One of the participants of the Otaku festival in a Maleficent costume at the University of the Philippines. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
For the first time in Cebu’s otaku history, pop culture villains and baddies took center stage in the region’s biggest cosplay event of the year as an ode to the villains that give life to every story.
The well-loved anti-hero Deadpool, Sleeping Beauty’s nemesis Maleficent, and even the menacing Akatsuki of the fan-favorite anime Naruto, made appearances during the whole-day OtakuFest 9 (OF9): Pandemonium event held Saturday at the University of the Philippines Cebu (UP Cebu) in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City.
Otaku is a Japanese term that is widely used to describe anime and video game fans.
“For so long, we have celebrated the heroes, the good guys. But we noticed how there is so much judgment with the so-called villains, and that is what we want to celebrate in this year’s OtakuFest,” said Min Young Claire Orquillas, the chief
director of OF 9.
Orquillas, an anime fan herself, shared how she was always at awe about how villains are overlooked by so many, when these are the characters that create the story.
Most of the time, they even inspire the good guys of the story to act and, in the end, be proclaimed heroes.
Two young boys watch as a csoplayer gets help in fixing his costume during the OtakuFest9. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
“Heroes can’t be heroes without the villains, and good stories can’t be good stories without the villains as well. So, we decided to celebrate them instead, and show our appreciation to the characters that we all hate to love,” she added.
Renee Lisa, an industrial design student who geared up as one of the many Maleficents of yesterday’s event, said she dressed as the villain of Sleeping Beauty, after being inspired by the evil fairy’s back story.
“Her story was sad. Maleficent only loved, and was betrayed by the one person she loved. And this whole time, she was sorely misjudged, like so many people in this world,” Lisa shared.
Miguel Escobar, a 23-year-old OtakuFest first-timer, added that the theme was a good choice, as it also reflects how we often judge the “bad people” in real life, without knowing what makes them behave or act in a certain way.
“This reminds us that every person has a story, may you be a hero, a bad guy, a good guy, a villain, a child, and this is a very important lesson that I am proud OtakuFest is sharing to a huge audience,” Escobar said.
OtakuFest 9: Pandemonium gathered more than 4,000 people, and was the most jam-packed staging of the annual cosplay event.
OF 9 chief director Orquillas said they were very happy with how the event turned out, especially since they were able to bring back the older competitions that were removed in the last few OtakuFests including the Original Character Design and Japanese Singing competitions.
Some of the cosplayers during the OtakuFest 9. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
Special guests this year, including Krizdel Ingreso, KPop cover group Se-Eon and Team BAN x KAI, were able to bring in so many people who contributed to the success of the event.
Twelve candidates of the university’s annual beauty-for-a-cause pageant “Miss UP Cebu” also made an appearance during the event, geared in Hunger Games-inspired attire.
Three friends in their anime costume takes a selfie at the UP Cebu grounds. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
Aside from the guests, cosplay attractions and booths for collector’s items, OF 9 also had job opportunities for those who want to work in Japan, and even offers for Japanese language and culture classes.