Comic Fiesta 2007

Posted by Shin

Possibly the most looked forward event on every Malaysian otaku calenders, Comic Fiesta is the largest of its kind(which is to say isn't very large) to be held in the country. As you'd expect from any anime conventions, there are art exhibitions, doujin booths, cosplayers, and for the first time for this event, a figurine showcase.

Only went for the 2nd day, since there was nothing particularly of interest on the first, other than the group cosplay competition, and the overperformed Hare Hare Yukai. Arrived past noon, which was an hour later than the first scheduled item of the day, a live Ouran performance. Thank god.

The first you'd notice when entering the exhibition hall is that it is SO.FUCKING.CRAMPED. Thinking that they had a bigger budget this year, not to mention the addition of high profile sponsors like Animax and HP, you'd think they would've rented a much larger place. Of course that was the least of my problems. It was especially crowded at the stage area, and the lack of elevation of the stage itself made it difficult for people at the back to see anything, with hard of hearing idiots standing in the front despite being prompted by the organizers twice to sit on the floor. Having said that, I guess that are my only real complains(lack of space), omitting minor others which I won't mention.

On the plus side, there were an abundance of doujin booths, with a good number having stuff actually worth buying, not that I did, of course >< Nice to see the scene actually being well and alive though. The highlight of CF had always been its lineup of cosplayers, and this year was pretty decent too, and although not exactly Naruto/Bleach-free, it was more tolerable this time around, with more variety in costumes(I especially loved Zechti ^^) Also apart from the usual parading of cosplay outfits, there was this Cosplay Chess Battles, where the cosplayers would assume the roles of the pieces on the board and be sortied around in accordance to the moves made by the emcees. Fun stuff, when they had a minute of act out a battle scene, where the losing piece will be ejected. Having said that, there were facepalm moments aplenty, when the contestants would resort to using the microphone to talk their opponents out of the game(MANGLISH ALART) The battle ended in a stalemate, when the emcees literally called on Death, to wipe everyone out.

I didn't stay too long, as I had to return home for dinner, but apparently this dude cosplaying as Hellboy won. Kudos to him. A pretty okay event, only to be marred by the lack of room and this whale cosplaying as my Rin Tohsaka. Also worth mentioning is the number of traps at the vicinity, like the Natalia dude. Oh yeah, for the price I paid, I expected a better goodie bag than just the event pamphlet and a shopping voucher, durrr. Then again, it's Malaysia, where hoping for the best is considered blasphemious and ludicrous. =) Will return next year, if only to show my support to the local otaku community, hur hur. Do excuse the low quality images, as they were taking with a cheap 2.0 Megapixels phone camera. ^^;