Cosplay Mania 2019: Activities and Entertainment for J-Pop Anime Fans
Cosplay, a portmanteau of the words costume and play, is the act of wearing costume that replicates a character in pop culture—usually from Japanese animation.
Every year, cosplayers don their best costumes to compete or to just enjoy the play with their friends at the grand event that is Cosplay Mania.
Last September 28 to 29, Cosplay Manila opened its doors at the SMX Convention Center Manila for the thousands of young enthusiasts of the Japanese pop subculture.
Other than cosplay, the event featured Japanese artists, anime screenings, and over 100 merchants!
Also read: Cosplay Mania 2018: 10 Years of Celebrating Hobbies and the Japanese Subculture
The venue was sectioned into three: the EX Hall, SP Hall, Cosplay Mania Store, VIP lounge, and free space with food concessionaires.
EX Hall served as the general area for sponsors, exhibitors, and merchants. It also had a smaller stage for sponsor programs, games, and guests!
Exhibitors included big companies like Bandai, where guests got to build their mini Gundam, and Lumica, where they taught choreographed dances.
Animax was also there, along with Good Smile Company that let guests play with Nendoroids and Quantum Amusement that hosted a number of electronic amusement games.
If that didn’t excite you enough, the SP Hall surely will.
Here, they held the major events, featured the exclusive guests, and screened anime films. This is also where they held the coveted Cosplay Mania Cup, an annual cosplay competition that pits the greatest cosplayers against each other.
Also read: 8 Reasons to Attend Cosplay Mania 2019
Prominent Japanese toy company Good Smile Company makes its first major event appearance at Cosplay Mania 2019!
Fans cheered as May’n sang live on day 1. May’n is a Japanese artist with many famous songs featured in anime such as Macross Frontier, Accel World, and The Ancient Magis Bride.
She expressed her love for the Philippines, Jollibee, and halo-halo, which she got to experience after her performance.
Local artists were also featured as opening acts such as Jonannie Velasco, the 2018 grand winner of Japan Foundation’s J-pop Anime Singing Contest, as well as Seishun Kakumei, an idol girl group that has performed in other numerous events.
Also read: Coslandia Continues to Celebrate J Culture on Their 2nd Year
Cosplay Mania ended on a high note when they announced the winners of the Cosplay Mania Cup.
Participated by cosplayers from all over the country, they awarded the best cosplay to third place: Lyron Aquino cosplaying as Present Mic, second place: Guy Singzon as Shang Fei from Dynasty Warriors, and grand winner: Aria Sei as Alice from Alice: Madness Returns.
Veteran cosplayer Guy Singzon bags second place cosplaying as Shang Fei from the popular video game Dynasty Warriors
Cosplay Mania is organized by Cosplay.Ph, who also organizes Cosplay Carnival in April, Anime & Cosplay Expo (ACX) in July, and Cosplay Matsuri in December.
All events cater to different markets and have different activities that many local anime fans attend every year.
Check out Cosplay Mania’s official website or their Facebook Page for the latest news about their events.
Written by Heloise Diamante