The After-Action Report from Cosplay Mania 2009

[previous event coverage: Covering Day 1 of ToyCon 2009]

Cosplay Mania 2009
13 September 2009
Megatrade Halls 2 & 3 + Function Rooms, SM Megamall

So, yes, I was there: Cosplay Mania 2009, one of the biggest cosplay-oriented gatherings we have here in the Philippines. This year, they made the most of a greatly expanded function area (the previous event took up one convention hall; now they occupied two, and used both function rooms besides) to bring in a ton of booths. Many of the merchants catered to dress-up types (wigs, accessories, a few actual clothes sellers), and others sold typical con merch (figures, anime, manga, stuffed toys, etc.).


A few of my favorite photos from the day.
Top row, left to right: three famous cosplay costumes. The Gundam Girl and the Zaku Girl were made by the same guy, while the Saitou Hajime outfit was made famous at the first con in the Philippines.
Second row: a guy in "The Box" from the Metal Gear games, a great crowd favorite. Too bad he didn't do the catwalk. There's also a pic of six members of the Philippine Outpost of the 501st Legion of Stormtroopers.
Third row: another hit with the crowd was this adorable little guy in his full Son Gohan outfit. He did the catwalk to the huge squee of the crowds. He, the Moogle/Tonde Buurin (Super Boink) pair, and the Bruce Lee cosplayer were part of the huge blast-from-the-past air at the con.
Fourth row: Musashi and Koujirou (Jesse and James) of Team Rocket, blasting in at the speed of light; and a guy in a full Space Marine kit, from the upcoming Starcraft 2.

As mentioned above, there were quite a few old-school anime titles represented at the event: from Sailor Moon to Rurouni Kenshin; as well as games for the PC (Final Fantasy VIII and X-2) and MMORPGs (Granado Espada).

Multiple Vocaloids and Axis Powers Hetalia groups showed up, and there was one large group of students/classmates/friends who had apparently been assigned various national costumes to wear to the event.

I stuck around to see various bands perform (there was one band that did a K-On! set, and one that performed a rock version of the Imperial March), and then for the entirety of the cosplay catwalk events. There was a group event and an individual event; I'll post the winners soon.

You can check out my other photos HERE. Please be kind when you repost the pictures: put in a credit link back to the blog.

Edited to add: Finally I've managed to upload this video somewhere and play it properly. During the con, there was a special comedy skit that went onstage just before the group and individual cosplay catwalks. It was a dance-off between the New Worlds Alliance's resident comedy/dance group, the Stormballs, and a group of challengers who called themselves the Yagbols.

I managed to capture the last part of the skit on my camera, and here it is. Warning, this is slightly NSFW - most of the people onstage at this time are down to their skivvies.

Please swallow anything you're eating or drinking before you press Play.



[Up next: the loot from the event. Yes, there is loot. I saved my money up deliberately for the event, because there were some things I really wanted to buy.]