On its 8th season, Cebu’s biggest and most awaited annual cosplay and hobby convention turned the UP Cebu grounds into a land of fiction where fantasy, science fiction, paranormal and supernaturals reign. The Otakufest 8.0, themed The Alternate Universe, culminated last February 21, 2015 and it showcased an “out-of-this-Earth” universe you can imagine.
Otakufest 8 : Alternate Universe poster. Photo from facebook.com/ofest
It was actually my first time to attend the Otakufest (yeah, such a loser) coz honestly the previous ones always had a conflict on my schedule. Finally this year I made sure to mark the date ahead and keep posted by their Otaku Fest Facebook page. Their program schedule was full of activities from Meet and Greets with local and international guests (Liui Aquino, FameUS), dance classes and competition, Cosplay competition, band sessions and more.
It was 10:30 AM when I arrived and I can already see a lot of cosplayers roaming around. There were booths and stalls for food and drinks and others have exhibit and items for sale. And by the looks of their stage, it was indeed a grand event. 
In the afternoon, the venue started to get jam-packed and I can see a lot of characters from different shows, games and movies not limited to Japanese but also Western ones. Honestly, I did not want to stop and ask the cosplayers to take a picture while they show their signature pose so most of my shots were candid. I like to catch them off-guard and see an unsuspecting look on their face. So here are some of my shots with some little filters and effects and hope you enjoy 😀
Note: Lots of images below. You can click on the image to see it in fullscreen. Thanks and enjoy! 🙂
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- Liui Aquino as Hiccup of How to Train Your Dragon
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- Ae Ri as a Wizard from Diablo III
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- Meet and Greet with Liui Aquino
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- Mikasa of Attak on Titan
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- Saber of Fate/Stay Night
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- Little Snow White
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- Little Goku of Dragonball
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- Super Mario Girl
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- Ash Ketchum of Pokemon
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- Princesses
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- Pocahontas
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- Lady Loki of Avengers cinematic universe
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- Lady Loki
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- Captain Jack Sparrow and Lady Loki
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- Maleficent
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- Daenerys Targaeryan of Game of Thrones
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- Gandalf The Grey of Lord of the Rings
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- Captain Jack Sparrow of Pirates of the Carribean
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- Assassins Creed
Hiccup from How to Train Your Dragon, Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean and many more all in one place! What can you say? Did the photos take you to an alternate universe? Unfortunately that’s all I got out of more or less a hundred cosplayers so there were still more characters that I missed. According to the organizers there were approximately 3,000 people who attended the Otakufest and it was a blast.
Too bad I had to go home around 6PM so I missed the rest of the night. One of the highlight is an international guest, the Korean group named FameUs. So for more photos of the event, check out the Otaku Fest Facebook page.
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- The Crowd. Photo from Facebook.com/ofest
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- Photo from Facebook.com/ofest
FameUs performance. Photo from Facebook.com/ofest
Kudos! I would like to congratulate the Otakufest organizers of University of the Philippines Cebu for pulling this big event. I witnessed a lot of happy faces from people of all ages while having a photo with their favorite characters and cosplayers. For some, dreams came into a reality for a day. Thumbs up also for the cosplayers who gamely posed to hundreds of people for hours. Things are just getting bigger and better for this feel-good event and I look forward for it next year.
So how was your Otakufest 8 experience? Share your thoughts in the comments below and don’t forget to like Otaku Fest on Facebook.com/ofest. Spread good vibes! 🙂
I didn’t know about this! My son would have loved to witness this! And he has a Naruto costume already! LOL
Ohh I bet he would have enjoyed it Jhanis. You should not miss it next time. ☺
Pleasantly surprised to see how big this has become
Same here Thaddeau. Though I haven’t attended the previous ones, I can say the event was very impressive. ☺
i miss this kind of event 😀 hope i can participate and join this event next year…
See you then next year bai.. ☺
Aaaah! I wish I got to go there. It does look like an alternate universe but better because all the characters from books, games, anime and movies are roaming around in one place! Those little junior cosplayers sure look adorable too.
Yeah those little cosplayers were eye-catching. I love the diversity of the characters and I’m sure there will be more next year so don’t miss it Anne. ☺
Wow, they really spend for this! Amazing! I see Merida and little Snow White. Some robots look like my son’s toys. LOL. It would be great to see this show though but I didn’t know about it. Geez. Great photos!
Yeah those robots are cool. I deeply appreciate their craftsmanship and dedication to this hobby. Thanks Rea. 🙂
My favorite among them are Ask with Pikachu and Pocahontas. Hehehe! Yes, it looks like you’re in another dimension! Full of anime characters! It’s like reliving our childhood days! ^_^
True. I always like to bring back childhood memories and I’m glad the event did even for that day. 🙂
Very nice! I’ve never been in a Cosplay before although I’m secretly a geek! Hehehe! If I were to join this, I’ll dress up as Solid Snake of Metal Gear.
That would be badass..hehe now that you mentioned, I may gear up also with something like that and my camera will be my guns. 🙂
Great photos! I’ve never attended events like this but I’m always thrilled to see someone in a costume even during Halloween. Haha
BTW, I was checking this post with my son on my side and he was like, “Mommy ungo! Mommy fencing sila oh! Mommy princess..” hahaha he enjoyed it as well.
Hahah that’s cute Rose. Unlike us adults, kids don’t see them as costumes only. Their imagination kicks in and that’s a memorable childhood experience..hehe don’t miss it next time then 🙂