Cosplay

Martial Media, Culture and Other Arts Other Related Arts
1

I went to a screener last night and there were some cosplayers. And then the article below came up and I didn’t know where to put it. We’ve done some cosplay-ish threads - Fist of Furry (which focuses on a fraction of the fetish), Sword hotties (my personal fav, which focuses on another fraction), Real Life ‘Superheroes’ (which is about what it says it’s about), and the continual stream of disregard for LARPers. We even ran an ezine article on it: The Care and Feeding of Your Inner Superhero by Lori Ann White. But there’s no thread dedicated to the overall phenomena, so I’m launching this one.

Here’s that article:

Japanese Schoolgirls Bring Manga Style Martial Arts To Life for Fun

What looks like a Japanese manga come to life is really a bunch of schoolgirls having fun with friends. Or is it? Dun dun dun.






These photos recently appeared on 2ch, Japan’s largest bulletin board, under the heading, “Schoolgirls Nowadays lol”.

While some 2ch users humorously pointed out that this was the martial art technique known as the “hakkei” () in Japanese. (In Chinese martial arts, “hakkei” is known as “fajin”.)

Others 2ch users uploaded photos that had been altered, giving the images a decidedly manga feel. “Schoolgirls now are manipulating chi?” asked one 2ch user. “Schoolgirls these days sure are scary,” added another, while yet another summed it up, “They’re masters of air.”

Expand

This seems like a thing, at least, with a handful of students. But it’s not a national craze. Yet.

2

If I walked on to the subway and saw this…

…I would lose it completely. :eek:

This is scarier than any horror film.

Cosplayers invade the Kyoto subway system to promote upcoming event!
Paula Gerhold 22 hours ago


The Kyoto subway was swarmed by mobs of cosplayers last weekend, alarming some commuters and intriguing others. Though Japan may be thought of as the “land of cosplay,” it’s actually extremely rare to see this many layers (shortening of “cosplayers”) out and about in public. Cosplay is all well and good at certain events, but a major no-no in areas where it can cause trouble for the uninitiated.

So what were all these guys (yes, mainly guys) doing on the subway? Why, promoting the upcoming Kyoto Manga Anime Festival and it’s connected cosplay event, GO-TAN! of course!


GO-TAN! is an active cosplay group that organizes events in and around Kyoto. This time, they’ve got quite an area staked out for the use of fans that wish to don the garb of their favorite characters and take some snazzy outdoor pictures! The cosplay space will span from Uzumasa Tenjigawa to Rokujizou, but be careful that you don’t stray out of the specified area while still in costume (It’s against the event rules and might get the organizers in trouble with the locals).


Online sign-ups for this cosplay photo shoot started on August 25. The main event is September 7 and 8 at Heian Jingu-mae Okazaki Park. It’s only 1,000 yen (about US$10) to participate as either a cosplayer or a cameraman, so those of you in the Kansai area looking to bust out your ninja headbands and keyblades should check it out!

3

well…you’ve gone done it now.

i cant tell if this is a sword hottie or a wonder woman cosplay…:confused:

4

I really want to call ‘foul’ on this one, Lucas

Unfortunately, the SH game rules don’t quite apply to this cosplay thread…yet. Nevertheless, there is already a lot of cosplay there, and even a wonder woman tribute.

5

Are you telling me that that picture is posted in the SH thread already?!?!?!

omfg ok hold on let me find a non sword picture to contribute…let me just think of something nice and weird.

6

You guys watch Heros if Cosplay on Syfy channel? I would bang that red-headed Asperger’s chick who pees in cups.

7

lol never heard of it until now…but i have this urge to find out who you are talking about.

8

maybe this will work better for you Gene. No swords. In fact I think swords should not be allowed in this thread because there is a likelyhood that any sword+girl picture on the internet has already been posted in the sword hottie thread.

is this guy doing it right?

9

10

Ok, Lucas. Now I’ll call ‘foul’

MK - what are you talking about? Pix please.

And now, to bring this TOTALLY ON TOPIC:

Chinese netizens call martial arts summit a “cosplay convention for old people”

Dramatic pictures of Chinese martial artists have emerged online, drawing internet ridicule
Monday, 05 August, 2013, 7:05pm
Jeremy Blum jeremy.blum@scmp.com


A group picture of all the Wushu artists. Photo: China News

Photos of middle aged men dressed in lavish martial arts costumes have emerged online, and Chinese netizens have jokingly referred to the pictures as “cosplay for old people.”

The pictures, which were originally released by China News, were taken on 3 August at the Tianshan Wushu Symposium, a summit in China’s western Xinjiang province. The symposium, located on the Kalajun grasslands of Xinjiang, is a large-scale meeting for enthusiasts and practitioners of Wushu, or Chinese martial arts. According to organisers, participants at the symposium will not necessarily engage in combat, but instead come to learn, exchange views and promote their respective martial art styles.

The symposium’s visitors come from different Wushu sects, and the photos show them in various poses, sometimes with weapons in hand. One particular photo shows many participants standing side-by-side in costume. After the picture was taken, all of the men reportedly began to exchange business cards with great enthusiasm.

Chinese netizens have raised their eyebrows at the photos. Most Sina Weibo users commented that the symposium was a “cosplay convention for middle-aged and old people.”

Cosplay, which originated in Japan, is the popular trend of dressing up as characters from television shows, anime and comic books, and tends to be practiced mostly by younger fans.

“These guys are that old and they’re still dressing up for cosplay?” one surprised Weibo user wrote. “What a loss of face!”

“What kind of Wushu masters are these?” another asked. “They sort of look like the old people who practice tai chi out in the park every morning.”

Others were not nearly as critical, and pointed out that the men were legitimate Wushu practitioners who were only trying to promote their art.

“In this day and age, having people that support traditional Wushu culture is really something,” one netizen wrote. 'Their support is genuine."

Wushu, which was developed in China after 1949 as a means of streamlining disparate martial arts styles, has been recognised by the International Wushu Federation, which organises World Wushu Championships every two years. In the championships, which are separate from the Tianshan Wushu Symposium, fighters show the same sort of enthusiasm for Wushu as the men in the photos – although they do not wear lavish costumes as they do so.

11

I like the two guys with matching cowboy hats!

12

You like Cowboy hats, do you?




Oh wait…wrong thread. I confuzed. :o

13

FOUL!!!

14

ya ya

[QUOTE=Lucas;1246270]well…you’ve gone done it now.

i cant tell if this is a sword hottie or a wonder woman cosplay…:confused:
[/QUOTE]

That lady is Yaya Han, the most commercially successful cosplay artist on the scene. She is one of the main cast of they SyFy series Heroes of Cosplay.

15

shes definitely hot. blasted her all over this thread a while back:

Steampunk

16

Heroes of Cosplay…ROFLMAO!

And I thought Naked and Afraid was a silly reality show concept.

Now that I think about it, HoC and N&A are polar opposites.

17

This one is for Gene.

18

just for the pure awesomeness of this guys costume.

19

Let’s roll

…and bring this back on topic with MMA’s Felice Herrig.





20

****** skm

[QUOTE=SKM;1246524]That lady is Yaya Han, the most commercially successful cosplay artist on the scene. She is one of the main cast of they SyFy series Heroes of Cosplay.[/QUOTE]

I watched Heroes of Cosplay last night. That’s an hour of my life lost. Reality TV is so friggin bad now.