Filipina
Filipina-German Cosplayer Jessica Ouano
Alodia Gosiengfiao isn’t the only Filipina cosplayer rising to international fame. The upcoming photobook Otacool 2: Worldwide Cosplayers features not one, but two Filipinas on the cover. Joining Alodia on the cover is Filipina-German cosplayer Jessica Ouano.
Cosplay is a portmanteau combining two words: costume and roleplay. Hailing from the island of Cebu, home of many a beautiful Filipina, fifteen-year-old Jessica shows great promise as a cosplayer with her amazing costumes and captivating portrayals.
As with many anime and game cosplayers, Jessica’s immersion in otaku culture adds to the enthusiasm of her portrayals. She counts Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection among her favorite games, and Gundam Seed’s Lacus Clyne among her anime idols.
Check out Jessica’s renditions of fictional characters both modern and classic: Sheryl Nome from the anime Macross Frontier, Gwendolyn from the role-playing game Odin Sphere, and Alice from the novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. She even reprises Alodia’s portrayal of Haruhi from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Click here to continue reading “Filipina-German Cosplayer Jessica Ouano”…
Alodia to Serve at Ozine Maid Cafe
“The greatest among you will be your servant.” — Matthew 23:11.
Maid cafes are a particularly popular class of cosplay restaurants, where waitresses dressed in fanciful maid costumes soothe the hyperactive minds of otaku patrons. Through a combination of endearingly deferential customer service and aesthetically pleasing service outfits, these establishments provide a unique kind of mental wellness for tired geeks.
The world could clearly use this cutesy sort of soothing: since the first maid cafe sprung up in Akihabara in 2001, the phenomenon has spread as far afield as China and the United States.
Permanent maid cafes have yet to rise in the Philippines, but temporary maid cafes have emerged at Philippine anime events. The Ozine Maid Cafe this weekend, an activity at Otaku Expo 2010, ups the ante with a special guest maid: Filipina cosplay queen Alodia Gosiengfiao.
If you’re in Manila this weekend, kick back and relax while being served by fantasy maids at Megatrade Hall 2, SM Megamall, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. Alodia herself will serve patrons from 12:00nn to 3:00pm Sunday, GMT+8.
One of the maids on the roster, Filipina gamer-cosplayer Charmaine Akari, has previously been featured on this blog. If you get her as your maid, have her smile like Konata Koizumi from the anime Lucky Star. Charmaine’s rendition is not only incredibly accurate, it’s absolutely adorable. :3
