Kyo Rito Art Photo Studio had a grand opening last Saturday, October 13, 2009 at Cubao AliMall.   Not your typical photo studio, Kyo Ritu Art caters to taking studio shots in cosplay.  Yes, that's right, cosplay.  While it's not unheard of for cosplayers renting out a photo studio to have their cosplays photoshoots, this is probably the first studio that actually focuses on cosplay.   A great concept, if you ask me, especially with the boom of cosplay in today's generation and the growing appeal of wearing some sort of costume.

Sese and I had heard about the photo studio way back in August and we were pretty much excited when we got news that they were launching this October.  Once you enter the shop, you can already see that this was not your typical photo studio.  Instead of seeing pictures on the wall or a set menu of services, there were costumes of all shapes and sizes.  They also had weapon props displayed on the wall as well as various colored wigs.  Some of the costumes are of basic design, some from anime and from games.  I personally found the Sora costume from Kingdom Hearts for kids adorable.  LOL.

Kyo Ritu Art also flew in their in-house photographer all the way from Japan, Mr Katsuhiro Nishikawa (or if you prefer Nishikawa Katsuhiro-san XD).  I am curious as how good is he but from what I hear, he's used to taking cosplay photos so it should really be interesting to see.

GMA coverage of the ribbon cutting

The launching for Kyo Ritu Art was bigger than I expected.  They had GMA coverage for the ribbon cutting for the studio.  They even got PLDT as one of their major sponsors for the event.  And they had a stage setup in the AliMall activity center. 

At around 4 PM, Sese, Vince and I went to the activity center to find some good seats so we can take some pictures of the event.  They were going to have Cosplay competition as well as a Cosplay/Fashion catwalk.  Sadly, due to the launching being last minute, only three competitors joined.  But it seemed like they had fun and cash prizes were also given away to all three contestants.

Tito Potato, host, carrying Buster Sword replica

The host for the event was Tito Potato.  He was pretty good in my opinion as he knew how to entertain the crowd and make wholesome jokes.  I think he was especially good when he was handling the kids that also went on stage in costumes.  He even jokingly referred to himself that he was like Kuya Bodjie from Batibot. I know it's not that easy dealing with kids especially on stage so kudos.

As part of the program, they had a new girl band, Zuri, to perform a song and dance number to entertain the crowd.  I think the girls were quite good and with a little more polish I think they could really wow crowds.  The girls were pretty and really had sex appeal. 

Girl Band Zuri

One of the features for the event was the Cosplay catwalk by the some of the cosplayers and models of Kyo Ritu.  I was suprised to find out that some of the girls from Zuri also went on stage in various costumes.  I was really amazed by the cosplayer that did Tifa Lockheart from Final fantasy VII Advent Children.  She was also part of Zuri, but she really looked the part of Tifa.  She even did some high kicks and the fighting stance that Tifa does in the movie.  She can sing, dance and cosplay.  Triple threat in my book. :D

Special guest for the event was cosplayer, Alodia Gosiengfiao.  She came as Ino from the game Guilty Gear.  Alodia was also a guest judge for the event.  She has donned this costume before but I have never seen it in person up till now.  I think it was nicely done and I could see Sese really liked the boots.  Though sometimes I wonder how she keeps that hat on without falling over.

Alodia and Ashley with the cosplayers

I had a chance to briefly speak with Jo Enriquez and Chulet Querubin, the Managing Director and General Manager for Kyo Ritu Art.  According to them they are still really starting out and there are still a lot of work to be done for the shop.  They are planning to bring in more costumes as they still had shipments from the US and Japan that have not arrived.  They are also hoping to get more locally made costumes and perhaps get in touch with a local costume maker to help them with creating new custom made customers or alter and adjust existing costumes. 

Aside from solo and group photography, Kyo Ritu Art also caters to a number of other services including, Pet Photography, Outdoor / Indoor Party Coverage, Events Organizer, Graphic Designing and Illustration.  They also make marketing materials like business and  calling card, posters, etc.  It's like a one stop shop for your cosplay and photography needs.

Kyo Ritu Art can be found in the Upper Ground Level of Cubao AliMall Phase II near the Skywalk to SM City.  You may reach them at 393-57-82 and 0908-986-5246.

*Pictures provided by Sese