August 2009

Otaku Taiiki was held last Sunday, August 23, 2009 at SM Megamall Megatrade Hall 3.  The event is the brainchild of the organizers of Ozine Fest, Anicon, and the supposed gaming convention turned one huge cosplay event known as GX-Con.  I really don't have high expectations of the event but I am willing to give it a chance and see if there are any improvements.

I arrived at around 10:30 AM.  There weren't many people yet as the cosplayers have not arrived so there was time to go around inside the event hall.  The ticket price for the event is PhP100.00.  Sese and I had planned to go the event but she went ahead of me and was already inside.  It wasn't too hard to find her because the event space was so small.  I even wondered how the event would be able to handle all these people.

Sese in costume

The layout of the event was better than in previous events.  It was actually more spacious and they did not try to maximize the hall too much.  I have to applaud them for better layout planning.  The passageways were much more clear, there was enough space in between booths.  The stage was clear of obstruction and there was lots of room by the audience area in front of the stage.

The World Cosplay Summit was recently held in Nagoya, Japan last August 8-9.  The main event of the summit is the World Cosplay Championship, where cosplayers from different participating countries come and compete for the honor of being called the best cosplayer in the world.

This year, Japan won 1st place with their cosplay from the game Sengoku Basara.  This would mark the first time an Asian country and a first for Japan since the championship began back in 2005.

Metro Comic Con was held last August 8 and 9 in Megamall Megatrade Hall 1 & 2.   The event was organized by HobbyLink Productions, Inc. and was to be the biggest gathering of comics, comic book enthusiasts, artists, and publishers in the country.  I was able to attend the first day of the convention.

Entrance to the event was PhP100.00 though it wasn't abundantly clear when I was trying to find the price on their website.  There wasn't much of a line to the ticket booth and the entrance which was rather a welcoming site.  The event space was rather huge and quite spacious.  I did like the floor plan for the event. It was clear and unobtrusive.  They placed the stage area on the far right of the event hall, the major sponsors and exhibitors were placed in the middle with enough walking space to walk in between them, and the comics and independent titles on the far left of the event space.  I love the fact that there was so much space. 

There were a lot of booths and merchandise being sold at the events, typical of what you would see in a convention of this size.  There were times from toys, collectibles to anime and fashion merchandise.  However, it became quite clear that there was a severe lack of comics at this convention.  This is sad considering this is a comics convention.  Observers have said that this was more like a toy fair than a comics convention.

Grand Chase Philippines pays their respects to former President Cory Aquino by giving away special items and holding special events in honor of the great woman.  Grand Chase is a free-to-play, two-dimensional side-scrolling MMORPG developed by the Korean company KOG Studios and is published by Level Up! Games.

Two events have been held to commemorate the former President.  Anyone who logs in to Grand Chase from August 4-10 were given 2 special items, a yellow flower and a yellow ribbon good for seven days.  Players can offer their flowers by going to the Grand Chase Park and offering the flowers on the altar.  Also as a special tribute, 3 rainbows can be seen on August 5 to commemorate the burial of the former President.

The Grand Chase GM team indulged us by answering a few questions regarding the tribute.  This short interview is courtesy of Lhyriance.  

Q: Who thought of putting an in-game tribute?

A: It was thought of the Grand Chase Team and the game developers KOG right at the bat when we heard the news that the late president passed away last Aug 1

Q: What is Cory's significance to Grand Chase? Why the tribute?