Comic Fiesta, one of the biggest and longest-running ACG events in Southeast Asia, recently held its 20th event on the 23rd and 24th of December 2023. Taking place once again at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, the event attracted fans, artists and cosplayers of all kinds from across the region.
This year’s Comic Fiesta featured a wide range of attractions, with fans being able to explore a wide range of exhibitors’ booths as soon as they stepped into the convention floor. One of the first booths that stood out to us belonged to videogame publisher Sega, where fans had the opportunity to try four different games – Persona 5 Tactica, Persona 3 Reload, Sonic Superstars, and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, all while scoring themselves some exclusive merch in the process.
Other interesting sights included the Guardian x Spy X Family collaboration, which transformed part of the convention floor into an elaborate fantasy castle that many fans couldn’t resist taking a photo with; the Kadokawa Gempak Starz booth, where visitors had the chance to meet and receive autographs from their favourite local comic book artists; and the 20th Comic Fiesta Museum, a display that showcased various items of Comic Fiesta memorabilia from the past 20 years of the event.
Moving on to the stage attractions, the event featured not one but two stages that fans could attend – the Coffy Stage, a.k.a. the KLCC Plenary Hall, and the Tea Stage, which was located at the second floor of the convention centre. VTubers were a prominent fixture of the Coffy Stage, with panel sessions from Hololive Productions’ Yukoku Roberu, Regis Altare, and Fuwawa and Mococo Abyssgard, a musical feature from Prism Project, and the first-ever 3D performance from local VTuber Liliana Vampaia.
Meanwhile, the Tea Stage played host to Comic Fiesta’s long-running cosplay competitions – the 60 Seconds of Anything solo cosplay competition, and the One-True-Pair duo cosplay competition, with dozens of participants from all over the country taking the stage to showcase their skills. Local performers such as Brightburn, Honey Milk, and Rina-Hime Band also brought attendees to their feet with their renditions of popular anime songs throughout the weekend.
At the end of each day, fans would return to the Coffy Stage for an exciting concert. On Saturday, Comic Fiesta had the opportunity to host the Malaysian leg of Hololive’s viv:ID Cruise, which also featured an interactive session with Hololive JP talents Sakura Miko and Hoshimachi Suisei. The concert itself saw Hololive ID members Moona Hoshinova, Ayunda Risu, Pavolia Reine and Kobo Kanaeru singing and dancing to a setlist of original songs from the group.
On Sunday, selected visitors got to enjoy a performance from anisong singers Asca and Sacra Spica, giving fans a taste of what they could expect from their appearance at the upcoming Sacra Music Fest in February. The duo performed renditions of popular anime songs from Demon Slayer, Sword Art Online, and more for an enthusiastic crowd of eager fans.
Finally, a trip to Comic Fiesta wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the art booths. Art enthusiasts were in for a treat as they had over a hundred booths spread across four different halls to choose from, with artists selling everything from prints to artbooks and even apparel from fandoms both big and small.
A unique feature we saw being hosted by artists at Comic Fiesta this year was the OC Trading Card project, an initiative where artists could create and trade cards featuring their original characters with one another. It’s something we’d love to see more of at future events, as it’s a fun way for artists to raise awareness of the creativity and originality that can be found in the local community.
Before wrapping up this article, we’d also like to take a moment to shout out the various technological innovations present at Comic Fiesta this year. The QR event tickets, the introduction of Afternoon Pass tickets, and interactive maps for the queue and art booths, definitely helped to streamline the flow of the event and make the experience more manageable for visitors.
On that note, we’d like to congratulate the Comic Fiesta team on 20 successful years, and we’re looking forward to seeing how the event will continue to evolve in the years to come!
