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| Comic Fiesta 2015 guide book, written here as 'Event Menu'. Taken on Day One of the event. |
Before I begin this topic, I would like to wish everyone reading this blog a Happy New Year, and it is quite surprising (and also, slightly disturbing) that most of the readers reading my blog are not from Malaysia. Although I could have published this blog post as early as one day after the event, I decided to do it exactly
on 1st of January 2016. Still, better late than never.
Now back to the main topic. In this new blog post, and also for the third time, it is about my visit to Comic Fiesta 2015. Unlike the previous years (2013 & 2014), where it was held at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Comic Fiesta 2015 was held at Mines International Exhibition & Convention Centre (MIECC). Also, unlike the previous year's Comic Fiesta post where I split into two parts; this time, I decided to combine them into one post, making it the longest single blog post ever (TL:DR WARNING!). Lastly, this is the first blog post to be edited and updated with photos and videos at random intervals, as I didn't have time to write and post everything here right after the visit (bad health conditions and writer's block are among the causes).
DAY ONE, 19TH DECEMBER
I arrived at Serdang Komuter Station at about 7:30 a.m. and walked to MIECC. Although a free shuttle bus was provided, I actually didn't know about it until I was about to go home later in the afternoon. I also happened to meet up with one of my Lowyat.net forum friends at the train station, but soon parted ways, as I am now on a solo assignment.
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| On my way to MIECC. |
Below are three photos of the queue-up:
INSIDE THE HALL
Once I was about to enter the event hall, I started recording a video of it and later, taking photos of the exhibition hall. Here at MIECC, Comic Fiesta 2015 was held on two floors. However, unlike the one held at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, the second floor (the Inner Mezzanine) is much easier to gain access to, allowing me to take photos of the event hall below me. Still, because of the huge crowd, there are a lot of expected accidental photobombing in some of the photos I took on that day and on the next day.
I spend most of my time taking photos of the available booths, the stage and also, the cosplayers. On Day One, there is also a concert that began at 7:30 p.m. called 'I Scream Night Jam,' where one of the performing artists for the concert was none other than the Japanese band FLOW. Unfortunately, I was absent at that time as I decided to leave MIECC at about 1:40 p.m.
Below is an image gallery of Day One cosplayers:
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| These are the FFF Inquisition cosplayers. This was the last photo I took with my RX100 camera before the battery went flat, where I had to use my Xperia ZR to take photos later. |
Well, to begin with, I queued up at Culture Japan's booth to buy a Mirai Suenaga T-Shirt. Right after that, I had my photo, holding the Culture Japan bag, taken by a photographer. My initial thoughts after that was,"Oh my, I'm gonna end up seeing my face on Danny Choo's website!" However, as of the time of this writing, I haven't yet to see a photo of me in the link below:
www.dannychoo.com/en/post/27327/Comic+Fiesta+2015+Photos.html
Still, I would like to thank the photographer for taking a photo of me, although, as of the time of this writing, it didn't get published on Danny Choo's website. Does anyone here know his name? (He is the photographer at Culture Japan's booth, and he looks like an English man)
Anyway, one thing is for sure: I am somewhat elusive, actually. Although I dressed up as Conny Springer on that day, I spend all my time taking photos of other cosplayers instead of having my photos taken.
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| Queueing up to Culture Japan booth. |
LEAVING THE HALL, TO BE CONTINUED ON DAY TWO
I left MIECC at about 1:40 p.m. and while on my way back to Serdang Komuter Station, I encountered a number of Itasha cars nearby, and these are the same cars that appeared during VAX2015 on 22nd August. After taking photos of the cars, I walked to where a free shuttle bus was waiting for passengers and rode it. It was here that I found out how to get to MIECC by bus from Serdang Komuter Station, and chose to ride a bus on Day Two. Not only that, there are some shuttle buses that came from Sungai Besi LRT station, where some visitors who went to MIECC used the Ampang Line LRT to get here.
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| A white Perodua Myvi and a black Hyundai i10, dressed in Itasha livery. |
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| Inside the shuttle bus, waiting for departure to Serdang Komuter Station. |
DAY TWO, 20TH DECEMBER
Unlike the day before, I decided to take a bus ride to MIECC, as my feet hurts somewhat badly (I even wore a pair of flip-flops for that!). To get to the bus, one must TURN RIGHT instead of turning left after going through the turnstile at the train station. The number 1 bus (pictured below), which was scheduled to depart for MIECC at 7:30 a.m., departed at 8:00 a.m., as most of the Comic Fiesta visitors used the overhead pedestrian crossing to take a walk to MIECC instead of taking the bus.
To be honest, in my opinion, it is better to take the bus instead of walking to the destination. Why? It is because, not only it is much more comfortable, it is also safer. As I have written in my VAX2015 post before, I don't feel comfortable walking to MIECC from the train station, and I have safety concerns when walking there.
Anyway, although the bus departed 30 minutes behind schedule, it was well worth the wait. As soon as I arrived at MIECC, a long queue was expected, although it was shorter than on Day One. Once again, I recorded a video of the entry to the exhibition hall as soon as the door to the exhibition hall opens.
Below are three photos of Day Two's queue-up and a video:
INSIDE THE HALL
Once inside, I started taking photos of cosplayers and the available exhibitions, and surprisingly, I found out that I have been taking photos of the same Premium artbooths that I took a day earlier. And so, I decided to take photos of the basic artbooths more, and later took photos of Culture Japan's Smart Dolls display which I didn't take a day earlier.
Below is an image gallery of the exhibitions on Day Two and two videos:
Unlike the day before, I decided to take a bus ride to MIECC, as my feet hurts somewhat badly (I even wore a pair of flip-flops for that!). To get to the bus, one must TURN RIGHT instead of turning left after going through the turnstile at the train station. The number 1 bus (pictured below), which was scheduled to depart for MIECC at 7:30 a.m., departed at 8:00 a.m., as most of the Comic Fiesta visitors used the overhead pedestrian crossing to take a walk to MIECC instead of taking the bus.
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| This is one of the shuttle buses provided for Comic Fiesta visitors, and there are two more behind it. |
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| Inside the bus, awaiting departure for MIECC. |
Anyway, although the bus departed 30 minutes behind schedule, it was well worth the wait. As soon as I arrived at MIECC, a long queue was expected, although it was shorter than on Day One. Once again, I recorded a video of the entry to the exhibition hall as soon as the door to the exhibition hall opens.
Below are three photos of Day Two's queue-up and a video:
INSIDE THE HALL
Once inside, I started taking photos of cosplayers and the available exhibitions, and surprisingly, I found out that I have been taking photos of the same Premium artbooths that I took a day earlier. And so, I decided to take photos of the basic artbooths more, and later took photos of Culture Japan's Smart Dolls display which I didn't take a day earlier.
Below is an image gallery of the exhibitions on Day Two and two videos:
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| This is a Premium artbooth, belonged to Charbak Dipta, an illustrator from India. |
SMART DOLL DISPLAY, CULTURE JAPAN BOOTH
Just like last year, there are Smart Dolls displayed at the Culture Japan booth. However, there are a number of differences I noticed there. Firstly, there is a male Smart Doll character named Eiji Seiun. Secondly, there is also a 3D printer which demonstrated how the doll parts are made.
Below is an image gallery of the Smart Dolls display and also, a photo of the 3D Printer and two videos.
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| This is a 3D printer, demonstrating on how the doll parts are made. |
COSPLAYERS
As usual, there are plenty of cosplayers present at the event, and I even noticed cosplayers cosplaying as characters from Hollywood films. For example, I noticed The Mask cosplayer on both days, although I failed to take a photo of the said cosplayer. I also noticed characters from Disney films, such as Olaf from Frozen, and also, Joy from Inside Out. Not only that, there are also Vocaloid character cosplayers (Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Rin) in a hijab!
Below is an image gallery of Day Two cosplayers:
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST
Of all the photos taken there, there are some selected few which I find the most interesting. And so, as the title above says, I have decided to save some of the said photos for last.
DANNY CHOO
THE 'KEYBOARD WARRIOR' COSPLAY
This cosplayer above is cosplaying as an Internet meme character, the 'Keyboard Warrior.' Clever indeed.
BOBOIBOY AND YING COSPLAY
VOCALOID CHARACTER COSPLAYERS IN A HIJAB
Remember what I wrote earlier about Vocaloid character cosplayers in a hijab? Well, here are the said photos.
The photo on the left shows a hijab version of Hatsune Miku cosplay, while the photo on the right shows a hijab version of Kagamine Rin cosplay. As for the other two (the one in the left photo wears a blue hijab, the one in the right photo wears a purple hijab with a hat that says 'UTAU'), I have yet to find out the characters they based on to cosplay here, as I forgot to ask them.
However, as it turns out, this is not the first time I've seen and taken a photo of a hijab version of an Anime character cosplay: During CosMart 2015 at Avenue K, Kuala Lumpur, I have seen and taken a photo of these two cosplayers; one is cosplaying as a hijab version of Mirai Kuriyama, the other is cosplaying as a hijab version of Megurine Luka.
MALAY PENDEKAR COSPLAY
Perhaps the rarest and the most unique of all cosplays: a Malay 'Pendekar' (Warrior) cosplay! I was about to go home during Day One when I discovered this Malay uncle, and asked him to pose for pictures. As far as I can remember, this Malay uncle told me that he is dressed up as a character from a Malaysian cartoon or comic book, in which the character's name started with 'Awang' (I had forgotten the character's full name, though).
There is a good reason why I, who had cosplayed as Conny Springer from Shingeki no Kyojin, called this as the 'rarest' cosplay of all, as the majority of Comic Fiesta cosplayers are dressed as Japanese Anime characters, and I really appreciate this Malay uncle's idea.
CONCLUSION
Mixed feelings again? Probably.
Although MIECC feels somewhat bigger than KL Convention Centre, the huge crowd really makes me feel uncomfortable, although this was expected in exhibitions like this. Still, I really enjoyed most of my time on both days of Comic Fiesta 2015.
What I really didn't like, apart from the huge crowd? This: during Day One between 12:00 pm and 12:30 p.m., there was this stage performace where a visitor among the crowds in front of the stage has to get up to the stage and follow a demonstration on how to do this 'take a dump' dance, or something like that.
Seriously, take a dump??? That really makes me feel very uncomfortable! Since Comic Fiesta 2015's theme is 'gastronomical' (that is, food-related), I find it odd when there is a stage act that talks about 'taking a dump.' By comparison, the seemingly similar 'Iwak Peyek' dance by JoZan (Johan and Zizan from Raja Lawak) on Lawak Ke Der 2 show is funny and probably slightly more tolerable, though.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I have to admit this; 2015 is the worst year ever for me. If it wasn't for this event, then I would have ended 2015 in total despair. Writer's block is an obvious problem for me, and it is getting worse. Not only that, as I am unemployed, sometimes I was constantly harassed by people who have jobs who did it just for the fun and enjoyment of ridiculing and demonising the unemployed!
Alright, enough of my misfortunes. It is true that I have mixed feelings on my visit to Comic Fiesta 2015, but honestly, I am very happy. I have met with one of my forum friends there, cosplayed as an Anime character, taking photos and videos of the event, and finally, enjoying the scene there.
After this, I might consider writing my new blog posts in my native language (Malay language), as I noticed that my blog attracted more foreign visitors rather than the locals (Malaysians). Also, if possible, I might have to temporarily stop writing new blog posts in order to recover from my bad health conditions and also, writer's block. And to the Russians (that's right, Russians make the largest visitors here, surpassing even Malaysian visitors) who have been reading my blog:
Спасибо за чтение моего блога (Thank you for reading my blog).
And so, to end this post, this is the last photo I took during Day Two, right after I left MIECC.
RemainUnknown522 Out.
CONCLUSION
Mixed feelings again? Probably.
Although MIECC feels somewhat bigger than KL Convention Centre, the huge crowd really makes me feel uncomfortable, although this was expected in exhibitions like this. Still, I really enjoyed most of my time on both days of Comic Fiesta 2015.
What I really didn't like, apart from the huge crowd? This: during Day One between 12:00 pm and 12:30 p.m., there was this stage performace where a visitor among the crowds in front of the stage has to get up to the stage and follow a demonstration on how to do this 'take a dump' dance, or something like that.
Seriously, take a dump??? That really makes me feel very uncomfortable! Since Comic Fiesta 2015's theme is 'gastronomical' (that is, food-related), I find it odd when there is a stage act that talks about 'taking a dump.' By comparison, the seemingly similar 'Iwak Peyek' dance by JoZan (Johan and Zizan from Raja Lawak) on Lawak Ke Der 2 show is funny and probably slightly more tolerable, though.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I have to admit this; 2015 is the worst year ever for me. If it wasn't for this event, then I would have ended 2015 in total despair. Writer's block is an obvious problem for me, and it is getting worse. Not only that, as I am unemployed, sometimes I was constantly harassed by people who have jobs who did it just for the fun and enjoyment of ridiculing and demonising the unemployed!
Alright, enough of my misfortunes. It is true that I have mixed feelings on my visit to Comic Fiesta 2015, but honestly, I am very happy. I have met with one of my forum friends there, cosplayed as an Anime character, taking photos and videos of the event, and finally, enjoying the scene there.
After this, I might consider writing my new blog posts in my native language (Malay language), as I noticed that my blog attracted more foreign visitors rather than the locals (Malaysians). Also, if possible, I might have to temporarily stop writing new blog posts in order to recover from my bad health conditions and also, writer's block. And to the Russians (that's right, Russians make the largest visitors here, surpassing even Malaysian visitors) who have been reading my blog:
Спасибо за чтение моего блога (Thank you for reading my blog).
And so, to end this post, this is the last photo I took during Day Two, right after I left MIECC.
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| Waiting for the shuttle bus to arrive. Taken at 1:46 p.m. |
