugiyama (杉山 紀彰)
  • REIKA
I ♥ anisong guests:
  • GARNiDELiA,
  • kz livetune,
  • Yanagi Nagi (やなぎなぎ),
  • DJ Hello Kitty

SMASH! 2016

2016 was when we really grew into our new home! With more events, itasha cars, we were bigger and better than ever before! We also held our first After Hours Party to celebrate 10 years of SMASH!.

Guests:
  • Hideo Ishikawa (石川 英郎)
  • Ai Nonaka (野中 藍)
  • Takahiro ‘GOLDY’ Sakai
  • Yuegene Fay
10th year anniversary guests:
  • DJ Catalystic
  • Hachioji-P
  • IA

SMASH! 2017

2017 was our farewell to Rosehill Gardens but in spite of our sadness, we celebrated as hard as we could with our attendees, exhibitors, volunteer and guests. At SMASH! The party continued After Hours with some really cool tunes performed by our international guests.

Guests:
  • Daisuke Sakaguchi (阪口 大助),
  • Shizuka Ito (伊藤 静),
  • Baozi & hana,
  • Redjuice,
  • Shiori Mikami (三上 枝織),
  • Yusuke Kozaki (コザキユースケ),
  • Asami Hagiwara (萩原あさ美)
After Hours guests:
  • TeddyLoid
  • Jadebella
  • Kenaz
  • DJ Yui Kanan

SMASH! 2018

Jump back in time and revisit our 2018 website.
Guests:
  • Taro Yoko (横尾 太郎),
  • Tsuubasa Yonaga (代永 翼),
  • Takahiro Omori (大森 貴弘),
  • Ryotaro Okiayu (置鮎 龍太郎),
  • Mon,
  • Spike Spencer

SMASH! 2019

Want to see what really happened? Check out our 2019 website.
I ♥ anisong Guests
  • Minori Chihara (茅原 実里),
  • Nano,
  • Konomi Suzuki (鈴木 このみ),
  • kz
Convention Guests:
  • Kizuna AI,
  • Kugimiya Rie (釘宮 理恵),
  • Abe Atsuhi (阿部 敦),
  • Orikasa Fumiko (折笠 富美子),
  • Toriumi Kosuke (鳥海 浩輔),
  • The Anime Man,
  • Tamura Junichiro (田村 淳一郎),
  • Dear Kiss,
  • Swallowtail Butler Opera,
  • Suda Goichi (須田 剛一),
  • King,
  • Haneame,
  • Chihiro,
  • Baozi & Hana,
  • Ayasa,
  • Mizushima Seiji (水島 精二),
  • DJ Hosaka☆,
  • Gear (GinyuforcE),
  • Latte (GinyuforcE)

THE FUTURE

What does the future bring? Well it’s our fifteenth year in the running and we plan to make it even bigger and better! We’re planning a great line-up of special guests and events, and are doing everything we can to deliver a better year than ever. For that we need all the help we can get — Join Us and become part of the SMASH! experience.