Otaku Pop Fes 2026 review

The ultimate anime experience has landed in the Philippines

It was promised to be the grandest gathering of anime fans that the country has ever seen and it has become something more than that, it became a new beginning for how anime conventions in the Philippines will look and feel and it gave the otaku, cosplay, and K-pop fans in Manila and beyond something spectacular to aspire for.

That was exactly what CBZN Perspective, the team behind the country’s largest gaming experience PGDX gave us when they held the inaugural Otaku Pop Fes at Okada Manila last April 25-26, 2026. In partnership with key Japanese intellectual property and gaming company CyberAgent Group, responsible for anime licensing and games like Umamusume: Pretty Derby and Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond. This one of a kind partnership and synergy between a key influencer in the Philippine gaming space and one of the leaders in Japanese intellectual property management. Spread out across two venues in Okada: the Cove and the Grand Ballroom. The Cove was home to the main stage where cosplay competitions happened during the day and was brought to life at night with exciting concerts from fan favorite anime song acts.

OPF 2026 was such a packed showcase of the best in anime, and that was one of the reasons why it garnered so many attendees throughout the two day affair. With special arrangements with major anime licensees and top anime makers such as Toho Animation, TMS, TV Tokyo, MBS TV (Osaka) and plenty of other key anime makers and distributors including Muse Philippines. Because of these exclusive partnerships with top anime companies, the event boasted of sales of anime merchandise that was available exclusively at the event. Many items from some popular anime were sold out rapidly on the first day as evidenced by the massive lines that have formed around the merch sales. 

At the Grand Ballroom, anime fans experienced immersive exhibits and experiences based on some of the hottest and most popular anime among Filipino and Asian viewers including SPY X FAMILY. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Naruto, Witch Watch, Tokyo Revengers, Sakamoto Days, and Dan Da Dan. Fans got to snap pictures with their favorite anime characters through photowalls and won exclusive swag from these properties.

The Grand Ballroom had a series of stage events including anime song DJ sets from DJ Kazu, special anime screenings, Beyblade tourneys, and the raffle where various anime themed items were given away to lucky congoers.

Meanwhile over at the Cove, an even more elevated experience awaited anime fans and cosplayers alike. Many people were mesmerized by the epic Cosplay Competitions where many duked it out in order to win major prizes including exclusive merch, and the top winners got a chance to represent the Philippines at a major Japanese convention. Meet and greets with some of the finest names in Philippine cosplay including Een Mercado and Prince De Guzman were also a main highlight of the event.

As the day turned into nighttime, the atmosphere turned even more electric with the excitement of the concert series which featured some of the best names in anime music including Hiroshi Katadani, the one behind the One Piece soundtrack, Eir Aoi, the singer of the opening for Sword Art Online, and K-pop powerhouse UNIS were the musical acts that brought the house down with so much energy making unforgettable moments for attendees. 

Otaku Pop Fes was truly an unforgettable experience and more than that, it’s become one a fresh and new contender to the world of cosplay and anime conventions in the country. The photospots served as points of conversations with many fans. The setting of Okada Manila served as a beautiful backdrop for so many photoshoots. With the official partnerships with some of the finest and in-demand anime IPs, this helped add even more prestige to the event and brought even more fans to the event. In my eye, this was the real star attraction of the event as many took the opportunity to snag exclusive anime merch they can only get at the event as evidenced by so many long lines. 

I really hope Otaku Pop Fes becomes one of the most highly anticipated anime events in the country. Maybe by next year they can get more partnerships and more IPs on board, more exclusive merch and of course, even more great Japanese artists coming over.

Above all, it's a very good start for OPF.