COSFEST 2017 - Why Like That?

It has been 8 years (I was 14 then!) since I attended Cosfest, which is supposed to be the cosplay event of Singapore, having reached its 16th round this year. As always, it was held at D'Marquee at Downtown East, Pasir Ris, right at the end of S'pore. The location wasn't exactly inspiring me to travel on a blazing and crowd infested weekend - we went on Sunday, the second and last day of the event. However, finally overcoming my laziness the distance excuse, Hao (The Walking Anime Encyclopaedia & my great bud) and I headed down in the noon with hopping enthu and cash to burn.
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More like eyes burnt.

This is by far the most disappointing anime event.

The promised booths on Cofest's Facebook page were mostly amateur artists, whose merch were at best mediocre, and mainly repeats of the "fan favourites" - Touken Ranbu, Love Live, RE:Zero, Yuri on Ice (seriously, there were TONS), and Kuroko no Basket, to name a few.

No Itachi goods, of course not.

The highlight of the event, the cosplayer's performance, was surprisingly entertaining. It was mainly group performances, where well-coordinated (well, costume wise) cosplayers danced and lip-synced to idol tunes, while the rest of us mortals drowned in the deafening beats and awkward head noddings.

Not wanting to paint an overly rosy portrait, most were pretty cringy to watch in a way where I couldn't tear my eyes away. I felt that the cheering fanboys gathered (whom I suspect were hired for effect) swinging their LED lights had even more energy than the dancers. Edit: A fellow attendee of Cosfest contacted me & kindly introduced me to the art of wotagei (ヲタ芸), a form of dancing while swinging LED lights in flashy & coordinated moves. Besides burning lots of calories to perform the moves, it is the otaku's way of expressing their love & support for their favourite idol groups, who have worked doubly hard to deliver their songs & dance routines.  Quite a touching scene actually.

While a far number of teams kept sending shudders down our shoulders, there were a few groups who managed to induce my appreciation and genuine applause, and you could really tell they practiced (very important).

Some of these dancers were also acquainted with Hao, whom he immediately denied acquaintanceship, shitsurei da na!

As usual, amidst the nasty situation there were still a handful of saving graces, in the form of well done cosplayers. I tried my best to hunt them down to share it with you guys here. Unfortunately, I couldn't get full coverage - I didn't want to bore Hao - and had to be selective with the shots.

I have to say, there's a remarkable difference between approaching with a camera to an iPhone. Oh the confidence and pride I had, to be acknowledged as a Photographer, where even the DSLRs alpha tropes have to way make for me-sama.

I also edited the photos according to the cosplayers' characters, so instead of a one size fits all "filter," I twerked with the contrast and ambiance colours. So enjoy!

The Artist's Alley at a glance

Photo taking session at the end of the idol's cosplayer's performance

A pretty Snow Miku 2017, at 1/1 scale

Kenshin spotted sword shopping...

...And I had to ask for a photo

Apparently Kenshin and Edward are acquaintance

(they were talking and walking together before I rudely interrupted their Brotherhood moment

Killer Bee, a first for me! And a not too bad one at that

My beloved Hijikata from Drifters! Need I say more? <333

So thankful for the walking extras at the back that added to the motion effect

The iconic Graffiti Wall, that I once again failed to leave my mark on (forgot to bring marker, zzz)

Noctis, what happened? Edit: He seems to be in a good mood, surely more hearts would be captured if he smiles like that in game

Urgh, Hao told me they're from some game, and it slipped my mind...

She's the sweetest cosplayer, hands down. A photographer was making things difficult by making countless demands for her to pose in a specific way, but instead of getting annoyed, she meekly obeyed and tried her best to accommodate to his request. After a few agonising minutes he was finally done and she posed for me. Actually, he still wasn't satisfied with his shots and was taking his own sweet time, so I just stepped in and had my way.

As for me? Any pose's fine, she pose for me I happy liao, steal laugh liao

Also, pls be auto a bit la, don't push your luck, it's not like she was getting paid...

Pardon the poor res, I took this without much prep and the lighting's all over

Of course, the quintessential Sailor moon ladies, Uranus and Neptune, both expressions and costumes pretty on point

Ikoma from Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, looking too adorable ><

And I had the perfect greenish ambiance colour to suit his disturbing greenish skin

Mikleo, from Tales of Zestiria The X, so glad to see him for the first time!

...And Rose, of course~ I think they're friends or something

 She has very defined chin, love it

Cardcaptor Sakura was hotcakes, had to queue quite a while to snap her.

Thankfully for my camera, I am finally deserving of these looking-into-MY-lens shots.

Also, there was a Malay wedding going on concurrently next to the event, so it must be quite an eyebrow-raising experience for the visiting guests, bride and groom, and their distinguished in-laws

I usually dislike female cross-dressers, but she did it for me

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Unfortunately, it would be a looong time before I feel like attending Cosfest again. Nevertheless, I'm grateful for these cosplayers' hard work and the great bonding time with my amazing friend Hao. He had to camp by the side while I wonder around mining for photographs, shopping for otome trash, and searching for the next manga to read...

Thank you so much, you're da best T.T

xoxo