CONSIDERED ONE of the largest — if not the largest — cosplay event in the country, Cosplay Mania is returning for its ninth year in a two-day event from Sept. 30 to Oct. 1 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.
Once again taking over the entire second floor of the convention center, this year’s Cosplay Mania is expecting around 40,000 visitors and more than 200 exhibitors during the two-day run.
Cosplay is the increasingly popular practice of dressing up as a character from a movie, book, or video game, especially one from the Japanese genres of manga and anime.
Aside from the usual cosplay tournament and various sponsored segments, Cosplay Mania is “taking a huge step towards becoming a player in the international scene” as it brings in four J-Pop (Japanese pop) artists for its first Japanese Anime Music (JAM) concert in Cosplay Manila which, if successful, “will help pave the way in establishing the Philippines as a prime venue for international pop culture conventions,” said a company press release.
“We are trying to gain the confidence of the Japanese… so we could bring more acts to the Philippines,” Pablo Bairan, Cosplay.ph president (the organizers of Cosplay Mania), told BusinessWorld in an interview on Sept. 21 in Makati City.
He acknowledged that comic and pop culture conventions, the recently concluded AsiaPop Comicon this month in particular, are successful in bringing “the feel of an international convention to the Philippines.”
“And that’s also where we’re trying to be: similar to AsiaPop Comicon, we’re trying to draw in artists — theirs are from the US, ours are from Japan — and cosplayers from all over the world,” he added.
Included in the highlights of this year’s event is the opening activity of Cosplay Mania — an exclusive screening of the Hatsune Miku Expo 2016 Japan Tour, a concert featuring the “vocaloid” sensation Hatsune Miku — a 2-D character who gives the humanoid characteristics to the vocals produced by voice synthesizer software — among other virtual artists, while J-Pop dance cover group Seishun Kakumei will take the stage later in the day.
Of course, cosplay competitions such as the Cosplay Solo Showdown and the Ultimate Cosplay Championship Finals are also convention highlights.
A panel discussion with Sayo Yamamoto and Fuuko Noda, director and producer respectively of popular figure-skating anime Yuri!!! On ICE will also be held during the first day.
Japanese cover song artist kradness, and Konomi Suzuki, who sang the opening song (“This Game”) of 2014 hit anime series, No Game No Life, will be headline the first day’s JAM concert, while Shiena Nishizawa and Elisa will be performing alongside kradness in the second day’s concert.
Day two of the event will see Canadian cosplay star Hikarin holding a Cosplay Classroom, where cosplayers will be given tips and tricks from the artist herself.
Japanese voice artists Wataru Hatano (the voice of Gajeel in the Fairy Tale anime) and Koutaro Nishiyama (the voice of Suzuha in Noragami Aragoto and Ryuichi Kashima in the upcoming Gakuen Babysitters anime series) will be present in an exclusive fan panel for the attendees.
Cosplay Mania will run from Sept. 30 to Oct. 1 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. Tickets range in price from P399 to P1,999.
For more information on Cosplay Mania, its events, and its “experience zones,” visit https://www.facebook.com/events/421212291604652/.
