A Festival and a Gathering for Pinoy Fans of Otaku Culture
Pinoy Otaku Festival 2017 Danketsu is in its fourth year in celebrating the Otaku Culture (especially anime, comics, cosplay, and music) with the Pinoy fans. This year’s theme is ‘Danketsu’ which means ‘unity’ in Japanese. The organizers aim to unite FIlipinos and everyone in the world who loves the Otaku Culture – whether you’re a die-hard or just a casual fan. So, what are the highlights of this anime-fun-filled event? We list them down for you!
The Event Highlights:
1. Panel Discussion: Cosplay in the Philippines
Enjoyment wasn’t the only highlight of the Pinoy Otaku Festival 2017 Danketsu, there was a live discussion with the purpose of enlightenment regarding the growing cosplay community in the Philippines. The panelists gave insights and knowledge about the Filipino cosplay community and cosplay per se. The panelists for the talk ‘Cosplaying in the Phlippines‘ are: Jay Agonoy, Ryan Simbul, Lorenz-taicho Diolata, and Jennylyn Castro with David D’ Angelo. These panelists are veterans or the ‘first-generation cosplayers‘ in the Philippines. They talked about the cosplay community, cosplayers, problems of cosplaying in the Philippines, and also tips for newbie cosplayers.
An intriguing point was raised about how the social media affected (and is still affecting) the cosplay community. If not for the bashers on social media, cosplaying would be so much fun and the community would be a safe haven for the otakus. Because of these bashers, there are less and less of cosplayers nowadays. There are cosplayers who are threatened and cosplayers who are favored. Where cosplaying should be a way to express one’s love and passion for anime, comics, and games, it turned out, to this day, cosplaying is just for the fame and money.
Cosplaying is a fun way to unite with others with the same passion and interest. And with events like Pinoy Otaku Festival, it becomes a platform for everyone to voice out their opinion about the Otaku culture and the cosplay community in the Philippines. Also, given the opportunity, the panelists aspire to bring back the old cosplay community where everybody are friends with no hate and where everyone can freely express themselves.
A lesson on confidence and trusting one’s self is what the veteran cosplayers were advocating. They hope that there will come a time some day that respect and enjoyment will be the primary emotions that cosplayer will feel for themselves and from others. In the meantime, if anybody criticizes you for your work, as Ms. Jennylyn Castro said, “Wag na lang pansinin”. Don’t mind them bashers. Trust yourself, give your best performance, and enjoy the event. As they see you winning the moment, they will stop eventually.
2. CosCraft
A much-awaited highlight of the Pinoy Otaku Festival is the CosCraft. The competition is open to all cosplay costume crafters or the behind-the-scene artists for cosplayers. What makes this interesting is the mentoring system introduced this year — mentor crafters who are also jury members are partnered with the competitors. They will team up and compete during the Pinoy Otaku Festival 2018: Ai.
The mentor crafter will choose his/her mentee from this year’s participants. Mentor will then teach his/her mentee about costume-making and help them compete in the finals next year. It is so exciting because you just don’t get to learn how to craft well, but you will also compete with your mentor. It is surely an event we shouldn’t miss out!
3. Voice Dubbing Workshop
When we hear anime in the Philippines, of course it is always dubbed, but have we ever wondered who the voices behind those characters are? Pinoy Otaku Festival 2017 invited two Pinoy dubbers to talk about how animes and foreign tv shows are dubbed. Whether it is a Korean drama, cartoon, or anime – they’ve dubbed them all!
The two guest dubbers are: John Kelvin “Papa Yum” Lumibao and Jomel “Echo Man” Wequiz. They gave tips on how to dub properly – proper breathing manner, articulation, and the most important thing, acting. They invited everyone to come and learn voice dubbing at Dubbing Booth Company empowered by CreatiVoices Productions in the Philippines. Why not give it a try? You never know, you might be the next Pinoy dubber for your favorite anime!
4. Bandslam
The loudest program in the event was Bandslam. Six bands compete for the title of Bandslam champion. Each band has their own specialization and genre of music. Diversity aside, everyone had a blast that night. Really, everyone sang their hearts out along with the bands – whether it be Japanese or Filipino songs. It’s like we were not in a competition but at a concert!
The Bandslam champion that night was Altered Spheres of Consciousness. They rocked the night away of everyone! Their guitarist is so metal! We became a fan right away!
The aftermath: Pinoy Otaku Festival was a blast! We got to enjoy, learn new things, and meet new friends in the community. The event was on point in uniting everyone through their passion and interest for the Otaku culture. We would like to thank the event organizers for having us experience a surely one of a kind 2-day experience!
Ja, mate ne, minna-san! Keep your tabs open for Akiba 2017 and AniCraze 5! Can’t wait for our future rendezvous! Join us today, be an Otaku Eventurer!
