&Friends Manila 2025 review: A good start for a new event

It brought together some of the best content creators with a star studded music fest as backdrop

Komiks creators Sskait, Hunghang Flashbacks, Little Things PH, Aeonix, Yokify, and Libreng Komiks engage in a lively discussion during the "Color Me Surprised" panel on day 1 of And Friends.

The first ever &Friends Festival at the Okada Manila was such a celebration of pop culture and digital content creation. It united some of the world’s best digital creators with the best of Filipino talents in the field. Held over two days in the country’s most prestigious luxury casino resort, paired with perhaps the loudest return of the EDM megashow scene in the country with a Zedd as major headliner with the biggest ever lineup of musical acts under the roof of Cove Manila, the event proved to be the largest and most importantly, the most well managed pop culture and music festival in the country.

Massive crowds at Cove Manila await the set of Zedd on Day 1 of &Friends (Credit: Philippine Concerts/FB)

One of the best parts about the Expo at the AndFriends Festival would be the lineup of headliner content creators at the event. Some of the finest figures in the world of digital content were brought in to meet their Filipino fans. Some of them are visiting Manila for the first time while some others like the vtuber Shoto as well as twitch streamers Dish, Tuonto, and AnthonyChenn are returning to the country. In addition, some major local content creators have also converged at Okada’s Crystal Pavilion. Many of them came not only to meet some of the best international creators but also they came to have all sorts of meetups with each other as well as do collab content and much more. All sorts of creators were very well represented at the event from artists to cosplayers to vtuber fans to gamers, not only in the panels but also just walking around the expo grounds. You never really knew what or who you would run into. Above all, it seemed to be an event that brought some of the finest creators of content together in one roof, especially with the backdrop being the nicest luxury casino resort in the country. In fact I did meet one great creator at the event: Cholo Tolentino, the Philippine country head 

The author with Gank PH country head and geek content creator Cholo Tolentino

The lineup as well has to be the most well managed parts of the event. There were guests for every interest, every fandom, and every kind of lifestyle imagined. Not to mention, they did such a good job of blending the best of local Filipino creators and some of the global talents that have been beloved by Filipinos. The “Color Me Surprised” panel at Day 1 was the first of many panels and it featured local komiks makers. It also happened to be the most unhinged panels because the artists were passing around what work they started and the results were not what you were going to expect. 

Same goes for the “Food Wars” panel with top internet chefs such as IGumDrop of the US, Donut Daddy of Australia and our very own Jujumao in a hilarious taste testing challenge. Donut Daddy’s running jokes at the taste test segment left me laughing very hard.

The komiks artists showcase their playful creations at the "Color Me Surprised" panel, engaging the audience with their imaginative and witty drawings.

IGumdrop, Donut Daddy, Kenny Song, and Jujumao engage in a discussion about their food content during the vibrant "Food Wars" panel, energized by hosts Sophy and Rebyckzo.

IGumdrop shares a joyful moment with the author during her return to Manila.

Vtuber Shoto brought the house on Day 2 of the event with his highly anticipated return. I felt the energy of Shoto’s Filipino fans or his “Guildies” who turned up in full force for his panel. He shared some of the things he has been up to since his last visit to Manila. Shoto’s talk made for some amazing interactions among the crowd, which was much bigger than the first day. There were technical errors causing a minor significant schedule change but nevertheless, Shoto’s big show went on and it added even more excitement and anticipation to many of the Guildies in the crowd

Shoto enjoying his time onstage with the Filipino Guildies during his panel

All these panels were brought together by amazing hosting by content creators Sophy Mapua and Rebyckzo. Both had lots of great energy, kept the crowds engaged, and kept every panelist very well engaged. Even with technical errors at some point, the energy of the two added even more vibes for the event.

There was also an eclectic number of booths at the event, catering to all sorts of interests from toys and collectibles to komiks and drawings. Some of the creators at the event also had their own booths selling their signed prints, merch made by or for them, and taking pictures for meet and greets. Speaking of which, the lines for meet and greets were also very well managed, I was able to line up to see IGumdrop and I did not feel like I was lining up for a long time because the crowd flow was very smooth and orderly. I also managed to meet content creator Dish very early in the morning while the crowd was not very thick and had a lovely time with her.

Anyway back to the booths. Tito Steef’s retro gaming hub seemed to be the most attractive of the booths at the event with many eventgoers heading there to grind on some timeless games after a full day’s browsing through the event. Locally had an impressive stand featuring fruit shakes inspired by the brand’s various flavors. Various vendors have turned up including a seller of blind book packs with such bespoke tastes in literature, as well as tons of merch related to Shoto and Ironmouse. The Renaissance Faire Ph also made an appearance at the event as well. 

Day 1 had a bit of a low crowd turnout at the Expo at opening as it was a Friday and people had work and school. However later on in the afternoon, more people began to show up, the crowd slightly thickened at the Expo, and more people turned up as the raves at the Cove got underway. Zedd’s set had a massive crowd proving once and for all that EDM was not dead in the Philippines, it only got better. I was unable to go to those as my media pass tier did not cover the concert but I heard many great things about it and boy, was the Cove packed for Zedd!

It was during Day 2, a Saturday, that the most crowds showed up at the Expo. It was very much evidenced by the amount of people turning up for the Free Primogems Here panel with Dish, Tuonto, and AnthonyChenn as well as the panels for vtubers Shoto and Ironmouse in which the Creator Stage was filled to the brim with many of their fans and followers. 

There was only one problem though, and that was some technical errors on Day 2 while Shoto was preparing for his segment. This led to a change in the schedule but it seemed not to affect the overall vibe.

Overall I would have to say that &Friends was quite a wonderful experience. There may have been a bit of a technical glitch at one point but that did not ruin the fun of the event. 

&Friends did well on its promise of bringing friends together, from the experience of meeting the content creators that became your virtual friends, browsing through merch and jamming with your real friends, or making some new friends among the crowd that shared your interests. At the end of the day, it was all about celebrating friendships of all sorts, from real to virtual, with music, panels, and more. 

Ruta Septys in Manila

I enjoyed the opportunity to meet a writer who more than just writes historical fiction, she has a whole other life of her own.

Fully Booked has its very first major author event for 2024 and it was also free to attend so I jumped on to this opportunity to meet a new author and discover not only what they write about but also how Filipino bookworms react to seeing that author and the energy that these writers share whenever they are out of the writing cave.

The first writer to visit Fully Booked for a major event this year was also an international writer. Ruta Sepetys is well known for writing powerful historical fiction with some of her most popular titles including among others, Between Shades of Grey, Out Of The Easy, I Must Betray You, and Salt To The Sea. Many of her stories deal with many aspects of some of the worst atrocities in human history but it also gives readers a wholesome human aspect that is filled with the power of a love for humanity and a hope for the future generation.

For Ruta, writing historical fiction is not as very easy as what most people think in terms of how much research you have to make in order to make a historically-based story immersive. She has to do even more in order to delve into the scale of the event or the time period. She has to go to many different countries and interviews all kinds of people. For Salt To The Sea which centers around those repressed under the Lithuanian military government, she had to conduct interviews with many of those victims across many platforms. Her visit here to the Philippines not only was to promote her books and meet readers here, but she also as part of an extensive research project for a future novel she is writing about people with leprosy around the world and their many struggles.

The energy Ruta had at the event was very electric and it lit up the entire room filled by some book clubs who came as groups as a show of support for the books. Every minute of the conversation was filled with many great ideas and pearls of wisdom. Sure, writing historical fiction can be a very tough job, especially for people like me who are moved by strong emotions. Her secrets to living a good life despite most of her time living in her writing cave were shared with us the audience, such as listening to some instrumental music or taking some time out in nature were captivating for most of us.

As you can see here, going to these author events are a totally fun experience especially if you want to meet new writers and explore some new book recs, it also gives you a chance to see them in a completely different way. Sometimes you get to see them share some lighthearted stories and have fun with the audience even before the event. The photo you see on top of this post was taken while going around the store. I had a really sweet small conversation with her in which I introduced her to some of the books from the podcasters I loved. She was very delighted that I introduced her to them and had a bit of a nice talk.

I hope you get to experience some events like this in 2024, especially with the Philippine Book Festival is coming up. It is a wonderful chance to meet authors both local and international as well as to discover some great Pinoy reads. It will be happening in April, follow the National Book Development Board - Philippines on their social media channels for more details and announcements. Also follow Fully Booked on social medias for more future author events and how you can join.

INDIE ANIMATION SHOWCASE: Lackadaisy

This masterpiece of independent animation brings together animated worlds in an unforgettable tale from the roaring 20s.

Based off of the popular webtoon set in Prohibition-era Deep South, the pilot of Lackadaisy has been seen by many indie animation fans as one of the finest animated shorts on Youtube, and at the time of writing, has garnered 12 million views since it was uploaded in March 2023. PHOTO: Lackadaisy Tracy/X (@LackadaisyCats)

POV: It's the height of the Prohibition in the heart of the American Deep South. A group of cats, one of which is a master performer whose family belongs to a group of bootleggers, the other being part of a rival gang out to get anyone with a stash of alcohol.

Is this a videogame? Or something that's straight out of Japanese anime that happens to be set in the West during the 1920s? Well. this does sound like one but it really isn,t.

What this really refers to is the premise of the independent animated short film Lackadaisy, based on the webtoon of the same title by Tracy J. Butler.

There are so many things that left me impressed by this short. One of these standouts for me is the artstyle of the animation. The art is for me a major aspect of this film as it really fits into every change in the plot's flow. The film's opening, a love letter to the mighty Missisipi, glows with absolute delight as it carries the charm of heartland culture. However as the plot starts to make a dramatic shift, so does the film's art style. As the intense car chase gets underway, the style changes to drastically to reflect the tension and thrill of the high intensity action sequence.

Perhaps what struck me the most about this film is the fact that Lackadaisy perfectly intertwines the worlds of Japanese and Western animation into what I consider to be a masterpiece in the world of indie toons. This perfectly blends together the magic and emotion of Studio Ghibli and many Japanese animations with the historical feels of popular period pieces such as Bridgerton, the Red Dead Redemption game series, or Spy x Family, as well as the action thriller elements that have become the hallmarks of animes like Jiujitsu Kaisen and Mob Pshyco 100, as well as their Western equivalents such as The Owl House, as there are many exciting twists and turns that pack the entirity of this half hour pilot episode.

Every minute of this is brimming with so much raw emotion and a sense of immersion into the world of Lackadaisy as they come provided with the impressive design of the characters and the setting of this pilot in which Wes Anderson would have loved to discover and explore.

With all these factors in mind, it's very easy for animation aficionados the world over have looked up to Lackadaisy since its initial upload in March. This really is a masterpiece that speaks very dearly to fans of indie animation, which makes it one of the best indie animated projects on Youtube in 2023.

No matter if you are a newcomer to the world of Youtube indie animators, or someone who has followed this Internet animation revolution for the past few years and marvelled at the progress these creators have made, or perhaps someone like me, who crossed over to the world of indie cartoons from mainstream animation whether Japanese or Western, Lacadaisy has everything you'll ever need to begin appreciating Internet indie cartoons.

If you liked this, then definitely give Hazbin Hotel, Helluva Boss, and The Amazing Digital Circus a shot in order to explore more of the wonderful world of YouTube independent animation

You can see more Lackadaisy on these social media pages.

https://www.instagram.com/lackadaisycats/

https://twitter.com/LackadaisyFilm

https://twitter.com/LackadaisyCats

https://www.tumblr.com/lackadaisycats

https://discord.gg/lackadaisy