The Best of Anime is back. Slated on Sept. 19 to 20, at SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia Complex, the Best of Anime (BoA) is now on its sixth year and continues to be one of the most anticipated anime conventions in the country for anime, manga and cosplay fanatics, gamers, figure collectors, photographers, artists, and general Japanophiles.
BoA is two whole days of fun, meeting fellow otakus, joining lots of contests, and learning more about the culture of Japan. This year’s special guests of international cosplayers and bands will highlight the event.
Activities include art competitions like the Quickdraw Competition where young and talented artists will compete for the title of fastest illustrator; the BoA Superstar where contestants take the stage and perform their own renditions of beloved Japanese songs; and the Battle of the Bands where aspiring rockstars get to perform covers of Japanese songs.
Cosplay highlights include: All-Star Cosplay Competition, where cosplayers compete with their costumes and skits; the BoAInter-School Cosplay Competition Finals, where winners from different schools battle it out; and the World Cosplay Summit (WCS), where winners will fly to Japan to represent the Philippines.
Guests include returning performers and crowd favourite, Uchuu Sentai NOIZ and Joe Inoue. First time guest performer will be famous Japanese songstress Eir Aoi who sang the theme songs for Sword Art Online, Mobile Suit Gundam AGE, and Fate/Zero. Guest cosplayers include Hane*Ann from Taiwan, Sara Tousa Bao from Singapore, and Hyko from Taiwan who currently holds the 4th spot in WorldCosplay.com ranking.
BoA is part of the Manila International Book Fair slated on September 16 to 20. Another event taking place is the first ever DigiTech Manila Conference and Expo where it will be the largest gathering of digital technology leaders, experts, and practitioners in education. DigiTech is slated on September 17 to 18. For details, call 896-0661 or 896-0682, or e-mail [email protected].