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Anime Boston 2012: The Chibi Project: Live!
For the past ten years, Patrick D, Jekka, and (sometimes) Liz hosted an hour of mayhem, destruction, and cheesy humor. The Chibi Project has become somewhat of a Friday Night ritual for many, as they file in to see just what toys get trashed, and how. Whether they take a circular saw to Pikachu, sanding down Love Hina figures, or nailing a Derek Jeter figure with a baseball bat, Patrick and Jekka always leave attendees guessing until they get down to business.
This year, Liz made it to the convention, which turned the normally destructive duo into a trio looking to maim innocent toys. They opened this year’s panel with a brief skit involving Portal’s GladOS and a Chibi Moon cosplayer as a way to unveil their new theme music. After going through the requisite introductions, the three got down to business. In past years, Patrick and Jekka had fantastic luck with all manner of destruction, save one. Every time a blender was involved, the two were soundly defeated. Whether it was with a Mega Man figure in 2005 or Ken-Ohki in 2009, the toy always managed to evade destruction at the hands of the swirling blades.
This year, no expense was spared to get revenge on the toys that eluded this particular fate. To ensure that this went right, Patrick D brought the big guns into play with a BlendTec blender (the same brand used in the “Will It Blend?” videos). The victim of this year’s experiment was a Misty (from Pokemon) figure. Upon initial insertion into the blender, it seemed like this may have been a repeat of the previous experiments. The figure bounced and bobbed in the plastic chamber for nearly one minute before it began breaking into pieces. Once the first arm was removed though, the toy was easily dismembered and shattered. By the end of the test, all that remained of the toy was a smattering of body parts and plastic dust.
This wasn’t the end, though. As a bonus, Liz produced a Ryo-Ohki doll from behind the table, and proceeded to select a number of volunteers from the audience. The toy would meet the most cruel of fates: ripped to pieces by the mob of volunteers. The doll went down with little struggle, as pieces flew off and stuffing scattered across the floor. One of the volunteers, a small girl clad in a Team Rocket costume, proved to be particularly entertaining in this, as she elicited several evil laughs and screamed for blood numerous times, as she hurried to grab fallen body parts and stuffing.
Afterwards, the floor was opened to a few questions. No destructible gifts were given this year, though Patrick D did confirm that they still had the hugging pillow from last year’s panel, and that they were planning a fitting punishment for it.