Day 2 at the Singapore Toy, Game and Comic Convention 2011 is Children’s Day, with kids under twelve getting in for free. There was also an advanced screening of the Phineas and Ferb Disney Channel movie “Across the 2nd Dimension” at the main events hall, so it was pretty exciting for the little kids as well as the big kids they had in tow.
Speaking of the big kids, everyone seemed to be in a mad dash to grab everything they could as merch prices on the dealers hall were slashed in half, sold-out items notwithstanding of course. Gunpla, figures, and other trinkets were going at 1/3rd the prices in Manila. Even the Simone Legno TokiDoki exclusives got a whopping SGD 50 discount, and I would’ve gotten one if I hadn’t gotten cleaned out on the very first day ^^;;;;;;
One of the highlights of the second day was the stage talk by renowned Japanese voice actress Itou Shizuka and the Simone Legno autograph signing event at the adjoining Walk of Fame area. Cosplayers and chara goods collectors — almost always the same groups of people, were torn on whether they should hang out in front of the stage to get a glimpse of Itou-san, or get their brand-new TokiDoki figures signed by the famous Italian designer.
Last but not least was the Grand Finals of Cosplay @ STGCC! The Finals saw eight different contestants coming together from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore to duke it out for an SGD 1000 cash prize and the honour of being the 2011 Cosplay @ STGCC Champion.
The competition was unique compared to other events wherein they selected the contestants based on before and after photos — before and after donning their cosplay costumes, that is. The transformation from their everyday looks to their hyper-realistic cosplay selves became the basis for the selection of the eight finalists. The final round was judged by a panel of experts that included Jacky Dosai of Cosmode and Japanese cosplay idol Kipi.
Two out of the eight finalists flew the standard of the Philippines: Mary Grace Roldan (Kawaiimace) and Stephanie Alvez Sumbe (Nikki-chan). Both ladies were radiant and impressive in their armoured costumes — Kawaiimace’s character is from Witchblade and Nikki’s is from Monster Hunter Freedom Unite. Their performances were warmly applauded by the judges, especially when Nikki started swinging here massive swords around, while Kawaiimace turned on her suit’s LED lights.
However, the evening belonged to one guy, and that is Roy Anchinges from Singapore. Originally from the Philippines, Anchinges wow-ed the entire hall in his stunning War Machine costume — highlighted by perfect sound editing and a rock and roll performance. His stage ramp drew a standing ovation from the judges table, as well as a roar of delight from the audience.
War Machine took home top honors, with runner up spot going to Zander Valentine of Singapore. Kawaiimace took home a special Cosmode prize presented by Jacky Dosai — who conveyed his admiration for her costume’s craftsmanship. Nikki took home a special prize as well for being Kipi’s favorite — the prize was a Suzumiya Haruhi costume made and worn by Kipi herself. Kipi was so proud of Nikki’s female armour costume and was effusive in her praise, claiming that she herself was not confident enough to make and wear armour.
With that the 2011 Singapore Toy, Game and Comic Convention came to a close. I would like to thank everyone from Reed Exhibitions and Ninemer for giving magnetic-rose.net affiliate status for the second year in a row. I would also like to thank our Singapore comrades Jimmy from Golgolak’s Den, Jason and Joey from The Neo Tokyo Project, and Kaika from The Cosplay Chronicles. Last but not least, thanks to everyone who visited the site and kept tabs on our SNS accounts for our on-the-floor coverage of STGCC 2011.
See you all again in STGCC 2012!
JPOP Manila 