New and Bigger Venue, More Activities — and this time, unexpected guests!

May is already becoming a busy month for me as I will be in two events — the second one will be the 2019 Pinoy Otaku Festival to be held at Robinsons Novaliches Trade Hall from May 17 to 19, Friday to Sunday.

This year’s POF theme is “Asobu” / “Let’s Play”, which leans more on having an interactive experience for all visitors.

Unexpected Featured Guests

Really, I didn’t expect POF 2019 to invite these kinds of guests. These are icons which made their mark to their fans’ hearts. Here are my thoughts on them:

Posted by Umanosuke Gekitora on Tuesday, October 11, 2016

First off, Gekitora. When I got hold of his profile, I mentioned this to Protektor Wiljanz Lopez right away. That’s because both of them are performing Wotagei, a performance art using light sticks.

Wotagei has elevated its presence in the country further last year with the Manila leg of Cyalume World Dance Battle.

https://yohgen-music.bandcamp.com/album/acolive?from=twittercard

Next up, Yohgen. He’s done grrreat acoustic covers of select LoveLive! songs, like the one I’ve shared above coming from his Bandcamp. Words cannot express my enthusiasm to see him in person; I’m really looking forward to seeing him in person.

Ariel Villasanta (widda capital A) is also set to grace POF. To think that I remember his name with Maverick Relova from their ABC show “The Misadventures of Maverick and Ariel,” followed by Totoo TV when ABC turned into TV5, plus their Inipit commercial in which I don’t know where it was.

Currently, Ariel is hosting the “Love Idol” radio program on Radyo5 / OnePH (Cignal Channel 6), but that doesn’t stop me from thinking, “Hey, can we do that duck dance together?”

“I love your… Train to Busan parodies.” — Agonoy, 2017

Two years ago, GLOCO got me to answer if I want to be in the same situation as the characters from Kuzu no Honkai while pointing out my Kayo Hinazuki badge. I miss that kind of conversation, actually.

We all know GLOCO from his game streams — and yes, his Train to Busan parodies.

What's up Homies! Today is the Birthday of Doppo Kannonzaka! …Uso desu yo! You'll have to wait till next month to… Posted by Hypnosis Underground 2: Get Wet, Get Wild on Sunday, March 31, 2019

Cosplayer Hiro Saeki is also gracing the event as a judge for the Your Cosplay Sounds Familiar contest. He’s been visiting the country a lot of times, and he’ll be making himself busy during the POF, together with…

Ang aming holiday Posted by HPN3（ハポンスリー） on Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Kazuki from the comedy group HPN3. Both Hiro and Kazuki will have a collaboration act at the POF. That is something I look forward to see.

Sailor Moon~Serenity x Endymion is of our favorite cosplay pairs, and the cospair we're most known for. We love this… Posted by YU-EN Cosplay on Saturday, March 9, 2019

YU-EN Cosplay will also be gracing the event. They were guest panelists for last year’s Cosplay Couples panel which I moderated.

Aside from these guests, a lot of performers will be jamming on the POF 2019 stage: Aidoru Sozai, AOS49, CH4U, IVY! Musume, JAPH DOLLS, Pepper Keibu, Poly V, Sophia the Artist, Tanchikon, Ureshii-san Tomodachi, FREETIX, Kanjiru, and Neko Hunters. My goodness, that’s a LOT.

Activities that will keep you busy

Aside from the POF tradition of having Cosplay, Karaoke and Band Competitions, there will be a series of panel discussions, interactive games, and the culminating night of the Otaku Choice Awards.

POF 2019 also includes the Art Attack contest, Fantasm Inter-school Cosplay Competition, Your Cosplay Sounds Familiar, the Cosplay Championship League, and Otaku Bazaar and Booths.

In addition, they have in-event games such as Otaku Deal or No Deal, Anime Quiz, Otaku Singtunado, Otaku Singing Bee, Name That Tune, and more. The full list of activities can be found here.

So, what’s keeping me busy at the Pinoy Otaku Festival?

I’ll be present in the awarding ceremonies for the Otaku Choice Awards on Friday, May 17.

On May 19 (Sunday), I’ll be moderating the “What does it take to be an idol?” panel along with John Lorenzo Manalili (of Nice Ones, the fan club for MNL48 Nice), Wiljanz Lopez (first Cyalume World Dance Battle Philippine Representative) and Chemistry Idol Sakura Olay, aka Tanchikon.

There are other important panel discussions at hand so please take a peek into the lineup here.

You can get your tickets in advance at Ticket2Me or on-site for Php100 a day. Three-day passes are available at Php300, and VIP Passes are sold at Php500 good for three days.

For more information visit Pinoy Otaku Festival 2019: Asobu official website at http://pof.narutocosplayers.com/. Use the official hashtag #POF2019 and #POFAsobu and check the event’s official social media channels for more updates.

keepsakes. is a media partner for Pinoy Otaku Festival 2019: Asobu.