A section of the crowd at the recent Otakyun! Convention 2023 in Kuching.
SOME 15 years ago, an anime, cosplay and games (ACG) event in Kuching would have attracted about 200 enthusiasts at best, far behind the numbers attending similar events in Kuala Lumpur or Singapore.
Not any more.
The scene has grown by leaps and bounds in Sarawak’s capital over the years.
In September, nearly 3,000 people flocked to the two-day Otakyun! Convention 2023 held at Raia Hotel and Convention Centre in Kuching.
Otakyun! creative director Carol Chin said that while the number of young ACG enthusiasts in Kuching had increased, contributing to the larger crowds at local events in recent years, it continues to lag behind states like Selangor, Penang, Johor and Sabah where people throng to these events in the thousands.
Chin said this could be due to transport and accessibility.
Chin cosplaying as Soraka from League of Legends.
“People in other parts of the state may find it difficult to come to Kuching.
“Also, it could be due to the lack of spending power of the population here. We are not financially equal to some of those states. Locals aren’t too willing to spend to attend paid events.”
Chin has been in the ACG scene since 2007 and often cosplays characters from her favourite anime Sailor Moon.
She noted that not only has the ACG community grown bigger over the years, it is a hobby that has generally become more acceptable to the public now.
What has not changed for her is the excitement and joy of attending an ACG event and meeting friends with the same interests.
At events, Chin particularly enjoys visiting booths of local artists who showcase and sell their beautiful ACG-inspired artworks. She has bought most of the artworks and merchandise in sets.
“Being an event participant and organiser are different. It is more relaxing as a participant while being an organiser, there is more pressure and I need to be on duty to coordinate the whole event,” she said, adding that her role in Otakyun! was to plan and manage the overall pre-event matters.
Chin said she attends events as a participant to prevent herself from running out of steam.
Chin going through her collection of artworks and merchandise bought from various ACG events.
“I always get myself motivated by visiting other ACG events as a participant either locally, in Peninsular Malaysia or out of Malaysia,” she said, citing AniManGaki in Kuala Lumpur as one of the best she had ever attended.
The greatest challenge in being an event organiser, Chin said, was in the finances.
“Organising an event is very costly if we want to bring in better experiences from out of Sarawak to the local community here.
“I also face problems in juggling between work and the event because most of our sponsors or event partners can only meet up during working hours. Then, there are some official matters that can only be done on weekdays,” she shared.
In terms of human resources to run the event, Chin said it was not hard to get help from fellow enthusiasts.
“There are some very reliable and passionate volunteers who help us with the event, but we still welcome more to join us.
Chin showing the plush toys of Otakyun!’s mascot Gao-nyan.
“An important lesson I’ve learnt from this journey so far is to stay calm at all times while managing and coordinating the event.
“When an event is successfully concluded and everyone enjoys it, I feel satisfied and I hope to achieve even greater heights next time,” she said.
Otakyun! Convention is a major annual ACG event that made its debut in 2014, bringing together thousands of like-minded enthusiasts to share and spread the love for anime, manga, video games and Japanese culture.
It is helmed by a voluntary group of enthusiasts known as Anime Gathering, which has been organising ACG events in Kuching since 2007.
