[Intermission] My first cosplay
I am sorry this post is not about anime terminology, but I have been so busy for the certain otaku event…that is a cosplay event. Yes, I have decided to give it a try for cosplay. In a way, in some ways, in many ways, this year is going to be the greatest one in all of my life. So I shall write about this tough process with some words I learned during the production.
What I had to decide first is which character I shall cosplay, so I mulled it over well among all the characters I like. And it’s him,
He is Oono Suefumi(多季史) who shows up in the anime film, Harukanaru toki no naka de Maihitoyo(遙かなる時空の中で 舞一夜) that series stems from the otome game I played for the first time. Unlike any other regular characters, he shows in this movie only though the additional game where you can pursue him came out after this film (How shrewed KOEI is!). Trying not to give away any spoilers, I shall tell you about him…Akane(our protagonist, she is worshipped as Miko[神子]) encounters him on the bridge in a rainy day. She is so tired of being Miko that she can relax in front of him because he never asks who she is. However, he doesn’t remember who he is. So Akane tries to help him get back his memory. But actually he is…
I can’t make costume though I am an otomen(they must be good at any chores), so first I tried some costume shops where those who can’t make clothes like me can order. But the price was incredible so my eyes almost popped out. It was beyond my one month salary. When I almost gave up, I learned my aunt is good at sewing. When I showed his costume, she said she could possibly make it. So we started to buy cloth we needed.
My aunt took me to this place, 布の道[nuno no michi, Fabric Street] which is well-known among cosplayers. Now that there is Otome Road for fujoshi, I must say this is what’s called Cosplayers’ Road, otherwise レイヤーロード[reiya road, reiya is an abbreviation of cosplayer(コスプレイヤー). Most customers are either elder women or young girls...when I listened to those young girls, they were talking about the characters they might cosplay...
After we finished, I left the cloth to my aunt, and started to get some other items I needed. I dashed to the costume shop again to buy a wig. Fotunately, it wasn't so expensive. But it was a bit long, so I had to cut somehow...
But actually, I am not a barbar, so I had to ask someone else...ugh, who else can do this? So I ended up going to the hairdresser though I was so embarrassed. Yes, here I learned a useful line which is well-known among cosplayers;
1. 文化祭で使うんです。[bunkasai de tsukaundesu, "I shall use it for the school festival"]
If you buy a really weird stuff and get embarrassed, you can say this to the casher who might frown upon you. Unfortunately, this excuse works only while you are a student. I am not, so I can’t use this anymore. orz
I have seen those nice cosplayers even copying the eyes’ color…well, I didn’t even necessarily have to do this, but I couldn’t go back. So I got this,
Yes, Suefumi is a talented dancer, so he carries a fan most of the time. Above fan costed 100 yen, but I guess much professional cosplayers would buy a much gorgeous fan…I made these earrings briefly.
My aunt did a good job, she completed my costume just in two days.
But the hardest work was left to me…yes, that is some patterns on the 水干[suikan], the blue kimono. Of all the cosplayers who do Suefumi, what kind of pattern shall be chosed is up to the person. Having said that, it seems like most of them dislike those patterns which are shown in the movie…I changed the original somehow in order to make it easier. But even that, it was a very tiring job.
Placing a stencil on the 水干, I painted with a white ink, and dried it one by one…This took more than a week.
Done. I was quite pleased to feel a sense of achievement although most of the work was done by my aunt. Oh no, I used to see a lot of cosplayers making a pause automatically when I tried to take a photo of them. Does that mean I should do that? Here I learned another common line among cosplayers;
2. 振り向きでお願いします。[furimuki de onegaishimasu] 振り向く[furimuku] means to look back, though, it is supposed to mean to make a pause. So if you are told like this, you would have to make a pause somehow…and one more, if an event you attend didn’t go well as you expected because well, your camera got broken or none of the pictures were good or whatever, let’s say like;
3. リベンジしようね。[revenge shiyou ne, "let's do revenge"] Yes, if you want to do better next time, revenge against your failure, yourself! But forgive me, when I learned this, I couldn’t stop laughing…
So I shall hereby post some photos I took at the cosplay event I attended for the first time. At the same time, this is my first time posting a photo of me. It’s worthless, but if you don’t mind, I hope you could see the photos.
You can see more photos on my album.
w said,
October 29, 2007 at 5:20 pm
（ ﾟдﾟ）…
（ ﾟдﾟ）
bangin said,
October 30, 2007 at 3:23 am
(゜д゜)
(つд⊂)ｺﾞｼｺﾞｼ
(;゜д゜)
(つд⊂)ｺﾞｼｺﾞｼ
(((;゜д゜)))
khursten said,
October 30, 2007 at 3:27 am
（=ω=.） いいコスプレー <3 <3 <3 GJ!
It’s good you cosplayed someone that you liked and you know matched your physique. There are some funny cosplayers that try hard to cosplay anyone who is far from how they look like. ^^;;
Here in Manila, labor from a costume shop is cheap! So many cosplayers here go to seamstresses to have their costume made. :3 We also have a place similar to Fabric Town. Everything is cheaper there! lol.
I also cosplayed once. As Rika Sena of KareKano. lolol. I was a loud person so my friends were laughing when I tried to be polite for a day! XD I think what’s fun about this is you finally see how they do things as a cosplayer.
On a side note… I didn’t know even boys are interested in HaruNaru! Anou… I know you’re otomen, but if I didn’t know, I would have thought you’re “Uke in training” XD lol. I mean… Harunaru is REALLY a girl’s game. <3 <3 XD It’s like.. etou… Neo Romance, ne? XD
w said,
October 30, 2007 at 4:00 am
Okay frankly speaking, Y-dono, I think you could’ve made it as a V-kei sorta guy if you wore the right stuff. I’ll leave it at that.
Also that really is a nice job with the patterns and GJ on picking a character that suits your physique - it’s really important but I think you pulled it off well. Going just by my skin there are very few anime characters I could cosplay, aside from characters like Anthy from Utena (but I’m not skinny enough) or Casca from Berserk (but I’m not fit enough). So I have never cosplayed before.
…Also my impression of otaku just got shattered again. In a good way. （ﾟ д ﾟ ）
khursten, I think he really likes Neo Romance games. More than some girls, I’m sure… I can’t understand it ;_;
khursten said,
October 30, 2007 at 4:59 am
@w. Yeah! Totally! That’s why I was surprised he like HaruNaru! lol. Not that it’s a bad thing, it’s just… I mean even girls find it cheesy. ^^;; ne? He’s definitely an otomen! ^_^
bangin said,
October 30, 2007 at 5:50 am
khursten: Hehe, thank you, khursten! ^^
The event took place at Nanjatown where is near Otome Road. So I was pretty sure most of the attendants were familiar with this character…and I was right. Some girls were looking at me, and said, “OMG, he is Suefumi!, ” or something like that. BTW, as a special guest, 小西克之(Katsuyuki Konishi) showed up.
Yes, anyone who plays HaruNaru, Angelique, or Kin-iro no Corda shall be called Neoromancer. Before I used to play bishoujo games, but a fujoshi friend of mine recommended HaruNaru…this is how I became an otomen. In this way, to recommend sth and brainwash someone else is called 布教[fukyou].
OMG, you cosplayed Rika Sena? She is good at sewing, right? So anyone else did Miyazawa, Arima-kun, or Shibahime…
I think I am very rare because, you are right, most cosplayers who do any characters from otome games are girls. So, those girls who asked me a photo said the same thing, “Did you really know what you are meant to be? You are very rare! “lol
Oh no, am I uke? lol
w-dono: I think I am so touchy that I like heartbreaking characters like Suefumi(if you watch the movie, you will know what I mean). If from bishoujo games, I like Misuzu in Air, or Makoto in Kanon…Anyway, once I get dressed, I would have to be like him…I shouldn’t speak nor smile that much…Because anyone who really likes him regards those cosplayers as the same person. But it was so enjoyable. ^^ And yes, I chose the character very carefully…and I tried to avoid those who carry a large weapon such as Ichigo in BLEACH. It’s too difficult to make! Oh we call 長物[nagamono] to mean such a big stuff. Lately, such a nagamono is not acceptable…
w said,
October 30, 2007 at 9:55 am
Hahaha, that’s nice to hear even the other cosplayers thought you did a good job.
Some girls over there do some pretty good male roles (or is that because the character designs are so androgynous… 
If Suefumi is supposed to be a bishonen and you look like Suefumi, you realise where the logic is going? I love cool characters in anime but in real life I’m generally very clumsy and un-cool.
Out of the players of Neoromance games, what do you think the percentage of guys is? 1%? 5%? I’m kinda curious…
Why are nagamono not acceptable recently? …Because it could be a nagam斧?
bangin said,
October 30, 2007 at 11:57 am
I think the population of male cosplayers are increasing lately, but when I entered the changing room, there were only four cosplayers in such a tiny room. The girls’ changing room is far larger, though. So then, I assume male cosplayers might account for only 5 to 8% or so. Male cosplayers might prefer such cool characters from fighting video games such as FF, DQ, or Sengokubusou…
As the population of cosplayers increase, the rule is becoming strict because of terrible cosplayers. For example, they might swing such a nagamono that some other attendants get hurt. Anything more than a meter counts as a nagamono. So some events don’t allow them to bring it.
Neohybrid_kai said,
October 30, 2007 at 2:28 pm
bangin: waaah, I envy you for having a bishie look, lol. Well, I think its rare for a male cosplaying as character from otome game because they weren’t playing the game in the first place. Also, male cosplayer usually want to look cool or strong when cosplaying while bishounen is cool but I think they consider it to be girly. Ah, if I were you I would cosplaying as clow reed (CCS) or Hotohori (fushigi yuugi). My figure is not very high, some of my fujoshi friends even said that I have a shota looks. But I hate shota chara in shoujo manga ^^;;
khursten: uke in training, lol, I laugh very hard when I read that XDXD
Avplaya said,
October 30, 2007 at 10:29 pm
Oh my bagin-dono, good job! You are truly an OTOMEN. Ｏｒｚ
The level of detail is impressive! You have a very cool aunt.. is she a cosplayer or fujoshi herself? wwwwwwwwwwww It must be quite disturbing for the old ladies to hear that the young girls want to buy fabric only to make costumes…
I must deduct that it must be quite rare for an otomen to LOOK like a bishounen enough to cosplay one, and to have the handsome bangin-dono cosplaying must gather you quite a few fujoshi fangirls. Yes you have that shota look! Although I think most if not all shotas are uke… that would make you super popular! Now practice on some really sad, worried look and you will kill them fujoshi dead! You’re like a walking fujoshi-dream come true, neh?! Okay you need your own cosplay website so your fan girls can leave you love letters.
I must commend you for posting your photo online, but since it’s obvious you’re one of those super-rare otaku-bishounen-otomen combo, it should be encouraged! Please post more! I think most of the commenters here are female and I think they would agree! The legend of bangin-dono is rising….. I can’t believe there’s another one like you, anywhere!
So how many fujoshi has been texting you since this event eh? Don’t be shy now, bishounen otomen-sama.Wwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
bangin said,
October 31, 2007 at 4:29 am
Neohybrid_kai: Haha, so you are shota-looking? I am 25, so I can’t be any shota characters…and I am not as tall as Suefumi. Officially, his height 183 cm(as far as I remember) so I am short of 12 more…orz When I changed in the room, the other cosplayers were staring at me. Most of them cosplayed those strong and cool fighters such as Cloud or Vincent in FF7. ^^
Avplaya-san: I didn’t know my aunt is good at sewing. When I told her about the amazingly expensive costume, she told me about that. But she wasn’t sure about Fabric Street is well-known among cosplayers…I heard a funny conversation between a mother and a littel daughter;
(・∀・):Mommy, I forgot to bring the manga my character’s costume is in! Can we come here again?
(゜д゜):No! We won’t come here again! Buy now!
(・∀・):Mommy, please! I can’t remember the color! C’mon!
BTW, I am not such a bishounen, I think this wig works quite well. But I am not used to be taken a photo since I had been taking a photo of cosplayers. So most of the photos were not good…yes, I will revenge. Next I am going to Tokyo Big Site two weeks later. I’ve got to practice more until the day. So I might replace above photos if I could make it better.
Well, after I got out of the changing room, I noticed some girls were following me and saying something…They seemed to hesitate to ask me a photo since I am a guy. When I looked back, they were surprised and finally asked me a photo. A couple of times, such happened…And some other female cosplayers who did characters from other otome games gave me a name card…I didn’t know cosplayers should have a name card. Of course I don’t have it!
Avplaya said,
October 31, 2007 at 8:32 pm
bangin-dono, no need to be so shy. You’re a bona-fide bishounen and I think everyone will agree. Yes! Revenge! Please cosplay more!
You know those girls are dreaming about after you left. Wwwwwwwwwwww Please make another cosplay website and print your meshi! Get it and watch your mailbox explode… ho ho ho… I mean, good looking otomen cosplaying a secret otome-game chara? How many are you are out there in the entire nation of Japan? or even the world?
I also just realized something… I asked early if you’ve been to inside of Animate on Otome Road… I’ve asked the wrong guy! Of course you’ve been inside, you’re an otomen! How dumb of me… I guess this question is for those hikkomori akiba-kei otaku, not to costume-sewing, bento-making, uke-training, super-handsome bishounen-otomen like bangin-dono. How rude of me! 失礼しました！
Neohybrid_kai said,
November 1, 2007 at 3:18 am
Lol, I agree with Avplaya-san. You should consider that the existence of a male otome game player who have a bishounen look is VERY rare. And you can cook too. I’m sure you’ll have many fujoshi fans XD
Good luck for your revenge, make sure that you’re having a name card now ^^
bangin said,
November 1, 2007 at 6:32 am
Avplaya-san: As loads of fujoshis are hiding, I guess the same goes to otomen. When they go to Otome Road, fujoshis can be who they are…But what about otomen? I am hoping there would be a holy place for all the otomen in this world.
Yes, I have been to Animate on Otome Road, but I prefer a secondhand bookstore, K-BOOKS where is next to Animate. If I go to Animate, I think I would go to the one in Akihabara.
Neohybrid_kai: N-N-N-Name card!? Oh no, okay, I will…make it. Well, in that case, it should be easier to exchange e-mail accounts or anything. ^^
khursten said,
November 1, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Yes! As AV-playa said it, you’re a bishounen that’s why I think the cosplay worked! :3 But like the girls in the event, it’s quite surprising for a guy to choose a character from a Neoromance game. since cosplaying meant the cosplayer has to know that character through and through. Which meant he played the game. ^^;; ne? Good thing you did. :3 I guess your otomen habit paid off.
As for knowing whether you’re uke or not… lolz… XDD That’s just my comment. Since I’m following this blog, I know you’re otomen, ne? lol. But if I didn’t know you and I saw you in a cosplay event with another HaruNaru chara, I’d probably think you’re uke. XD Oh that was really rude of me. But I’m just joking, ne? ^^v
With Kare Kano, I actually should have cosplayed Yukinon, but I had long hair back then so they said I should be Rina. A friend of mine cosplayed… etou… Tsubaki and another did Aya… so it kind of worked that way.
As for Otomen road. lol…. that would be interesting.
You should have your cosplay revenge soon!! This will be a very interesting time for you! がんばれ bangin-dono!!
Dan said,
November 1, 2007 at 3:16 pm
Thank you for create such a wonderful blog, I’ve learned many things but…
Is it being a otaku in Japan that hard?
What the general Japanese population thinks of otakus?
Are the majority of otaku girls fujoshi?
And how about “gaijin otakus” (non-japanese otakus), how are they seen?
Sorry for so many questions but I am curious >_< …
bangin said,
November 2, 2007 at 5:39 am
khursten: Hehe, actually, when my otaku friends and I were talking about BL, a fujoshi judged which side we were classified. One guy is so hot-tempered and str6ng that he got labelled as seme, and I was…riba（リバ）or sasoi-uke. orz
Did any of your friends cosplay Maho? She is quite tsundere, ne? ^^
I found cosplay interesting. Which character shall I cosplay next time…
Dan: Thank you for coming my blog. So I shall answer your questions,
It is not that hard to be an otaku. But in general, there is still prejudice left toward otaku people. But I don’t think it is that serious. So long as you keep yourself neat, it should be fine even if you are an otaku. Japanese people are likely to see people by looking. In other words, if he is really geeky, people would judge him as an otaku even if he is actually not.
And no, even if she is an otaku, it doesn’t necessarily mean she is a fujoshi. Most fujoshi bloggers here insist they like BL, so implore non-BL fans to enter. In this way, there are a lot of female otakus those dislike BL.
Now, I can see a lot of gaijin otakus in Akihabara or at such events. Well, I think they are more knowledgeable than Japanese otakus. Most otakus here doesn’t seem to be interested in anything else but their own interests. But gaijin otakus know a lot of things so that even Japanese otakus get surprised.
Dan said,
November 4, 2007 at 9:59 pm
Thank you very much for answer my questions
.
Tessie said,
November 30, 2007 at 2:20 am
Hey, nice cosplay!! I would like to cosplay Suefumi too, except that I have no idea where to get or how to do that stencil thingum he has on his robe. Do you have a soft copy of the stencil you use? Mweh.
bangin said,
November 30, 2007 at 5:49 am
Thanks for coming!
Oh no, I threw it away after I finished,…Are you in Japan? In that case, I can tell you where you can get stencils.
Tessie said,
December 3, 2007 at 10:05 am
No, I’m unfortunately, all the way in Singapore. TAT
masaharu said,
December 3, 2007 at 10:35 am
Anyway, this is Tessie. I just thought it’s polite to log into my WP account and say hi. ^^
Tess said,
December 6, 2007 at 1:55 am
うえええ凄いじゃないんですか!
本当にカッコいいと思いますよ
僕も一度ちゃんとしたコスプレーをしてみたいんですけど僕には上手く出来るかどうか判りませんねー
あぁ！忘れるところでした。初めてコメントするんですから、このブログ本当に役に立てるって伝えたいんです。 僕は日本語を勉強してるけどまだ少ししか話せなくていつも間違いをするから色々な言葉を説明してくれてありがとうございます。
下手な日本語を読ませてすむません。
bangin said,
December 6, 2007 at 3:12 am
I was away for a few days, so I am terribly sorry about the late response.
Tessie&Masaharu: Okay, so I guess you should try some cloth shops. They must be handling some stencils as well.
Tess: コメントありがとうございます。いえいえ、とても上手な日本語ですよ。Tessさんはどちらの国にいますか？私はこれが初めてのコスプレですので、まったくの初心者です。もっといろんなキャラクターにも挑戦してみたいです。
年末になると、comic marketがありますが、そこでも何か他のキャラクターのコスプレをやってみようかなと思っています。