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KUALA LUMPUR – Anime lovers and cosplay fans from all around gathered for a colourful costume showcase and performance during a weekend filled with pop-culture fun during the AniManGaki x Tokyo Street Anniversary event at Pavilion KL today.
Hundreds of fans decked out in getups based on their favourite fictional characters brought to life the strong local cosplay community.
One of the events was a special solo cosplay competition where a total of 20 participants presented entertaining dance and singing numbers in a chance to win cash and prizes worth more than RM3,000.
Reputable cosplayers Yugana Senshi Uon, Kazuki Vinca and Shinku were seen among the panel of judges.
The event is seen as a teaser to entice the crowd for the main cosplay convention, which AniManGaki is scheduled to organise in August.
Aj Law Obdam came all the way from Johor Baru via bus, to perform after being shortlisted as one of the contestants.
“I arrived this morning and treating this as a day trip because I love cosplay and thought I would not miss the opportunity in any way,” said the cosplayer.
Aj noted that being on stage in full costume was the best way to express himself and highlighted that all the dance and acrobatic moves shown were spontaneously performed according to what he felt in the moment.
“Today, I am dressing as ‘Tanamonomae’ from the mobile game Onmyoji Arena because the makeup and theme is not very heavy to carry. I made the costume myself in exactly four days because the full outfit is quite hard to find ready-made.
“The community is very positive and I get to make a lot of new friends – this is purely the reason why I love cosplay so much,” said the 24-year-old, adding that he had previously participated in and won several cosplay competitions before.
“I took part in cosplaying because I want to build self-confidence in myself,” expressed 16-year-old Norjanna Jamel, who came with friends from Shah Alam.
“This is my second competition and I feel that it helps with what I am trying to achieve.”
Dressed as the fictional character Chika Fujiwara from the popular manga series Kaguya-sama: Love is War, anyone who had a chance to witness Norjanna’s performance would not have thought she had such concerns because she commanded the stage seemingly without any sense of self-doubt.
For 20-year-old Natalie Cheong, being part of the competition was something that she had been looking forward to since her younger sister encouraged her to start cosplaying about a month ago, knowing full well her interest in anime.
“I am dressed as my favourite character and idol ‘Keito Hasumi’ from the video game Ensemble Stars.
“Cosplay allows me to have fun with friends with a shared interest. The dance that I did was learned from the music videos and I practiced it in front of the TV a lot,” she said.
Outside of the competition, several groups of cosplay enthusiasts were also seen queuing up to have a chance at meeting popular Malaysian cosplayer Hakken for an exclusive meet-and-greet.
Student Nur Fatin Waffiyyah Mohd Fitry, 19, and her family, came from Puchong to be part of the weekend gathering.
“There are about eight of us here this evening but five of us are in full cosplay. It’s a known family hobby – it is kind of like a bond we share outside of familial connection.
“Even my dad is into it but he is not dressed up and prefers to be low-key about it. He claims he is shy because of his age but we are all into anime,” she noted, before proceeding to check out the event.
“I come from Kuching and while there are cosplay events there but it is not of the scale like in KL. It is very exciting that we get to see such a big turnout, in which confirms how big cosplay culture is here in Malaysia,” noted 18-year-old student Zaim Hanif Zaki.
Other fictional characters that participants were seen dressed up as included Thor, Groot and Alcina Dimitrescu from the popular survival horror game Resident Evil Village. – The Vibes, July 30, 2022
