Oh No! Manga Cosplay Camp 2: My First Anime Convention

Last July 7, I attended my very first Anime Convention ever!

I went to Oh-No! Manga Cosplay Camp 2 at SMX Hall 1! (My post is super late, I know.. Again, I'm sorry.. Please don't hurt me..)

The "Oh No! Manga: Cosplay Camp 2".

I went there with my friend, Ed. He's usually the one who informs me about these kinds of events. We also went to Yexel's Toy Musuem earlier this year, just in case you'd like to see that as well.

I was really excited at first and I was trying to imagine what the event would be like and how many cosplayers would be there.. (We also stumbled upon some trouble along the way, but I'll not get into that.) But, even though I'm an Otaku and obssesed with Anime and Manga, I still can't help but feel out of place in the event somehow. Before, I thought it would be easy, but I was embarrassed to ask cosplayers to pose for me while I took their pictures... In the end, I didn't get as many pictures as I wanted to. Lesson learned. I'll be sure to prepare for the next Anime Convention but, for now, let's just take a look at the pictures I was able to get.

We got this map here before entering Cosplay Camp. Very Handy.

Oh, and the map is on the other side. As you can see, the venue is not that big. Or, at least, not as big as I've expected for events like these.

The paper on the left is what's left of my ticket. I also got this cute-looking bookmark which says "I love reading!!" which fits me great, because I do love reading.

Also fits fine in one of my mangas. (I should really clean my room...)

It was a small event. I guess it's not one of the those "major" Anime Events. But it was good for my first Anime Convention. The venue was crowded, but not packed. Ed and I were able to buy a couple of tickets for P150 each. We also received a map of the venue and a cute bookmark. I love reading!

Unfortunately, I don't know what they're cosplaying as. What I do know is that they're really having fun.

Here come the wolves! (There's a bunny and a rat, too.)

It's that guy from Code Geass.. And who could not know Cell at this point?

At the time, I don't know who she was cosplaying as. But, I've just recently watched the Anime, so, now I know. (This is from "Shingeki no Kyojin" by the way.)

Woah, it's kid Sasuke and Orochimaru! Talk about a blast from the past. I also didn't expect to see an Orochimaru cosplayer. I've got nothing against that, though. Orochimaru is, after all, my favorite character in the Naruto series.

Everybody's posing for the camera. Nicely done.

We're not even inside the venue yet but, already, there are a LOT of cosplayers in the hall outside, posing for the cameras. Although it was embarassing to ask for cosplayers for their pictures, all the cosplayers were very enthusiastic! They're always trying hard to be in their best pose, ready for all the cameras. Some of them look exhausted (I mean, they were literally standing there for hours), but that doesn't stop them from posing for the shots while keeping that smile up. Talk about dedication!

She is probably the most hard-core cosplayer that I've seen in this event, and she's like... 12 years old?

The coolest cosplayer that I've seen in the entire event is the little Sinanju girl that we met right before the venue entrance. This girl kicks butt!

We arrived at SMX Hall 1 at around 2PM, I think, so when we saw that the hallway was packed with cosplayers, we initially thought that the event was already over. Good thing it wasn't, because Ed and I haven't really planned ahead.

There's a lot of people today who wants some Anime!

Inside SMX Hall 1, there are lots of interesting things to see. I don't know where to start, so I just started taking pictures when I could.

Hello, RX-78! It's been a while. You always make a cameo, huh?

Hey look, some Gundam Model Kits are on display. Neat!

There's a Gundam Workshop here. Only kids are allowed to join, though.

Right over there, you can buy some actual Gundam Model Kits.

Here's a sample picture of some of the Gundam Model Kits on display.

...and here's the very popular Sinanju!

The first thing that caught my eye (and I was actually surprised to see this) was a Gundam Workshop! I didn't expect something like this to be here, which is an odd thing to not expect in an Anime Convention. I mean, Gundam IS an Anime, after all, so why shouldn't it be here?

Well, ok, enough staring at the Gundam Kits. Unfortunately, I don't have any money. So... I can't buy me some Gundams on this event. There were a lot of Cosplayers so, naturally, Ed and I tried to take some pictures of them. There are also a lot of merchandise around from self-published media or "doujinshi" as it is called in Japan. Most of them sell and publish their stuff in conventions such as these.

What a beautiful butterfly... person. (I wonder what Anime character she's cosplaying as..)

I don't know who she's cosplaying as, too, but I assume that she's a villain.

A classic character done extremely well. Of course, everybody knows Chun-Li.

There are a lot of stores that sell Anime and Manga-related stuff.

Lots of people drawing Anime characters, too.

Is that the Tokyo Tower?

Are they from X-Men?

I don't know where this is from as well, but they've done their costumes very well.

This looks cool. Simple, but cool.

She looks like Lightning, but I don't think she's Lightning. Is she?

I need to watch more Anime... Her costume is very well done, as well. Lovely.

Pretty Naruto!

There's some sort of photo booth here, where you can take advantage of some photography equipment.

There's also a part on the left side of the venue where they have figurines and action figures on display. Even robots and dolls. Nice.

Toys!

Chibi-toys!

Unfortunately, I don't have enough money to spend on things like these. They're WAY too expensive. But, someday...

It's always awesome to have a giant sword as a weapon. Giant sword = awesomeness.

Also, giant robots = awesomeness = expensive toy.

Here's something that I'm looking forward to buying in the future, a Gundam Model Kit.

There's also some sort of video game tournament.

At the other side of the venue, there's a table dedicated for dolls.

These dolls look like barbie dolls, in a way. I guess they're just "cooler"?

There's also a gaming competition of some sort, or free game stations for gamers to compete in? Let's see what game they're playing.. Oh. It's Tekken. It's always Tekken.

The Giant Sinanju!

It's going to crush you! (It would be nice to get that Sinanju girl to pose right beside this thing.)

If I was shocked (but glad) to see a Gundam Workshop inside the Anime Convention, imagine my reaction when I saw this beast! I immediately ran to other side of the venue!

The giant Sinanju is right beside the "Dragon Nest" corner.

That guy is playing really seriously...

Ed told me that this is some sort of a "pet" in Dragon Nest?

There was also this place near the Dragon Nest corner where you can login to your Facebook account and "like" the Oh No! Manga Facebook page, then you''ll have a chance to win a tablet or something. I'm not really interested, so I didn't bother.

Right beside this ginormous Sinanju, there's a small corner dedicated to "Dragon Nest". It's an online game that I'm not really familiar with. But after watching a few players playing, I was impressed. I'm not usually interested in MMOs, but this game seems pretty fun to play. At first, I thought the game's title was "Dragonness", lol. "What the hell is a Dragonness?"

Bands playing their favorite Anime opening or ending theme.

Eventually, we got tired from taking pictures left and right and decided to sit for a second in a corner somewhere. Then, some random bands started playing Anime songs. Each band was given time to sing 3 songs. Most of the songs they sang, I wasn't aware of. It's a good indicator that I haven't watched Anime for a very long time. But, there was a band that's particularly special, the "No Leaf Clover". I wasn't aware that they were special guests and that they came all the way from Japan. (I only realized this when I got home and searched the web. It's a shame that we weren't able to buy their albums. Apparently, they have some for sale in the event.)

Gensoumaden Saiyuki!

I like these girls' costumes. Although I don't really know who they're cosplaying as.

She's the last cosplayer that I took a picture of. I actually have 2 more pictures of her, but I think this one is the best.

Afterwards, we went outside, took a few photos of cosplayers outside the hall, and went home.

...and that's about it. I'm looking forward to the next Anime Convention I'll be attending. I'll see you guys on the next post!