Point Zero: Redefining Otaku

Three weeks after ‘The EOY09′ has ended its magnificent show of it EOY revival, what future holds in this entity whose very existence is once again a big question mark.

For EOY to go pass this year, it will need to see either radical new change which can answer the overcrowding problem or revert back to the original formula which kept EOY going since the beginning.

The dissolving of Shiro Tsubasa Animation Club (STAC) after ‘STAC EOY08′ was major news to local Japanese anime community as it meant on of the longest running cosplay event has come to its end. It was then revive by a whole new committee with a new direction for EOY, but how do the community react to the change?

This years The EOY'09 had showcased many talented local performer

In a statement made in online forum sgcafe.com, Tim Wong, Chairperson of ‘The EOY09′ committee mentioned a shift I focus into “more on musical and instrumental performance”. From what we see in ‘The EOY09′, this shift is definitely a success from overwhelming response to the performance of local artist and to have an overseas artist performing defiantly sealed it. Yet the overall post-event responses coming from the community was ironically not very welcoming.

Topping the list from the attendees was the issue with space. Overcrowding in the event space at one point worsen till a stage where moving around in casual wear was an issue much less in a costume. Many slammed the organisers for even thinking of hosting the event at NLB Drama Centre and questioned the decision of moving out of Singapore Expo where STAC EOY had been held at for many years.

One has to understand that the choice of Drama Centre is neither illogical nor stupid. In the past, issue with the quality of the audio system had been raised and clarification was made stating that the area used by STAC EOY was no meant for performance. With that being said, to hold a concert with that existing infrastructure would be suicidal.

You may argue that EOY is still primarily a cosplay event and changes should not by any means compromise that value.  Indeed, the choice of Drama Centre can be seen as evidence that ‘The EOY09′ was planned with Yui Makino’s concert as its core instead of cosplay.

But don’t get me wrong, the organiser of ‘The EOY09′ definitely tried their best effort to balance the new changes with the old values. What finally gave ‘The EOY09′ the critical blow was the ‘The EOY09′ committee under estimating the overcrowding problem of its predecessor.

The growth of both cosplayer and non-cosplaying fan had an explosive growth inline with the increasing popularity of Japanese anime. This growth is edging towards the point of saturation and for EOY08 had actually exceeded their capacity.

Why then did it seem that ‘The EOY09′ had such big issues with space?

1. Since ‘STAC EOY08′, the community still underwent growth at rate where the increased space could not match up
2. The structure of the area limits the effective cosplay space

What really contrasted the problem is the lack of open space outside of the event area acting as a buffer for over capacity.

If the new committee is serious of running EOY for many years to come, there are two paths in which they can tackle the problem. First if they decide to continue to inject new elements into EOY, they will have to consider the need to segregate an area especially for cosplay photo taking.

Groups who stops and take photos near traffic flow effectively congest the area

For most part, there are two roadblocks to cosplay related congestion.

1. On one hand, there are group of people taking photographs
2. on the other are cosplayers who are resting

By designating a specific area, hopefully they can reduce the amount of blockage in other areas. However the cost of doing just  that would be expensive. Thus in addition, planning of programs to channel traffic flow around different zone will be vital in aide to ease the congestion and reduce the load on space.

Second way is to focus back on cosplay, delegating more space to cosplay and concentrate on planning on managing issue of cosplayers. For unlike anime event like AFA, EOY is still primary  a Cosplay event to the community and no matter what they bring in to EOY would only be taken as a value add.

How far would EOY go?

The answer to that would depend on how well the community will accept the changes which The EOY will defiantly undergo and how long they can keep up with the growth rate.