His peers call him sensei, a Japanese word which means "teacher." This indicates how far Marc John I. Martinez has gone in the world of cosplay.
Marc, or Macky to close friends, lives in Upper Cadre Site. A big guy with an unassuming mien, he surprises you with his total transformation once he gets into character at a given cosplay event.
Cosplay, he explains, is a term that came from the contraction of "costume and player." "It is a performance art in which participants called 'cosplayers' wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character."
During a cosplay event, the participants act in character to sustain the fun factor, he explains.
Let's listen to how he got started, in his own words:
"I started doing cosplay as Lambo Bovino (5-year old version) from "Katekeyo Hitman Reborn" at the 1st Manila Comic Con 2009 at SM Megamall. Then in 2011 in Manila, I was Gai Sensei from "Naruto Shippuden," where I had the opportunity of being on the Top 4 from the Top 6 group at the Otaku House Cosplay Idol-Asia category."
"And also in that same year, I was the declared winner in the Best Male category of the Cosplay and Toy Display 2011 at SM Rosales, Pangasinan. I was also the champion in the Male category of the PCI Cosplay 2014 at Robinsons Place, Calasiao, Pangasinan."
Back home in Bayambang, at one Halloween event in 2017, he reprised an old gender-bending role as Dora the Explorer that he used at Toycon 2010, but with a horror twist. And of course, he received the loudest laughs and ran away with the award for the Funniest category. The award was handed over by no less than Mayor Cezar Quiambao and wife Niña Jose-Quiambao.
Perhaps this is the apotheosis of his 'career' so far: "Sa Toycon 2012 sa Megamall, napasama ako sa music video ng Kamikazee sa song nila na "Wo-Oh."
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PKnzo7g0YpE" width="480"></iframe>
What got him interested in cosplay in the first place? His answer: "My love for anime! Gusto ko yung culture ng Japan."
And what does he get out of it? "When I do cosplay, I can do anything. Cosplay is an art, at dun lumalabas mga hidden talents mo, like how to make your own costume. Like ako, karamihan ng ginagamit ko recycled. Hindi kailangan gumastos ng malaki para gumawa ng costume. I can be creative plus maraming nami-meet na friends na same din ang hilig."
"Tapos, maganda rin sa mga kabataan [ang cosplay], kasi makakatulong makaiwas sa mga maling gawain."
It has come to a point where Marc is being sought after as a judge in cosplay competitions. He became a judge in Anicraze 2 in Baguio on November 19, 2013, then at an event in Urdaneta on October 31, 2014, and then in Tarlac on November 10, 2018 sponsored by no less than the Tarlac City Tourism Office.
He also routinely gets invites for an appearance, for a fee. At the showing of "Dragonball Super Broly, the Movie" at the SM Cinemas Mall of Asia in 2018, he showed up as Zeno.
Consistently, his choices of roles to play are markedly surprising, even hilarious, especially since he gets the part right down to the most telling detail. And when the inquisitive spectator inspects closely how he pulled it off, one finds how creatively he puts together odds and ends just to come up with the right costume.
His latest appearance in a competition is in Cyber Craze, SM Rosales, Pangasinan on August 16, 2019 where he placed second as Mojo Jojo, the evil anthropomorphic ape, a supervillain, in the Cartoon Network animated series "The Powerpuff Girls."
Then in Megamall, at the Otaku Expo Reload Tanabata Festival 2019, he just participated (outside competition) and had fun on Day 1 being the Jack Black character Ignacio -- bare chest, red tights, curly hair and all -- in the hit comedy "Nacho Libre," which was of course a riot among the cosplayers. "Pinagkaguluhan ako!" he reveals. On Day 2, he was Genma Saotome (Oldman) from "Ranma 1/2."
"I feel awesome doing this, because I get to be with old friends and keep on meeting new ones," he reveals. "At marami akong napapasaya."
Marc, or Macky to close friends, lives in Upper Cadre Site. A big guy with an unassuming mien, he surprises you with his total transformation once he gets into character at a given cosplay event.
Cosplay, he explains, is a term that came from the contraction of "costume and player." "It is a performance art in which participants called 'cosplayers' wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character."
During a cosplay event, the participants act in character to sustain the fun factor, he explains.
Let's listen to how he got started, in his own words:
"I started doing cosplay as Lambo Bovino (5-year old version) from "Katekeyo Hitman Reborn" at the 1st Manila Comic Con 2009 at SM Megamall. Then in 2011 in Manila, I was Gai Sensei from "Naruto Shippuden," where I had the opportunity of being on the Top 4 from the Top 6 group at the Otaku House Cosplay Idol-Asia category."
"And also in that same year, I was the declared winner in the Best Male category of the Cosplay and Toy Display 2011 at SM Rosales, Pangasinan. I was also the champion in the Male category of the PCI Cosplay 2014 at Robinsons Place, Calasiao, Pangasinan."
Back home in Bayambang, at one Halloween event in 2017, he reprised an old gender-bending role as Dora the Explorer that he used at Toycon 2010, but with a horror twist. And of course, he received the loudest laughs and ran away with the award for the Funniest category. The award was handed over by no less than Mayor Cezar Quiambao and wife Niña Jose-Quiambao.
Perhaps this is the apotheosis of his 'career' so far: "Sa Toycon 2012 sa Megamall, napasama ako sa music video ng Kamikazee sa song nila na "Wo-Oh."
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PKnzo7g0YpE" width="480"></iframe>
What got him interested in cosplay in the first place? His answer: "My love for anime! Gusto ko yung culture ng Japan."
And what does he get out of it? "When I do cosplay, I can do anything. Cosplay is an art, at dun lumalabas mga hidden talents mo, like how to make your own costume. Like ako, karamihan ng ginagamit ko recycled. Hindi kailangan gumastos ng malaki para gumawa ng costume. I can be creative plus maraming nami-meet na friends na same din ang hilig."
"Tapos, maganda rin sa mga kabataan [ang cosplay], kasi makakatulong makaiwas sa mga maling gawain."
It has come to a point where Marc is being sought after as a judge in cosplay competitions. He became a judge in Anicraze 2 in Baguio on November 19, 2013, then at an event in Urdaneta on October 31, 2014, and then in Tarlac on November 10, 2018 sponsored by no less than the Tarlac City Tourism Office.
He also routinely gets invites for an appearance, for a fee. At the showing of "Dragonball Super Broly, the Movie" at the SM Cinemas Mall of Asia in 2018, he showed up as Zeno.
Consistently, his choices of roles to play are markedly surprising, even hilarious, especially since he gets the part right down to the most telling detail. And when the inquisitive spectator inspects closely how he pulled it off, one finds how creatively he puts together odds and ends just to come up with the right costume.
His latest appearance in a competition is in Cyber Craze, SM Rosales, Pangasinan on August 16, 2019 where he placed second as Mojo Jojo, the evil anthropomorphic ape, a supervillain, in the Cartoon Network animated series "The Powerpuff Girls."
Then in Megamall, at the Otaku Expo Reload Tanabata Festival 2019, he just participated (outside competition) and had fun on Day 1 being the Jack Black character Ignacio -- bare chest, red tights, curly hair and all -- in the hit comedy "Nacho Libre," which was of course a riot among the cosplayers. "Pinagkaguluhan ako!" he reveals. On Day 2, he was Genma Saotome (Oldman) from "Ranma 1/2."
"I feel awesome doing this, because I get to be with old friends and keep on meeting new ones," he reveals. "At marami akong napapasaya."
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| As 5-year old Lambo Bovino from "Katekeyo Hitman Reborn" |
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| As Gai Sensei of "Naruto Shippuden" |
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| As Gai Sensei of "Naruto Shippuden" |
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| As Gai Sensei of "Naruto Shippuden" |
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| As Dora the Explorer in Cosylvania, CB Mall Urdaneta, October 31, 2014 |
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| As Gai Sensei of "Naruto Shippuden" |
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| Dora the Explorer, er, judge at Toycon 2012 |
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| As Dora the Explorer in Cosylvania, October 31, 2014, CB Mall Urdaneta |
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| As Gai Sensei of "Naruto Shippuden" |
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| As Mojo Jojo at a Tarlac City Tourism Office event |
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| At the showing of "Dragonball Super Broly, the Movie," SM Cinemas, MOA, 2018 |
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| As Ignacio (of Nacho Libre), at the Otaku Expo Reload Tanabata Festival 2019, SM Megamall |
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| As Zeno |
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| As Genma Saotome of "Ranma 1/2" |
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| As Mojo Jojo, suprvillain in Powerpuff Girls |
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| As Zeno |
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| As Mojo Jojo |
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| As Genma Saotome of "Ranma 1/2" |
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| As Genma Saotome of "Ranma 1/2" |
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| As Ignacio of Nacho Libre |
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| At the showing of "Dragonball Super Broly, the Movie," SM Cinemas, MOA, 2018 |
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| As Mojo Jojo at a Tarlac City Tourism Office event |
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| Toycon 2010 winning photo |
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| As Mojo Jojo at a Tarlac City Tourism Office event |
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| Toycon 2010 |
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| At the Otaku Expo Reload Tanabata Festival 2019, SM Megamall |
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| At the showing of "Dragonball Super Broly, the Movie," SM Cinemas, MOA, 2018 |
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| At the Otaku Expo Reload Tanabata Festival 2019, SM Megamall |
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| At the Otaku Expo Reload Tanabata Festival 2019, Megamall |
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| Toycon 2010 |
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| Now, guess who were handing Marc the award at this Halloween event. |
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