Ever felt like you’re just a spectator at the same old events? With fun and innovative new games, contests and attractions lined up that anyone can take a part in, get to experience more and be an actual part of the event as there as so many opportunities for every congoer to have fun and have a great time by themselves or with friends at the newest event this season: Anime and Cosplay Expo 2016. On its third and final day, ACX stayed strong as thousands came to join in the festivities and continued to have more activities and surprises for everyone. For our coverage of Day 1, click here. For our coverage of Day 2, click here.
Organized by cosplay.ph, Anime and Cosplay Expo 2016 is a unique event that brings together concepts launched during the Cosplay Carnival earlier in the year and sets the line-up of events at Cosplay Mania 2016 in October. In this way, it bridges the two events and creates a continuity between the events. At its core, however, it is a great stand-alone event on its own, with a surprisingly deep lineup of contests for everyone.
ACX is interesting as it is a departure from what seems to have become the formula for success at local anime conventions. Big-name foreign guests are substituted with more accessible local guests. In fact, at ACX, the spotlight shifts to the convention-goer where the stars become the contestants themselves as they compete for the chance to be the opening acts to big-name Anisong artists or to perform in Japan! The end-result is an event that celebrates local talent while preparing for a world-class convention without a huge price tag. It’s also an event that’s filled to the brim with activities, contests and games!
Held at SM Megamall’s Megatrade Hall 3, Anime and Cosplay Expo 2016 featured a spacious and roomy layout that eases movement for attendees while still having the right number of booths selling the many varied anime, cosplay and otaku merchandise that congoers simply cannot get enough of, like Cosmic Bytes Cosplay Shop and cool and trendy apparel from Perry in Disguise.
The stage is where the attendees get to be the stars as lots of contests were in store for everyone, with great prizes to boot. There was the finals for the Cosplay Karaoke Encore where talented contestants got to sing their favorite Japanese and anime songs on stage. Preliminaries were done during the first two days, and on the third day, an earnest yet composed Jennifer Pongos claimed the judges hearts as she was named champion. She gets the enviable prize of a trip to Japan later this year to take part in a festival there.
Then came the Storage Wars auction, where the audience got to bid on a variety of desirable and adorable items at really low prices, most starting at just 1 peso. It was a hit among the audience of course, as great items were up for grabs.
Then it was trial by trivia at Trivia Throne Throwdown where participant “hold the throne” with their vast trivia knowledge, having challengers trying to usurp them by giving more correct answers. Up to 20 competitors will face off on September 2, 3 and 4 to see if they have what it takes to not only take, but hold the throne against all who would try to usurp it from them.
Then there was Cosplayers Got Talent where groups performed on stage and showcased their talents to the enjoyment of the crowd.
Among the contestants was Seenzone at 9PM, and we have a clip of their performance here:
[youtube id=”DjqlbOOT3xg”]
Also at ACX was the Manila qualifiers for TORCH Tournament of Champions, and among the great cosplays and performances by the participants, the team of Brahm cosplaying Saitama and Genos of One Punch Man won as Manila’s finalist for the TORCH finals to be held at Cosplay Mania ’16.
cosplay.ph President Pablo Bairan then got to invite the audience to the upcoming Cosplay Mania ’16, the biggest cosplay event in the country. To be held at the SMX Convention Center at the Mall of Asia, Cosplay Mania will be having the most popular cosplayers from here and around the world plus the best performers from Japan. Sir Pablo then urged everyone to get their tickets rarly from SM Ticketnet so they won’t miss out on the fun that Cosplay Mania will be bringing on Oct ober 1 and 2, 2016.
Cosplayers weren’t only at the stage. They were everywhere at the event, all enjoying themselves having their photos taken by attendees and mall goers, as well as having photos and selfies with other cosplayers. We were there of course to have some snaps of them.
Day 2 of ACX closed with the Awarding Ceremony, as the winners from the various contests got to be on stage to receive recognition for their achievements, and more importantly, receive their great prizes.
All in all, Anime and Cosplay eXpo was a fun event where attendees got to be the stars, with just enough excitement and games and prizes to keep the attendees pleasantly occupied and enjoying themselves. The segments and contests were organized and the flow of the event went quite smoothly and orderly. With just the right mix of entertaining and informative segments, there was a lot that attendees could benefit from. Even if this was the very first ACX, it was a commendable event thanks to the hard work and dedication of the staff behind cosplay.ph. Good job, and we expect even bigger things come the next ACX.
Many thanks to our Cosplay Models Vanessa and Ai Chi, as well as our Photographer Kasumi for helping us cover the event. We’re glad to report that they enjoyed themselves a lot.
Thank you for dropping by, and do visit us again for more cosplay features here at arkadymac.com.
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