It seems like Halloween came early to our shores this year, as thousands of costumed characters descended upon the Mid Valley Exhibition Centre to attend Asia Comic Con Malaysia 2019. Held on the 26th and 27th of October, the event boasted an interesting guest line-up of cosplayers, musicians, comic book artists, and even a motion capture performance artist.
If you missed the event, or you’re curious to hear our thoughts about it, watch our event coverage video below, or continue on to read our thoughts!
Workshops & Activities
The star of the show at Asia Comic Con Malaysia was undoubtedly Australian cosplayer AmenoKitarou Wirru, the 2019 winner of the World Cosplay Summit. Fans eagerly showed up to his Cosplay Armor Workshop, where he not only broke down his process for constructing costumes, but also gave tips and tricks on how to perform on stage.
Professional stuntwoman and motion capture performance artist Kaori Kawabuchi also gave a demonstration on how to perform with a sword—and a few lucky attendees were even invited to give it a try themselves! You’ll definitely want to stay tuned for our exclusive interview with this unique guest.
If you were more interested in the artsy side of things, you could also catch comic book artists Ario Anindito and Scott Koblish’s live drawing sessions, where they brought masterpieces to life while also taking questions from the floor.
Speaking of the convention floor, attendees wandering around could try their hand at game demos offered by various vendors, pick up a print or keychain from the doujin booths, or even marvel at the many statues and figurines on display.
Stage Performances
Visitors to the event were treated to a wide variety of musical performances, with everything ranging from an EDM showcase by DJ Benkun to J-pop classics from KAO=S, MinRi, PHNX, Higashi Kitty Band and even prolific anisong artist Mika Kobayashi. Singer Jason Paige also gave us all a blast to the past with his rendition of the original Pokémon theme song!
The event also featured a dance performance from local cosplayer – and Cosplay Commuter guest conductor! – Kaori Lalachan, while cosplayers from Macross Malaysia were invited to perform a medley of song and dance covers inspired by the long-running mecha franchise.
Asia Comic Con Malaysia also featured a Lolita Walk and Q&A session, where members of the Lolita fashion community were invited to give the public insight into their unique hobby. It was great to see an event giving the spotlight to an often overlooked segment of the ACG community.
Cosplay Contests
Competition was fierce at Asia Comic Con Malaysia’s two cosplay contests: the Coswalk Contest, held on the 26th of October, and the Skit Contest on the 27th.
With over 40 participants bringing their best to the Coswalk Contest, from impressive suits of armour to transforming weapons, it would take a truly memorable cosplayer to stand out from the crowd. Kazuki Vinca managed to take home the grand prize dressed as Brinaranea from Ragnarok Online.
The Skit Contest was just as exciting, with cosplayers managing to pull off action-packed stunts despite the limited space provided to them. While the grand prize eventually went to Team Kuramaker’s Demon Slayer skit, we couldn’t help but to also be charmed by Team Bearboobs’ adorable Pokémon performance.
A Mixed Bag of Tricks and Treats
As a first-time event, Asia Comic Con Malaysia was sadly plagued by more than a few hiccups. Most notably, the event initially offered free tickets to all cosplayers—with the offer being rescinded on the second day of the event without prior notice, then reinstated shortly afterwards.
While the organisers had the right to revise their terms and offers, clearer communication between the organisers and attendees could have saved a lot of time and confusion on both sides.
However, we did enjoy the unique guest lineup and variety of activities offered at the event! Much like Star Supa Comic and Pop Con Malaysia before it, it seems that small events mainly centered around cosplay are now gradually being replaced by bigger, more expensive events, that are willing to take risks with their content and experiment with bringing in unconventional guests.
It’s an exciting time to be in the ACG community and it’ll be interesting to see where local ACG events go from here.
To check out what we did at Asia Comic Con, check out our short video here!
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