We’re seeing more pop culture conventions, big and small, popping up across the country – no pun intended. That means there will be more of everything we love, like cosplay, gaming tournaments and of course, celebrity guests.
Pop culture retailer Geek Nation joined the action by hosting the recent Capcom Cosplay competition, reflecting growth of the local cosplay community in numbers, passion and quality. The winner that day was Aeron Costa, playing Dante of the game Devil May Cry. “It really feels like cosplay is taking the world by storm especially here in the Middle East,” says Costa.” There are countless talented individuals who day in day out put so much time and effort into their work making bigger and better costumes each event. It’s crazy to think how big this is becoming, especially right here in the UAE. Our events and conventions have become so big over the years, becoming the large scale geekfests they are now. Cosplayers here have risen up to international grade levels. It’s honestly beautiful to think about. I can’t express how proud and happy I am to be a part of this amazing, talented community, and I wish each and every one of them success in the events to come”.
Popcon
The inaugural Popcon which took October 27-29 at the Dubai Outlet Mall was a welcome addition to the geekly calendar and one which – we hope – will stick around for a while. It’s described as ‘the ultimate fan experience’ that is built around ‘movies, television, comics, games, collectibles, music, anime, digital content and cosplay…” The guest line up was heavily beauty and fashion orientation, but also included comic book artists and cosplayers. But it seems as if the beauty angle was meant to be the unique selling point, distinguishing it from other competing conventions.
Ani:ME
The other new kid on the block is simply entitled Ani:ME, a play on the prefix ‘ANI’, for animation and the acronym ‘ME’ for Middle East. Clever right? From October 27-29 at the Du Forum on Yas Island it’s brought to you by the same folks behind Games and the Middle East Film and Comic Con. Yes, it has the exact same timing as Popcon. Decisions, decisions. As the name suggests it’s heavily focused on Anime, and as such there was a line up of Japanese guests from bands to artists and cosplayers. The headliner was Yoshitaka Amano, artist (among many other things) behind characters like Gatchaman and titles like Vampire Hunter D. The ‘scene’ is exploding just like we knew it would. But will these events survive the test of time? We shall see. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for updates, interviews and juicy GameHeddy info!
PICS
(Left) Aaron Costa as Dante (Devil May Cry), winner of the Capcom Cosplay Competition in October. (Right) Asad Shams as Vergil (Devil May Cry), second place winner.
Quote from Costa for pic:
“Winning the Capcom Cosplay competition was an incredible honour for me. All the contestants did a fantastic job in creating their costumes and skits”
