From 22nd to 23rd June 2019, a crowd of over 18,000 figurine hobbyists, toy collectors, cosplayers, and geeks swarmed at Putra World Trade Center for an annual exhibition of toys, anime, and games unlike anything Malaysia has ever seen before.
Toys Anime Games Comics Convention (short for TAGCC) may have only existed for two years, but its growth as a community and event have far exceeded that. This year’s edition boasted over 380 booths and 72 unique exhibitors ranging from local and international figurine displays to video game and tabletop tournaments.
With those numbers, we don’t kid when we say there was something for everybody at TAGCC 2019, but of course, we had our own favourites. Here are some of our top highlights of the event!
#1. Line-up of toy makers from Malaysia & all around the world!
With hobbyists as their main focus, TAGCC always brings an impressive selection of local and international toy makers to play. This year’s star line-up included toy makers from Hong Kong (Hot Toys, ThreeA, Soap Studio, Herocross) and Japan (Bandai, Banpresto, Goodsmile) with a wide variety of figures from Asian and Western franchises.
But perhaps what caught our attention the most came from our own home. Representing Malaysia, Hebatoys presented a special one-of-a-kind custom Tun Mahathir toy for display and purchase. Now, that’s one way to show your patriotism!
#2. Insights from the experts (feat. Keita Okada, Jarold Sng & more!)
This year, TAGCC also presented some special guests to join them including Japanese digital sculptor Keita Okada and Malaysian toy creator Jarold Sng. Both presented panels on their distinct forms of art, giving audiences a glimpse behind the curtain of how it was made, and what stories and processes went into making them.
Most notably, Keito Okada featured the main visual art he did for the League of Legends World Championship 2017, a breathtaking depiction of Baron Nashor and the Elder Dragon coiled around the Summoner’s Cup.
Meanwhile, Jarold Sng presented some of the high-end statue designs and art direction he created under the licenses from the anime Devilman, Trigun, Hellsing, and the comic series Ragnarok: Thor.
#3. Getting a first try at No Straight Roads from Metronomik!
Haven’t heard of No Straight Roads before? Well, now you have.
Produced by Metronomik, an independent game development studio in Malaysia, No Straight Roads is an upcoming music-based action game set to be released in 2020. The game director is none other than Wan Hazmer of Final Fantasy XV fame, who was at the event to share his experiences and present a playable demo of his latest title.
Even though it has yet to be released, its already received multiple nominations and awards at several game shows including the Excellence In Sound Design Award at BitSummit 7 Spirits, Best Audio at Taipei Game Show’s Indie Game Award and Grand Jury Award in the Southeast Asia Game Awards.
We’ll definitely be covering more of it on our website, so stay tuned!
#4. Exciting stage performances, including TAGCC’s first ever dance competition!
Two of the biggest highlights at the stage were undoubtedly the Dance Competition and Cosplay Invitational. The former has been growing in popularity at events across Malaysia and we can see why. Crowds went wild at seeing their favourite characters perform; some turning the stage area into what felt like a packed arena at a concert.
In comparison, Cosplay Invitational was a slightly more somber affair. After all, this was one of Malaysia’s biggest cosplay competitions, with the winner set to compete against the best of the best during Comic Fiesta at the end of this year.
As usual, the competition was tight with an impressive yet variant showing of skits ranging from Aladdin to Dragon Ball. But the final winner turned out to be Team NoHonor, who presented an action-packed skit based on the video game Dark Souls.
#5. Fun on the convention floor with games, games & more games!
Besides the stage events and major exhibitions, this year’s TAGCC saw an overall increase in the number of community attractions and competitions for people to engage in. This ranged from the Bushiroad trading card games tournaments to mobile e-Sports hosted by RealMe.
But by and large, one of the most interesting ones was the Hado tournament, a Japanese augmented reality dodgeball game where players will have to aim, throw, and defend themselves against flaming AR energy spheres. The start of the tournament was officiated by none other than our Minister of Youth and Sports, Syed Saddiq.
Even THE MAGIC RAIN team brought our own free to play video games and tabletop games, together with Ministry of Hobbies, GamesFusion, OffStageMY and Meeples. We were happy to see that it attracted not just the gaming community, but also younger children trying out some games for the first time.
With that, those were our favourite moments from TAGCC 2019! What were some of your favourite attractions at the event, and what would you like to see next year? Leave us a comment below.
Event reporter, signing off!
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