otaku dot ph: Field Report: Toycon 2010: Day One (June 19, 2010)

Konnichiwa!

I just arrived from the first day of the two-day Toy Conference (Toycon) at SM Megamall.

I arrived at the Megatrade Hall at around 11am, got tickets for myself and my girlfriend, and fell in line. We were lucky because we were early, we were only in line for about 10 or 15 minutes. When we got out about two hours later, the lines were about five times longer!

Anyway, as expected, you had to squeeze yourself through the hallways once you get inside as there was a LOT of people fighting to get the best toys. It was so crowded that it was hard to speak to the vendors, to ask for prices, for instance.

As with all Anime-related events, there was also a good share of cosplayers. Here are a few snapshots of cosplayers. I’ll try to post more pictures in Day Two. For today, I had to settle with my N900’s camera since my real camera’s battery was messed up.

Aside from the girls and the cosplayers, bulk of the Toycon were stalls selling, well, toys. Since it was also DC Comics’ 75th anniversary, the theme of the event was revolving around the DC universe. But it didn’t stop the anime-niacs from dressing up as their favorite anime characters.

One funny instance was when I was looking at a set of K-On! action figures. A couple stood beside me. The girl was dressed up as Mio Akiyama, while the guy was in simple casual attire. He asked his girl, “So, sino ka dyan? (So, who are you among those characters?)” It was hilarious!

Other people dressed up as mechas, while some followed the theme and dressed up as DC characters. Others portrayed weapon-wielding characters (like Saber to the left), and they did wield weapons!

Aside from toys, also for sale are cosplaying costumes (some offered services such as hair coloring and t-shirt customizing), [pirated?] DVDs of anime and other Japanese series, weird items like a katana that looked real and sharp, and other collectible items as you can see below.

Oh, and the Toycon wasn’t all about selling and making money (by the way, there was an entrance fee of 100 pesos per person), there were fun and exciting games and activities as well – one of which is a Voice-acting workshop for aspiring seiyuus.

Finally, I’m going to answer the following questions:

How much were the toys in Toycon? Are they cheaper/more expensive than in non-Toycon stores?
- The prices range from stall to stall. For instance, I saw a Haruhi action figure which sold for 300 pesos in one stall, and 1200 in another. On second thought, the price tags might have been misplaced. :P
- I didn’t get the chance to canvass the prices in all stalls since it was too crowded to do so, but I saw prices ranging from 100 pesos up to 1800 pesos.
Which group had more participants: Cosplayers or DSLR-wielding photographer-wannabes?
- It’s pretty much a toss-up. I can say one cosplayer can be paired with one photographer. Haha.
Which group had more participants: Adults or Children?
- There was almost no children in sight. They were probably drowned by the bigger, heftier, and more magulang otakus.
Which action figures did I buy? Did I achieve my goal?
- I’m happy to report that YES, I achieved my goal. However, I wanted a Yui action figure that has her playing the guitar. All I got was, see the picture below. I guess I’ll have to look elsewhere (or tomorrow).
- I also bought an Asuka Langley Soryuu action figure, and a Miku Hatsune action figure. You can see all three in the next series of pictures: