STGCC 2011
Despite having been in Singapore countless of times, there has always been one aspect of it that I have always wanted to attend, or at least be a part of, for years now but have never really got the chance due to a few reasons. And that is finally attending an anime related event in Singapore.
I know this sounds strange but after hearing so many good things about anime events in Singapore, I seriously wanted to at least attend ONE event. So when a friend of mine asked if I wanted to join him to attend STGCC (Singapore Toy, Game & Comic Convention), I couldn't resist but jump at the chance.
With the promise that we'll be strictly on budget from transport and accommodation, I couldn't turn down the offer and while the trip had some issues, everything went pretty well. We took a train ride at night so as to not spend too much on accommodation, but sadly the guy who invited me told me last minute he couldn't buy the tickets earlier, and so I had to rush off and buy tickets the exact week we had to go for the trip. So while we could have gotten bunk beds that could have helped us sleep easier, only seats were left. And they were AWFUL to sleep in as it was cold and the lights were constantly on, making it almost impossible to sleep.
Even so, I was pretty excited when we finally arrived in Singapore. It was the day of the event, and we couldn't check in to our hostel as that's only possible after 2pm. But we had to attend the all day event, so we left our bags, washed our faces, changed, and headed straight off to the event.
While I am aware the event wasn't exactly an anime event, it was still exciting to be in my first event in Singapore. There was still a number of cosplays to look out for, and the displays at a number of booths were fascinating. Especially Hot Toys whose booth could be seen almost anywhere you went in the convention. There were a lot of amazing comics that were being sold at amazing prices that I almost sold my soul to the Gods of Comics! But I had to resist, as I knew I just couldn't get myself addicted to anything more.
Seeing as this is very comic centric, there were a lot of talks from DC and Marvel's side that, though it was interesting, did not catch my interest due to my lack of overall comic knowledge. So it did get boring a little on. So on my first day, I went exploring with my friend Angelus as there was a shopping mall near the convention center. As I was familiar with that mall, I decided I'd give Angelus a bit of a tour. In the meantime, Angelus recommended I check out Garret's Popcorn which he bought later on and we all ate, which was seriously delicious.
Before Day 1 ended, the main stage had a Vocaloid Dance Party which was a lot of fun! It was annoying at first that people weren't really dancing and mostly watched or took videos of the Vocaloid cosplayers on stage (two of which are from Vocaloid composers ZANEED), but with a lot of coaxing from other Vocaloid cosplayers, including Cosplay Idol Kipi who cosplayed Meiko, a number of people began to get up and dance. I cannot deny, I squeed, danced and sang along excitedly when songs like Happy Synthesizer, Just Be Friends and even Black Rock Shooter came on. XD
Day 1 ended and we headed back to our hostel, exhausted. I warned everyone that I was going to be knocked out the moment my head touched the pillow, and I was right. XD I didn't even hear Angelus working on finishing his Pedobear head for Day 2.
Yes, Pedobear.
Day 2 turned out to be a lot more exciting for me and Angelus as we had both decided to dress up for the occasion. As mentioned before, I had always been planning to cosplay as Anezaki Mamori from Eyeshield 21, and I decided I'd debut here despite being completely aware that no one would recognize me.
But nah, I didn't care. XD I was just happy being able to dress up as her and finally realizing my dream! Of course, I plan to do more with this outfit and have better photoshoots, but it'll have to wait as I wanted to enjoy this event a bit more. And I was too content being relatively unknown. XD Although I had some major issues as the zipper for the skirt I used broke, and while I had some trusty safety pins, I was forced to keep that apron on almost the entire day to cover this sad fact! >__< I really gotta work on that zipper soon! Or maybe I should just buy myself a new skirt. *shrugs*
On the other hand, with Angelus dressed up as Pedobear beside me, a lot of people approached us especially to gawk at him! I was a bit worried at first, seeing as Angelus only had enough time to complete the head, and wondered if people would find his costume inadequate. But the response was amazing! People were actually shouting out loud, "PEDOBEAR!!!" and this elderly woman, who was so amused by Angelus' head, actually came and shook hands with him, and then proceeded to shake mine. XD
The best part was that children were actually approaching him. XD The first few responses made me laugh as some children shouted, "LION! LION!". This is hilarious as Angelus used to cosplay as Konpachi and while Kon is supposed to be a stuffed lion, some kids called him a bear. XD Then there are the kids who think he's really cute and approach him happily, saying he's cute! One girl in a stroller even cooed "Bear~!" when she saw him, even the mother was pointing at Angelus happily. I was just dying in laughter seeing how parents and children seem to approve Angelus. Obviously, they do not realize who exactly Angelus is trying to be. XD
But one kid actually did run up to us and kept asking us who he's trying to be. "What bear are you?" he repeatedly asked as his mother eagerly tried to snap a picture of us. Angelus, as Pedobear, did not talk so I usually became the voice for him. With the mother trying to take a picture, I said, "I'll tell you after your picture's taken."
Once that was done, I kind of hoped the boy would forget my little promise so we can hurry on along. But he asked again, "So what bear are you?!" to which I replied quickly, "Pedobear" and me and Angelus just RAN as I heard the boy shout out, "HAAAAH?!"
I was in tears, laughing and laughing. XD I'm still not sure if that reaction meant the boy knew who Pedobear is, or he doesn't know at all and would probably turn to his mother now. If the latter is true, I apologize and feel deeply sorry for the mother. Obviously, corruption is Angelus' biggest trait. XD
Other than that, Angelus spent most of his time stalking children at the event. He would walk behind them, chase them at some points until I'm forced to intervene, whacking him then dragging him somewhere else. Looking back, it must be an odd sight. XD I wonder what people thought of me, seeing as people don't know who Mamori is. I'm pretty sure I was OOC already with me constantly keeping Angelus in line... but seeing as he's bullying kids... well... Meh. Who cares. I had fun. XD
Just when I thought I'd go through the whole day of no one actually recognizing me, something else happened that I never knew was possible. I mentioned earlier that cosplay idol Kipi was in STGCC and while I've seen a number of her photos, I can't really say I'm a fan. I just KNOW her, that's all. But a chance to take a picture with her came, and so I decided what the heck... it'd be nice to have a picture taken with a cosplay idol!
So I waited in line with some other friends and after over 20 minutes of waiting, it was finally my turn. I was a little nervous, but she turned to me brightly, saying, "Ni hao!" (it seems she can speak Chinese pretty well) and that actually made me confused as I couldn't help but think, "But I'm not Chinese...?" (after a while, it dawned to me that she probably thought I was Singaporean and most Singaporeans speak Chinese). Before I could pose with her to take a picture, she looked at my outfit a little confused and in a strong Japanese accent said, "Working girl?"
I'm not sure if she thought I was cosplaying a character from the anime Working!!, and I was still a bit shy of admitting I was cosplaying Mamori as I didn't think I made a good Mamori anyways. But I decided I'd just try my luck and replied in a Japanese accent, "Aishiirudo?" (Eyeshield?)
... The next thing I knew, she was squealing in excitement. "AAAH! ANEZAKI MAMORI DA! SUGOKU KAWAII!" she cried and then she pulled me close and we took a picture together.
The lighting was terrible for my phone camera, so this didn't turn out really well. But she suddenly grabbed my hands and took a better look at my outfit saying, completely in Japanese, "You really do look cute in this outfit!"
To which I replied in Japanese, "Oh no! Not at all! My apron's probably a bit too long... Unlike you, I think you're incredibly pretty!"
"No, that's not true!"
We took one more picture together as the security who took my photo realized that my photos are turning out way too dark. But Kipi talked to me one last time, asking me whether I knew about Hiruma and whether I liked him. Of course, I squee-ed out loud that I TOTALLY love Hiruma and she went on to say how cool he is! And then it was time to move on as many other people were waiting in line to have their photos taken with Kipi.
I ran out, practically squee-ing in fangirl delight. XD I was even grabbing Angelus as he approached me going, "OMG KIPI KNOWS WHO I'M COSPLAYING AND SHE LOVES EYESHIELD 21!!! OMG!!!!" much to poor Angelus' confusion. XD
As the day went on, it got quite tiring as I was still lacking sleep. I even had to put on my glasses just to see the stage in the distance!
Decided to take a picture for the lulz only to realize... *gasp* MY HAIR WAS COMING OUT!! How long has THAT been happening?! ARGH!! Ah well... I was too exhausted to fix it anyways and seiyuu Shizuka Itou was on stage, giving a live dub for one of her characters from the anime Hayate no Gotoku. No pictures and videos were allowed to be taken sadly, but it was amazing to see a seiyuu in action! Her timing for the scenes was just perfect!
Kipi was around giving last minute signatures and taking photos to fans who missed out earlier. I thought of getting her signature, but as I lacked any autograph books or anything in general worthy of her signature, I decided against it. She was lacking time as it seems and before she left, she wanted to do something special.
She was actually drawing the character she was cosplaying (Homura from Madoka Magica) as well as an even more elaborate signature! I DIDN'T KNOW SHE COULD DRAW!!
God damn, no wonder she has a lot of fans. -____-
I stayed back to watch the Cosplay Competition which turned out to have a lot of armoured cosplays! But there were cosplayers not only from Singapore, but Malaysia, Indonesia and even the Philippines! So it was quite fun to watch!
As the day ended, I started to feel kind of sad that the event was ending. Even Angelus was feeling kind of down as he had a lot of admirers and fans from his Pedobear costume. He had a hard time taking off the head as he even walked all the way out of the event and up to the MRT with the Pedobear head on... and he would have kept it on if the security didn't tell him to take it off. XD
I decided to take one last picture before I headed off... with the editor of a Cosplay Magazine, Cosmode, Jacky Dosai!
Damn he's tall for a Japanese! And he even wrapped his arm around my shoulder which is kind of weird for me, as Asians aren't really known to be THAT friendly... but ah well. XD
After the event, me and Angelus admitted we really enjoyed our time at this anime event. Angelus kept talking about how much he loved Singapore almost the entire time we were there. Even I admitted Singapore always did have this special attraction about it that makes me want to come back everytime. With that in mind, it's safe to say that we definitely have plans to try to at least attend another anime event in Singapore this year.
AFA? Yes? Yes? 8D
I know this sounds strange but after hearing so many good things about anime events in Singapore, I seriously wanted to at least attend ONE event. So when a friend of mine asked if I wanted to join him to attend STGCC (Singapore Toy, Game & Comic Convention), I couldn't resist but jump at the chance.
With the promise that we'll be strictly on budget from transport and accommodation, I couldn't turn down the offer and while the trip had some issues, everything went pretty well. We took a train ride at night so as to not spend too much on accommodation, but sadly the guy who invited me told me last minute he couldn't buy the tickets earlier, and so I had to rush off and buy tickets the exact week we had to go for the trip. So while we could have gotten bunk beds that could have helped us sleep easier, only seats were left. And they were AWFUL to sleep in as it was cold and the lights were constantly on, making it almost impossible to sleep.
Even so, I was pretty excited when we finally arrived in Singapore. It was the day of the event, and we couldn't check in to our hostel as that's only possible after 2pm. But we had to attend the all day event, so we left our bags, washed our faces, changed, and headed straight off to the event.
While I am aware the event wasn't exactly an anime event, it was still exciting to be in my first event in Singapore. There was still a number of cosplays to look out for, and the displays at a number of booths were fascinating. Especially Hot Toys whose booth could be seen almost anywhere you went in the convention. There were a lot of amazing comics that were being sold at amazing prices that I almost sold my soul to the Gods of Comics! But I had to resist, as I knew I just couldn't get myself addicted to anything more.
Seeing as this is very comic centric, there were a lot of talks from DC and Marvel's side that, though it was interesting, did not catch my interest due to my lack of overall comic knowledge. So it did get boring a little on. So on my first day, I went exploring with my friend Angelus as there was a shopping mall near the convention center. As I was familiar with that mall, I decided I'd give Angelus a bit of a tour. In the meantime, Angelus recommended I check out Garret's Popcorn which he bought later on and we all ate, which was seriously delicious.
Before Day 1 ended, the main stage had a Vocaloid Dance Party which was a lot of fun! It was annoying at first that people weren't really dancing and mostly watched or took videos of the Vocaloid cosplayers on stage (two of which are from Vocaloid composers ZANEED), but with a lot of coaxing from other Vocaloid cosplayers, including Cosplay Idol Kipi who cosplayed Meiko, a number of people began to get up and dance. I cannot deny, I squeed, danced and sang along excitedly when songs like Happy Synthesizer, Just Be Friends and even Black Rock Shooter came on. XD
Day 1 ended and we headed back to our hostel, exhausted. I warned everyone that I was going to be knocked out the moment my head touched the pillow, and I was right. XD I didn't even hear Angelus working on finishing his Pedobear head for Day 2.
Yes, Pedobear.
Click to view
Day 2 turned out to be a lot more exciting for me and Angelus as we had both decided to dress up for the occasion. As mentioned before, I had always been planning to cosplay as Anezaki Mamori from Eyeshield 21, and I decided I'd debut here despite being completely aware that no one would recognize me.
But nah, I didn't care. XD I was just happy being able to dress up as her and finally realizing my dream! Of course, I plan to do more with this outfit and have better photoshoots, but it'll have to wait as I wanted to enjoy this event a bit more. And I was too content being relatively unknown. XD Although I had some major issues as the zipper for the skirt I used broke, and while I had some trusty safety pins, I was forced to keep that apron on almost the entire day to cover this sad fact! >__< I really gotta work on that zipper soon! Or maybe I should just buy myself a new skirt. *shrugs*
On the other hand, with Angelus dressed up as Pedobear beside me, a lot of people approached us especially to gawk at him! I was a bit worried at first, seeing as Angelus only had enough time to complete the head, and wondered if people would find his costume inadequate. But the response was amazing! People were actually shouting out loud, "PEDOBEAR!!!" and this elderly woman, who was so amused by Angelus' head, actually came and shook hands with him, and then proceeded to shake mine. XD
The best part was that children were actually approaching him. XD The first few responses made me laugh as some children shouted, "LION! LION!". This is hilarious as Angelus used to cosplay as Konpachi and while Kon is supposed to be a stuffed lion, some kids called him a bear. XD Then there are the kids who think he's really cute and approach him happily, saying he's cute! One girl in a stroller even cooed "Bear~!" when she saw him, even the mother was pointing at Angelus happily. I was just dying in laughter seeing how parents and children seem to approve Angelus. Obviously, they do not realize who exactly Angelus is trying to be. XD
But one kid actually did run up to us and kept asking us who he's trying to be. "What bear are you?" he repeatedly asked as his mother eagerly tried to snap a picture of us. Angelus, as Pedobear, did not talk so I usually became the voice for him. With the mother trying to take a picture, I said, "I'll tell you after your picture's taken."
Once that was done, I kind of hoped the boy would forget my little promise so we can hurry on along. But he asked again, "So what bear are you?!" to which I replied quickly, "Pedobear" and me and Angelus just RAN as I heard the boy shout out, "HAAAAH?!"
I was in tears, laughing and laughing. XD I'm still not sure if that reaction meant the boy knew who Pedobear is, or he doesn't know at all and would probably turn to his mother now. If the latter is true, I apologize and feel deeply sorry for the mother. Obviously, corruption is Angelus' biggest trait. XD
Other than that, Angelus spent most of his time stalking children at the event. He would walk behind them, chase them at some points until I'm forced to intervene, whacking him then dragging him somewhere else. Looking back, it must be an odd sight. XD I wonder what people thought of me, seeing as people don't know who Mamori is. I'm pretty sure I was OOC already with me constantly keeping Angelus in line... but seeing as he's bullying kids... well... Meh. Who cares. I had fun. XD
Just when I thought I'd go through the whole day of no one actually recognizing me, something else happened that I never knew was possible. I mentioned earlier that cosplay idol Kipi was in STGCC and while I've seen a number of her photos, I can't really say I'm a fan. I just KNOW her, that's all. But a chance to take a picture with her came, and so I decided what the heck... it'd be nice to have a picture taken with a cosplay idol!
So I waited in line with some other friends and after over 20 minutes of waiting, it was finally my turn. I was a little nervous, but she turned to me brightly, saying, "Ni hao!" (it seems she can speak Chinese pretty well) and that actually made me confused as I couldn't help but think, "But I'm not Chinese...?" (after a while, it dawned to me that she probably thought I was Singaporean and most Singaporeans speak Chinese). Before I could pose with her to take a picture, she looked at my outfit a little confused and in a strong Japanese accent said, "Working girl?"
I'm not sure if she thought I was cosplaying a character from the anime Working!!, and I was still a bit shy of admitting I was cosplaying Mamori as I didn't think I made a good Mamori anyways. But I decided I'd just try my luck and replied in a Japanese accent, "Aishiirudo?" (Eyeshield?)
... The next thing I knew, she was squealing in excitement. "AAAH! ANEZAKI MAMORI DA! SUGOKU KAWAII!" she cried and then she pulled me close and we took a picture together.
The lighting was terrible for my phone camera, so this didn't turn out really well. But she suddenly grabbed my hands and took a better look at my outfit saying, completely in Japanese, "You really do look cute in this outfit!"
To which I replied in Japanese, "Oh no! Not at all! My apron's probably a bit too long... Unlike you, I think you're incredibly pretty!"
"No, that's not true!"
We took one more picture together as the security who took my photo realized that my photos are turning out way too dark. But Kipi talked to me one last time, asking me whether I knew about Hiruma and whether I liked him. Of course, I squee-ed out loud that I TOTALLY love Hiruma and she went on to say how cool he is! And then it was time to move on as many other people were waiting in line to have their photos taken with Kipi.
I ran out, practically squee-ing in fangirl delight. XD I was even grabbing Angelus as he approached me going, "OMG KIPI KNOWS WHO I'M COSPLAYING AND SHE LOVES EYESHIELD 21!!! OMG!!!!" much to poor Angelus' confusion. XD
As the day went on, it got quite tiring as I was still lacking sleep. I even had to put on my glasses just to see the stage in the distance!
Decided to take a picture for the lulz only to realize... *gasp* MY HAIR WAS COMING OUT!! How long has THAT been happening?! ARGH!! Ah well... I was too exhausted to fix it anyways and seiyuu Shizuka Itou was on stage, giving a live dub for one of her characters from the anime Hayate no Gotoku. No pictures and videos were allowed to be taken sadly, but it was amazing to see a seiyuu in action! Her timing for the scenes was just perfect!
Kipi was around giving last minute signatures and taking photos to fans who missed out earlier. I thought of getting her signature, but as I lacked any autograph books or anything in general worthy of her signature, I decided against it. She was lacking time as it seems and before she left, she wanted to do something special.
She was actually drawing the character she was cosplaying (Homura from Madoka Magica) as well as an even more elaborate signature! I DIDN'T KNOW SHE COULD DRAW!!
God damn, no wonder she has a lot of fans. -____-
I stayed back to watch the Cosplay Competition which turned out to have a lot of armoured cosplays! But there were cosplayers not only from Singapore, but Malaysia, Indonesia and even the Philippines! So it was quite fun to watch!
As the day ended, I started to feel kind of sad that the event was ending. Even Angelus was feeling kind of down as he had a lot of admirers and fans from his Pedobear costume. He had a hard time taking off the head as he even walked all the way out of the event and up to the MRT with the Pedobear head on... and he would have kept it on if the security didn't tell him to take it off. XD
I decided to take one last picture before I headed off... with the editor of a Cosplay Magazine, Cosmode, Jacky Dosai!
Damn he's tall for a Japanese! And he even wrapped his arm around my shoulder which is kind of weird for me, as Asians aren't really known to be THAT friendly... but ah well. XD
After the event, me and Angelus admitted we really enjoyed our time at this anime event. Angelus kept talking about how much he loved Singapore almost the entire time we were there. Even I admitted Singapore always did have this special attraction about it that makes me want to come back everytime. With that in mind, it's safe to say that we definitely have plans to try to at least attend another anime event in Singapore this year.
AFA? Yes? Yes? 8D