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Alodia’s Fantasy Live Online Show Event Recap in Photos

Fritz — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 23:58:32 +0000

Prepare for an Alodia’s Fantasy event photo avalanche! Hover on the pics for captions. I enjoyed the program immensely with friends Kring Elenzano, Winston Almendras, Faith Salazar, and Coy Caballes. The cosplay competition segment is the best that I have seen so far from among the cosplay competions I’ve attended through the years: schedule is tight but just right, sound accompanying the performances are all high quality BGMs, finalist line up are truly worthy to be called best in class, and the cosplayers gave it their all to justify their character portrayals. The event was held in the ICON at the Intercontinental Manila Hotel. Usually a bar and lounge for a CBD night out, it was for the night transformed to stage the live online show. I heard from Marcelle, the host for the evening alongside Alodia Gosiengfiao, that the number of online views for the program reached more than 10,000 and at one point, there were around 700+ simultaneous views. If broadband in the Philippines weren’t so darn slow, I bet there would be a lot more people staying in their homes to watch the show. Still, amazing!

Below are photos of the cosplay participants during the show’s competition. First up, the Male Cosplay Category.

Dennis Madarang playing Pyramid Head, a violent monster from the hit game Silent Hill 2, is the winner for the Male Cosplay Category. If you look at his skirt closely, you’ll observe that he brought along his arcane posse. Talk about detail!

For non-otakus, Sajin Komamura is the captain of the 7th Division of Gokai 13 in Soul Society in the anime series Bleach (if the robe does not give that away yet lol).

Eddieson goes onto the stage with a folder covering his face. Put down, he reveals a cylindrical-ish Red Angry Bird mask and starts throwing birds to the audience as the Angry Birds theme played in the background. Then suddenly, he yanks away the pants, throws down the mask, and pulls off the black shirt to reveal Red Hawk. OutSTANDING in creativity!

I apologize to Rubinstein Ebuenga who played Kamen Rider Dark Kiva with the song number because my shots of you are all dark. Failure from my end, sorry. Plus I’m quite peeved by the color of the lighting in the venue. Too magenta for my liking and white balance presets. Again, I’m sorry.

Up next are the ladies from the Female Cosplay Category.

I have been taking photos of Monique in various cosplay conventions but it is only during Alodia’s Fantasy that I have seen her do the geiko dance. It was nothing short of stunning: her facial expression show pride, control, and a calm vibe showing in her calculated and fluid movements that she must have perfected through years of cosplaying a geisha. Great job, Minique! Mighty proud of you, my friend! EDIT: So I found out that Monique was played the wrong background music for her number. Double the props to you, my friend for pulling that dance off like that with professional reserve. Shame shame on the audio people. Shame!

Myrtle Gail won in the female cosplay category by playing Grand Archer Rena from the MMORPG Elsword.

Apologies to Catrina Anne Lazaro who played Black Rock Shooter because my shots of your performance could not be salvaged owing to the erratic and magenta saturated lighting :( I’m so sorry!

Next up is the Mecha Cosplay Category.

From the rehearsals earlier Saturday, Don Robert came in a Stark jacket for the run through. Near the end, he did a back flip much to the surprise of everybody in the set. The question in my mind was will he do it during the actual competition with the Mark V on. He didn’t. I must say the online audience just missed a singularly awesome moment in Philippine cosplay history.

Bolen Lareza playing Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn’s MSN-06S Sinanju bagged the grand prize in the Mecha cosplay category. I suddenly remember something I heard from a friend during a con a loooooong time ago: “we are no match with chibis. They come out and they wow and make everyone swoon and gush with little or no effort.” Haha. Bolen, however, really worked the stage. Her moves are in sync with the background music and sound effects. The mecha is also exquisitely made. My favorite detail is the etched insignia on the MSN-06S’s left shoulder.

Richard Cheng’s Zoids mecha is probably the biggest mecha I have EVER seen around. It’s just HUGE! Just look at that photo where he’s fighting with a human who looks like a mouse. Not in this picture is the tail detail of the mecha. It’s LOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG AND HUGE, TOO!

For the other things that happend that night, check out the following. click on the landscape oriented photos for the larger image.

Kel asked Gerard what his name is to which Gerard answered, “a friend.” His answer brought the house down. Well played.

That’s it. The Alodia’s Fantasy program in photos. Great job flippish and everyone who made this event possible and the sponsors, of course. Thanks Kring and Chris Tan for the invite! Will there be an Alodia’s Fantasy Encore any time soon? :)

PS: I apologize to the Haga Twins Miwha and Michiko, too. Looking at my photos at home, it appears I did not have a great shot of them other than what I took during the rehearsals. Bawi ako next time, I promise >.<

Alodia’s Fantasy Sneak Peek Rehearsal Photos!

Fritz — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 10:19:01 +0000

[ EDIT: Click here for the actual event photo recap. Thanks! ]

Adding to Kring Elenzano’s post on what to expect from the Alodia’s Fantasy live online special which will air tonight, October 22, 2011 8pm-10pm GMT +8 flippish.com, below are a few preview photos from this afternoon’s rehearsals to get you all more excited to be at home and watch it get aired direct from the set.

(Click for the full-sized image)

Michiko and Miwha Haga in the house!

You probably won’t see Kring later but she’s there in the audience LOL

Yes, folks, Alodia will be dancing on set. Epic! Online viewers will also be treated to a live chat portion with Alodia. There will be so much more in store for viewers tonight so stay tuned!

From what I gathered, there will also be a cosplay contest that will be divided into three categories: Female, Male, and Mecha. The contest will be open for online votes so cast those “likes” for your favorite cosplayer. Links for voting are situated below the video stream at the flippish.com site. There will be live judges so I reckon the number of likes will form part of the final score tally as the winners for each category will also be announced tonight before the end of the program. For your reference, I got ahold of the names of all the contestants representing a huge chunk of the more popular and passionate cosplayers in the Philippines. They will be on set and will show off their glorious renditions of their favorite characters. They are:

Male Cosplayers:
Cykah Malagad (Ashtaroth)
Ryan Simbul (Monster Hunter Freedom Unite Blademaster with Dragon X Armor)
Mark Celtic Buenaventura (Warlord Predator)
Dennis Madarang
Rubinstein Ebuenga (Kamen Rider Dark Kiva)
John Ezekiel De Guzman
Eddieson Jaluag (Red Hawk)
Jo Marcel Navarro (Mamoru)

Female Cosplayers:
Chienna Filomeno
Monique Dimanlig (Geiko)
Hye marie Nim
Myrtle gail
Isabel Cortez (She-Predator)
Aikia Keary
Catrina Anne Lazaro
Czarina Bisda
Marienela Chanco (Suigintou or Rozen Maiden)
Shiela navarro (Yellow Ironman)

Mecha Cosplayers:
Jonam Baladad (Mobile Suit Girl Gundam Wing Zero)
Don Robert Torio (Iron Man Mark V)
Bolen Lareza (MG Sinanju)
Gibs Sagun (Kamen Rider Oz Latoratah Combo)
Miguel Panlilio
AbrahaM Cruz (Zodiac Twelve from Exteel)
Richard Cheng (EZ-021 Deathsaurer from Zoids)

To support your favorites, don’t forget to vote.

For latar tonight, there will also be an After Party from 10pm onwards. Gates of ICON Ultimate Club will be opened at 10pm for all the registered Flippish members who want to meet and mingle with Alodia and other cosplayers. Registered Flippish member will be given After Party Invites, so if you know someone who wants to join the After Party, all they have to do is register on Flippish to make it into the guest list and be given an After Party Invite.

If you missed the trailer, here it is. Note of the list of performers who will be gracing this event? Awesomeness! Don’t forget that Alodia’s Fantasy airs tonight, October 22 at 8:00 PM (Philippine Standard Time) live on flippish.

Watch out for my photos from during the event tomorrow!

Cosplayers of Cosplay Mania ’11 Day 2

Fritz — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 19:45:54 +0000

Wasn’t able to drop by Day 1 but didn’t let Day 2 of Cosplay Mania ’11 just happen without me meekly (lol) requesting for photos from the better cosplayers of the day. Was told by Lyron Aquino last night that Kristel Lim will showcase something BIG for Day 2 (which also happens to be her birthday. Happy Birthday Kristel!). And in a great big armor she came! Saw a lot of familiar faces in the crowd the likes of Samantha De Guzman in armor, Jia Gold Bustamante doing Shaiya Light (a very wholesome rendition, mind you. I would not have thought it possible for anyone to put together until today), Lyron was of course around in his version of civilian clothes (lol), and Jayem Sison as a Black★Rock Shooter dude, complete with abdominal stitched-up lacerations, a badass katana, and bright blue right eye. And of course, abs.

Like you’ve read what I’ve written anyway. You just scrolled straight at the photos, didn’t you? I do that all the time, too. Guilty as a death row inmate. Overall, Cosplay Mania ’11 was pretty organized. Sure, there were three long lines moving at a snail’s pace at the entrance but that was because the security folks were pretty thorough with the bag inspection of both participants and spectators. Security minus the irony. Great job! SMX was also pretty lax in letting cosplayers and photographers just hang around the lobby area of the Function Halls which is a first for the cosplay cons I’ve gone to in SMX, so far. The result was an event that is not as crowded, though I think there are more people who attended this year than last. I had so much fun that I could not be arsed to watch the TOrCH Finals, although I did buy tickets LOL.

Ok, on to the photos! Just like old times, left click to view the larger image. Feel free to grab and post on your facebook but please do not remove the watermark. Linking back to fritzified.com is not required but I’ll love you more if you do lol. If you know the characters that I haven’t named and the names of the cosplayrs featured here, do call me out on them by the comment area so I can properly label the photos in return for their indulgence (for graciously letting me take their photos). Great job for this year’s con, guys! If I may say, participants are SERIOUSLY getting better and better each con!

EDIT: as this is too good to not share. Added Gerard Sison’s cosplay of Superman. Know why that costume looks so finely detailed? Here’s the story straight from Gerard:

“I was offered that Superman costume the night before the Toycon. It is a limited edition Christopher Reeve replica and there are only 10 in the world. It is made in Argentina and was sourced from all over the world. But I thought it was too much to spend for.”

AMAZING!

Cosplay Mania ’11 TOrCH Manila Preliminaries Winner

Fritz — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 17:52:18 +0000

Before the grand showdown today, Sunday, October 2, 2011, of the Cosplay Tournament of Champions aka TOrCH II 2011, preliminaries were held in Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod, Davao, Cebu, and three other SM locations around Metro Manila. The winners from each of the locations get to compete against each other during the TOrCH II Grand Finals. The finals will be held at the SMX, SM Mall of Asia during Day 2, that’s TODAY, of Cosplay Mania ’11. The Grand Prize winners will only represent the Philippines in the AFA ’11 Regional Cosplay Championships. Very VERY snooty.

A week ago, I was in SM Manila to watch the Manila preliminaries. Team Vostel who cosplayed Voltes V and Baizanga emerged victorious with Team Lion Rush who cosplayed Chun Li and Ryu coming in second with a fraction of a point difference in the score. That Voltes V cosplay sure looks like it jumped straight out of the animated series and everyone agrees. Contestants are asked to do a skit complete with sound bites from their chosen anime, manga, or game. How well shall Team Vostel and all other finalists fare in the Finals? Stay tuned for that and more on my update soon after the event.

See you at Cosplay Mania ’11!

Photos of the Better Cosplayers at the 10th ToyCon 2011 (Cosplay Day 2)

Fritz — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 19:07:12 +0000

Here’s a perspective. From the shots I’ve shown in my ToyCon 2011 Cosplay Day 1 post, I got two unexpected reactions offline. One from a Singaporean friend, born and raised in Singapore, where else, and siblings who have no connection whatsoever in the cosplay/otaku scene and who just happened to see the cosplay photos last night. I asked Singaporean friend what she thinks of the cosplay scene in the Philippines from the 20 shots she’s seen so far. The reply, “oh, definitely better than Singapore’s.” Give yourselves a huge pat on the back everyone! Your passion knows no bounds and it translates to your craft. The best ones seem to still get better and the rest follows suit. Of course, I told Singaporean friend that I’ve already weeded out the not so appealing shots from the set, where most of them were my fault and my cam’s.

UPDATE: I received this message an hour after this post, “FRITZY I saw your second post! HEHE OF COURSE the cosplay scene is better in PH!!! Look at Jayem! JUST LOOK AT HIM!!!! <3333 *fans self* He’d better stay away from me or i’d totally molest him LOLOLOL” (and then I died laughing)

Friend number 2 and her sibling were checking out the photos last night and the sibling told her he’s seen cosplayers in Megamall two years ago and he says it looks as though it’s tremendously improved. I don’t know how friend managed to hear her brother’s comments because all I can hear from her the entire time we talked is how she’s so stoked about JayEm Sison’s physique to the point of her saying “if you manage to get to know the guy, please tell him I’m inviting him over for dinner. His choice of resto. On me.” Way to go JayEm! And she’s about to get married that girl.

Before the shots, let me again share with you…

Another Perspective

I mentioned I joined the ToyClicks Toy Photography contest during the con. The subject is a Major Motoko Kusanagi toy from McFarlaine manufactured a decade ago in 2000. I bought it in February for 700 from an online seller. I got it sealed but look at the state of the box.

GITS McFarlane Motoko Kusanagi box

I took the toy out of the box for the first time in March, saying her beauty doesn’t deserve to be sealed in that way. LOL the first two shots I got of her shortly after are:

I was so tempted to just submit the second shot but some inspiration hit me to create this:

Major Motoko Kusanagi Final ToyClicks Entry for Toycon

No digital manipulation whatsoever. It may have lost but I’m not giving up on toy photography just yet if only because friends think the final output was stellar. They have good taste and perfectly heightened senses, what else can I say. Hahaha.

Cosplay Photos from Day 2. Finally.

I was only planning to roam around taking shots of very random cosplayers who I think deserve the bandwidth I was told to judge the Group Cosplay and Game Girl Cosplay event so my Fritzparazziing continued in front of the stage from 5PM onwards so there. I would have loved to take photos of Kristell Lim and the SuckerPunch girls but I could not anymore find them after the competition. I’m so sorry Kristell, Gab Lopez, Katrina Pallon, et al. I really tried finding you, I swear! Apologizing on plurk isn’t enough. Seriously.

I may have forgotten to ask who their characters are but this shot is my favorite

Jalec Rodriguez as Cloud Strife from FF VII

The ultra-talented Lyron Aquino in Rockman cosplay

Wing Zero cosplay from Gundam Wing

Zafina cosplay from Tekken

Chrome Dokuro cosplay from Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Miwha Haga & Michiko Haga, non-cosplayers. Just the prettiest twins at ToyCon

Official facebook page of Miwha and Michiko

Hikaru Shidou cosplay from Magic Knight Rayearth

Alodia Gosiengfiao as Haruhi-chan Suzumiya from the series The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Super Sentai cosplay

Red Lion Ranger cosplay from the Power Rangers Wild Force series

Red Tiger Ranger from the Power Rangers Jungle Fury series

Shiba Kaoru cosplay from the Samurai Sentai Shinkenger series

Gokai Red cosplay from the Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger series

Bouken Red from the GoGo Sentai Boukenger series

Omega Red cosplay

Storm and Rogue cosplay

Kia Keary as the Phoenix Jean Grey

Pyro cosplay

Daken and X-23 cosplay

Kevin Bautista in Cyclops cosplay

Justice League cosplay by Justice PH. Left click to view full-sized image.

Aries Garin in Superman cosplay

Christophe Pacaud in Aquaman cosplay

PVZ cosplay

Terra cosplay from Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

Dukesa Melendrez as Rizfis Luttiva Mente of Shuraki Trinity

Chai Chen as Needa Shuetlitch of Shuraki Trinity

Hidan cosplay from Naruto

Jazminne Huang as Amy (Siren) from Grand Chase

Samantha de Guzman as The Engraver from Fatal Frame III The Tormented

If you know who the person is and/or the character they’re portraying, should the caption show a blank, do leave me a comment below so I can populate and give credit. Thanks in advance. That’s it for ToyCon 2011! See you next year!

Photos of the Better Cosplayers at the 10th ToyCon 2011 (Cosplay Day 1)

Fritz — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 07:00:04 +0000

With the 10th ToyCon 2011 over, we can now all get on with our lives and wait for the 11th next year! LOL. Bought anything? I got a shirt from Rochelle’s booth with a big “tsundere” print, translates to “passive aggressive,” I was told. I also submitted an entry for the “no digital manipulation whatsoever” toy photography contest and lost my awesome to several other awesomes.

There’s a story behind my toy photograph as to how I got the 10-year-old-but-never-been-opened box in February 2011 for P700, how unassuming it looks, and how it was my first time to use gels in my external flashes to achieve that in-cam effect but I’ll save those for another entry.

On to what you went here for: epic, on-site, shotgun approach, stranger to stranger/friend, cosplay shots from the legendary Fritzparazzi! Tried hard and with some help to name all the characters being portrayed here but failed miserably, as expected LOL.

Share, like, and grab your photos but please do not take out the watermark/sig. Thanks!

Watch out for my shots from Day 2 where I get primo vantage point of the stage where I tasked to be one of the four judges of the Group and Gamer Girl Cosplay Competition. Judge? Me? Whodathunk, ya? LOL

Monique Dimanlig

Paul San Diego as Gogeta from Dragonball Z

JayEm Sison as Gilgamesh from Fate Stay Night

Hit Girl

Detective Conan

Miwha Haga of the KPOP Scene. Non-Cosplayer. Yet.

Miwha has a twin, Michiko. Their dad is Japanese and their mom, a Filipina. Michiko was only around during Day 2 of the con. Here’s the Miwha Haga & Michiko Haga (OFFICIAL) facebook page. Just created.

Kratos from God of War cosplay

Pau Pau Delgado as Saya from Blood+

Chienna Filomeno as Ayanami Rei of Evangelion

Silent Hill Zombie Nurse cosplay

Amber of SuckerPunch cosplay

Gerard Sison as Prof Dumbledore of Harry Potter

Robin cosplay

Maid cosplay

Lara Croft in Tomb Raider cosplay

Kickass cosplay (woulda been cool if I got him and Hit girl together in one shot)

Raidou Kuzunoha from the PS2 game Devil Summoner