Self-proclaimed geek, recent college graduate and Philippine Cosplay "princess" Alodia Gosiengfiao is known for her chameleon good looks. This self-styled transformer dons boots and bazookas as readily as she does elfin ears and faerie sandals, with wigs at the ready.
"Cosplay," Gosiengfiao says, "is a combination of two words: 'Costume' and 'roleplay.'" A cosplayer assumes the role of a character from an "animé show, a video game, manga, comic series, or movies," complete with costumes, prosthetics, make-up and accessories. Cosplayers not only have to look like characters, they have to act like, sound like and essentially be the characters they portray down to the last giggle. Cosplay has been elevated into an art form and subculture in countries like Japan, the US and Europe, while in the Philippines, the popularity of cosplay has spiked in the last few years.
Like most cosplayers in the country, Gongsiengfiao got involved in cosplay out of a love for animé. Encouraged by her friends from an Internet fan forum called Animé Club, she entered her first cosplay contest in 2003 as Magic Gunner Rikku from the Final Fantasy X-2 game. She was the crowd favorite. Soon after, she and her sister Ashley appeared on the cover of Culture Crash 14 as Magic Gunner Rikku and Magic Gunner Yuna. She's since judged other cosplay contests and appeared in teen magazines, as well as being part of the Official Muse Guild for the Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG), Mu Online. She was also named endorser for Sega's beat game, Love and Berry. This year, she ranked 87th on FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World.
Gosiengfiao still stars in strikingly realistic cosplay photo shoots that become viral Internet hits, and she's acquired a devoted fanbase of anime and gaming enthusiasts. Her fans write her Wikipedia entries, put up Friendster sites, blog about her, check her website regularly for updates and flock to anime conventions and fan days hoping for that rare photo op and autograph.
SPOT.ph chatted with Gosiengfiao about dating, wearing skimpy outfits, and what you need to wear to get her attention:
What keeps you busy these days?
Modeling, freelance art-related work, and cosplay events and conventions.
She truly is the queen of Philippine cosplay. As for the Question "Why are Geeks Hot" Ummm..Just look at the pics. Why wouldnt they..=) Congrats Alodia. Another notch on your belt. =)
Definitely stunning and gorgeous..wala akong masabi....
Truly the Queen of cosplay..uncontested..she has all the qualities that men go"gaga" about..nice pics
uhm... they spelled alodia's surname wrong "Like most cosplayers in the country, Giongsiengfiao got involved in cosplay out of a love for animé. "
Can't wait for the next movie CosTrip :-) Land of the Lost kaya? T-Rex anyone?
She's good but not definitely 'QUEEN' you have other cosplayers you overlook like jin (of team tuxedo? mary grace?
Marc: the cosplayers you mentioned are just"prince and princesses" hehehe..for me she still is the "Queen"
Yes of course. She is indeed the queen of cosplays. I look forward to her other works ^_^ She's an ideal girl, wouldn't you agree guys?
No doubt about it..she is the bomb and she rocks dude..
I love alodia...she is every man's dream...it is only in my dreams that she reciprocates my love for her...I will just keep on dreaming the "Impossible Dream".
hnn..I like the tuxedo team better. :) peace!
She definitely is the Queen. I've known Alodia for close to six years and I knew there was something special about her from the first time I met her. You just somehow knew it when you meet her. She has great physical beauty, an overwhelming innate charm & a true heart of a "geek". She truly deflects the traditional image of a nerd. She is "otakuness" glamorized. These have catapulted her to the unique position she now holds in the country. Great job on the interview, Myrza! You too, Laurice... ^__^
Laurice did it! Thanks, Laurice, Dyan and Alodia!
she is a "live doll" and a darling amongst us..keep up the good work..you will definitely reach the moon!!
These pictures are amazing!
to marc: why my name mentioned here?! I'm just a newbie. to all: for me, there's no such cosplay queen. If then, who will make such criteria? It's really hard to measure it. Actually, we are fan of each other! :) I can't even choose between Jin and Alodia. hehehe... SPREAD PEACE!
by the way, at robert c.: Jin is actually a female/princess. And she's really sweet! I'm nothing compared to their achievements.
Thank you for the feature! :) I am really honored. But I agree with Mary Grace, there is no queen in cosplay. :) There are a lot of talented and note-worthy cosplayers out there. Learning from each other and admiring each others' work is what most of us have been doing over the past few years. And since cosplaying not always about competition, this pretty much makes our special hobby fun to do! We get inspired by fellow cosplayers and hopefully our works inspire others as well! ^_^v
Again, She's amazing we cant take that away from her, Im honestly a fan...but i just dont think its right to tag her in such way...I thought that it was humble of alodia to disclaim the title...and btw...check the stats of Jin, u might be surprised...not a prince or princess at all...just so you know
Btw, i was just trying to note some amazing cosplayers, not saying they should be queen or king or whatever, its these titles that cause so much crab mentality among cosplayers and fans....i just don't get it To Mary Grace: Youre costumes constuction are amazing...what's lacking is a photographer for the world to see how great your craft is... To Alodia: Youre one of the best filipino cosplayers of our time, keep it up your such an overachiever and inspiration