Thursday, November 29, 2018

Tokyo Comic Con (2018)



November 30-December 2, 2018: 


Much to the delight of his Asian fans Tom Hiddleston was announced as a special guest for Tokyo Comic Con. This is Tom's first Con event in Asia and his first Con outside of the United States in more than seven years. (He attended London's Kapow! Comic Con in 2011). Tom was a late addition after the original headliner, Sebastian Stan, unfortunately had to drop out due to filming commitments. I think most people were happy with the substitution! Other guests this year include Ezra Miller (Fantastic Beasts, Batman vs Superman), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Peter Weller (RoboCop), and the Phelps Brothers (Harry Potter). 


The late and great Stan Lee played a critical role in establishing Tokyo Comic Con in 2016 and served as honorary Goodwill Ambassador for the event. As a tribute to honor Stan and celebrate his life there was a monument built at the event and a message board for fans to leave their messages. So, if you are attending please stop by and write a message for Stan! 


A look at Tom Hiddleston's schedule for the three day event. All of Tom's autograph and photo-op tickets sold out in under 20 minutes! Compared to other events like Wizard World or ACE where he is doing 10-20 events per day, Tokyo has a very light schedule. There's also no panel listed on Tom's schedule - we will see if that changes. 


Day One: 

Tom Hiddleston, Ezra Miller, Peter Weller, the Phelps Brothers, and the rest of the guests were introduced to the crowd at the Opening Night Event. Some fans at been waiting for more than eight hours to ensure good seats! Because Tom Hiddleston is Tom Hiddleston, he greeted the crowd in Japanese... then went on to say it's love to be here, it's lovely to see you all and thank you for having me!



There was a funny moment when Tom knelt beside the host, Shoko Nakagawa...and she reacted appropriately. 


Tom Hiddleston and Ezra Miller. The matchup we never knew we needed. 


A look at some of the amazing Loki related merchandise for sale at Tokyo Comic Con. **I need those Loki socks**




Day Two: 

Tom Hiddleston didn't have a panel on his original schedule but due to very high demand Tom made another brief stage appearance to close out Day 2 of Tokyo Comic Con. The appearance was only announced 35 minutes ahead of time (due to the last minute scheduling) and Tom spoke to the crowd for about 10 minutes. You can watch the full video below. 




Tom took time to thank the fans, and Stan Lee: I would not be standing on this stage without you. Stan Lee in his creation of the Marvel Universe, wanted the Marvel Universe to be of inclusion. That everybody was allowed to be a part of it, everybody was included in it. And my journey with Marvel has been about meeting people and meeting the fans and meeting the audiences. You are a part of all of this. It doesn't exist with you. So thank you! 


Tom was asked about the upcoming Loki series on Disney+ and said "I know what's coming But I can't tell you. It's very exciting." Tease! 


Tom also had a laugh over fans who came to the show dressed as him: The most funny thing was that a lot of fans showed up in Loki, which is also wonderful, but a lot of fans who looked cool aslo came out in t-shirt, jeans and gray boots, it was awesome. 


Take a bow Thomas! You can view of gallery of 50+ pictures from the event here


Day Three:

Tom Hiddleston, Ezra Miller, Peter Weller, and the Phelps Brothers returned to the stage for the spectacular finale. (Jeremy Renner was also at Tokyo Comic Con but did not attend either the Opening or Closing ceremonies). You can watch the full video here. You can also view a gallery of 100+ pictures here. Tom comes out at 7:38. Hello everybody! I just want to say, to reiterate what the others have said, thank you so much. It's been a fantastic weekend. You've been so kind, so energetic and enthusiastic. I have had the most wonderful time. So thank you! 

  


At 22:50 Tom gives his last message to the Japanese fans...in Japanese of course. 


Tom and Ezra (TomZa?) continues to be our favorite matchup. 

 
 
 





Fashion: 

The Aquatalia Ace Boots are back!!! In standard Tom Hiddleston fashion he arrived in Tokyo wearing something new which is actually something old. Christmas must've come early for Tom because the shoes have been sold out for the last two years but thankfully he has a stylist, Ilaria Urbinati, who is able to special order these. (I sent a message to the Aquatalia team to see if these will ever go back into production for the general public). Tom started wearing his precious boots in March 2016 during the I Saw the Light press tour and according to my records that last time Tom wore them to an event was the Thor: Ragnarok promo in October 2017. Tom's go-to shoe in 2018 had been the Kurt Geiger London boots from RADA Hamlet.  There is one slight difference between the 2016/2017 and 2018 Ace boots - the shoelaces are now black instead of grey. 



Tom has made these shoes truly iconic. Other celebrities such as Eddie Redmayne, Jeremy Renner, and Richard Armitage have literally followed in his footsteps to get a pair of the Ace boots. 




Not only is Tom the King of Sustainable Fashion (aka he wears the sh*t out of everything), he also is the King of Resurrecting Past Items. ie: his Alexander McQueen suit which Tom first wore in 2015 and then brought back in 2018 or the Plaid Shirt that he stopped wearing in 2014 and then popped up again in 2016. I still have hope that one day my favorite Reiss shirt will magically reappear. 


Tom was also wearing his John Smedley pullover and Mykita glasses. I am waiting on confirmation about the pants. 



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