…and the Philippines will have its chance on making it to the world stage
Imagine this: You are in an anime/J-pop concert with your lightstick, doing the traditional cheers for the singer/s on stage… and there’s the other guys who are passionately doing so. These are referred to as wota, and they are doing the dance that I refer to as wotagei (we can also refer to this as cyalume dance).
Imagine them doing it — only this time, they are the stars of the show.
I think that’s how I can describe the Cyalume World Battle.
Yes, there exists a worldwide tournament for the best wotageishi, and the Philippines is included in the map.
According to the website of the Cyalume World Battle, “cyalume dance” formed a new culture that combines light, art and dance. This stemmed from the videos of Ginyu forcE uploaded online in 2009.
Almost a decade after, it has evolved into a performance art, spreading to various countries.
Gear, a member of Ginyu forcE, leads the way in building a worldwide competition to determine the best wotagei dancers around the world. This is backed by Lumica, a manufacturer of cyalume lights, or what we know as glowsticks. The Cyalume World Battle started in Japan last year, and was also featured at C3 AFA Singapore in 2017.
The theme song for the tournament is “Sanki Tousen” from Akiba’s Trip the Animation, sung by the seiyuu unit Earphones(Rie Takahashi, Marika Kouno and Yuki Nagaku), who has released their second album “Some Dreams.”
The competition has already started with its first leg at C3 AFA Hong Kong, where Innocence is named as its representative.
In the Philippines, Cosplay Mania 10 will be the host for the Philippine qualifiers. As of the time this is posted online, it is confirmed that Ginyu forcE will appear, and it is possible that they will have a guest DJ with them.
Lumica will have a booth at Cosplay Mania 10, and it will set up the battle stage for the first Filipino representative to fly to Japan for the finals on January 20, 2019.
Prior to this, the Cyalume World Battle will have tournament legs in the US (at Anime Expo on July 6–7), China (at bilibili World on July 20–22), in Taiwan (expected to be at the Taipei Comic Exhibition from August 18–19), C3 AFA x GAME START Jakarta (from September 1–2), at Omotesandou GROUND in Japan (on September 23), and at C3 AFA Singapore (from November 30-December 1).
More information about the Cyalume World Battle is posted on its website.
Hat tip to Bryll Murro of Wotagei Pilipinas for sharing the news.