One day a certain e-mail was sent to Hareruya.
The gist of the e-mail was that the organizer of the “Pinoy Planeswalker Cup” was looking for a sponsor for the tournament series which was held in the Philippines. And as far as why he decided to contact us, I can only hope it is because Hareruya is seen as one of the more prominent stores in the region.
That mail would be the reason why we a few weeks ago decided to sponsor an event in the Philippines due to the passion of the event organizer in our neighbouring island country.
Magic: The Gathering, a game that is played all over the world. No matter where in the world you are, the cards will still have the same effects. All the while Magic continues to be printed in many various languages, tearing down language barriers due to the fact an English Lightning Bolt wills till have the same effect as a Lightning Bolt printed in Japanese. The game is available nearly everywhere in the world, so players can enjoy it just about anywhere they go.
| Kenji Tsumura as seen on the right, playing at the World Magic Cup. |
While we do get plenty of mails from people abroad here at Hareruya, requests to sponsor an event are rare, even more so for an event outside of Japan. When we brought it up with the big guy (Owner) Tomoharu Saito.
 | “Sponsoring an event, where at? The Philippines?… Let’s do it!” |
He gave the green lights almost immediately, surprising us quite a bit. This would be the first event Hareruya has sponsored outside of Japan So, I asked him to elaborate on why he was willing to sponsor the event.
| “The Philippines has quite the passionate & friendly Magic community, their WMCQ events has the largest number of participants for any WMCQ in the world. The Phillipines love of magic is apparant to people from across the world, and I thought if there was anything we at Hareruya could do to help them, It was definitely worth it.” |
Saito has many times before professed his love for the game and how he would like to help make the game as exciting and accessible as possible for new & old players alike. So much so that he has made that one of Hareruya’s main goals.
With the Philippines being such a unique and exciting place for Magic, we found ourselves being quite curious about Magic over there. So, we talked a bit about this with the event organizer, Mr. Felix Capule.
MTG In The Philippines
Felix “In Baguio, there used to be an annual tournament that goes by the name “King of the North”, the last of which was held in 2014, it was immensely popular and still remembered fondly today. I hope that the Pinoy Planeswalker Open Series, where in the series finale will be held here in San Pedro, Laguna each year, will be our answer to that.”
“The Pinoy Planeswalker Open Series” is a 10 leg tournament held at various local game stores here in Luzon, wherein the top 4 players of each leg will qualify for the event finale.
Felix “The hope is that players from different locations will play at a local game store for each leg of the series, growing the community and promoting camaraderie at the same time.”
With such a wildly successful event, what are your plans going forward?
When Felix asked us about Sponsoring the event, his strong desire to support the community & putting on an exciting events was, just like what Hareruya always strives to do, and it is a big part as to why we would sponsor the event. The final stretch of the Event known as the “Finals” would see 40 talented players battling it out for the glory..
Felix “I started the series with the hopes of promoting the modern format and to grow the community for the format and the game as a whole. For next season, I’m already drafting a different series for the Standard format and perhaps another format as well.”
“To get sponsored by your office, it would really factor into the success of the event.”
It goes to show that you should always take chances, and do everything within your power to achieve success.
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Felix “There’s also the Star City Games Open’s, held in the United States which runs for the entire year. The Pinoy Planeswalker Open Series, is a project of mine, where i tried making the event itself to be kinda like what SCG do in America, but on a smaller scale for the Philippines.”
Aiming for a world where everyone can enjoy Magic!
The Coverage really showcases how successful the event was with the pictures of all the happy players & a very good article writeup. As Saito was eyeing the Coverage he started talking about Hareruya’s future.
| From here on out I want to get people excited for Magic, to create a place for them to enjoy it not just in Japan but also globally. To achieve that what we can do is support players, open new branch stores and more, or like this time we can also choose to support foreign stores/events to make sure everyone has the Magic experience they deserve. |
Saito, then having a second look at the Mail Felix sent, also had this to say.
| Actually, since Felix sent the mail I actually started talking to him regularly through Facebook. You can definitely see it even in his mail that he is passionate about being a part of and helping the community be the best it can be. I can’t help but like people who are as passionate about Magic as him. I will continue to push forward towards my goals here in Japan, but it’s heartening to know, there’s another guy just like me just across the ocean passionately supporting Magic. |
Inexpensive shipping for International orders now available!
— Hareruya English (@hareruyaEnglish) 2017年2月23日
Single cards from 560~ JPY with the new ePacket option!https://t.co/IwuTxO2XB3 pic.twitter.com/AVHlj0lzxz
| We also recently added a new cheaper shipping option for our international customers, so I feel Hareruya will have more opportunities to connect with the international players. Magic is a global game, that’s why I want to start thinking of the entire world as “our” community going forward. By supporting passionate people like Felix, or even opening a store abroad. I would also like to increase co-operation with international partners to further the goals of Hareruya. |
I want to create places all over the world where players can enjoy Magic!
I feel that Saito always makes such bold & daring statements are in part due to his experience traveling the world while playing Magic and seeing the opportunities the game has afforded people all over the world, and his hope to reach more people and have them realize how fun Magic really is. While in reality due to receiving that mail from the Philippines he has but taken the first step small step towards his dream.
Magic has the strange power to connect people.
Just like with Japan & the Philippines Magic helps connect people from across the globe. It truly is a marvelous game.
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