Philippine ToyCon 2014

Before we get to Toycon 2014, lemme share first about what I've been experiencing in cosplay events:

Since the first cosplay / pop culture / fandom / hobbbyist event I've attended which was September last year, I've been attending them a lot lately. Somewhat weird, yeah but it's fun nonetheless. So far I've attended 7 of these kind of events. Here they are...

1. Best of Anime 2013 (Sept 15, 2013) - My first event which coincided with the Manila International Book Fair. Held at SMX - Mall of Asia
2. Cosplay Mania 2013 (Oct 5, 2013) - Sort of... I was there only for like 30 mins 'cuz I went to SMX-MOA after school and just wanted to check it out before I left the place. Plus it was nighttime.
3. Oh No Manga Octo-Con (Oct 20, 2013) - My first event at SM Megamall.
4. Christmas Toycon 2013 (Dec 15, 2013) - Again, sort of... I didn't get a ticket but I was with the cosplayers. My pics of the cosplayers here. First event I attended after I started blogging.
5. Ozine Fest: Anime Figure Special (Dec 29, 2013) - Similar scenario to the last one before this 'cuz I (again) didn't buy a ticket. I had posts on this but I deleted it... Last event of 2013
6. Otaku Expo (Jan 12, 2014) - First event for this year (here's my coverage of it)
7. and the last; Ozine Fest 2014 @ SMX-Mall of Asia (Apr 25, 2014) - My coverage of this event: main post / cosplay pics

Taken during the Manila International Bookfair - BOA convention. Sept 2013

And after attending all these events, I've gained some experience on attending these and I've learned some things, both good and bad, especially in the world of entertainment, fandom and pop culture. I also got to meet other people as well. So these events have been eye-openers for me. Of course, they're fun events yeah and a great place to go to if you want to pass the time. Admittedly things there can get too far (well, if you know what I mean) and that ain't good :(. They've also been times of the unexpected, since they've had things that I didn't see coming o_o. Tiring as well since they take a lot out me, especially Ozine Fest 2014 where my poor feet were hurt at the end of the day. I'd like to share this too; on my part once I get into the moment, I don't know when to stop and leave, since it seems like there's a lot more that I could've done. So the experience could seem bitin, but worth it in the end :D (usually if not always). Those said, I'm still going to these events, but I've got to take care of myself when I do... :/  Dapat happy, hope for the best at manalig sa Diyos :)

Anyways... on to my coverage of the 13th Philippine Toycon 2014.

Wow, probably of all the conventions that I have attended so far, ToyCon 2014 (Official name: The 13th Philippine Toys, Hobbies and Collectibles Convention) has got to be the most stressful one, yet it was a fun experience. Reason why it was is because this is the first time I went to a convention where I wasn't alone. I was accompanying my younger brother this time. He really wanted to go to one and finally, this would be his first. Last weekend, I bought tickets at SM North for the event and after that, it was really about waiting for this event. We went to day 3 of the convention because of our schedules.

Fast forward to the day 3 of the con and talk about bad timing. Earlier in the morning, I had a bad stomachache, possibly due to the buffet I had the night before where I went to attend the birthday of a lola. Good thing I took some medications which lessened it and made me feel better the whole day, so yeah it was short lived. :)

After going to church, I went home and immediately after having lunch, me and my brother went to SM Megamall to attend this event which I've been waiting for quite a while. It rained when we came to the place and my brother had lunch first and during that time, I went around a bit and saw some cosplayers. I thought of wanting to go to the chapel on the top floor as well (It was the chapel's feast day also), but I didn't and after my brother had lunch, we headed to the con, passing by the atrium where the church was. There were a lot of people on the top floor and once we got to the con, we were able to enter easily. It pays, I guess to get tickets early. I might try this again in the future. 

Goodness, once we got in, it was chaos (I dunno what else to describe it). It was quite a task to navigate the con, especially to avoid some stuff. My brother and I kept looking at the merchandise being sold. I took pictures and we went to the exhibit area. My brother wasn't interested in the place so yeah, we went out after like a few minutes there, after taking some pics. An unexpected thing that came up was that my brother wanted to take pictures during the con.

1st cosplay pic of the day.

Snack booths

 From the exhibit:

Cosplay group Justice PH. There were more members in this cosplay group. 2nd cosplay pic.

3rd cosplay pic of the day.

After that, my brother signed in to this gaming tournament (run by website Reimaru Files) and competed there, and while that was happening, I went all over the place. I also got to see renowned cosplayer Alodia Gosiengfao. This is the first time I've seen her in person and second time this year I've seen a celebrity (last ones being Jose, Wally and Paolo of Eat Bulaga). I kept checking that tournament out to see if my brother's there and when I came back there the last time, it was too late because he wasn't there as his round's finished and I didn't realize that and he went to the nearby snack booths. My bad then >_< After that, we retreated from the con at around 4 PM and went to Gong Cha to take a break and have milk tea. I had to make libre to him there.

One of the many cosplay groups

Naruto cosplay group. One of the many cosplay groups that day.

 The cosplayer with the scythe gave me a cosplay card. 
She told me she cosplayed as Undertaker Girl Version from Kuroshitsuji (thank you for informing me). Here's her Facebook page

Admittedly, these two had very impressive costumes

Busts

Nice artworks.

Cosplay queen Alodia Gosiengfao. This is the first time I have seen her personally and is the only pic I have of her. I may not be a fan but it's good naman to see a celebrity. :)

Then we went back to the con and we decided to split up. I gave him my watch to check the time and we agreed to meet at that place where he had the tournament at 6:30 PM (he can take care of himself and he's responsible enough). I dunno what he did but he said he played games but I went all over, taking pictures of the cosplayers and checked out merchandise. It seemed like there's a cosplayer for every 5 people that time and the crowd was huge like in any event of this kind, almost standing room only-like. From about 4:30-6PM, the crowd was already at it's peak.  Grabeh talaga mga trip nun, lalo na some of the cosplay groups. Oh well, at least happy naman, haha. :) (I guess...? :] ). But I'll also admit, kahit iilan lang sila, nakakainis minsan ang mga ibang trip >_< (no offense, really. Di ko na sasabihin ano yung mga yon :| ). Some of the cosplayers were familiar faces since I have seen them in past conventions. Something noticeable also was that there weren't much Attack on Titan cosplayers this time (Said that 'cuz I saw alot of them in past cons. I'm not a fan, I only saw bits of it but I'm aware of it). It gave me an opportunity to see parts of the Megamall's new wing as well. I went back to the designated place where I'd meet my brother and I had to call him and he said he was at the entrance. I had to call him a lot, almost like I was wasting my cellphone load. Oh well, at least we saw each other at the entrance and after that, we went around one more time before going to TriNoma to do some stuff and then go home.

Isa sa mga iba't ibang eksena sa con...

This is one of the best cosplayers during the con IMO

Another one of the best I've seen during the con

One good thing in cons is that you get to meet many different people. Iba iba ang mga pananaw, iba-iba ang mga trip, iba ang mga anong gimmick... Quoting Francis Magalona, it is a kaleidoscope world.

Again, like at past cons, the feeling in the end was kinda "bitin". I wanted to do more but it was satisfying in the end and actually, my brother wanted to go home earlier than I thought. If I went alone, I would've went home later than when we left. I should've kept my composure more too. Oh well, at least it's over and I gotta say really, the experience, although stressful, tough, and tiring was fun, worth it in the end and my brother did have fun too after attending his first con. It might be a while though before my brother would attend another con. Even if some incidents happened on our part and didn't go our way, things went well and we had a good time, which mattered. :)

It's kinda sad since I've read that this would be the last Toycon at Megamall, but good thing we were there, especially this is the first time I went to Toycon mismo. With the overall attendance, the many things to do there, the gimmicks and the experience, no wonder why it's called one of the biggest and longest running pop culture events in the country. :) 

Well, that ends another event. Hope to look forward to the next but let's just live the day and dapat laging happy! :D

"Di mo mapapansin ang oras ay tumatakbo

Di mararamdaman ang pagod ay maliligtan,

Tayo'y magsayawan, sumabay sa takbo ng tugtugan..." 

- excerpts from "Magsayawan" by VST & Company

PS: This is my first post on another laptop. It isn't mine like the last one I used but it's my mom's and she's letting me use it. It's kinda tough to use but better than nothing! (I guess... :P) And oh yeah, more photos to be uploaded in future posts so stay tuned. :)

edit: few edits were done to the post since it was posted