Sugoi! Fandoms and Anime Icons Come Alive at Cosplay Carnival 2025

The March-awaited cosplay event returned for its 7th year, kicking off a refreshing season filled with invigorating cosplay experiences, unforgettable encounters, and thrilling adventures through stalls of anime and pop culture exhibitors.
Cosplay Carnival 2025 is a two-day festive gathering of all things cosplay and anime. This year’s event took place last Mar. 22 and 23, 2025 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City with the theme “Spring Serenade” — a fitting name considering it’s the inaugural gathering of the 2025 “Seasons of Cosplay” lineup by Cosplay.ph, which consists of six major events inspired by the seasons including FanFes (May 17 to 18), Anime & Cosplay Expo (July 19 to 20), the flagship event Cosplay Mania (Oct. 3 to 5), Cosmeet Fall Festival (Oct. 25 to 26), and Cosplay Matsuri Winter Wonderland (Dec. 28 to 30).
In addition to being the first cosplay event of the year, it also launched the first-ever Japanese Anime Music (JAM) concert which brought to the stage Japanese artist Akase Akari who is best known for the song “Koi no Yukue” from “My Dress-Up Darling” anime, and voice actress Shuka Saito who lent her voice to You Watanabe in “Love Live! Sunshine!!”
The Beat Manila got to attend this explosive opener, and let us just tell you, there’s much to be excited about for the rest of the year after seeing what they had in store for us in this spring gathering. So buckle up, we’re telling you all about some of our favorite things at the carnival.
Event Highlights: Merch, Music, and Meet & Greets
A huge part of being in a fandom is getting merchandise. Whether you’re on the lookout for exclusive and official merch from your favorite anime shows or hoping to find rare fan-made items, Cosplay Carnival has it all!
From the moment you walk into the hall, the stalls are lined up all the way to the back — featuring shops selling plush toys, anime keychains, action figures, manga, art books, character banners, and photo cards. There are also anime-inspired jackets and hoodies. Sport your favorite team jersey from “Haikyu!!” or don the uniform blazers of the badass students from Furin High School in “Wind Breaker.” Deeper into the stalls, you’ll also find popular Japanese pop culture icons such as Sanrio and Studio Ghibli characters, Mofusand, Gudetama, and the video game love interests from the popular otome (visual novel) game, “Love and Deepspace.”


Another one of our favorite finds was the stack of katana swords from some of your favorite Shōnen (boys' comics) manga and shows!
Meanwhile, the back section of the hall is dedicated to art exhibitors who create fan art and unofficial merchandise inspired by anime shows and characters. You’ll find here sticker packs, adorable crochet characters, and hand-crafted jewelry.


On the main stage, a Cosplay Auction also took place where attendees bid on exclusive and rare items for as low as P1! Yes, you heard that right. Some lucky fans were able to take home massive plushies for P500, as well as action figures, Funko Pops, and rare anime bedsheets for only P350! Talk about a steal!
Afterwards, a couple of competitions took place, which we believed was the highlight of the event, considering “Spring Serenade” is all about music. Brave hearts took to the stage for Cosplay Karaoke, where contestants were challenged to sing a few bars. The singer who performs best wins. However, there’s a catch: they don’t know the song they’ll be singing until they are up on stage with each track selected by a randomizer and ranging from Japanese anime anthems to OPM (Original Pinoy Music) and Western pop tracks. The karaoke contest was done in solos and in pairs, with about ten contestants each vying to be your next anime idol.


Also on the main stage were special performances by musical guests and internationally renowned cosplayers. We got to see Filipino Vtuber (Virtual Youtuber) Ecotone perform a few songs, as well as the Philippine Japanese idol cover group Ivy! Musume raised the energy with some amazing stages.

One of the event's major sponsors, Mountain Dew, also brought in well-known cosplayers King Angel and Nikkinikki. And, of course, we couldn’t forget our meeting with Hong Kong Malaysia-based cosplayer Baobao. At the front of the venue, there’s a lineup of booths for several special guests, from cosplayers to musicians selling their official merchandise. You can also get a chance to take photos with them! Some of the guests along the “All-Star Avenue” include Pomponmy x Kousei - 幸星 , Radiant, Shifu Cosplay x Carleen – Karin, and ZakiNyan x Sowon. Each booth was packed with special surprises, and if you came in your best cosplay gear, you could also get your photos professionally taken in one of the special set design booths at the event!


Amid the merch and meet and greets, the JAM concert took fans on a wild ride of music and fun as Akase Akari and Shuka Saito took to the stage in Hall 2, closing the event with a bang on Sunday night.
The first cosplay convention of the year truly gave us a weekend of fun and excitement, and we can’t wait to see what Cosplay.ph has in store for the rest of the year. One down, five to go! And judging by this event, a bright and explosive year awaits cosplay and anime fans in the Philippines.
Follow Cosplay.ph on Facebook, X (Formerly Twitter), and Instagram for updates.
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