My Take on Cosplay Mania 2011's Tournament of Champions

Cosplay.Ph held their second Tournament of Champions at the SMX last weekend. For those who aren't familiar with it, it's a big event they started in 2010, where they had mini-cosplay contests in select provinces and the NCR. The winners from those events would then be brought to Manila to participate in a grand showdown during Cosplay Mania.

This year's tournament, affectionately nicknamed "TorCh", is made doubly special as they were able to include more provincial legs. The roster included Bacolod, Cebu, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, and Baguio. There were also three chances for the people from NCR to get a spot in the finals via competitions in SM North Edsa, SM Manila, and SM Southmall.

But the clincher is that Cosplay.Ph was able to tie up with the Singaporean event, Anime Festival Asia or AFA. So whoever wins the grand finals of TorCh gets to represent the Philippines at AFA's Asian Regional Cosplay Championships (ARCC) this November. This means that costumes AND performances would be judged by ARCC standards, and that teams had to bring their "A"game-plus-plus. 

AFA 2010 

Paul and I were fortunate enough to attend AFA last year. We've never been to an international cosplay event before, well, save that one time in Akihabara when we chanced upon one during our 2007 trip to Tokyo. But that was pretty small and was more of a gathering than anything. This was AFA. It was one of the big anime conventions in Southeast Asia, and was well-attended by cosplayers and anime fans from Singapore and its neighboring countries.

Besides serving as a vacation for my husband and me, the trip was a chance to experience, observe and enjoy. I went in one of my simpler costumes, Athena from Saint Seiya, and walked around in that on the first day. (Yep, that's me on the left, with my "Seiya", Mark-Hori, who, sadly, could only manifest as a toy for that day.) On the second, we went in casual garb to watch the Asian Regional Cosplay Championships and root for the Philippine representatives, Kune and Sese. They were a strong team and were praised by the judges for their sexy, elaborate, armor-type costumes. Their performance, though good, suffered because of their reliance on their background video. That was when we saw how important it was not just to have a spectacular, jaw-dropping, accurate costume (which, take note, you should make yourself -- judging participation before depended on submitting Work in Progress photos of your entry), but also to create a unique, interesting, and audience-pleasing skit.

TorCh 2011

Despite the rains, my present "condition", and the huge-ass line of people waiting to get into SMX, we were able to make it to day 2 of Cosplay Mania a couple of hours before the finals to TorCh would start. I had not been to any of the legs nor had I watched any of the videos people put up on youtube, so I was curious what the semi-finalists had in store for the audience, which included international cosplayers from Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore, as well as a representative from AFA, who served as judges. 

My comments?

The team from Southmall who went as mechs from Zoids had the most impressive costumes. Entered into a solo category, they would have won or, at the very least, placed very high. However, for performance, they weren't as awe-inspiring. Their fancy effects were cool, but they did nothing for the five minutes or so on stage except stand there and show them off. They relied on the video too much for their fight scene. I think it was Clive Lee, who, at one point, commented that "you shouldn't rely on the video... don't let it perform for you." (I found that Clive, of the judges, gave the most constructive criticisms. Incidentally, he won ARCC 2009 so he was, in essence, giving the contestants pointers on how to make their entries better for next time.) 

Scary Zoid mech coming out to play.

Team Baguio suffered technical difficulties with their costumes during their performance and had to redo it after all the other teams had their turn. It was a shame, as their use of the blacklight seemed very innovative, but would probably present a problem on a bigger and foreign stage such as ARCC.

Davao, a team of two girls, was our initial favorite. Their use of props and effects, like where one would shoot an arrow and the arrow would just "magically" pop up where it lands, was simple yet creative. A part of their skit even involved a "fantasy shadow fight" using the big screen projector. Jiaki of Thailand commended them on their efficiency in utilizing the entire stage. For me, theirs was the most memorable performance and surely would have made an easy win... if based on performance alone. Unfortunately, their costumes were not as intricate as their fellow finalists'.

My personal favorite because their skit made me pay attention despite the fact that I wasn't familiar with the title or their characters.

The shadow on the right is a real person. Seriously.

The team from Cagayan de Oro who went as characters from Final Fantasy: Dissidia, had a nice blend of detailed, armor-style, elaborate costumes and an active fight scene. Their intro video transitioned well with the beginning of the live part of their skit. Unfortunately, I was too impressed with Davao and the next pair I'm going to comment on to remember what else they did. Paul did say afterwards that he thinks they will win.

Team March Omega who won the Cagayan de Oro leg had on fancy, durable armor for their performance. 

It was Team SM Manila that eventually stole the show, well, for the very Pinoy audience at least. Who doesn't love Voltes V? Who doesn't KNOW Voltes V? And who isn't familiar with that ONE episode where Steve, Big Bert and Little John's mother dies, crashing her plane on the face of a Boazanian Beastfighter? (I can discount the kiddies from answering this because you probably weren't born when Voltes V was such a big deal.)

I just KNEW I remembered this ugly mug for something.

People in that function room reacted during the entire skit because they could relate, and Team SM Manila was impressive because of: A) their choice of scene to reenact; B) their well-crafted costumes -- they did punches and kicks and the beastfighter slumped dead on the floor at the end of it all... only to spring back up with everything still intact to face the judges afterward; and C) they were able to make a mecha-centric skit engaging, without saying anything. I deem the latter especially hard to do, since I, for one, am a very very selective mecha fan.

Camp Big Falcon gets its head chopped off.

Beastfighter gives one last kick to the HQ for posterity's sake just as Steve orders everyone to volt in...

... and Voltes V comes out!

Voltes V strikes a pose for his adoring fans while the beastfighter waits in vain. (Hey, this guy went through a banning, Martial Law, various TV networks, bad dubbing and censorship. He deserves to have his moment.)

The drawback is, this was still TorCh and the audience weren't the judges. (If they were, I'm sure Voltes V would have won, hands down, pack up, go home.) At the end of it, when Paul, my sister and I were discussing amongst ourselves, we thought that the sentimentality works locally. We weren't sure if it would have the same reception in a foreign country because people there didn't have the same history. Objectively speaking, the costumes were obviously flawless. It was the skit that was such a see-saw. There wasn't much acting involved (because, duh, they were in mecha-costume) and although they were more active compared to the Zoids skit, they still had the pitfall of letting the video tell much of the story; they were supporting it instead of the other way around.

Eventually, we figured it was down to either CdO, Manila or Davao. Then we heard that the Dissidia performance won the privilege of representing the Philippines at the ARCC. Voltes V placed a cool second? (Will confirm.) A small part of me is admittedly disappointed we won't know how the SEA community reacts to the Voltes V skit. But, I am looking forward to seeing how Team March Omega (CdO) will fare in Singapore! Also, here's hoping they won't have trouble getting their costumes and props on the plane. 

Naturally, we applaud everyone who participated. :) The levels of craftsmanship and creativity shown last weekend were definitely inspiring, so no matter what you placed, you're still a winner just for being out there.