Pandarific!!

The 18^th of December, many events were going on around the klang valley but 9000 plus people choose to be in one place; Comic Fiesta 2010. This year comic fiesta has hit the 9000 attendees target without a sweat, when I got there, the lifts were full every time the doors opened, the line was so long (those who pre-booked their tickets sighed with relief) and the toilet full of cosplayers getting ready. Despite all this, which would normally scare me, I eagerly waited for the doors to open into the hall. While waiting I watched my friend get ready for her cosplay, the interesting part is watching everyone else get ready and helping their friends out, not to mention you get to see your favourite characters there and then. A good improvement this year was the toilets. In Sunway, the cosplayers and everyone else were fighting for space in the scarce basin area. But this year, there was more make up space and it didn’t feel as crowded as it was before.

 As everyone flooded into the hall, the people from horizon were asking people to fill out forms to enter the lucky draw contest, the prize was an I-pad and 2 I-pod nano’s each day. Unfortunately, I was not lucky enough to win the I-pad which I was personally eyeing on. On the left there was the Nips copic challenge, where normally it would be illegal to destroy public property by doing graffiti on the wall, here you could do as much as you liked and make a mark on the wall. Free Nips candy (peanut and raisins) were given out, this became my personal fuel as I went for hours without food because there was just so much going on. Every year during comic fiesta (I don’t know if it’s just me or others feel the same way) my body would magically be able to function without breakfast or lunch. Another thing would be my body functioning with low levels of energy, all thanks to the lack of sleep. This is what comic fiesta does alright.

 If you wanted to get the feeling of being a toy in a box (something like toy story) there was a live size figurine box that one could go into and take pictures. The Lim Kok Wing booth had a DOTA competition on going throughout the event, many guys and their teams went there to show off their skills as they tried to beat the other team.

On the main stage Shaun and Alfred were back as Emcee’s, while Alfred was on his way to comic fiesta, he had a substitute, Edo, the stoner emcee. The best part was when a person was asked to do the “dandut” and the guy had to follow Edo’s moves, the lack of expression and the dance moves combined made it hilarious. This is what the crowd would do for free stuff, among the things done were proposing and rejecting someone, jumping and the limbo, but that’s another story. Comic Fiesta was Officiated with this video:

 At the other end of the hall were the Doujin booths. This is where you can see artists love for art and anime combined. Loads of Hetalia, Vocaloid and Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler) artwork were on sale, along with the long time favourite’s naruto and final fantasy. There weren’t just drawings, but little clay artworks of tiny cakes and desserts that looked good enough to eat, t-shirts, cups, hats (just adorable) and doll clothes. Fans of certain artists also take this chance to finally meet their favourite artists in person, giving compliments and getting signatures. The place was full of activity as people tried to get the goods before it was all sold out. Certain booths were so popular that in a matter of hours all their goods were sold off. I personally could not get my hands on the naruto artwork and due to indecision; this beautiful postcard which I contemplated my purchase on was sold out. Lesson learnt; buy it when you see it. 

Because I was caught up in the Doujin area, I almost missed the time for the group cosplay competition. Others were fast and got a nice spot to sit at. Unfortunately for me I had to rough my way through the crowd to get a spot where I still had to stand. It would have been good if the stage area were bigger so that more people could watch the performances. The group cosplays were good as they were creative in the use of props, music and the characters themselves. I personally liked the chrono cross cosplay where they had the whole “How to deal with women” theme:
the Kuroshitsuji group was entertaining too as it revolved around mobile phones and music to convey the “words” they were saying.
Other cosplay groups involved characters like the Joker and Harley Quinn, Mario, Final Fantasy, resident evil and a mix of characters from different anime/games. (Not in order of appearance)
At 5.30, fans of Gempak comic artists got to get their signatures, there was Keith, Kaoru, Neko and little, there another long line formed as there were so many fans.

Outside the hall there were loads of things going on, firstly, the art competition which was held in a separate room, they also had some industry seminars. The speakers included Ivon Smith from Codemasters, Kelvin Hii also from Codemasters, Michael Chua a comic artist and Phil Yeh and Ohil Ortiz who are cartoonists and animators respectively. Other than that, since photographers weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the hall, cosplayers and photographers were outside busy posing and taking pictures. There was this cosplayer from Sabah who had such huge wings that she needed helpers to hold it up for her. She took the spotlight as everyone was in awe of the detail and massiveness of her cosplay. It is here that one gets to admire all the hard work and dedication put into making the costumes, these people take their passion seriously and it all pays off in Comic Fiesta.