Cosplay Mania 2019

Hello everyone, it’s time for me to talk about the 11th running of Cosplay Mania which is held at the SMX Convention Center on September 28 and 29, 2019.

This is my fifth time attending this anime convention and not only that, I did not attend this year’s Best of Anime prior to this event. Although I’m not gonna talk much about the event, I’m gonna say that I still enjoy attending Cosplay Mania 2019.

Let’s start things off with a wall of flower stands which were set-up by various fans, mostly from the Philippines with some of them coming from overseas.

It’s nice that there are some people who support Japanese artists, although I don’t have enough money to contribute when it comes to flower stands.

Also, here’s something cool as I found some Love Live! Sunshine!! figures on display at the Bandai Booth, athough I can’t afford to buy them at the moment.

Moving to this area closest to the SP Hall is where you buy food and drinks, and a place to move around and take a rest after visiting various booth at the EX Hall.

I have to say that the organizers did a great job on making a space that’s not too vast and not too cramped.

Also, this area houses the VIP Lounge where VIP Ticket holders can take a rest without getting run over by various attendees. Then again, seats are limited but once you got inside, you have free drinks and bread to eat. Speaking of bread, I love eating custard buns from Fuwa Fuwa, although I didn’t take it home because I fear that I might get banned.

One more thing, there’s a desk in front of the VIP Lounge where not only you can register, but there’s a placard that says #SupportAnimeFilmsPH where you can hold it and even take a selfie in front of the One Piece: Stampede poster. Now, the reason for the hashtag is because someone record some scenes of the movie and although that person would get arrested, my fear is that Japanese companies might refuse to release anime films outside Japan because of this debacle.

Even though having a VIP Lounge is nice if you really have the money to afford a VIP Ticket, it’s nice that there are people out there spreading the word that camcording is illegal. Oh, and it’s not just the Philippines, but across Southeast Asia as well.

Moving onto the All-Star Avenue section where a cosplay group named Seishun Kakumei got a booth over there. Meeting one of the members was a nice experience at Day 2 of Cosplay Mania 2019.

And speaking of Seishun Kakumei, even though I didn’t bought some of the merchandise that are in display at their booth, I enjoyed watching the cosplay group as they performed at Day 2 of the JAM Concert, with songs such as “Star Divine” and “99 Illusion” from Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight, as well as “Geki! Teikoku Kagekidan” from Sakura Wars.

So yeah, I love watching them perform as Seishun Kakumei is one unique group where they sing and dance at the same time, unlike other cosplay groups where they can only do either things instead of both. I think they should learn from Seishun Kakumei if they want to appeal more fans.

Meanwhile, here’s a booth where someone is playing Azur Lane on a PC. Anyways, this game is similar to Kantai Collection and it’s originally a mobile game made from China. But unlike KanColle where you watch the entire battle unfolds, you have control over the characters during battles in Azur Lane.

Gotta say that Azur Lane looks promising, but I’m not gonna play it because one mobile game is enough for me. But hey, Azur Lane is one of those popular mobile games out there and I heard that there would be an anime series.

Just before moving to the main event, here’s something special that happened during Day 2 at the EX Stage, as DREAM Catchers performed dances to the tune of “Wonderful Rush” and “Bokutachi wa Hitotsu no Hikari” from μ’s.

Oh yeah, DREAM Catchers’ dance performance reminds me of μ’s, especially when they performed their Final Love Live! that I cried a lot. Even though μ’s has taken a back seat in favor of Aqours and Nijigasaki School Idol Group (although they’ll return next year), their legacy lives on!

And now, it’s time for the SP Hall where various guests from Japan have come here to talk about how they became voice actresses, singers, etc. Then again, I missed the part about Mirai Akari who is a virtual idol or VTuber if you want to be specific.

Day 1 features Team Philippines who won an international cosplay competition in Gyeongi, Korea, as well as Asaka who made her musician debut in 2016 when she sang “Open your eyes” from Occultic;Nine, although she’s well-known for singing “Shiny Days” from Yuru Camp. Oh yeah and speaking of Asaka, I’m surprised that she’s not only fluent in English, but she’s also a fan of May’n who also returned to perform in the Philippines. It’s sad that they didn’t made a collaboration song in Day 1 of JAM Concert, although both Asaka and May’n have an amazing performance on that day. Heck, I remember the time when fans chant “Si-ni-gang” when Asaka talks about the food she ate at a hotel.

Day 2 features two prominent seiyuus: Motoko Kumai who played Li Syaoran from Cardcaptor Sakura, and Rumi Okubo in which the only character I know that she’s known for is Chinatsu Yoshikawa from Yuruyuri. By the way, Rumi Okubo celebrated her birthday during the fan meeting session and she was surprised. As for Day 2 of JAM Concert, it consists of Yasutaka Nakata and MYTH & ROID (sans Tom-H@ck and hotaru due to other commitments in Japan). Yasutaka Nakata’s DJ session is full of hype although there are a few occurence of technical difficulties, while KIHOW from MYTH & ROID delivered a stunning performance which gave me some surreal vibes.

And that’s about it for this year’s Cosplay Mania and all I can say is that this anime convention is getting better. Not only they invited singers and even a virtual Youtuber, but also 2 prominent voice actresses where they talk about their careers and even delivered some lines.

Let’s hope that something big will happened in the next iteration of Cosplay Mania and I’ll look forward to go there again!