COSPLAY MANIA ’14: A Weekend of Cosplay and Anime Music
October is one of those months where people usually get dressed for Halloween parties. But for cosplayers and otakus, it’s the month where they gather, dress up as at their best, and join up with their friends for the biggest cosplay event of the year — Cosplay Mania.
This year, the event featured a lot of activities in store for their attendees. Aside from the array of stores and stalls that had so much goodies, there was a mini program for those attendees who only brought their bronze tickets. On the other hand, those who prized themselves with silver and gold tickets were catered to a solid and entertaining program. There were also a couple of fan clubs that gathered in the said event as not only to join the convention but also meet up for trades and of course, camaraderie.
One of the performances that were held in the dealer’s hall was one of the emerging cover groups of AKB48 who called themselves as Sugar 48. Jin Joson was also there as he and his team collaborated with the host in a mini-game in which you’ll get a price from them and of course, a special freebie from the organizers and sponsors. For those who were fans of Magic: The Gathering that were on the event, there was a part of the hall where you can play and interact with other Magic players. There were also a few individuals who taught the basics to those who were interested to learn the card game.
Day 1 comprised of a jam-packed program. There were live performances from guests like Inui Tatsumi(who performed as Saito Hajime of Rurouni Kenshin), Kaname(who cosplayed as Suoh Mikoto from the much-anticipated anime-movie, K: The Missing Kings), Jesuke and Vic Kumiko. The said guests impressed everyone with their collaborative performances, and two gorgeous ladies left all the audience breathless — Vampy graced the stage as Psylocke of X-Men and Aya Ikeda showered the whole stage with her cuteness during her song number.
During the second day, the program featured performances from Pinky and Orochi X, who gave the audience their insights about cosplaying. Aya of Loverin Tamburin was also there and entertained a couple of questions from the fans. Pinky Lu Xun also had a special interview in the stage that showed her passion and love for cosplaying — and how Filipino female cosplayers inspired her to strive harder. Reika also gave the crowd a taste of her cosplay as she collaborated with Orochi X as characters from Hakuouki where they re-enacted a fight scene, which was followed up with an interview.
Cosplay Mania also made way to a lot of cosplay tilts, with the main showcase being TORCH (Cosplay Tournament of Champions), where the winners of this contest will be our country’s representatives to ARCC in Singapore. Among all the nine contestants, Team Kanor Cubes(who re-enacted a scene from iconic 90’s series BT’X) garnered the highest score and charmed the guest judges.
But that’s not all. All the guests also granted their fans’ wishes to closely see them via their own meet and greet sessions. The fans patiently waited along the meeting hall for a chance to meet their idols. Vampy, who had her own meet and greet, was very giddy upon seeing A No-Face cosplayer during the question and answer portion. Loverin Tamburin also sang some of their favorite songs in the Q&A session during the meet and greet. Aya Ikeda posed with her fans and eagerly answered her fans’ questions about her career, her music influences and her favorite Filipino food.
If it isn’t packed enough, this year’s Cosplay Mania was unique and as their theme said so, evolved because it was the first time that the event had a concert! The segment, which was entitled as “Concert JAM: Japansese Anime Music” featured local J-pop bands like Moonspeak and Ninja Tuna. Surprisingly during the first day of the concert, the former was joined by Kaname as they sang a song from the anime Slam Dunk. Later on, he had a special performance with Reika in which the crowd totally loved and enjoyed.
In both days, Loverin Tamburin performed their famous songs like “Oedo Blacksmith” and “Aishitageru“, the opening theme of Disgaea. They also performed their own version of Magic Knight Rayearth‘s opening theme Yuzurenai Negai” which made all the people in the crowd sing along. Of course, fanboys’ favorite, Aya Ikeda also made the crowd go wild with her songs from the anime Pretty Cure Everyone in the audience were swept away by Aya’s singing voice and her cute dance in the stage.
Cosplay Mania 2014 weekend was a success. Everybody had their chance to become their favorite characters, and enjoyed the event with their friends. But to those who didn’t have a chance, don’t fret. The organizers already announced the date for next year.
Guess we’ll all going to see you again on October 3-4, 2015 at SMX Convention Center!
Thanks for the mention of the Magic the Gathering booth. Hope you enjoyed the stuff we had going on at the Magic booth.
No worries, Freddie! Have a great day.