Day One of ‘I AI Anime’ Kicks Off With A Blast
So there I was, prancing back and forth in an attempt to find a female Final Fantasy cosplayer – each and every year, I AI Anime becomes a cornucopia of all things cosplay and, people who would want to see their favorite anime, movie or comic book character walking around in full costume detail should try out this convention held every July. I really enjoyed myself around the booths selling anime-related novelties, Plants vs. Zombies ceramics, hair sprays and a lot more.
Everything that an anime fanboy dreams about was all completely knotted up in this once-in-a-year celebration of all things ‘kawai.’ A cafe ran by school girls, customizable T-shirts and crazy caps that some Donghua enjoys wearing on public.
It was paradise – I couldn’t fathom the smiles and freedom that the participants had and, judging from the attendance of cosplayers and spectators alike, the convention was simply a success. Anime quiz bees and a karaoke competition solely dedicated to opening and ending themes of anime – the swirling freedom of anime junkies and wanna-be singers were unimaginable.
Well, it was a great run for the local cosplay scene.
The only thing that ticked me off is the fact that nobody showed up as a female Final Fantasy character. Sure, the event is named I AI Anime and, the last time I checked, Final Fantasy is not part of Japan’s humongous industry catered to skimpy schoolgirl outfits and steampunk Tokyo underground costumes. I stayed about for five hours and, not a single sight of Yuna or Tifa.
I was really disappointed.
However, I was fortunate that one Final Fantasy character appeared with on the sidelines – equipped with a Brotherhood and a Spalding for a blitzball, Tidus was the only legit FF character that had the guts to join a Bleach-dominated meet-up.
Aside from him, nobody came close of trying to emulate any Final Fantasy hero – I was really lucky to have him photographed because, that was my main goal all along, at least, to take home a picture of someone who belongs to the titular RPG since the Famicom and SNES era.
Here’s hoping that another cosplay event would hit our country but this time, I’ll be crossing my fingers for a video games-themed cosplay convention.
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The guy who cosplayed as Tidus got ALMOST everything right. Except for the shoes. hehehe. Great job covering the event Derek!