ANOTHER cosplay festival is being held at 1st Avenue Mall from today till Sunday, following a growing interest in anime, comics and games (ACG).
Komtar assemblyman Teh Lai Heng said the last cosplay event held in the vicinity was at the nearby Prangin Mall last December.
“I have noticed a growing activity in the ACG community of Penang after the MCO (movement control order) had ended. This can be attributed to the increase of fans who were exposed to animation, comics and games during the lockdown as well as old fans eager to return to the community.
“If the different groups can maintain this momentum, you might be able to establish our city centre of Komtar as a prime spot for organising cosplay or other ACG-related events,” Teh said in his speech before launching the Cosplay Festival.
Also present were Cosworld founder Richard Lim and 1st Avenue Mall assistant general manager Tracy Tan Ling Hong, who is also the mall’s leasing and marketing manager.
Teh added that it was good to see the young generation taking charge and organising events that match the interest of other youngsters.
“It is clear that ACG is one the fastest rising industries in the global market to the point that we are gaining many things that would only be a dream 10 years ago.
“Who would expect that one of the biggest card games Cardfight Vanguard would have a Bahasa version, or that Japan’s leading manga and light novel publisher Kadokawa would work together with KDU to launch a collaborative diploma programme?
“In fact, one of Malaysia’s top cosplayers, Hakken, was recently appointed as one of the tourism ambassadors for Tokyo, Japan.
“The ACG industry in Malaysia still has a lot of potentials to grow and the best way to do it is to have more events and show potential investors that the demand is there,” Teh said.
He thanked Cosworld for organising the event and hoped that it would hold more events in the Komtar area in the future.
The organisers have invited Hayate Konno and King Angel as special guests for the Cosplay Festival. Other guests include Sakura Mochi, Akihiko Akali, Zinggg, Crescent Moon, Wanyi, Rice Usagi and Nazukii.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Noor Siti Nabilah Noorazis
