In an admirable show of unity, cosplayers in Olongapo had managed to keep their community alive and well by pooling together their time, talents and resources together to put on a show they can share and be proud of. With local cosplay group Otaku Maru partnering with Metamorphosis, a receptive events outfit, they presented Cosplay: The Art of Awakening Cosplay Competition, an event that brought their community together as they celebrated the hobby and passion they all shared and loved.
Olongapo has had a long history with cosplay, with Otaku Maru being the first and the biggest cosplay organization in the city since it was founded in 2008. They have organized a number of cosplay events over the years but have not done so in recent times, with members having had their attention turned elsewhere. Trying to bring back the interest, passion and enthusiasm with an event that will bring everyone in the community was why they have placed special importance into this year’s event. Each of them helped out with organizing and promotions, each sharing what they could to make the event closer to reality.
After weeks of grueling preparation, the organizers have brought together the community to an event that would showcase the talents of local cosplayers in an exciting cosplay competition. Special guests were also invited to give a little more excitement to the event, which included avid enthusiast Crimson Nerfes, artist and blogger Luna Leclair, and arkadymac.com’s cosplay model and photographer Mitchelle. They also served as members of the board of judges for the day’s competition.
That special day, cosplayers from all over Olongapo and neighboring areas converged at the event center of Harbor Point Ayala Mall, which had been very supportive of the community and have helped out in bringing this spectacle to a wide audience. As the organizers made final preparations for the afternoon’s festivities, cosplayers were already at the event area in full force in their costumes. Mall patrons couldn’t help but have their photos taken with them. Among them was Mitch who enjoyed mixing it up and having her pictures taken with the crowd, who admired her cosplay of 2B from the game Nier Automata.
Cosplay: The Art of Awakening started in earnest late in afternoon, attracting a huge audience, filling all the seats, with lots more people watching intently from the sidelines and from the floors above. The Cosplay Competition aimed to display the talents and abilities of the local cosplayers. Each participant got to impress the judges and the audience with their exciting performances, with a supportive hometown crowd cheering them on.
Midway through the show, the special guests and judges took the stage to be introduced and to show their mettle to the audience. Mitchelle got to share some things she has learned in her years of cosplaying.
The audience was also made part of the fun with games they got to join in and got to go home with some wonderful prizes from the sponsors.
After the last participant had performed, the scores were tallied and the winners were announced. All the winners got to take home some great prizes from the sponsors and organizers and their efforts recognized by everyone gathered there.
With the program over, everyone had time to gather for some final group pictures. The cosplayers got to have time to talk to each other, share stories, and take photos and selfies with each other, saving some wonderful memories they will get to cherish for months to come.
We applaud Otaku Maru for coming up with an event that lots of people got to enjoy, as well as their tremendous effort in keeping their community together. They serve as a remarkable example of unity to other communities at a time when groups everywhere else have fragmented and broken down. We hope to get to see more meaningful events from all of you.
A big thank you to Otaku Maru and Metamorphosis Events for having arkadymac.com as their media partner. We hope to see all of you guys again someday.
Thank you for dropping by, and do visit us again for more features here at arkadymac.com.
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