The Chibi Project is a favorite event of mine. Patrick Delahanty and Jekka Cormier of The Chibi Project devote the panel to their one true mission: to destroy toys and get creative doing it. The panel opened with a brief selection of clips from previous “experiments”, from the original Chibi Moon doll destruction, to the setting ablaze of a Burning Gundam Model, and the fate of a Kuroneko-sama plush at the hands of a riding mower. The panel moved quickly to a “sneak preview” of a forth-coming episode, in which Sailor Moon dolls are fired out of a potato cannon, into a horse shed. , showing prior “experiments”, as well as a series of random outtakes.
Jekka and Patrick were both eager to get to the destruction, though, and eagerly presented their torture subject for the night: a Starting Lineup figure for Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. The treatment would be fitting: destroyed after being pitched and hit by a baseball bat. However, to simply hit a figure with a bat seems tame for a group that’s lit figures ablaze with fireworks, tested firearms on dolls, and placed toy onto railroad tracks. Instead, the group pulled out a prop that only seemed fitting for the event: The Autograph Bat. The Autograph Bat is a Louisville Slugger that was signed by every guest that attended Anime Boston 2003, including the entire dub cast of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. The item will be sold at next year’s Charity Auction, as part of the event’s tenth-year celebration. The destruction was inevitable, and Jeter’s body was broken to bits. Amidst the destruction, Jekka found a penny, leading to her unusual, yet humorous conclusion that, no matter what form, Derek Jeter poops money when he’s hit.
The floor was opened to questions and answers for the remainder of the panel. A notable highlight was one attendee providing a hugging pillow for the two panelists to obliterate in any creative manner that they wished.
