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For most pop culture events that hold their conventions for three days, Friday is the least eventful because most attendees have work or school. Thus, they prefer to go on a Saturday, Sunday, or both days. But this was not the case for AsiaPOP Comicon (APCC) 2018, which was held from July 27-28, 2018 at the SMX Convention Center, SM MOA, Pasay City, as Friday was full of things to do. LIMITED EDITION JOLLIBEE FUNKO POP Surprisingly, there were a lot of attendees on APCC Day 1 and it’s probably because of the launch of Jollibee Funko Pop. Hosted by toy and hobby store, Filbar’s, this limited edition figure was one of the most anticipated items in the event. People lined up for hours just to get their hands on it and the lines reached even across the halls. Jollibee also did some signing sessions for his fans. It’s here I realized that Jollibee will always be part of Filipinos’ hearts. INTERNATIONAL CREATIVE ARTISTS AND COSPLAYERS The great thing about APCC is they easily give fans the opportunity to meet their favorite creative artists and cosplayers. Organizers created the Walk of Fame, where booths for artists were set up in the halls, so fans can easily buy their prints, have their merchandise signed, or interact with them. In addition, creative artists and cosplayers can also interact with their fans, thus making the setting intimate and meaningful. Those included in the Walk of Fame are the following: Cosplayers: Canvas Cosplay, Vera Chimera, Leon Chiro, and Yugana Senshi Uon Creative Artists: Alex Sinclair, Artgerm, Lan Medina, Mike McKone, Phil Noto, Whilce Portacio, Brian Muir, Simone Legno, Amanda Visell, and Michelle Valigura FACTS ABOUT OSRIC CHAU Manilascope got the chance to meet Osric Chau, a.k.a Kevin Tran from the hit CW series “Supernatural”, through a session with media people. The moment he entered the room, you would feel Osric’s energy and I realized that he is now very comfortable here in the Philippines. Osric has been here for a months as he’s filming “Empty by Design”, which is his first self-produced film. It tells the story about two people who will rediscover their roots in the Philippines. Here are some of the things we learned about Osric Chau: 1. Osric has acquired a working visa so he can stay in the Philippines a bit longer for his film. When asked about meeting Filipino fans, he said it was awesome and that they are “more polite, sometimes too polite”. 2. Osric is a geek and a big fan of Harry Potter and Pokemon Go. Harry Potter is the first book series that he read on his own. When the fourth book, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” came out, he read it until the wee hours of the morning He had to really wake up and keep his eyes open just to read it. In addition, “just in case”, he keeps his Gryffindor robes/costume in his car and has worn it five times. Osric also became addicted to Pokemon Go that there are times he would go to the park just to catch some Pokemon. He even told a story where he saw a Pokemon gym in one of the alleys in Canada and decided to park so he can take over it. A cop car came by and asked him what he was doing, thinking he was doing drugs or something illegal. Osric explained about Pokemon Go and the police asked how he got the app. In the end, he showed the cop how to do it. 3. According to Osric, his Kevin Tran audition was one of his most expensive auditions, which gave him a reason to really practice for the role. He admitted he really didn’t have knowledge about Supernatural at that time and the producers and writers told him everything about the show. Well, he got the part and the rest is history. I’m a big fan of Supernatural and I had the chance to ask Osric what it was like working with the main cast, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins, and Mark Sheppard. According to him, the boys are “all professionals…when they want to be. They’ve been doing the show a large part of their lives. They get bored really easily.” So, most of the time, they play pranks on each other and fool around as much as they possibly can. For Osric, he didn’t know this yet and was worried that they were wasting time. But, he learned that on shooting days, the cast have one hour of fooling around time, so they were never behind schedule. For the long time they were working together, they always finish on time. “Supernatural works so well that it’s the only show in the network that, like, the network doesn’t look at, like, you can do whatever you want. We trust you guys to do it and, of course, that culture comes down from Jared, Jensen, Misha, and of course Mark when he was there. Everybody gets it, the crew, they have been there since the beginning, they get it too. It really feels like a family.” “Every time I go back, it feels like I’m going home.” 4. As an artist, Osric sees himself taking risks in indie films. He believes in taking chances and one should not be afraid to do it. He wants to do all genres of movies, even the terrible ones because, by doing so, he can learn from making mistakes. Osric sees himself still working in the Philippines for many months because the company who works with them sees their value and knows that he won’t give up artistic integrity. It is important for Osric to know your show and to do what you want. It’s nice to see people coming together for something they believe in, to change the world and move lives. He wants to create more real stories and make movies that mean something to all of us. At the same time, Osric also wants to bring his friends to the country. CREATIVE CIRCLE EXHIBITORS (#SUPPORTLOCALARTISTS) One of the things that APCC has done consistently for years is to give local and international artists the opportunity to promote their talents via the Creative Circle. Here, various artists create and sell products related to the pop culture scene such as postcards, stickers, pins, books, and much more. Whether you love anime or western fandoms, the Creative Circle has something to satisfy your geek cravings. Together with local artists are different toy and hobby stores and exhibitors found all over the event. Whether you are looking for that most coveted action figure or your favorite superhero shirt, you can get all your pop culture items under one roof. LINE FOR HALL M AND D PASSES Hall M is a Marvel event while Hall D is everything about Disney. Each hall will show exclusive content and will only accommodate 1000 people each. The line for the two halls started around 3:00 pm and by the time we lined up at 3:30 pm, there was a really long line on the other half of the SMX ground floor. By the time the clock struck 4:00 pm, the APCC volunteers gave away 500 Hall M passes. By 6:00 pm, 500 Hall D passes were also given to the attendees who lined up. APCC also gave 500 Hall M and 500 Hall D passes on Day 2 at 4:00 and 6:00 pm respectively. DOING EVERYTHING BEFORE THE BIG CROWDS COME Day 1 of AsiaPOP Comicon was sort of a light day, but it was still enjoyable and fun. It was easier to roam around and look at the booths and exhibitors while there were still less people. Plus, it was great meeting your favorite creative artists and cosplayers before the big crowds on Day 2 and 3 come. How cool is that? But the event is not over as there are more surprises and activities for the next two days.
