Philippine Cosplay Queen – Alodia Gosengfiao

I can’t really remember when I first heard the name Alodia, but I know that at the time she was already an icon among cosplayers and avid anime enthusiasts. I do remember the situation to which I found out about her though, it was in one of the anime conventions hubby and I attended at the Mega Trade Hall; we were at the time with the boys and were buying some collectible stuffs when all of a sudden the crowd went wild for some reason then I heard a few them saying that Alodia had arrived. At the time I didn’t know who Alodia was and what the big deal was about. Then, Alodia and her sister walked into the hall and people were pushing against each other to take her picture and have their picture taken with her. I smiled at the obvious adoration of the crowd for these two young ladies.

Then that was it, I brushed it off as just something unusual. A few months later I saw their picture on a Cosplay (costume play) magazine, a few weeks later I saw her picture on the internet and at crunchyroll none at the less. Now, that made me raise an eyebrow —- exactly who was this girl and what has she done to make her an instant celebrity (of some sort).  So, obviously I did the most logical thing…I googled her name…  🙂

She was born Alodia Almira Arraiza Gosiengfiao, on March 9, 1988 in Quezon City, Philippines. She is of Filipino-Chinese-Spanish descent which may be responsible for gorgeous looks.  She graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University, one of the premiere univesities in the country, with a  BFA Information Design degree. Some of her achievements include:

– won the grand prize at the C3 Convention in 2003 as Gun Mage Rikku of FFX-2; this event started it all for Alodia.

– featured on the cover of Issue 14 of Culture Crash Magazine, a Manga Magazine in the Philippine.

– in the 2009 issue of FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World, she was ranked 87.

– she was also named by UNO Magazine as one of the most influential women in the Philippines.

– she is currently Animax Asia’s newest VJ

– and the reigning Philippine Cosplay Queen for which she was usually called Queen Alodia both by anime, game and cosplay enthusiasts and also the media.

…..now why what prompted this blog?

Well, seeing Alodia today on TV just got me thinking that Alodia probably never expected to gain so much fame when she entered that C3 Cosplay event 7 years ago; she probably even doubted she would win grand prize! But here she was now…getting invited anywhere and everywhere and gaining fans among gamers, cosplayers and anime enthusiasts all over Asia..and what’s to say that she would not be recognized in other parts of the globe too???!!!

True that one of these days, hopefully very long into the future, Alodia’s flame will dim and she will be replaced by someone younger, taking her throne as Cosplay Queen but I am sure Alodia will always be remembered as the first, the one who started it all. And that was all due to the favored hand of fate that touched her and she in her turn accepted the blessing and bathe in its glory. It’s also important to mention that this girl is very accomodating and sweet, she enjoys the attention of her fans and in turn she gives them her attention and time whenever she appears in public. In the many conventions I have been and where she was too, I have never seen her tire or even complain; she was always smiling and ready to have her pictures taken with this or that fan…of their little boy or girl…hehehe!

Note: Alodia is now joined by her sister Ashley in cosplaying and they are now commonly called the Gosengfiao sisters.

Some pictures of Alodia on cosplay:

Alodia as Misa Amane from the anime Death Note

as Alexiel from Angel Sanctuary

as Lili Rochefort from the video game Tekken

Alodia as the Baroness from GI Joe

as Amaha from Witchblade…this photo was also Alodia’s entry to the upcoming Otacool 2

Don’t know what anime/game it was from but she looks so good on this one!!!!!

Alodia endorsing a popular Japanese skin care product

Enough said…hehehe!

The Gosengfiao Sisters:

Alodia and Ashley Gosengfiao