- Cosplay Mania
-
Cosplay Mania 
Cosplay Mania logoGenre Cosplay Venue SMX Convention Center
(2010-present)Location Pasay City Country Philippines First held 2008 Last held (current) 2011 Organizer Cosplay.ph Attendance About 15,000 (2011) Official website http://www.cosplaymania.com/ Cosplay Mania is an annual cosplay-centered convention usually held in the final quarter of the year in the Philippines[1]. The convention features various events related to cosplay and features rookie and veteran cosplayers, costumers and cosplay enthusiasts. Below are the mainstay activities, some of them unique to the event:
- Project Cosplay - this activity provides a competitive venue for cosplayers. The competition welcomes cosplayers from Anime / Manga / Games / Comics / Movies / Western Animation genres. This also includes Group cosplay competitions as well. Rules normally vary per year regarding age limitations, genre, or in the case of group cosplay, the number of members involved.
- Costume Building Contest - an on-the-spot costume making contest where groups compete on being the best looking and most durable costume built in a certain time period (usually 4 to 5 hours). Theme and materials vary each year.
- Cosplay Snapshot Project - Cosplayers and photographers submit their best photos, with both the finalists and winners having their works published in a photo book of the same title.
- Cosplay Video Contest - cosplayers submit their videos showing themselves cosplaying characters, often portrayed as story clips or action scenes. Entries follow themes dictated by the contest. Open to cosplayers and amateur film-makers. Professional film-makers are not eligible to join the contest.
- Cosplay Workshops - a series of workshops led by invited guests and speakers that deal with costume topics like material usage, sewing, dressmaking and various techniques, as well as discussions about cosplay ranging from personal Q & A to debates between speakers or the audience.
- Cosplay TORCH (Tournament of Champions) - introduced in 2010, it is a national cosplay competition where tournament legs are held in selected major cities in the Philippines. Usually held in SM Supermalls, it is a pair competition with winners of each leg taking the finals at the Cosplay Mania event. In the 2011 Tournament, the winning pair will become the official Philippine representatives to join the Anime Festival Asia convention's Regional Cosplay Championship in Singapore.
Cosplay Mania is created and hosted by Cosplay.ph[2], a Philippine-based cosplay website and organization.Contents
History
2008
The first event was held in Megatrade Hall 3 in SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City on October 12, 2008. It's theme was "Plan... Build... Cosplay!" which revolved around three main activities: Workshops, Costume Building Contest and the Cosplay competition for individual and group.[3]. Notable cosplayer Jin Joson and her group the Tux Team[4] were invited to be part of the workshop tutorials as well as judge for the cosplay competition.[5]
2009
With the theme "Bigger and Better", the event incorporated both Megatrade Hall 2 and 3 and opened on September 13, 2009. Introduced the Cosplay Museum exhibit as well as the Mech Cafe.[6] This event introduced the inclusion of an onstage LED Video wall backdrop to help enhance the catwalk experience of cosplayers joining Project Cosplay as well as giving those competing in the group cosplay category the option to use digital visual effects to augment their performances.
2010
Cosplay Mania 2010 marked the year where a few major event changes were made. First was the move to a new location, from SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City, to SMX Convention Center beside SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City. The second is having the event as two days instead of just one, October 2 to 3. The last was the change of their title brand from calendar year 2010 to roman number X, which became the reocurring promotional symbol to represent the move to SMX Convention Center as well as the event's theme of "A Decade of Cosplay", where the event celebrated 10 years of cosplaying in the Philippines.[7]
This also introduced the first nationwide cosplay competition called the Cosplay Tournament of Champions (TORCH), where winners of tournament legs from SM Cagayan De Oro, SM Clark, SM Davao, SM Cebu, SM Davao and SM Manila converge for the finals at SMX Convention Center.
The event also invited International Cosplayer guests Clive Lee and Jesuke of Singapore to be part of the celebration and become part of the judges panel for Project Cosplay and TORCH.[8]
Also introduced a cosplay-centric activity called Cosplay Checkmate[9] , a variation of Human Chess where participants in costumes play chess pieces in a life-size chess board, but would act out in character in a choreographed fight scene when the pieces interact. This version however has no Knight pieces.
2011
The event's theme was "Epic" due to its major changes in its format. It was still held SMX Convention Center beside SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City on October 1 and 2 but has now occupied 3 function rooms, namely Function Room 3, 4 and 5, making the floor area a total of over 5,200 square meters. The floor plan was changed to a new format, separating into the Stage Area at Function Room 5 where the bands and cosplay activities are held, the Fiesta Hall at Function Room 4 where dealers/sellers are located, and Function Room 3 as an open hall for visitors to socialize. The Stage and Fiesta hall has entrance fees while the open hall is free for all.
The event held its first ticketing system that involved distribution through SM Ticketing services that made pre-selling of tickets available in all SM Supermalls nationwide. This was in response to the long lines that plagued its past events when ticket sales were sold on the day itself.[10]
This year's event introduced its first partnership with Anime Festival Asia where the winning pair of Cosplay Mania's Cosplay second Tournament of Champions (TORCH II) will become the official Philippine representatives to join AFA's Regional Cosplay Competition, performing against other cosplay teams from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.[11]
The event also invited International Cosplayer Guests Pinky Lu Xun of Indonesia, YukiGodbless and JiakiDarkness of Thailand, and returning guest Clive Lee of Singapore, all whom became judges for the event's TORCH, Project Cosplay and Costume Building Contest.[12]
Cosplay Mania also hosted Cosplay Appreciation Day, where cosplayers are invited to register upon entering Function Room 3, in an attempt to set a Guiness World Record of the number of cosplayers attending an event.[13]
Other notable international partnerships that graced the event included Bandai, Gunpla Japan, Crypton Future Media and CosplayGen.
References
- ^ "Cosplay Mania Event Information". Cosplay Mania. http://cosplay.ph/microsites/cosmania/wp/event-info/. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
- ^ "About Cosplay.ph". Cosplay.ph. http://www.cosplay.ph/faq.php?cat_id=2. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
- ^ "Cosplay Mania 2008 Press Release". Cosplay.ph. http://cosplay.ph/microsites/cosmania/wp/2008/09/30/687/. Retrieved 2011-10-13.
- ^ "Behindinfinity DeviantArt". Deviantart.com. http://behindinfinity.deviantart.com/. Retrieved 2011-10-13.
- ^ "Cosmania 2008 Report". Deviantart.com. http://behindinfinity.deviantart.com/journal/21210359/. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
- ^ "Mecha, Maids, and Mayhem at the Cosplay Mania 2009 Mech Cafe!". Cosplay.ph. http://cosplay.ph/microsites/cosmania/wp/2009/09/05/mecha-maids-and-mayhem-at-the-cosplay-mania-2009-mech-cafe/. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
- ^ "Cosplay Mania celebrates 10 years of Philippine cosplay". zenhonbuph.net. http://www.zenhonbuph.net/2010/10/cosplay-mania-celebrates-10-years-of-philippine-cosplay/. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
- ^ "International guests to grace Cosplay Mania X". Cosplay.ph. http://cosplay.ph/microsites/cosmania/wp/2010/09/14/international-guests-to-grace-cosplay-mania-x/. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
- ^ "Cosplay Checkmate". Cosplay.ph. http://cosplay.ph/microsites/cosmania/wp/2011/08/25/team-cosplay-checkmate/. Retrieved 2010-10-01.
- ^ "Cosplay Mania X boasts of a record-breaking headcount, with a line that stretched almost an entire city block. Cosplay Mania X Day 1 Event Report". magnetic-rose.net. http://magnetic-rose.net/2010/10/cosplay-mania-x-day-1-event-report/. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
- ^ "An epic in disguise". manilatimes.net. http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/life-and-times/6210-an-epic-in-disguise. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
- ^ "Cosplay Mania 2011 Special Guests". Cosplay.ph. http://cosplay.ph/microsites/cosmania/wp/category/guests-and-exhibitors/special-guests/. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
- ^ "Philippine Cosplay Appreciation Day". Cosplay.ph. http://cosplay.ph/microsites/cosmania/wp/2011/08/25/philippine-cosplay-appreciation-day/. Retrieved 2011-09-25.
External Links
Categories:- Cosplay
- Conventions
- Philippine society
- Anime and manga stubs
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
