The third and final day of the 5th TAGCOM — Toys, Anime, Gaming, Cosplay, and Movies Convention, took place today the 22nd of May 2011, at Robinsons Midtown Malate. No major changes were made in the line-up of exhibitors, but it was a big day for competitions as the individual cosplay, the toy customization contests, and the Gunpla building events took place today.

With the individual cosplay competition taking place this afternoon, the event was swarming with cosplayers, photogs, and curious onlookers. Although there were a couple of cringe-inducing costumes (which I will not be talking about in detail as some people in the cosplay community can be extraordinarily thin-skinned), I did love many of today’s cosplay competitors and promenaders. Some of our favorites included The Onion Knight, Zidane, Reborn, Lambo, Darth Talon, and for shits and giggles — Lyron’s Monkey D. Luffy with the Going Merry in tow.

The winners for today’s cosplay competitions are:

Best Male: Alexis Jurado (Mr. Bean)
Best Female: Izabel Cortez (Darth Talon)
Best Kids: Belldandy Chii Grimarez (Samurai Predator)
Best Historical: Larry Ponquillo (Navy SEALS)

Overall 2011 TAGCOM was pretty okay — merchandise-wise the selection was fairly diverse, and the range of competitions for different collectors and enthusiasts was widespread. However, the onstage activities left a lot to be desired. The musical performances were horrible and gave me a migraine — the very least that one “singing group” (and I use the term loosely) could have done was stay in tune.

I was also not a fan of one of the emcees, who had a tendency to scream into the mike. Remember kids, volume =/= showmanship; you can be a good emcee without deafening everyone in the crowd. But those minor issues are nothing that can’t be fixed in the next event, which I hope does take place, as TAGCOM is shaping up to be one of those events that offers free admission and still manages to deliver the goods. Cheers to everyone at HOBBIWORX, and see you all next year!