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.  

PR REPOST: GEEK+POP Brings Card Collectibles and Fighting Games Together This May

The action continues with trading cards and fight sticks as Geek+Pop brings the two worlds together for an action-packed weekend you shouldn’t miss. Geek+Pop’s Philippine International Collectibles and Card Show (PICCS) and RESBAK is happening on May 23 to 24, 2026 at SPACE at One Ayala, Makati City.

IT’S THE CROSSOVER EVENT OF THE YEAR!

For The Collectors

The Philippine International Collectibles and Card Show (PICCS) will feature a huge selection of booths and activities catering to tradable card games, including Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon TCG, Alpha Clash, One Piece Card Game, Disney Lorcana, and Cardfight!! Vanguard, Flesh & Blood, Yu-Gi-Oh! and more for those who love some card-slinging action or just want to complete their collection, and there will also be tabletop miniature games from Unmatched and Warhammer 40,000 for those who want to witness miniature armies in action, or marvel at the gallery of painted miniatures on display.

A series of tournaments will happen, including on-demand side events running throughout the weekend. There’s always a game event waiting for you—whether you’re a newbie, casual, or bracket 5 pro player. Beyond the tournaments, the show floor will be buzzing with high-stakes auctions, thrilling box breaks, spontaneous pack wars, and live raffles happening throughout the day. One of the big highlights of the program is the Pokémon Hour, a special hour dedicated to everything Pokémon.

For The Fighters

Fighting Games are making a comeback, and Geek+Pop: Resbak is here to keep that momentum, bringing together gaming enthusiasts and competitive players. Resbak will feature tournaments of the big fighting game titles, including Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, Super Smash Bros., Granblue Fantasy Versus, and Invincible VS. Plus, side tournaments and activities for other fan-favorite titles for those who still can’t get enough of the action.

POWER TO THE COMMUNITY WITH CCEPLAY

This year, PICCS & Resbak is powered by CCEPlay, a groundbreaking gamified engagement platform. Launched during Campus Playfest 2025, CCEPlay connects, rewards, and activates communities through digital quests, surveys, and online activities. Offline, CCEPlay fuses digital with IRL by serving as a digital passport, allowing attendees to do booth activities, scan the QR code to complete the activity, and claim their freebies and join raffles. Register at CCEPlay now and unlock quests and prizes now!

In addition to event activities, CCEPlay is also launching the Communities feature on the website very soon. Registered users can post, create polls, and interact with other community members across different topics, from school life to games to other hobbies and niche interests. CCEPlay Communities allows everyone to express themselves constructively and earn points on the Leaderboard for interacting with posts to earn exclusive prizes!

DON’T MISS THE SPECIAL GUESTS APPEARING AT THE EVENT

Geek+Pop isn’t stopping with their main attractions, as they are also bringing special guests to the event. One of them is the fan-favorite grindcore band Tubero, who will be performing at the event to make the crowd go wild. Fans can also look forward to more guests appearing at Geek+Pop PICCS & Resback, where everyone can have meet-and-greet opportunities and see them make stage appearances throughout the weekend.

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW

Geek+Pop PICCS & Resbak is a weekend-long festival where collectors, gamers, and casual fans come together to celebrate their love for their geekdom. Whether you're a seasoned TCG warrior, a competitive, a passionate miniatures painter, or a fighting game player starting their journey. This is the event you don't want to miss. You can get your tickets at https://geekpop.helixpay.ph/

This landmark event is made possible through the support of Oxley Grading (organizers of the Singapore Cardshow), XURE App, LOADED PH, High Market Hobbies, Infinity Hobbies, Toy Shogun, XLNZ, Unmatched Roadshow, Warhammer PH, and the rest of the amazing exhibitors. Their passion, innovation, and community leadership are helping raise the bar for what a Pop Culture Event can be—and shaping a new era of geek culture in the Philippines.

Visit the official social media channel of Geek+Pop for updates

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GeekPop28

Toycon's Summer Prelude: are you ready?

The hottest pop culture event is coming this weekend, part of the road to the country's grandest celebration of pop culture.

Courtesy: TOYCON PH: The Philippine Toys, Hobbies and Collectibles Convention/FB (all photos in this post)

Summer is about to heat up, but the pop culture celebrations are about to be even cooler.

The country’s largest and Southeast Asia’s longest running pop culture convention, ToyCon, kicks off its 2026 slate of events this weekend with its Summer Prelude at the Okada Manila, the country’s most prestigious casino resort. Last year the Summer Prelude drew plenty of hobbyists, card game players and collectors as well as cosplayers and other fans of popular culture as it was a free event. This year, the only free event in the Toycon slate is about to get even more exciting with more features than ever before.

For the first time ever, the ToyCon people will team up with the folks at Project CC to bring the first ever Cosplay Fiesta to the event, which will supplement the main ToyCon. This means that the event is now spread across two venues in the beautiful Okada Manila: Toys and Collectibles at the Crystal Pavilion, and the Cosplay Fiesta at The Garden.

The Crystal Pavillion will transform into a mecca for toy collectors of all kinds as major vendors of collectible items including action figures, diecast cars, LEGO, Funko Pop, retro games, and many many more will be present at the event. There will also be a massive warehouse sale for collectible items across all the vendors with some items at a special discount of up to 70% off on amazing collectibles.

Idol performances will also be a highlight of the event as various local idol groups will take the stage at the event with electrifying performances and more excitement than you can shake a lightstick at. Some of the best local idol talent including Pastel Mix, AiDreamin, and Hoshizora will perform alongside Japanese talents like Super Macaroni Salad and Kamen Joshi. 

However the main and most exciting highlight of this event is the Cosplay Fiesta. Together with Projex CC, ToyCon Summer Prelude brings something exciting to the cosplay community in Manila: A night market where every moment will become memorable and the night turns into the ultimate isekai adventure. The Cosplay Fiesta boasts of some of the nation’s best cosplayers having booths, an artist alley where you can browse through fanmade anime merch, and have some fun with cosplay contests and photoshoot areas, and because its a night event, it becomes more magical. 

The Summer Prelude will serve as the overture to ToyCon’s 2026 event calendar, as this marks the start of the road to ToyCon X this coming June at SMX Mall Of Asia, where some of the biggest collectible reveals and deals, plus some exciting features like panels and star appearances. The Summer Prelude event, with all of the exciting details mentioned above, will be the perfect prelude to the ultimate and the most highly anticipated pop cons in the Philippines and Southeast Asia’s longest running pop culture celebration!

See you at Okada this weekend for the biggest and brightest pop culture event this side of summer!