by Chua Wei Ling
Over the past weekend, ICDS saw the gathering of East and West pop culture fans coming together at *Scape. From cosplayers to artists, up to 3 floors of the premises were busy with life from this once yearly event that is for fans, and by fans.
The Ground Theatre was the centre of most activities, ranging from card games activities, to stage performances such as the Cosplay Runway and Anime Quiz on Saturday, and Cosplay Chess on Sunday. There was also a good range of booths here too, with a small corner for cosplayers to touchup on their makeup should the need arise as well, courtesy of one of the sponsors. On top of that, PlasMo (plastic model) enthusiasts were also hard at work showcasing their talents within the compound too.
On the 4th and 5th floors for *Scape, fan artists selling their creations can be seen drawing in crowds, and fans could also seek the autograph of the respective fan artists too. Much thoughts certainly went through in organizing the layout for the respective booths, as it ensured that the crowd had ample of space to walk, browse and purchase their items.
The Cosplay Runway and Cosplay Chess featured cosplayers and their highly-detailed costumes – from mechs to armours and weapons, it can be seen that careful thoughts have been placed by the respective persons for that short 1min or so on stage. The only gripe I had was the background music that was playing, as it did not tally with the characters, their backstory or atmosphere/actions for most of them.
All in all, ICDS has grown to be much bigger than it was, and it is heartening to see the organizers checking on fan artists and their sales for the day as well as any concerns they have. With the bar set high for 2015, we can’t wait to see what 2016 edition will bring!
