A Realization of the Cosplay and Anime Sub-Culture in Davao
- Gabriel Duldulao
- 17 minutes ago
- 5 min read
It was during a flight to the Davao region this June with the intention to visit relatives for an elder family member's birthday that I thought of something. I began to ponder expanding our calendar coverage to the island of Mindanao, potentially turning our current calendar tracking into a nationwide project. But before making that step, I needed to understand the flow of the local pop-culture scene in the region.
My first step was joining a Facebook group called the Davao Cosplayers Circle to observe how the community operates and how it differs from Manila-based organizations. Shortly after, I posted an inquiry about upcoming local pop-culture events, specifically on my stay last June 10.
Throughout my 5-day stay, I also spoke with peers, complete strangers, and local family members to gauge their familiarity with anime and the sub-culture of cosplay.
Through these inquiries, I set three distinct goals for my observation:
To understand the local art and cosplay culture in the Davao region.
To observe the general penetration of anime and pop culture among locals, including my own family.
To map out the differences between Manila and Mindanao conventions and its culture.
Disclaimer: These observations are preliminary and inherently shaped by the perspective of someone accustomed to covering Manila events visiting the Davao region. As such, I am dividing my observations into different themes that are relevant to these goals.
1. Costume remains more popular than "cosplay"
One of my first realizations when I went to Davao was how the word "costume" is more popular and widely used than "cosplay." The word cosplay is technically a portmanteau of the words costume and play, so this is to be expected coming from a region that's more conservative than the NCR. However, this concept of costume-wearing remains affixed to children's wear or perhaps those Christmas parties you have on a family trip or a company team-building event.
An example of this was when I visited a mall in Tagum City where they had a whole section specifically for costumes, which was surprising, but the contents of that section were mostly children's wear, featuring police, nurse, and even Sonic outfits.
Additionally, on my trip, I witnessed children attending a birthday party at a local buffet wearing costumes of a fairy and one dressed in a creative rendition of Rumi from KPop Demon Hunters, with the child's hair tied with a pink hair extension to make it look like a wig.
From my interactions with locals, they noted that schools primarily those in the larger cities host costume parties similar to some schools here in the Metro.
2. Quarterly events vs. weekly events
You may have seen it on our calendar with the "Metro Manila-centric" event calendar, and that's the reality of it. Unlike Metro Manila, which has multiple organizations holding events, such as the big two in Metro Manila and smaller local ones in the surrounding provinces, Davao conventions fare a bit differently. They are typically hosted by few organizers and host events quarterly or yearly rather than weekly or bi-monthly.
This can be looked at from two factors: the locations they are hosted in and general interest. Today, some people in the community state that cosplay is mainstream. However, in the provinces, it remains a niche, odd, or even a childish hobby.
While Manila has its big events such as Tanabata Festival, Otaku Pop Fes, or Cosplay Matsuri, Mindanao events, primarily in Davao, have Mindanao Cosplay Summit (MCS), Davao Pop Culture Mania (DPCM), and TGK Matsuri.
Posters of three of the largest Cosplay Conventions in Davao City: (FROM THE LEFT) 1. Mindanao Cosplay Summit,
2. TGK Masuri, 3. Davao Pop Culture Mania
In addition, conventions in Davao typically happen in three places: 1) Ayala Malls Abreeza, 2) NCCC Mall VP Dome, which is currently closed, and 3) La Herencia. These are smaller event venues compared to the typical event giants in Manila.
Typical booking locations for cosplay events in Davao City: (FROM THE LEFT) 1. Abreeza Malls by Ayala / Ayala Malls, 2. La Herencia / PIA, 3. NCCC Mall VP Done / Philippine News Agency.
3. Metropolitan areas vs. the provinces
In a working paper by Luca et al. (2022), they mentioned that cities or metropolitan regions are more progressive as they share a more diverse range of educated, higher-income, and culturally different people compared to provinces. They also mentioned Karl Marx and Max Weber's ideas that people in cities or more developed areas tend to focus on nonmaterialistic needs such as expression and identification rather than pure survival. In my five day trip to the region, I asked relatives and strangers regarding the matter, with only those from the cities knowing the word cosplay because of their peers or because they see my content here at Kuhaku.
However, some in my family do know some cosplayers but have not disclosed who they are, though they mostly see female cosplayers rather than male ones.
Knowledge of anime, meanwhile, is limited, only extending to legacy titles such as Naruto, Hunter x Hunter, and One Piece. That was also the time I promoted them to watch anime on an official channel on YouTube through Muse Asia, which I hope piques their interest to watch more.
Anime Merchandise in Tagum City.
People in the provinces don't typically think of trivial things such as cosplaying because they believe that there are more pressing things that should be looked upon first, such as survival.
As such, the concept of cosplaying for people in the metropolitan region of Manila would be more welcome and accepted compared to much more provincial areas such as areas outside Davao City.
4. Fashion-centric, not cosplay-centric
On my first night in Davao City, I had the opportunity to have a quick chat with a driver from a ride-hailing application, where I conversed with him about his knowledge of cosplaying or fashion in general. He then replied that people in the provinces and in Davao City are more accustomed to street fashion or what people here call "Geng Geng."
This comes from a strong secondhand clothing market in the country, allowing people to choose their own style and interpretations of their expression on the cheap.
5. Stronger community, Niche Community
When I first arrived in Davao, I immediately messaged a good acquaintance of mine who used to live there, named Welrith. Welrith introduced me to some of the cultural components that make up the Davao and Mindanao cosplay communities compared to the scene here in Manila.
Essentially, in our exchanges, they mentioned that the community in Mindanao is much more niche than in Manila, but that doesn't stop them from being expressive and treating cosplaying as an action rather than a form of "relationship finding." However, the noise of cheating, pedophilia, and scam issues from Manila does extend to Mindanao, albeit in a much quieter manner.
Nonetheless, cosplaying in Mindanao is treated more as a tight-knit community where individuals meet up with like-minded people or simply express themselves through their favorite characters.
One of those individuals happens to be my cousin.
Despite my short visit to the region, I have come to realize the differences between Manila and Davao conventions, even from a brief perspective. I am now considering the possibility of attending some in the future when I can. I also hope that the penetration of anime and the subculture of cosplaying continues to spread, helping to reduce the discrimination against those practicing such hobbies.
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