The first ever Asia Comic Con hit the shores of Malaysia and it came in packing. The event was held at Sunway Pyramid Convention Center on the 13th to 15th July 2018 and hoped to garner the interest of not only the Western comics, games and movie worlds, but also to satisfy cosplayers and anime fans throughout Malaysia.
THE MAGIC RAIN had the opportunity to attend as media and we were there from Day 1 on Friday all the way to Sunday to cover the event for you. Unfortunately, there was not much to cover on Friday itself as the only events on stage were three performances, from anime singer mao, PHNX and Higashi Kitty Band. Even the crowd was scarce and this is understandable as people tend to be busy on Fridays.
Saturday (Day 2)
Fortunately, the event’s atmosphere completely changed the next day as the hall was crowded with people and cosplayers. The highlight performance was by NoB who is the singer for the anime ‘Saint Seiya’. He performed with great charisma and enthusiasm as the crowd danced and sang along with him. He later did a fan meet and greet, taking photos with fans and signing his albums.
The rest of the day was also filled with great performances ranging from singing performance to dances by groups well-known in the local ACG community. Performers include Siam Dream, legendary Anisong singer mao (for the Doraemon series) as well as local talents, Luna Lorrain, Miracle Beats, Higashi Kitty Band. However, the most significant performances had to be Siam Dream and SWEAT 16!, two different Thailand idol groups that follow the Japanese style of idol groups.
Aside from the performances, the event itself featured showcases of figurines and collectibles by exhibitors and vendors. The most beautiful and eye-catching of all the displays would have to be the Dragon Quest showcase. The exhibition was filled with models and paintings of the first few Dragon Quest series. Each model was done with great detail and each painting was breath-taking.
Other than the Dragon Quest showcase, the other exhibitions were impressive as well, from the Dinosaurs of Jurassic World to the Batmobile and Batcycle from the Nolan series, to the incredible models from XM Studio. Notably, attendees could interact with the Dinosaurs, Batmobile, Batcycle, and Magneto’s throne, making for some super cool photo ops. There was also a gaming booth where you could sit down to play and wind down from all that was happening in the event.
Sunday (Day 3)
The crowd was also packing the hall on Sunday as the final day was when the ACC Cosplay Championship was being held. Guest judges include well-known international cosplayers Pion Kim and Aza Miyuko. Families and friends came to give cheers and support for the cosplayers competing for the grand prize which is a whopping RM5000 in cash.
The cosplay competition was grand with the participants each showing off their costumes and action in their prepared skits. The performances on Day 3, on the other hand, were the same line-up as the previous day, but with some change up in their songs or performances.
Conclusion
The highlight of the event is still the ACC Cosplay Championship which featured many stellar participants with great skits while the rest of the event was quite standard and similar for most part for all three days.
There were a lot of merchandise from the vendors and doujinshi area but there were also lackluster areas as well such as the ‘Natsu Matsuri’ area which was uneventful and had little to no participants trying out the games. Other than the showcases and the stage activities, there was not much to do either and event-goers could easily look around the entire event within an hour.
I, for one, would like to see more Western content as the event title ‘Comic Con’ means a lot in the West and I hope that this event would be able to live up to its name here in Asia. Unfortunately, it did not do the title ‘Comic Con’ justice. Still, there is always hope and I’m looking forward to see what Asia Comic Con will bring to us next year!
