It's been years since my last Manila convention...the last one being The Best of Anime 2011 (1|2) and while we've had a handful of good conventions since then here in the city, they're not as big as BoA or Cosmania. Didn't really have the luxury to go every time because plane fares aren't exactly cheap but I wanted to go to at least one of them this year.
Our flight was scheduled at 6:10 am, the exact same morning of the first day of the convention so me and my friend Chloe, who's also going with me, had to leave early since we still have to travel to the airport which was approximately an hour away from the main city.
Not wanting to be late, we left the house really early--as in 2:45 am early-- since we still have to grab an early breakfast(airport food are dayum expensive) at a nearby convenience store before heading to the shuttle that will take us to the airport.
Succesfully checked in at around 5am and spent the rest of the time lollygagging and leeching off of free airport wifi.
Touched down right on schedule but didn't leave the plane right away because of...err...plane parking issues? Anyhoos, we spent an hour more inside the plane and I'm really eager to get out because I'm getting bored, uncomfortable and sleepy(I only had two hours of sleep).
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| the wanting-to-sleep-but-can't-because-coffee-jitters face |
Moving on...finally met up with our close friend Leddy who picked us up at the airport and after dropping off our non-cosplay bags, we headed straight to SMX where the convention was held.
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| YAAAAAAAAS |
Leddy and I went as Kotori and Rin respectively from Love Live No Brand Girls ver. while Chloe as the tardis
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| with other Love Live girls~ |
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| also met up with another friend Cris(Misty - Pokemon) |
Some clips from the event because taking photos was such a hassle with gloved hands
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Some really nice photos of me & Leddy in our Love Live no Brand Girls cosplay.
Hoshizora Rin and Minami Kotori
(click image for better viewing)
credits: 7th Anima | Hideo Suzuki
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But the main reason why I really pushed into attending this event was to personally meet one of my favorite cosplay pair Baozi and Hana. They were invited as a guest for the first time here in the Philippines and I can't just let myself miss the opportunity.
Their meet and greet tickets were quite expensive but obtaining them was hunger games. It was only limited to a hundred people per session with only three sessions in all. It went completely sold out on the first few hours of the day it was released. We almost didn't even make it.
...but we did and totally worth it
they are the cutest cinamon roll babies too precious for this world
After the eventful Meet & Greet, we roamed around outside function rooms for a few more minutes to take some last minute photos before changing into something more comfortable so that we can move around the uber crowded merchandise area and rave along to the concert later easier.
Spent the rest of the afternoon looking for something to eat because we haven't had a decent lunch and we're particularly ravenous.
Also bought postcards from Jin's(behindinfinity) booth. Personally signed and also had a selfie together with Cat(A Little Decadence).
I'm so happy to finally able to meet them personally. I've been admiring them for years now. My hands were shaking from excitement when I took the photo.
After a really fulfilling dinner, we headed to the concert area where an awesome band(Moonspeak) was playing covers from anime soundtracks. Kaname(also a guest cosplayer from Japan) joined in a few minutes later and sang together with the band's lead vocals.
After Moonspeak, a lot of special guests also performed like Loverin Tambourin, Aya Ikeda and Ladybeard. Couldn't take anymore videos though because we were prohibited after that point and my phone cam is crap.
I was really surprised when I heard Ladybeard will also be performing that night so I was really happy to personally see him perform. To those who have no idea who Ladybeard is, here you go.
I think my friend and I lost our voices after singing along to his songs but who cares, the entire night was a blast-- heck, the entire day was fantastic.
Cosplay Mania Day 1 ended with Ladybeard's performance. It's been an overwhelming day. Wished we could've gone on day 2 as well but we've already scheduled to meet some long-time-no-see old friends. We'll definitely be back next year~
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| Bonus: post-cosplay selfie a.k.a trash face |
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