The Lily Cat

Within 24 Hours, San Diego Comic-Con and Anime Expo Announce Cancellations of their Events

Just within 24 hours, two of the most highly anticipated fan and hobby conventions San Diego Comic-Con and Anime Expo (AX) announced on Friday that they would be canceling their events this year and wished attendees to look forward to their 2021 conventions instead. The reason for the cancellations is due to the ongoing Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic in which the government has urged its citizens to stay at home and not engage in massive social gatherings until further notice.

This is the first time in its 50-year run that San Diego Comic-Con had to cancel its event that is dedicated to comicbooks and western pop culture franchises. This is also the first time that Anime Expo had to cancel its anime and Japanese franchise-centered hobby convention in its 29-year run. SDCC 2021 is scheduled from July 22-25, 2021, while Anime Expo 2021 is scheduled for July 2 to 5, 2021.

Rey Chiang, CEO of The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation, posted a statement on Anime Expo official website which states:

Dear Anime Expo Community,

This is a day my team and I hoped wouldn’t come, but it is with a heavy heart that I am announcing the cancellation of Anime Expo 2020. Our utmost concern is for the health and safety of our amazing Anime Expo community. We understand your disappointment as we are anime fans first and foremost too. As you can imagine, this was one of the most difficult decisions we have had to make in the 29 years of Anime Expo.

With the COVID-19 situation continually changing, as well as more restrictions in place worldwide and in our host city Los Angeles, we can’t in good faith move forward with this year’s event. We know it will affect all of you differently and we did not come to this decision lightly.

For exhibitors, artists, contractors, performers, and more, this impacts you on many levels. Anime Expo is an important source of income as well as inspiration for all of you. We know you have been working tirelessly in preparation for July and we appreciate your dedication to your craft.

For our staff and volunteers, who have been working hard, planning every detail of this year’s event since before AX 2019 ended, we share your sadness – please know we support you every step of the way as we turn our attention to next year, Anime Expo’s 30th anniversary!

For our attendees, AX is a place to see old friends, make new ones, and experience the immersive nature of the larger anime community. We will miss seeing you!

We thank each and every one of you for being a part of a community that makes Anime Expo such a special experience every single year.

Badge holders will have the option to receive a full refund or to have their badges rolled over to AX 2021. As this is a big undertaking, please give us time to get the process solidified and stay tuned for more information in the coming days. Exhibitors and artists can expect to receive information via email sometime next week.

Hotel room reservations booked through ConferenceDirect in the AX official hotel block will be automatically cancelled. If you booked a room outside the AX hotel block, please contact your hotel directly.

It remains our goal to provide fans and industry partners from around the world with a safe space to come together to celebrate and share our love of anime. We are committed to bringing you the best of the best next year as we return to Los Angeles for our 30th anniversary on July 2-5, 2021!

As I have said before, we are in this together. We love and support our community and know Anime Expo is an event like no other. Each summer, Anime Expo allows all of us to connect and share our love of anime and Japanese pop culture.

Be safe, continue to do your part, support your community, and most of all stay well!

We look forward to seeing you at AX 2021!

San Diego Comic-Con also released a statement on their website regarding the cancellation. “Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures, and while we are saddened to take this action, we know it is the right decision,” said David Glanzer, spokesperson for the organization. “We eagerly look forward to the time when we can all meet again and share in the community we all love and enjoy.”

Aside from SDCC, its other convention WonderCon Anaheim was canceled and will return on March 26-28, 2021. The mentioned event was supposed to happen on April 10-12, 2020.

We are all in this together during these difficult times. #StayAtHome and lets #FlattenTheCurve together.

Source: Anime Expo (official website) and SDCC (official website)

Event Report – Otakufest 2020 CEBU Day 1

Otakufest 2020 Stage featuring The Lily Cat logo on the LED

Otakufest is one of Cebu City’s popular anime, cosplay, and hobby conventions. It is also the first highlight event to kickstart the various upcoming cosplay and anime events in the city.

The popularity of Otakufest has grown over the years. Now on its 13^th year, cosplayers and attendees coming from different parts of the country travel to the Queen City of the South just to attend the weekend. I am one of those people and I have to say, day one of Otakufest was awesome!

The venue for this year’s Otakufest is still the same as last year, which is at SM Seaside Cebu. The final venue was announced just a few days before the convention weekend due to some factors as mentioned in their FAQ here. Regardless, the organizers have Otakufest still put a great show offering some cool mini-events and contest that everyone can enjoy.

After realizing it, this is the first cosplay convention that I have attended this year and indeed it was a good kickoff.

While going through the entrance area of the official event venue (which is the Maze garden), me and my fellow media partner Gary Montejo first went to another side of the mall to cover the meet and greet of International guest cosplayers DD Tenka and Hikarin. As per instruction by the Otakufest organizers, we were not allowed to take videos of the Q and A portion. However, we took pics of how it went. Prints and merch of the guests were also available on sale. Those who got the meet-and-greet package will be able to get their prints signed and half a photo-op. This is also the time when I have finally met with Jay Agonoy of keepsakes. Almost for the rest of the day, I tagged along with both Gary and Jay taking pictures of what is happening on the epic first day. Here are some of my favorite photos.

The rest of the day I have met up and passed by some known cosplayers like GICOF 2019 winner Sergio Sta. Ana, saw the WCS PH 2019 Reps Team Class S, WCS PH 2017 Rep Pirate Ellie, Sean Price, and King Rusydi (who had cosplay crafting workshop). I had a roundtable podcast discussion with Jay and Max of UNITY Productions on the discussion of an Esports Curriculum in the Philippines. And yes, I will not forget meeting again idol group PASTEL MIX. I bought their awesome lightstick!

I ended my day with the team eating at Chowking. Coincidently, we sat on the same area in which we had our first hangout together in Otakufest 2019.

There is still more stuff to share but I would like to let people know that it was all positive. Otakufest 2020 Day 1 was awesome and I am looking forward to what’s going to happen on Day 2 as the Central Visayas Qualifiers of the World Cosplay Summit Philippines will be held.

Congratulations to Otakufest and let’s keep the fun going on Day 2!

The Lily Cat is one of the official Media Partners of Otakufest 2020.

Support The Lily Cat’s news, events, features, and coverage by either Ko-Fi or Patreon.

Cosplay, Games, and Fun are Happening at Otakufest 2020 in Cebu!

The first quarter of anime events in Cebu City will officially start this weekend with the most popular and long-running anime, cosplay, and hobby convention Otakufest! The said event will be happening on February 22 and 23, 2020 at SM Seaside, Cebu City. This is the 13th season and one of Cebu City’s longest-running otaku conventions. The theme for this convention is Studio Ghibli.

This year’s Otakufest will be one awesome weekend for anime fans, cosplayers, and hobbyists alike as a lot of events, programs, workshops, and competitions await everyone who will be joining in the fun. National and International cosplay guests like Hikarin, Pirate Ellie (WCS PH 2017 Representative) , Ae Ri Cosplay, DD Tenka, Sean Price, and King Rusydi will also be in the event and looking forward to meet their fans. Aside from our cosplay guests, awesome groups will also be present this year to perform like Juan Paasa (Summoning Eru) and idol group PASTEL MIX.

Otakufest will also be the venue for the highly-anticipated Central Visayas Qualifiers of the World Cosplay Summit Philippines. The winner of this qualifier will compete in the World Cosplay Summit Philippines Grand Finals which will be announced soon.

A complete list of workshops, mini-events, and competitions can be found in the Otakufest official Facebook Page. You may also check the page for their FAQ and more information.

About Otakufest

Photo taken during Otakufest 2019. Photo by The Lily Cat

Otakufest, formally UP Otakufest, was first conceptualized in 2007 as a simple dream to organize an annual event for anime fans and cosplayers. In 2017, it had a record of more than 5,000 attendees and is considered as one of the most highly anticipated anime and hobby conventions in Cebu City.

See you all in Otakufest Cebu 2020 at SM Seaside! It’s going another awesome weekend of awesome fun!

The Lily Cat is an official Media Partner of Otakufest 2020.

ARCHcon Cebu 2019 is the Coolest Event for Gamers, Geeks, and Anime Fans in Cebu City!

This weekend in Cebu City is going to be a blast as ARCHcon Cebu will be happening for two days filled with competitions, exhibits, cosplay, video games, and so much more. The said 2-day convention will be happening on November 16 and 17 at the JCentre Convention Hall.

ARCHcon is the oldest and biggest hobby event in Cebu City that started in 2004. What also made this convention stand out from the rest is that is a convention for a cause.

The convention’s name is an abbreviation for Anime, Role-Playing Games, Comics, and Hobbies Convention. ARCHcon aims to build the growing creative hobbyist industry in Visayas and Mindanao through supporting hobbies and creating a venue that gives back to the community through talks, workshops, development activities, mini-events, and more into one awesome convention.

ARCHcon’s goal is to be an open venue for people of all walks of life to express themselves and freely showcase their world-class talent, creativity and innovation in celebration of their hobbies and interests; as well as to be an instigator of change by donating the proceeds from the event to the Sacred Heart School – Ateneo de Cebu Blue Plate Project that helps the education sector fight malnutrition amongst public elementary students through daily feeding programs.

International cosplayers Boiledcurry and Knitemaya are this year’s guests. Workshops, video game competitions, exhibits, talks, and more awaits those who will be attending this two-day event.

For the complete line-up of activities and ticket information, you may visit ARCHCon Cebu’s Official Facebook Page and event page. Cosplayers, anime fans, and fellow geeks see you all at ARCHcon 2019!

The Lily Cat will be doing a two-day event coverage of ARCHcon 2019. Follow the Facebook Page for the latest updates and here on the site for the highlight report.

Source: ARCHcon Cebu (Facebook), Pictures: ARCHcon Cebu Press Kit

The Lily Cat Podcast Episode 4 – A Talk on Covering Events with Jay Agonoy of keepsakes.

As promised, I will now start to be active in doing podcasts for the site again and what better way to start the hype is to be talking with one of the key people who got me into covering events.

On this episode, I have a talk with a very good friend of mine Jay Agonoy of keepsakes. who covers cosplay events and conventions in Manila. We talk about how everything goes in writing and covering these events and what should be taken note when being there. Jay is notable for providing updates regarding the World Cosplay Summit Philippines and the World Cosplay Summit as well as the Philippine idol scene.

Follow Jay at http://www.jayagonoy.xyz

Check out http://www.thelilycat.com for more.

If you love the podcast, you may consider supporting me for more episodes: http://www.ko-fi.com/lilycatserena

Otakufest 2019 [Cebu] – Day 1 Event Report

It was quite a windy day on Saturday but Otakufest 2019 Day 1 was really awesome as everyone had a great time.

Held at the maze garden of SM Seaside Cebu, you will be welcomed with hundreds of attendees as they showed up in their awesome costumes, a variety of booths where you splurge your money on cool anime items, and be amazed with the various art prints on sale in the artist alley. It was also one cool day to catch up with friends (or meet new ones)!

The main stage in the morning and afternoon had performers singing to some of the classic and popular Japanese songs from well-known anime series like Naruto and My Hero Academia. People got sing along with Pizzicato Five’s hit song Sweet Soul Revue. There was even a band that performed songs from Makoto Shinkai’s your name and the crowd went wild. A Saberstrum tournament also happened in the afternoon which was then followed by the Asian Pop Dance competition that was held in the evening.

Two main competitions will be happening on the second of Otakufest: Pop Culture Hiroshima (in which the qualifiers and grand finals will be held) and the World Cosplay Summit Philippines-Cebu Qualifiers.

If you really want to see all the action, be sure to get your tickets to Otakufest today and experience great fun here in one of Cebu’s most popular anime and cosplay conventions.

Full post and recent updates on Otakufest can be found on their official Facebook page. You may also check The Lily Cat official Facebook page for updates on Otakufest as well.

About the Event

Otakufest, formally UP Otakufest, was first conceptualized in 2007 as a simple dream to organize an annual event for anime fans and cosplayers. In 2017, it had a record of more than 5,000 attendees and is considered as one of the most highly anticipated anime and hobby conventions in Cebu City.

The Lily Cat is one of the official media partners of Otakufest 2019.

Fun and Excitement Await at Otakufest 2019 in Cebu City!

This year’s Otakufest 2019 in Cebu City is going to be an epic one as various competitions, performances, merchandise, and fun await you in the weekend-long event that will happen on February 23 and 24, 2019 at SM Seaside City Cebu Maze Garden.

Otakufest 2019 Poster | From Otakufest FB Page

Cosplayers can compete in the two main competitions: The World Cosplay Summit-Cebu Qualifiers, and Pop Culture Hiroshima where winners have the chance to represent the Philippines in the respective events’ grand finals that will be held in Japan. International cosplayer Reika and WCS 2018 Philippine Representatives Team SeKai (composed of Sergio Sta. Ana and Kai Raito) will be this year’s guests. Other competitions and activities this year include a Japanese singing competition, Saberstrum Competition, Music, Artists Alley, Merchandise, and so much more.

Tickets for Otakufest 2019 are at 150php per day. More information can be found on their Facebook page and you may visit their official website. It is an event in Cebu City that you don’t want to miss out!

Source: Otakufest (Facebook)

The Lily Cat is one of the official media partners of Otakufest 2019.

Asia Pop Comicon Manila Returns Bigger and Better in August 2019!

The official Facebook page of AsiaPOP Comicon Manila has officially unveiled its dates and venue. The highly-anticipated comic book and Western pop culture convention will be held at the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City from August 2 to 4, 2019.

https://www.facebook.com/apccmanila/photos/a.697220507049287/1750665791704748/?type=3&permPage=1

AsiaPOP Comicon or APCC started in 2015 and has been one of the most highly anticipated fan conventions in the Philippines. Centered on the comic book and pop culture fandoms, the convention has brought in famous guests like Finn Jones, Millie Bobby Brown, Claire Holt, and Tye Sheridan to name a few. Famous cosplayers, comic book artists, and other notable personalities were also invited. You may check out their list and their past highlights in their official website.

Source: AsiaPOP Comicon Manila (Facebook)

Yen Press Announces New Yuri Releases During Anime NYC Panel!

Last weekend’s AnimeNYC (November 16-18, 2018) was epic as American manga publisher Yen Press announced in their panel that three of the 14 new manga licenses they have acquired were under the Yuri or Girl’s Love genre.

The following titles are:

Yuri Life, by Kurukuruhime.

Yuuna’s an illustrator, Manami’s a web designer, and the two are living together! It’s the everyday romance of two women who see a future with each other.

Whenever Our Eyes Meet…: A Women’s Love Anthology.

The love between girls never stops blooming in this collection of office flings and workplace romances.

Killing Me!, by Akiyama

“Love-hate relationship” takes on a whole new meaning in this girls’ love occult romance about two classmates—a vampire…and a vampire hunter!

Three awesome titles! It’s great to know that Yen Press is now slowly picking up yuri titles and and we look forward to their upcoming licenses in the future. You can check their official website for the release dates and purchase details.

Next year’s Anime NYC will happen on November 15 to 17 at Javits Center in New York City.

Source: Okazu (Erica Friedman), Yen Press (Facebook Page), Yen Press (Official Website)