For the Otakus, by the Otakus! by Teacher Roselle

For the otakus by the otakus! Finally! After a long and agonizing wait, the Otaku community in Cebu was in for a big treat because of Cebu's premier cosplay and hobbies convention, the Otakufest was on its 11th year this year. Isn't it amazing? Betcha it is!

 

Organized by Otakufest Events Management, Otakufest 2019 offers a variety of signature Otakufest activities like Asian Pop Dance Competition, Japanese Singing Contest, Ramen eating contest, computer games tournament and of course, my personal favorite, Artist Alley.

 

Otakufest 2019 also served as a stepping stone for aspiring cosplayers who wanted to compete internationally because the event hosted two international level competitions, namely: the Pop Culture Hiroshima Cebu Qualifiers on the first day and the National Finals on the second day.

 

And what made this Otakufest so special besides the fact that professional cosplayer Reika-senpai graced the event? Because for the first time ever, it was a two-day event! Yup! You read it right. It was two days of fun and excitement on February 23 and 24 where spectators and cosplayers alike flocked to the SM Seaside mountain wing.

 

The first day was dedicated to the competitions and general cosplay and on the second day, pirates and treasure hunters at heart flaunted their One Piece costumes as a tribute to the the long-running series, One Piece.

 

This was just my second time to attend this event and I was truly amazed at how Cebuano cosplayers prepared for this event. There were a lot of characters from Japanese anime, comics and even game characters being portrayed

 

And it was amazing when con-goers recognized your character and asked to have their pictures taken with you. As I cosplyed an original character on the first day, people were really curious to know from what anime or game I copied my costume. People were shocked to find out I was not copying any character at all.

 

Still, looking forward to more conventions and more character to cosplay!