July 2009

  1. Cosfest VIII - a look into foreign cosplay events


    Okay, okay, this is late.  I got busy and a tad bit lazy.  As you may already know, we recently went to Singapore to attend and have Ice compete in Cosfest VIII A Very Happy Event.  The event was held last July 11-12, 2009 at the Downtown East center in Pasir Ris.   Entrance to the event was completely free so anyone can come and join the festivities.  We were lucky because Sese's sister came with us so we wouldn't get lost.  We were however still late on the first day.  No biggie though as we really just wanted to see the layout of the event space and see some cosplayers.

    Even before we reached the event area, we were already starting to see cosplayers outside.   There were so many cosplayers and they were all just posing for pictures.  I noticed that most cosplayers found a certain spot where they could showcase their costumes and pose for pictures and for the most part did not move from their spot and waited for the photographers to come to them.

    The nice thing about the community there is that they know how to practice etiquette.  When cosplayers are busy fixing their costume, eating or on the phone, photographers don't bother them.  In fact, some photographers will sit and wait till you are ready and they won't even take pictures right away.  They will ask first.  Even Ice noticed that there were some photographers that would be hesitant to ask you for pictures.  They would even wait for somebody else to ask so that they can join in taking photos.

  2. Road to Singapore and Cosfest VIII (2009) Part 2

    We left early the morning of Friday, July 10. We had a long trip ahead of us as we would be flying from Clark Airfield instead of the traditional Manila International Airport. Tiger Airways is a budget airline and it would be cheaper to fly from Clark. Sese's parents arranged for someone to drive us to Clark. We packed our things and off we went. I was so full of excitement that I could barely take a nap despite my lack of sleep the previous day.

    We arrived earlier than we expected so we decided to eat lunch in the mean time. Sese's mom was kind enough to treat us to lunch before she sent us on our way. Cabalen buffet for the win! In fact we were so early that after lunch we still had to wait outside the terminal before they allowed us to check in.

    Travel tip: for those flying abroad as a tourist, prepare PhP 1620.00 for your travel tax. Filipinos are required to pay this for all travels outside the country and they do not accept foreign currency so you need to have pesos handy. We also got charged an additional PhP 600.00 for the terminal fee. Customs and Immigration here really make a killing that it's almost unbelievable. After passing through Immigration, all we needed to do now was wait for our flight. 

  3. Road to Singapore and Cosfest VIII (2009) Part 1

    We've been planning the trip to Singapore for many months now. I have often told my friend Sese that I wanted to be able to experience a convention outside the country as I have often found conventions and events here to be disappointing. Often our local events focus more on ticket prices and sponsorships than actually creating an event that would really cater to their audience.

    We finally decided to attend Cosfest VIII (2009). Cosfest is Singapore's largest cosplay event held every year in July. It also hosts the Regional Qualifiers for the World Cosplay Summit held in Nagoya, Japan.  There have been attempts to hold regional qualifiers for the Philippines, but as we have not been recognized as a participating country, we can't really send our own delegation.

    The original plan was really just to attend the event. But we thought, why not have someone from our group join the cosplay competition and see what it is like to compete in a foreign country.  Now our group has cosplayed here and there but none have really joined a competition so we weren't really sure who was up for it.  After some thought, we decided that our very own Ice Artificio would be perfect. 

    Now that we knew who would be going, we had to decide what character to portray.  We couldn't choose just any character.  We needed a character that would represent the group and something that will make people say "WOW" if we did it.  After much debate, we chose Talim from Soul Calibur IV.  We thought what perfect way to represent the Philippines is with a Filipino character. 

  4. Singapore or Bust!

    Cosfest Website


    Cosfest Website


    As I sit here this morning contemplating what to write, I decided to just keep it simple.  As you all know, reviewing conventions is my thing, and I have been to many anime and game conventions here in the country.  I have seen the ups and downs that these conventions have gone through and I have seen the best and the worst that our country has to offer.  But I am not satisfied.  I decided that it was time for me to venture out and see how other events are done overseas.  So the Singapore trip was born.


    A few months ago, a bunch of close friends and I were introduced to an upcoming cosplay event in Singapore, Cosfest VIII.  This is an annual event held by the Singaporean Cosplay Club that focuses completely on Cosplay similar to Cosplay.ph's Cosplay Mania aka Cosmania.  One of the highlights of the event would be the regional cosplay summit competition.  The winners of this contest would be sent to Japan to represent Singapore and participate in the World Cosplay Summit.  As you can see, Cosfest is one of the largest cosplay events in Singapore so it is a definite must see.

  5. HONESTLY LANG... an opinion about the previous GX-Con (Repost from LJ)

    I wrote this a few years ago on my LJ when I got really pissed off at a convention I attended.  This started me off in the rocky path of being a convention reviewer.  I wanted change and I knew that unless people discuss it then it would not happen.  It stirred up a hornet's nest and it prompted 80 comments on my LJ.  I hope the following comes up as a good read. 


    Last Sunday, I went to the GX-Con, the first console gaming convention in the country.  The event was organized by GamEX Magazine, from what I gathered is a console gaming magazine.  They were to have game demos for the next generation consoles like Nintendo Wii, Microsoft XBOX 360, and Sony Playstation3.  They also advertised a gaming tournament and cosplay only from their approved list of games.  I was rather excited to go because I was expecting something different.

    Anyway, I was there early at around 10 am.  I was alone as everyone I knew who were coming were late.  Good thing I met a friend of mine on the way in.  When we got in, someone gave us this small piece of paper with instructions on how to play the games.  I didn't quite understand the instructions at first as there wasn't any signs to point you in the right direction.

    The convention space was small.  In fact, my friend and I circled the place three times in like 30 minutes looking at everything that was available. I cannot begin to emphasize at how small the place was and how little there was too see.  That alone was disappointing. What we found rather odd was that we weren't actually able to identify where the gaming demos were.  I mean if you were just wondering around, you won't notice it unless you were actually looking for them.  Like I said, NO SIGNS.

  6. Tetsujin 28 being built in the city of Kobe

    After the craze brought about by the full scale Gundam RX-78-2 that was built in Odaiba, the city of Kobe follows suit with another full scale robot.  Construction has began to build an 18-foot statue of the robot Tetsujin 28.

    Tetsujin 28 was a popular manga back in 1956 and was the first to feature a giant robot.  Since then, the series has gained a cult following ever since has spawned numerous anime series and live action films.  Now Kobe plans to immortalize the series by erecting a monument of the popular giant robot.

    According to AnimeNewsNetwork, "The Kobe Tetsujin Project's statue is intended as a symbol of the city's revival after the 1995 Kobe Earthquake. It is being build in Nagata Ward, the city's hardest hit neighborhood which has since been rebuilt and revitalized. The statue also celebrates the life of one of Kobe's most well-known native sons, as Yokoyama not only created the Tetsujin 28 manga and anime, but also Giant Robo and Sally the Witch."

    The project is reported to cost 1.4 million USD.   Parts of Tetsujin 28 is already being sent to Kobe's Wakamatsu Park where the statue will be erected.  They plan to finish construction by September and open the statue to the public by October 4. 

  7. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen review


     

    I finally got to watch Transformers last Saturday.  I watched it at Gateway with a friend of mine.  I was trying to get some IMAX tickets but unfortunately it has been completely sold out.  Expected as much, considering all the hype for the movie.  Even the cinema house in Gateway was full of people.  I was checking the timeslots for Transformers when I realized all of the cinemas were just showing Transformers that day.  I was standing in line for about an hour before I actually got to buy some tickets.  In hindsight, I should have really reserved tickets before I got to Gateway.

    I have been waiting for this sequel since the first movie came out.  When the first Transformers movie came out, I didn't really have high expectations, I just wanted to see it to relive my childhood.  But after the success of the first movie, I got really excited to see the sequel. 

    The movie starts off with a brief history of the Transformers and the villain of this movie, known as The Fallen.  We are then catapulted to present day where we are introduced to what has happened in the 2 year gap between the first movie and the sequel.   We are immediately introduced to the new members of the Autobot team, including Arcee, the twins - Mudflap and Skids, and Sideswipe.  Sideswipe is my favorite in this one.  With Jazz being killed in the first movie, a replacement was needed and Sideswipe filled in the role quite well.  And even though he only spoke a few lines, he was really awesome.  I have to say though,  Bumblebee is as adorable as ever and seems to have taken a big brother role when the twins are around.