Many fans take their love for anime to the next level by cosplaying (dressing up) as their favourite characters, and the anime fan community in Sarawak is no exception.
All Dressed Up at Hanamatsuri Event
JAPAN is always admired for its ethics, culture, technology and entertainment.
For example, Japanese animation or widely known as anime has become one of the top entertainment genres globally.
AXT recently organised the Hanamatsuri event for the anime fans, with the AXT title up for grabs.
Twenty-two booths were also set up to sell various merchandise and services.
According to ACG Kuching Community head Mohd Zharif, the event, which was held from May 27 to May 29 at Aeon Mall Kuching Central, was organised to give anime and cosplay fans here a chance to experience a part of Japan’s popular culture.
“Hanamatsuri refers to the flower season that is happening in Japan now so the event here coincides with the season,” he told New Sarawak Tribune.
“The Aeon Mall event is actually a pre-event before the main event ‘Hanamatsuri Part 2’ which is from July 18 to July 24.
“The main event, which will also be held here, will be done in conjunction with Sarawak Day and AXT’s sixth aanniversary,” he added.
“Seeing that we have so many people coming for this pre-event, we are planning to open up 70-80 booths for the main event.
“I hope that the anime and cosplay community will use this event as a platform for them to meet their old and new friends after experiencing the lockdown due to the pandemic.
“I also hope that the community will continue to support us so that in the future, we will be able to hold such an event in a bigger space such as BCCK (Borneo Convention Centre Kuching).”
Besides the cosplayers, there are also fans who are willing to spend a lot to collect merchandise and figurines of their favourite characters.
Syed Muhammad Hafeez, 32, shared that he has been interested in figurines and has been collecting them as a hobby since 2013.
“At first, collecting these scale models and the model kits were part of my hobby. But ever since I saw a lot of people overseas making a career out of this scale modelling, I decided to give it a try and now it is my side income.”
He related that he often accepts orders to build and customise Gundam (mecha) kits as the series has multiple types of models and divided into many grades.
“The model kits or figurines that I have or sell are usually imported directly from Japan. But at times, I also buy it from Shopee or the local hobby store.”
When asked what made his artwork stand out compared to others, he said he would include a diorama for some of the model kits.
“I also customise the figurines myself. I repaint the model kits and put extra effort into details so that they are different from other figurines.
“This, however, usually depends on the characteristics of the model kits. But what makes this customisation fun and interesting is that I get to choose the colour and pour my own creativity and craftsmanship into them.”
He disclosed that a single figurine would usually take about two to three weeks to finish, and if there is an added landscape or diorama, it would take up to two to three months.
Meanwhile, New Sarawak Tribune also met another booth operator who sells card games.
Mohd Rizuwaan shared that this was the first time he had set up a booth in such an event.
“This is the first event ever in my life where I sell the cards instead of charging fees to play. I want to share the joy of card games to more people out there.
“I am grateful that my business is going well and I managed to introduce various card games to people here.”
The 26-year-old said his passion started when his friends often brought card games for them to play every time they met up.
“Since early last year, I started to buy more and more different types of card games for me to play with my friends and family. Now, I have over 50 boxes of card games in my collection just for event purposes.”
When asked about his favourite card game from his collection, he said he absolutely loved to play the Exploding Kittens.
“This game in particular is a fun, engaging game to play with my friends. But it does not mean other games are not as fun as well.
“For example, the card game called ‘Malaysian Dream’ is also intriguing. Despite it being the most expensive card game that I have ever bought (RM120), it was totally worth it!
“It is similar to the ‘Cards against Humanity’ game but the Malaysian version,” he explained.
Both Syed and Rizuwaan hoped that the next event would be hosted in a larger space.
“Since the event space here is small, and is easily crowded due to us being in the endemic phase, it is hoped that the management will host the event on a larger scale in the future.
“A larger space will not only bring more joy to the people coming for the event but it will also give more space for sellers such as us to display or sell more of our merchandise or services,” they concurred.
