COSPLAY: STILL ARCHCON’S GRANDEST FLAIR

Metallic artificial intelligence from the future, traditional Japanese kimonos with nature patterns, recognizable clown suits and superhero gears, giant silver swords and child-sized machine guns — these are just some of the stunners seen in the devoted con-goers of the ARCHcon 2019.

Sixteen years in the running, role-playing or commonly called as cosplaying is still one of the most anticipated highlights of the said convention.

Participants can be seen wearing their favorite characters or taking pictures with cosplay veterans who have exerted efforts in replicating minute details for the accurate representation of their portrayed persona.

ARCHcon 2019 continues its annual solo and group cosplay competitions which were judged by esteemed cosplayers with the names of Boiled Curry, Knitemaya, Shenzkie and Seigfred who have already established a reputation in the role-play world.

Solo Competition

The contestants were able to embody their chosen characters believingly and effectively with each having different tricks in their sleeves, earning the delight and wonder of the audience.

Solo competitions can be nerve-wracking but nothing comes close with the formidable courage of the cosplayers that worked hard to portray their characters on stage while carrying all the huge props alone with ease and convince the spectators that they are what they were wearing at the moment.

Among the 25 talented and passionate individuals, Rayna Kariya or also known as Doki Loli Raina was able to woo the audience and the judges with her technologically creative costume.

Doki Loli Raina took on the persona of Banagher, a protagonist of the Gundam Unicorn. Her brief narrative was about how the protagonist was able to evolve his great power: gundam and his new type abilities and control it as he encounters realities of human conflicts.

She first captured the attention of the spectators with her white futuristic mecha armor while wielding a giant axe-styled weapon. She commanded the stage with ease, like her giant uncomfortable-looking shoes did not bother her nor the fact that her weapon could be heavier than her. When she first lit her costume, everyone cheered and clapped with respect. She then acted her role then lit up her weapon which bamboozled the audience once again. Nearing the end, she completed the final touch of her costume by lighting a new set of creatively-incorporated lights that just blew away the minds of the audience, earning their respect and approval of her win.

In an interview, Raina shared her short disappointment after failing to hear her name in the 3rd and 2nd spot, thinking that that day would end as another loss.

“But it really surprised me when my name was announced as the champion. I felt happy and numb, I couldn’t make a big smile. It’s my first win after all,” she said.

She owed her win to her supportive and crafty boyfriend who played the crucial role in her preparation for the competition as he was the one responsible for upgrading her costume, editing the background video and choreographing her moves.

“You will always need a competent partner behind you even if it’s a solo competition you’re joining. It’s a team effort,” she emphasized.

One of her greatest struggles during the competition was to move around her huge mecha costume and heavy weapon as gracefully as possible while avoiding the circumstance of breaking them. However, with her performance on stage, she was able to convince the spectators that she was just a protagonist in a simple costume while carrying a normal weapon with ease.

Raina has been joining cosplay events since the Otakufest in 2018. What started with just dressing Lolita fashion ended up with a fantasy of becoming a mecha. With her win, it can be safe to say that the latter has indeed suited her after all.

She reminds the people, especially those who are debating to indulge in cosplay, that there is no harm in trying to live out one’s fantasies as life has always been a trial and error. She encourages them to research on a solution when stumbling on a problem. Youtube DIY channels and friendly craftsmen have always been some good assets as well.

Group Competition

Despite being referred as group competition, the participants are limited to two actors portraying an iconic scene or delivering an action derived from the anime or film. Nevertheless, the traces of the remaining team members can be seen in the efforts of the background video effects, costumes, make-up, production sets, and cheers from the crowd.

The difficulty bar was raised higher as it was dependent on the two cosplayers to deliver a short yet effective narrative. All efforts and brainstorming paid off as they catapulted the audience to astonishment and uproar, making them witness what could have been a legitimate live-action scenario from the film or anime.

Amongst the ten outstanding narratives, the group that was able to convince the judges and capture the hearts of the audience was the Team AEsir.

The team was composed of El Montoya who played Tanjiro Kamado and Ganzai DC who took the role of a swamp demon from the a growing popular anime Kimetsu no Yaiba or Demon Slayer in English.

Their winning piece was a scene derived from one of the battle scenes in Demon Slayer where Tanjiro displayed his famous breaths and fighting stances to defeat the swamp demon. The skit was effectively delivered as the cosplayers got so engrossed with their characters and their action scenes were perfectly in sync with the background video effects especially the last part where Tanjiro delivered his famous blow of slicing the demon’s neck, hyping the crowd in amazement and respect. The clarity and the precision of the skit based on the said anime was basically their edge against the other competitors.

In an interview, El and Danzai expressed that they did not expect to win but were already fulfilled as they gave their best shot in giving the audience a good show. They were humbled by the audience’s cheers despite the mistakes committed during the skit.

“As the winners, we were already informed backstage before the announcement has been made and we were relieved that our blood, sweat, and tears were not left in vain,” they expressed.

Like any other contestants, the Team AEsir poured their soul and courage for the competition. They worked their fingers to the bone for crafting clothes closest to the original character references, building the characters they have chosen to portray as well as practicing the very skit performance itself. Individually, they faced respective obstacles such as El’s first experience of cross-play and zero exposure to sword fights and Ganzai’s make-up and production crafts struggles.

Amidst everything, El and Ganzai, together with their LED background video editor Brent Jude Espinosa and their Lighting Director and P.A. Dave Aguaviva, were able to successfully deliver a skit worth remembering as one of ARCHcon 2019’s highlights.

El started cosplaying at a mall event in 2009 and overtime, her career bloomed and even experienced almost a three year hiatus yet still ended with judging and co-organizing cosplaying related events in Lapu-lapu City. Ganzai has been a normal con-goer till he dabbled the art of costume crafting until earning the reputation of the maker of the most sought craft in the present. As friends, they have already joined the ARCHcon 2018 but only bagged the First Runner-up in the same competition. This year was their perfect timing as the spectators and the judges themselves have fully acknowledged the talent and passion they poured into their performance.

For the current cosplayers who are planning to join competitions, they advised to do thorough character research so that they would be able to accurately portray and give justice to the character chosen. In money matters, patience is a value as there is the need to be financially prepared or otherwise they resort to the essence of resourcefulness.

Upon winning, they said to be kind and humble and to never forget to appreciate the people who helped them in achieving the process. They also pointed out the importance of respect, especially towards other cosplayers.

“Don’t criticize other people’s crafts. Just do what you love then have fun and make friends!”

Cosplay has proven itself to be not just an expensive or meaningless hobby, but rather a greater and united avenue for people who dress up for the love of self-expression. It has saved and transformed lives unleashed hidden talents and continues to permeate in the anime/hobby culture in Cebu.

Joshua Andrino, a junior high teacher and one of the convention’s hosts shared how he first joined the cosplay community during the ARCHcon 2009 with a simple Joker character. Eventually, he was able to acquire resources for more complex and detailed costumes while establishing a bigger network in the industry.

He advises those who are afraid to dabble in cosplay to just go for it regardless of the disapprovals and circumstances.

“Start where you can. Start with something simple; you just borrow or rent,” he advised.

For those who want to compete but still have no resources, he assures them that there will always be competitions for them so they could patiently wait till their funds are enough.

He also advises future congoers to just go then grow by meeting and befriending new faces.

“You’ll be surprised by how many talented people you’ll meet,” he assured.

The Cosplay competitions may be the main course of the second day of ARCHcon 2019 but the day was yet to be completed by the desserts and appetizers. Such festivities include Jojo cosplayers meeting Boiled Curry and Knitemaya, introducing the crew behind Season 1 of Safe Heaven prologue AEON, fun games including Name that Tune and Copycat game of following poses and scenes in the screen, Japanese medley of AniJam performers, casual trivias, Anisong competition, exclusive singing performance by Boiled Curry, jamming with Strawberry Racers, cheering with awaited ceremony and the closing with the annual outdoor fireworks.

For this year’s charity, the proceeds are expected to be received by the Light of Hope foundation. They have been pioneering in creating solar light lamps which would be a great help for rural areas with limited electricity access. They expressed gratitude to the con-goers and hoped that the environmental awareness message from the solar light lamp would be able to reach more audience for greater social responsibility.