A Different Attraction in Parks and Wildlife



The most elaborate costume

The Bulwagang Ninoy 

I was in Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife last Saturday. But aside from the usual plant lecture and visiting the demo plot, we got to experience a different treat - cosplay. Everytime we are at the park we see a lot of younger people dressing up and having their pictures taken. But we always assumed that these were either students making school projects or commercial ads with little location budget.


School girl and warrior

School girls all

Last week I learned that some are basically avid costume addicts dressing up like their favorite cartoon hero (nowadays these are mostly characters in what they call anime or Japanese animation). Just to fully copy the get-up of their favorite anime character is fulfillment enough and the pictures are taken as proof of their accomplishment. And when they are fully-garbed, they are in synch with the character they emulate, complete with weapons and the attitude to make it perfect for the camera. Ultimately they chose the ruggedness of the Wildlife landscape to be their backdrop, a change from the usual concrete jungle setting in Manila. It is really a contrast between action/adventure and serene/natural. To these new breed of cosplayers, more plants versus your zombies and monsters! More power to your hopefully far-from-final fantasies.