Get some Monkey Punch (OZINE FEST 2013, 2nd Day Event Report)

My friends and I decided to dress up as characters from Lupin III for OZINE FEST 2013. As early as 7am, we were exchanging sms, not only because of excitement but we were concerned about our props: toy guns.

We've been checking OZINE's site before the event if there's any restriction with toy guns and it says none. SM malls have been known to be tight towards cosplayers. And with the recent heist, we don't want ourselves to be arrested for a mere toy gun. But just to be sure, our group already planned something in case we'll not be allowed to bring it. When we arrived at MegaTrade hall between 1-2pm, the line at the ticketing area isn't long. Friends who were at Megamall as early as 10am mentioned to me that the line reached up to the 2nd floor! We also spotted some cosplayers with swords and guns. phew! Confirmed~ they're not strict with props that look like weapons.

A powerhouse cast

Daryl, who's been cosplaying as Lupin  for quite some time, was the first one to arrive in our group. Next was Ralph as our Goemon. I cosplayed Fujiko (in pink disco diva-inspired attire) and arrived with Alain, who dressed up as Jigen. When Onin as Zenigata arrived, we were teasing him about where did he get his lead that the Lupin III gang will be here. :)) I've to give credit to Onin's dedication that it's as strong as his character, Zenigata. He just got off from work/training. He took a few hours of sleep (more like a nap) before he headed to Megamall to catch meet all of us.

Some of our friends made an effort to attend Ozine and showed their support. Daryl's wife was sportin' a Fujiko outfit too! :)

Even if the green jacket Lupin III TV series wasn't shown here, people still recognized our group and went mad taking and asking for  pictures. And yes, we even have Zenigata! Complete with handcuffs for our favorite thief. lol. Based from the audience's reaction, there's a clamor for Lupin vs Depektib, as Zenigata is lovingly known here in the Philippines.

 Thief  vs Detective

GMA7 anime mash-up

We were approached by several people and commended our effort that we are complete. I also heard people saying that they miss the series and seeing us gave that nostalgic feeling. *calling GMA7: re-run please*

We had fun interacting with other cosplayers and the con attendees. We also gave out coscards where they can tag their photo with us. We also have a banner/signage that we asked people to hold onto. Anyway, I can't help but gush how everyone was in wavelength about our group/characters. We met fellow TOEI con cosplayer, Liui Aquino (Hell Teacher Nube), who dressed up as Sanji from One Piece this time. Liui was such a sweetheart to introduce Lupin to his crew. He was manning a booth for Ozine and he told his crew to be wary of Lupin because he's a thief. lol.

Please tighten your security, Megamall. It's starting to be a Thieves' Convention

Oh, okay. So, they hired Sherlock Holmes for this event. 

We bumped into a fellow thief cosplayer, Kaito Kid. And we talked to him briefly about Detective Conan. I was excited to spot a Sherlock Holmes cosplayer. I asked him: "Sir, magpapa-pic kame pero baka hulihin nyo si Lupin" (Sir, can we have a photo with you but you might arrest Lupin) and he replied, "Kay Zenigata sya naka-assign. Hindi sakin" (He /Lupin/ is assigned to Zenigata) He really knows his character! *bows down*

Goemon got himself busy by sparring with other swordsmen. :)) He had photo ops with Ezra and Kenshin. We were teasing Goemon to Ezra for fun. hehe.. we all know that Goemon is depicted in the series as the torpe guy unlike his compadres, Lupin and Jigen.

Who will the Goddess choose?

Speaking of which, we spotted this nice Belldandy cosplayer. Lupin and Jigen were excited to have a photo op with her. People were amused when Lupin got on one knee and showed a diamond. But it got better when Jigen pointed out a gun on Lupin's head. Belldandy's expression solidified everything. 

We roamed inside Megatrade Hall and we found some nice items. There were even some tables that featured works from independent comic book artists. But majority of the sellers are geared towards cosplay. I personally like the quality of wigs and make-up the sellers have. I met one of my colleagues at work. She's helping out her friends at GWYSHOP. This was the first time that we saw each other in an anime con. There's this one shop which sells figurines and they have some Lupin III merchandise. I wanted to buy the green jacket Lupin and catsuit Fujiko figurines. But the seller wouldn't give me a discount. :(

As for food, I can only remember one stall in Ozine and it was Papa John's. There was also one car being exhibited. Don't ask me why a company is promoting a car there. I would understand if it's a car used in Initial D. But it's not. ^^;;

There were also a figurine exhibit. I notice that it didn't have any glass or some sort of protection. Well, there were volunteers looking over the figurines and some ropes to guide you that you can't go any closer. But I think it's different when it's protected by glass. Esp when there are thieves like us around! lol. Just kidding, of course the Lupin III gang doesn't steal without proper planning. :p

I only realized that we've been standing and walking for quite a long time already when we sat down to have dinner. Once we felt rested, we went back to Megatrade Hall. People were still asking for our photos and it came to a point that the guard approached us. Thankfully, he was kind and not the rude type that we've heard other cosplayers encountered. The guard even said sorry to me that he interrupted us.

We left Megamall around 8PM. Tired but very happy of the event. Even though Megatrade Hall doesn't rate high in my list as a con venue, the people made the event worthwhile. Everyone was friendly. And I love the interaction that we experienced with fellow cosplayers. We weren't even aware that those people we're talking with have a fanbase already but they were all very grounded. They were excited to see our group as much as we were excited to have a photo op with them.

Kindly LIKE and SHARE our Lupin III gang fanpage. :)
It's not limited to our cosplay group. You'll find various Lupin III related stuff from pictures to video clips. We're also hoping that GMA7 will take notice that there's a demand for Lupin III to be shown again. Especially that there's a 2nd movie coming up with Lupin III vs Detective Conan.

Until our next heist convention!