TAMACON 2015: Just in Time for Summer

March 30, 2015 – Manila, Philippines

The CNPH Team witnessed the comeback of one of the most-anticipated conventions held by university students – Tamashii Convention (Tamacon). The theme for this year is a fusion of the traditional and popular Japanese culture to the Filipino market.

March is the season of graduation and summer vacation for us Filipinos and having this event as a month-ender for Japanese culture fans is a good way of de-stressing after long days in school or work. Most of the cosplayers also adhered to the event’s theme as they donned their yukatas while trying out the activities in the Matsuri booths and roaming around the premises.

Just like the other conventions, most of the activities lined up for the day are pretty common such as the band performances, mini games, individual and group cosplay competition, and sponsor segments. What made Tamacon stand out from the rest though are the Sports Anime Café, Jpop Idol Contest (unlike the usual anime karaoke contests), the Japanese Culture Talk and the Street and Kawaii Snapshots fashion shows.

In terms of convenience, the payment method for the tickets came in two forms: online and via meet-up at their booth.

Nihon Kenkyuu Kai, De La Salle University’s anime organization is the one behind the success of this event. The “No Ticket, No Entry” policy and crowd control were well-implemented. Considering that the venue was small, almost everyone whom we chatted with was still pleased with how the convention turned out.

Here are some of the pictures of the cosplayers that we met during the said event:

“I actually wasn’t able to see the Kabe-Don booth since I found it hard to roam inside the convention area due to space restrictions. As I’ve heard, there was also a gold fish scooping booth and a wishing tree. It was a very well organized event and I really liked that they implemented the “No ticket, no entry policy”, it made the convention area less crowded by filtering people who didn’t have tickets. Tamashii Con also had a baggage counter which gave the cosplayers the comfort of roaming around the convention without worrying about their cosplay stuff.” – Aire 

"Honestly, I was expecting the activity booths to have a Japanese feel to it in terms of decorations. I also hoped that they rented out bigger halls but considering that there are other events in SMX, I think it's understandable. Some of my expectations weren’t met but at least I had a fun experience in terms of meeting people. Congratulations to Nihon Kenkyuu Kai for a job well done!" – Xien

Photographer and Contributor: Aire Xie

Article: Xien

OTAKU EXPO 2015: Starting the Year with Fandom Goodness

January 24 and 25, 2015 -  The CNPH Team headed to Megatrade Halls 1 and 2 to witness the first hobby-centric convention of the year – Otaku Expo 2015. This event almost had all the same activities with their other events such as the Ozine Fest and Otaku Expo Reload but nearly everyone in the anime and game subculture still keep on flocking over to the same event over again.

To initiate crowd control, there was a free hall to facilitate cosplayers, photographers, and con-goers alike and the paid hall was where the stage, concessionaires, and gaming tables were. If you’re the type of conger who is only for the activities and merchandise, then the paid hall was worth its price as you will also be witnessing Vanguard players and Gunpla assemblers. Otherwise, you could stay in the free hall to chat and take photos of cosplayers. If you enjoy both, then you could see the event in its entirety. The ever famous Ozine Maid Café was in business too.

Most cosplayers are truly passionate about their hobby and because of this, our creative heads came up with the “Cosplayer of the Week” mini project. With this, we selected a fortunate few who came in their best cosplays and interviewed them about their attitude towards the hobby, a little about themselves, and anything under the sun. Even if cosplay events seem to be repetitive, the cosplayers were still able to come in their best ensembles and never failed to awe everyone who sees them and so they deserve to be in the spotlight.

Besides the Cosplayer of the Week prospects, we also interviewed con-goers, cosplay photographers and of course, more cosplayers. Below are more pictures of the people that we chatted with during the event:

If we are going to compare this year’s Otaku Expo from conventions beforehand, we could see that the anime-centric conventions that we used to attend before has now evolved into a wider one that also captures the fans of Western games, movies and comics.

Generally-speaking, conventions that tap the hobbyist market are now immersing different cultures into one and even if it has the same lineup of guests or activities, people would still flock over because of the people and the experiences that they share with one another.

“On another note, this year’s Otaku Expo was less crowded compared to the 2014 year-ender event of the Ozine team which was Ozine Fest Anime Figure Special. By less crowded, I was able to get the opportunity to roam inside the convention hall itself and watch the competitions held on stage as well as buy some merchandise.” – Aire

“I enjoyed the free hall more than the main event because almost all of the cosplayers were there and the team had a chance to greet familiar faces in the community. I also agree with Aire that this is way better than their year-end event in terms of crowd control. My overall experience is not that bad for the first con of the year." - Xien

Contributor: Aire Xie; Article: Xien 

AME FAIR X: New Venue, New Experiences

The CNPH team went to UP AME Fair X held at the World Trade Center East Pavilion on December 13 and 14. It was organized by the University of the Philippines Anime and Manga Enthusiasts (UP AME) in cooperation with Worldbex Services International.

The gates opened at around 8AM in both days to give way to the exhibitors and performing acts, but the official time for the public is 10AM. Despite having a low count on audience, the attendees were still preoccupied by a variety of activities including games by the organizers (Name That Tune was a hit among the crowd), Vanguard card battles, BJD displays by ManikaManila, band performances (Moonspeak, Asterysk, Asian Chicken Fest, Seikan, and Yui for President), sword displays by Geisha’s Blade, workshops by Tuxedo Team, and many more.

More photos of the exhibitors' booths:

 

Of course, this event wouldn't be complete without the cosplay competition which grants the overall champion a choice between a forged Excalibur sponsored by Geisha’s Blade or Php 2,000 cash prize along with some merchandise.

Our booth had our very own Miss Mae Ngo who showcased her sculpting skills by selling miniature versions of popular desserts made out of polymer clay from her enterprise with Ms. Joleen Gabriel, Millefrilly.

During the first day, the winners of the Dolldelight online contest had a photoshoot and catwalk with Dolldelight’s designer, Miss Cyril Lumboy. On the second day, Tuxedo Team had a stage performance during the latter parts of the event. 

We also had a chance to chat with several cosplayers who attended the said event but only a few of them joined the cosplay competition.

Speaking of which, the winners of the cosplay competition are the following:

(c) Romeo of CNPH

•  Overall Champion/King Of Knights: Mr. Robert Sta. Ana (Daimos)
•  1^st Runner-Up: Mr. Christian Umali (War Machine)
•   2^nd Runner-Up: Mr. RB Cheng (King Gojulas)

As you have noticed, they are all from the mecha genre. Overall champion Mr. Robert Sta. Ana opted for the Excalibur while Mr. Christian Umali and Mr. RB Cheng received cash prizes. The former also donated his cash prize to Cosplay.ph's typhoon drive.

We express our deepest gratitude towards the University of the Philippines Anime and Manga Enthusiasts (UP AME) for making us one of their media partners during the event. To everyone who passed by our booth and for buying products by Millefrilly, thank you so much as well.

P.S. For our video coverage and more pictures, please visit our youtube channel and facebook page.

- Article by Xien