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Cosplay Mania is an annual
cosplay Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture, a ...
-centered convention organized by Cosplay.PH, and is usually held in the fourth quarter of the year in the Philippines. The convention features various events related to
cosplay Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture, a ...
,
anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening o ...
, Jpop cuture features rookie and veteran cosplayers, costumers and cosplay enthusiasts. Below are the mainstay activities, some of them unique to the event: * Solo and Group Cosplay - this activity provides a competitive venue for cosplayers. The competition welcomes cosplayers from Anime / Manga / Games / Comics / Movies / Western Animation genres. Rules normally vary per year regarding age limitations, genre, or in the case of group cosplay, the number of members involved. * * Meet and Greet - Con-goers are given the opportunity to meet the event's invited International Cosplayer Guests as well as popular artists from Japan and other countries. * * JAM (Japanese Anime Music) Concert - introduced in 2014, it is a concert where invited artists and musically inclined cosplayer guests perform Japanese-inspired songs. * * Cosplay TORCH (Tournament of Champions) - introduced in 2010, it is a national cosplay competition where tournament legs are held in selected major cities in the Philippines. Usually held in SM Supermalls, it is a pair competition with winners of each leg taking the finals at the Cosplay Mania event. In the 2011 Tournament, the winning pair will become the official Philippine representatives to join the
Anime Festival Asia C3AFA, also known as Anime Festival Asia (AFA), is a series of anime conventions held in the Southeast Asian region, with a core annual convention held in Singapore. The main convention is traditionally held over a weekend in late November to ea ...
convention's Regional Cosplay Championship in Singapore. Cosplay Mania is created and hosted by Cosplay.ph, a Philippine-based cosplay website and organization.


History


2008

The first event was held in Megatrade Hall 3 in SM Megamall, Mandaluyong on October 12, 2008. Its theme was "Plan... Build... Cosplay!" which revolved around three main activities: Workshops, Costume Building Contest and the Cosplay competition for individual and group. Notable cosplayer Jin Joson and her group the Tux Team were invited to be part of the workshop tutorials as well as judge for the cosplay competition.


2009

With the theme "Bigger and Better", the event incorporated both Megatrade Hall 2 and 3 and opened on September 13, 2009. Introduced the Cosplay Museum exhibit as well as the Mech Cafe. This event introduced the inclusion of an onstage LED Video wall backdrop to help enhance the catwalk experience of cosplayers joining Project Cosplay as well as giving those competing in the group cosplay category the option to use digital visual effects to augment their performances.


2010

Cosplay Mania 2010 marked the year where a few major event changes were made. First was the move to a new location, from SM Megamall in Mandaluyong, to
SMX Convention Center The SMX Convention Center Manila is a convention center located in Pasay, Philippines. It is the largest private venue in the Philippines for trade events, industry conventions, corporate functions, and international exhibitions. The buildi ...
beside
SM Mall of Asia SM Mall of Asia, also abbreviated as SM MoA, or simply Mall of Asia or MoA, is a large shopping mall in the Philippines, located at Bay City, Pasay, Philippines, within the SM Central Business Park, a reclaimed area within Manila Bay, and the ...
in Pasay. The second is having the event as two days instead of just one, October 2 to 3. The last was the change of their title brand from calendar year 2010 to Roman number X, which became the reoccurring promotional symbol to represent the move to SMX Convention Center as well as the event's theme of "A Decade of Cosplay", where the event celebrated 10 years of cosplaying in the Philippines. This also introduced the first nationwide cosplay competition called the Cosplay Tournament of Champions (TORCH), where winners of tournament legs from SM Cagayan De Oro, SM Clark, SM Davao, SM Cebu, SM Davao and SM Manila converge for the finals at SMX Convention Center. The event also invited International Cosplayer guests Clive Lee and Jesuke of Singapore to be part of the celebration and become part of the judges panel for Project Cosplay and TORCH. Also introduced a cosplay-centric activity called Cosplay Checkmate, a variation of
Human Chess Human chess, living chess or live chess is a form of chess in which people take the place of pieces. Human chess is typically played outdoors, either on a large chessboard or on the ground, and is often played at Renaissance fairs. Forms Ma ...
where participants in costumes play chess pieces in a life-size chess board, but would act out in character in a choreographed fight scene when the pieces interact. This version however has no Knight pieces.


2011

The event's theme was "Epic" due to its major changes in its format. It was still held
SMX Convention Center The SMX Convention Center Manila is a convention center located in Pasay, Philippines. It is the largest private venue in the Philippines for trade events, industry conventions, corporate functions, and international exhibitions. The buildi ...
beside SM Mall of Asia in Pasay on October 1 and 2 but has now occupied 3 function rooms, namely Function Room 3, 4 and 5, making the floor area a total of over 5,200 square meters. The floor plan was changed to a new format, separating into the Stage Area at Function Room 5 where the bands and cosplay activities are held, the Fiesta Hall at Function Room 4 where dealers/sellers are located, and Function Room 3 as an open hall for visitors to socialize. The Stage and Fiesta hall has entrance fees while the open hall is free for all. The event held its first ticketing system that involved distribution through SM Ticketing services that made pre-selling of tickets available in all SM Supermalls nationwide. This was in response to the long lines that plagued its past events when ticket sales were sold on the day itself. This year's event introduced its first partnership with
Anime Festival Asia C3AFA, also known as Anime Festival Asia (AFA), is a series of anime conventions held in the Southeast Asian region, with a core annual convention held in Singapore. The main convention is traditionally held over a weekend in late November to ea ...
where the winning pair of Cosplay Mania's Cosplay second Tournament of Champions (TORCH II) will become the official Philippine representatives to join AFA's Regional Cosplay Competition, performing against other cosplay teams from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore. The Philippine Team, represented by Amado Carl Hernandez (AC) and Zhel, won this year's AFA's Regional Cosplay Competition. The event also invited International Cosplayer Guests Pinky Lu Xun of Indonesia, YukiGodbless and JiakiDarkness of Thailand, and returning guest Clive Lee of Singapore, all of whom became judges for the event's TORCH, Project Cosplay and Costume Building Contest. Cosplay Mania also hosted Cosplay Appreciation Day, where cosplayers are invited to register upon entering Function Room 3, in an attempt to set a Guinness World Record of the number of cosplayers attending an event. Other notable international partnerships that graced the event included
Bandai is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine ...
,
Gunpla Gundam models, or , are model kits depicting the vehicles and characters of the fictional ''Gundam'' multiverse by Bandai. These kits became popular among mecha anime fans and model enthusiasts in Japan and nearby Asian countries beginning in ...
Japan,
Crypton Future Media , or simply Crypton, is a Japanese media company based in Sapporo, Japan. It develops, imports, and sells products for music, such as sound generator software, sampling CDs and DVDs, and sound effect and background music libraries. The company a ...
and CosplayGen.


2012

This year's event is still held at
SMX Convention Center The SMX Convention Center Manila is a convention center located in Pasay, Philippines. It is the largest private venue in the Philippines for trade events, industry conventions, corporate functions, and international exhibitions. The buildi ...
beside SM Mall of Asia in Pasay, but with the dates moved to September 29 and 30, occupying Function Room 3, 4 and 5. The floor plan also retained last year's format, separating into the Stage Area at Function Room 5 and the Dealer Area at Function Room 4, both as paying areas. Function Room 3 is still assigned as a free hall. The event will again host the finals of the Cosplay Tournament of Champions (TORCH) where the winning pair will represent the Philippines in Anime Festival Asia's (AFA) Regional Cosplay Competition in Singapore. This year's roster of invited International Cosplayer Guests include renowned Japanese cosplayers KANAME☆ and Reika as well as returning Singaporean guest cosplayer Jesuke. A Premium Pass was introduced that would give visitors the opportunity to attend Kaname and Reika's Meet and Greet closed-door activities. The limited sales of the passes is separate from the regular convention ticket sales. Cosplay Mania will again host Cosplay Appreciation Day, where cosplayers are invited to register upon entering Function Room 3, to again attempt to set the Guinness World Record of the number of cosplayers attending an event. New activities are being introduced in this year's event: * SM Cyberzone Cosplay Grand Prix - a partner event of TORCH where only gaming character cosplays are allowed to compete. * Cosplay Checkers - replacing the Cosplay Chess but retaining the cosplay concept. * Cosplay Videos Caught on Tape - contest where cosplayers submit their best videos of themselves. * 4Koma Contest - cosplayers submit four-panel comics using their cosplay photographs. The format is based on a popular type of Manga called a Yonkoma. * Guest Meet and Greet - an activity where one can meet Kaname or Reika in person through a limited sale of Premium Passes. The activity includes a handshake, autograph signing and a photo opportunity given to each Premium Pass attendee, as well as freebies. Each Meet and Greet Guest is assigned a scheduled day, with Reika on September 29 and Kaname on September 30. * Photobomb Contest - a stage activity where pre-selected groups of con-goers would try to block each other's faces from being shown prominently in the photograph taken from a digital camera setup off-stage. * Facepalm-the-Music - two pre-selected contestants try to be the first to guess the title of the music played onstage. What makes this different from other music-guessing games is that the "buzzer" is a person (an official event volunteer who is fully aware of the nature of the game) where the contestants have to be the first to "tap the buzzer" by palming the volunteer's face as soon as they recognize the music. The human buzzer then points to the contestant who they believe tapped them first. Notable supporters of the event include the
Department of Foreign Affairs (Philippines) The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA; fil, Kagawaran ng Ugnayang Panlabas) is the executive department of the Philippine government tasked to contribute to the enhancement of national security, protection of the territorial integrity and ...
, The Embassy of Japan in the Philippines,
All Nippon Airways , also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had m ...
,
Toei Animation () is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including ''Sally the Witch,'' '' GeGeGe no Kitarō,'' ''Mazinger Z'', ''Galaxy Express 999'', ''Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Slump'', ...
Philippines and SGCafe.


2013

With the event theme "Overdrive", this year's event is still held at
SMX Convention Center The SMX Convention Center Manila is a convention center located in Pasay, Philippines. It is the largest private venue in the Philippines for trade events, industry conventions, corporate functions, and international exhibitions. The buildi ...
beside SM Mall of Asia in Pasay, on October 5 and 6, occupying Function Room 3, 4 and 5. The floor plan also retained last year's format, separating into the Stage Area at Function Room 5 and the Dealer Area at Function Room 4, both as paying areas. Function Room 3 is still assigned as a free hall. The event will again host the finals of the Cosplay Tournament of Champions (TORCH) where the winning pair will represent the Philippines in Anime Festival Asia's (AFA) Regional Cosplay Competition in Singapore. Cosplay Mania '13 Guests This year marked the event's most number of guests invited, with 10 guests featuring Jesuke, Vic, Starpolaris Reiko and Viospace from Singapore, Pinky, Orochi and Shinji (Endless ) from Indonesia, and returning Japanese cosplayers guests KANAME☆ and Reika, with a new guest Goldy Marg, a well-known mecha and armor cosplayer from Japan. All of them were introduced weekly in a series of Guest Reveals presented on Cosplay Mania's Facebook page. The Meet and Greet Premium Pass were available to KANAME☆, Reika and Goldy with a limited sales of 100 passes per guest is separate from the regular convention ticket sales. This year introduces the application of Cosplay.ph's CRS, or Cosplay Ranking System, where cosplayers who will join the event's contests are required to apply. This system would help designate the beginner and veteran ranking as to improve fairness in Cosplay.ph held competitions. Returning activities are being introduced again this year: * SM Cyberzone Cosplay Grand Prix - a partner event of TORCH where only gaming character cosplays are allowed to compete. * 4Koma Contest - cosplayers submit four-panel comics using their cosplay photographs. The format is based on a popular type of Manga called a Yonkoma. * Guest Meet and Greet - an activity where one can meet Kaname, Reika and Goldy in person through a limited sale of Premium Passes. * Facepalm-the-Music - two pre-selected contestants try to be the first to guess the title of the music played onstage. New activities being introduced this year: * Cosplay Solo Showdown - improving the Project Cosplay Solo contest, the contestants are separated through the Cosplay Division Classification (CDC), designed to address this problem by creating classifications or Classes that can be used to define distinct Cosplay Divisions. There are five Classes that are based on competitor age and costume composition: Junior, Agility, Hybrid, Assault and Titan. This new system addresses the issue of classifying cosplayers' costumes through source material (e.g. cloth cosplay versus armor cosplay), which was often difficult of materials are often equally mixed. The CDC will be used to organize competitors in respective groups for the purposes of organization, order of appearance on-stage and/or to determine special awards. * Head to Head LIVE - Cosplay.ph's The Cosplay Show introduced an on-the-spot helmet making contest, which is now being introduced as an event activity. It is sponsored by High Sierra. * Early Bird Raffle - attendees who bought their tickets before the event are entitled to a raffle, prizes which includes a BROTHER Printer and Sony PSP's


2014

This year's event marked several new changes which coincide with the theme "Evolution" and held at
SMX Convention Center The SMX Convention Center Manila is a convention center located in Pasay, Philippines. It is the largest private venue in the Philippines for trade events, industry conventions, corporate functions, and international exhibitions. The buildi ...
beside SM Mall of Asia in Pasay, on October 4 and 5, occupying Function Room 3, 4 and 5. Prior to the event, two cosplay events were held which promoted Cosplay Mania '14, dubbed "Road to Cosplay Mania" and the "Cosplay Mania 14 Preview Event". They were held in SM City Clark, Pampanga and
SM Southmall SM Southmall or SM Southmall Las Piñas is a large shopping mall in the Philippines, owned and operated by SM Prime Holdings. The mall is located along the busy Alabang-Zapote Road in Las Piñas. The mall has of land area, a total floor area o ...
in Las Pinas. The event will again host the finals of the Cosplay Tournament of Champions (TORCH) where the winning pair will represent the Philippines in Anime Festival Asia's (AFA) Regional Cosplay Competition in Singapore. New Logo Cosplay Mania logo is known to incorporate elements that portray the event's varied themes but still retain its usual font and general shape. This year, a new logo was launched that incorporated sleeker, more modern-looking lines but retained the corporate colors of the event. New Mascot Cosplay Mania also introduced their new mascot Cosima Karin that would represent the event's fun-loving ambiance and cosplay-centric atmosphere. She is accompanied by DotPeach, the official mascot of Cosplay.ph, the company behind the convention and who had long since represented the event. Cosplay Mania '14 Guests Ten guests were invited, with returning guests featuring Jesuke Jes and Vic Kumiko from Singapore, Pinky Lu Xun from Indonesia, Orochi X from Australia and Japanese cosplayers guests KANAME☆ and Reika. New cosplayer guests to arrive are Inui Tatsumi from Japan and Linda Le (Vampy Bit Me) from the US, the event's first guest cosplayer invited from the west. All of them were introduced weekly in a series of Guest Reveals presented on Cosplay Mania's Facebook page. The Meet and Greet Premium Pass were available to KANAME☆, Reika, Inui Tatsumi and Vampy, now with two sessions available for KANAME☆ and Reika. Inui Tatsumi will be partnered with Orochi X to share one session together, while Vampy's two sessions will be accompanied with Jesuke and Pinky respectively. Cosplay Mania JAM Concert As part of the evolution theme, the event introduced JAM (Japanese Anime Music), a two-day concert held at Function Room 5 which starts at 7pm. The concert featured Japanese singer Aya Ikeda, who sang songs from the anime
Pretty Cure , also known as and ''PC'', is a Japanese magical girl anime franchise created by Izumi Todo and Bandai and produced by Asahi Broadcasting Corporation, Asatsu-DK, Toei Animation and Bandai. Each series revolves around a group of magical girls kn ...
, and Loverin Tamburin, a band that covers a variety of anime songs but best known for "Aishitageru" (愛したげる), the opening song for the anime
Makai Senki Disgaea is an anime series based on the video game '' Disgaea: Hour of Darkness''. ''Makai Senki Disgaea'' follows the same general plot as the game, but with several alterations to character roles and the chronology of events. The anime was l ...
. The concert will also be accompanied by local anime cover band Moonspeak and Ninja Tuna. Japanese cosplayers KANAME☆ and Reika will be having collaborative singing performance with Moonspeak. This would be KANAME☆'s first ever singing performance in a convention. Aya Ikeda also had her own Meet and Greet session prior to the concert, but also held her own handshake and merchandise selling session after her performance on Cosplay Mania JAM Day 2. Loverin Tamburin also initiated their own Meet and Greet but free of charge, giving away free posters for signing as well as the selling of their music CD's. Ticketing System Cosplay Mania improved on their ticketing system by providing more options for con-goers on how they will customize their convention experience by introducing the following ticket tier system: * Bronze ticket Php 150 - provides access only at the Dealer Hall at Function Room 4 per day. * Silver ticket Php 250 - provides access to both Dealer Hall (FR4) and Stage Hall (FR5) per day. * Gold ticket Php 400 - provides access to the Dealer Hall (FR4), Stage Hall and JAM Concert (FR5) per day. * Platinum ticket Php 700 - provides access for only one single Meet and Greet session with the available guest of their choice. * Titanium ticket Php 5,000 - a very limited (10 tickets available for sale) ALL ACCESS ticket which includes the following perks: • Valid for 2-days; • Access to ANY Meet-and-Greet of the user's choice; • Limitless access to the Dealers Hall and Main Stage; • A VIP seat inside the Main Stage; • Access to the Cosplay Mania JAM Concert; • A VIP seat during the Cosplay Mania JAM Concert; • Limited Edition Poster signed by all of the guests; • Gift packs from partners The Titanium tickets have long been sold out since August of this year. However one ticket will be given away at Cosplay Mania's Early Bird Raffle. All tickets are available for purchase at all SM Tickets outlets. Notable supporters of the event include Japan's Haneda Music Festival, Magic: The Gathering,
Doraemon ''Doraemon'' ( ja, ドラえもん ) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. The manga was first serialized in December 1969, with its 1,345 individual chapters compiled into 45 ''tankōbon'' volumes and ...
and even the appearance of the official Pikachu mascot which was recently named by Japan as the official mascot for the 2014 Brazil FIFA World Cup.


2015

This year's Cosplay Mania has increased their floor space to include Function Rooms 2 to 5, and Meeting Rooms 2 to 9, occupying over 7,000 sq/m. The layout has also been reversed, with the Exhibitor Hall occupying Function Rooms 4 and 5, and the stage area occupying 2 and 3. As a result, the Exhibitor Room, dubbed as Hall Ex, has over 200 exhibitor booths ranging from game booths to assorted merchandise. The stage are, dubbed Hall S, was smaller in size than last year, but has enough space in allowing audiences to comfortably enjoy the cosplay competition and the JAM concert. The meeting rooms are still assigned for Meet and Greet activities and merchandise selling. Cosplay Mania Roadshow Months prior to Cosplay Mania, Cosplay.ph had intensified their promotion by creating events and partnering with other organizations, both in cosplay and Japanese concerts. Most notable are Cosplay Carnival, NexCon, TORCH series, Meet and Greet Madness and the LISA mini-concert held at SMX Aura. Cosplay Mania Cup The Cosplay Mania Roadshow created a series of Individual category cosplay contests in each of their events that would culminate in the final showdown during Cosplay Mania. The winner receives the Championship prize. This is separate from the Cosplay Mania's own Cosplay Solo Showdown, also an individual category cosplay contest. Tournament of Champions (TORCH) The activity has been delegated as part of the Cosplay Mania Roadshow event, and finalists from 8 cities have participated at the grand finals at Cosplay Mania. The winner of this year's TORCH was Team Ban x Kai, a team known to have joined TORCH continuously since 2010. They will represent the Philippines at Anime Festival Asia's Regional Cosplay Contest in Singapore. Cosplay Mania '15 Guests Ten guests graced event, with cosplayer celebrities KANAME☆ from Japan, Ying Tze from Malaysia, Jesuke Jes from Singapore and Hana and Baozi from China, and JAM performers Itsuki Akira, Ladybeard, Loverin Tamburin, Aya Ikeda and
Pile (singer) , better known by her stage name Pile, is a Japanese singer, actress and voice actress from Tokyo. Her first roles were minor parts in TV series and films during 2006. She debuted as a singer after she was selected in a 2006 Japan-wide audition a ...
. Ticketing System Cosplay Mania maintained last year's tier system but with an increase of their prices. All tickets, except for Platinum and Titanium, can be upgraded: * Bronze ticket Php 198 - provides access only at Hall Ex per day. * Silver ticket Php 298 - provides access to both Hall Ex and Hall S per day. * Gold ticket Php 498 - provides access to Hall Ex, Hall S and JAM Concert per day. * Platinum (Meet and Greet) ticket Php 700 - provides access for only one single Meet and Greet session with the available guest of their choice. The Jpop singer Pile, however, had her own ticket price of Php 2,500. * Titanium ticket Php 5,000 - a very limited (20 tickets available for sale) ALL ACCESS ticket which includes the following perks: All tickets are available for purchase at all SM Tickets outlets. Notable activities Cosplay.ph has partnered with NHK with a Japanese Karaoke contest called Asia Karaoke Nodojiman, whose winner was announced the same day and won a free trip and accommodations to Japan. Notable partners This year the event has partnered with
Daiichi Kosho is a Japanese electronics and aircraft manufacturer that was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Tokyo. As an electronics manufacturer the company specializes in karaoke equipment. History Between about 1992 and 2003 the company branched i ...
, Japan International Broadcasting Inc. and Daisuki.net.


2016

Cosplay.ph, the organization behind Cosplay Mania, has announced the date of next year's event as October 1 and 2, 2016 at SMX Convention Center beside SM Mall of Asia. It occupied the whole function rooms 1-5 and features more interactive games. Guests artists, voice actors and cosplayers from Asia are also invited.


2018

The decade-old convention returns to SMX Convention Center, September 29 & 30, 2018. In their 10th year, the convention featured big names as special guests: *
AiRI Airi is a feminine given name used in several cultures, including Estonian, Finnish and Japanese. The Japanese name can be written as 愛里, 愛李, 愛莉, 愛理, 愛梨, 藍梨 or あいり in hiragana). In Estonian and Finnish the name is de ...
* Megumi Nakajima * fhána (band) * Zwei *
Hiroki Ino is a Japanese actor associated with Stardust Promotion's Section 2. Ino debuted as an actor in 2009 and has notably appeared in the films ''Demolition Girl'' (2017) and ''Touken Ranbu'' (2019). He has also starred in several stage play adaptatio ...
* Kousuke Asuma * Chiharu Sawashiro * Shunsuke Takeuchi


2019


2020-2021

cosplay mania was never held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


2022

After two years of hiatus due to the pandemic, Cosplay Mania is back in SMX Convention Center, October 1–2. Guests include voice actor Nozomu Sasaki, the VTuber group Yashin Live, Hololive Indonesia VTuber Kureiji Ollie, among others. The Philippine branch of
Bilibili Bilibili (stylized bilibili), nicknamed B Site, is a video sharing website based in Shanghai where users can submit, view and add overlaid commentary on videos. Since the mid-2010s, Bilibili began to expand to a broader audience from its origi ...
is touted as among the sponsors for the year's event.https://www.facebook.com/CosplayMania/posts/pfbid02bqWUQaeyXhSMqsTWfvguEX8MEVkJHJjd9EwetE98cnJL2CmVpH58fqfUEsoXaX73l


References


External links


Cosplay Mania Official WebsiteCosplay.ph - Philippine Cosplay Compedium
{{Cosplay 2008 establishments in the Philippines Anime conventions in the Philippines Annual events in the Philippines Events in Metro Manila Recurring events established in 2008