KOTA KINABALU: More than 100 cosplayers including some from Brunei and Singapore have signed up for the Animacrest competition organised by 18 Almacrest International College students.
The event, which was held last Saturday at Oceanus Waterfront Mall, aimed to fulfil the requirement of the students' last assignment.
"The event was an important part for us in preparing for our final semester; and we are glad to have received so many positive feedbacks," said 19-year-old Nor Aimmah, the event director.
According to Aimmah, the word Animacrest is an abbreviation which stands for 'animal', 'anime' and 'Almacrest', also serving as the concept of the event.
She said, the reason why they chose cosplay as the theme for their assignment was to expose the culture to the Sabah society while also encouraging them to reveal their creative talents, especially the young people.
"The objective of this event is to particularly encourage those with low self-confidence. It is a special day for the cosplayers, where they can be happy being someone else and show themselves in different anime characters," she added.
She explained that the participants were allowed to choose whichever Japanese anime character to cosplay, as long as they were happy being "something else".
Aimmah disclosed that she has personally been in the cosplaying culture since last year and have grown interest in it eversince. She said, the anime characters she portrayed have positive impacts on her.
"We are the first batch to have organised such event, and it was not easy as we were faced with so many challenges like planning and budgeting skills, but even so, I am glad that we were able to successfully make it through.
"We have gained a new experience in handling programmes like this as it taught us teamwork and management skills.
Meanwhile, Almacrest lecturer Rachel Joan expressed her delight in the students' effort of conducting the programme.
According to her, the performance shown by the group was worth the praise and she was really proud that the event was very well-received.
"They did a good job! It is not an easy task to manage this kind of big event when they need to manage lots of stuff, like the budget," said Rachel said.
The 32-year-old lecturer also hoped that her students will learn and apply what they had experienced from managing the event as a preparation for them to face the real world in the future, especially in their own industry.
"To parents out there, cosplaying is not harmful for our child. In fact, there are advantages in it. As a mother myself, I will be supportive if my child ever wants to venture in the cosplaying world.
"Obviously, cosplaying encourages people to explore their hidden talents. It is definitely is not a waste of time," she assured.
One of the special guests for the Animacrest event also gave positive comments, commending the efforts shown by the group as seen through the successful event.
"This kind of programme should always be done to encourage more young people to show their talents, besides improving their confidence level and communication skills.
"Such activity is not a waste of time like many claimed because it can actually help those with low self-esteem to interact with each other, thus boosting their confidence levels and polishing their communication skills," said 30-year-old Irene.