Jump to content

2008: Another Naruto/Bleach con?


Recommended Posts

I'm not hating on Naruto...and far be it for me to say that i don't enjoy me some Bleach, but what gives? 07' was chock full of more orange jump-suited ninja and soul society clones than i could take. I understand these shows are popular, especially with the "Adult Swim" crowd, but damn...can we broaden our Cos-play horizon?

I pray i don't get flamed/ outcast for this, but seriously, Naruto is played out (...believe it.) I couldn't walk 3 feet in the dealer's room without being force-fed Naruto merch, and the artist alley seemed as if Naruto truly does possess the ability to replicate himself, because that kid was EVERYWHERE!

It is my opinion that life is too short, and that NO ONE should be able to tell another human being what, and what not, to like. If i didn't feel that way, i would probably still be an "in the closet" anime fan afraid of talking about the relevance behind "Ninja Pizza Cats" vs. Garfield, and how ironic it was that Astroboy (a Japanese take on American youth and television programming) seemingly started it all. But please, in 08' lets be creative. Let's showcase our passion with something with more substance. Let's see 300 people COMMIT to coming to con in red Speedos and golden helmets...maybe not that far, but i hope you see where i am going.

So in 08', i propose we lay down the keyblades, hang up the kunai, and sheath the Zangetsu...in hopes of diversifying our little ol' convention.

*If you were totally offended by this rant/proclimation that was not my intention and i hold the firm position that it was Tama-chan on my head that made me do it.

Link to post
Share on other sites

*shrugs*

I don't know where you were all convention, but I certainly didn't feel like there was a WHOLE lot of Naruto and Bleach cosplay. I think you have to approach it with a different mindset: instead of perhaps being expectant and pessimistic (i.e. "oh god, a sea of shinigami and shinobi") adapt one that is more of just being ok with it (i.e. "right, naruto and bleach. ok"). Besides, I think Bleach/Naruto nation is kind of giving way to Death Note and One Piece.

Just like you've pointed out, Bleach and Naruto are extremely popular. So of course both the Alley and the Dealer's room are going to cater to that. Same thing with cosplayers - it's a lot easier to get your hands on a set of kunai and a forehead protector or a set of shinigami robes and a bokken. It's not about being uncreative (a good example is the one Bleach cosplayer who created a bankai'd Zabimaru).

Link to post
Share on other sites

No thank you, if someone wants to cosplay a "played out" character they should be able to freely w/o being told to change. So what if theres more of a certain cosplay? Its not like every single person in the convention is dressed like that. Bleach is obviously going to be popular since the costume is pretty easy todo and its standard uniform for shinigamis.

Why do you care if the majority of the people cosplay 1 character anyway? Is it ruining your con experience?

Link to post
Share on other sites

but baby cosplayer naruto was the best one there!

yes there is an overflow of naruto stuff, i can careless about the cosplayers but the merchandise...way too much.

people are going to cosplay whoever they want, if it happens to be the most popular anime and what everyone does, let em do it.

i for one was glad that i was the only sam fisher with the two other guys being multiplayer bob and steve, shame we didnt get a photo togther

Link to post
Share on other sites

What ever is popular and being aired on TV will always have a lot of cosplayers apparent for it. I think back a few years you would have seen an abundance of Inuyashas cosplayers.

There was a lot of different cosplayers at Otakon this year, including a pair of Katt cosplayers (Breath of Fire 2 game), a number of Darkstalker cosplayers, and even a couple of marvel costumes (Deadpool and Ironman were the best!).

Link to post
Share on other sites
No thank you, if someone wants to cosplay a "played out" character they should be able to freely w/o being told to change. So what if theres more of a certain cosplay? Its not like every single person in the convention is dressed like that. Bleach is obviously going to be popular since the costume is pretty easy todo and its standard uniform for shinigamis.

Why do you care if the majority of the people cosplay 1 character anyway? Is it ruining your con experience?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Well, of course there will be a lot of mainstream things......that's why they are mainstream. (duh)

There were plenty of new and old hidden gems throughout the dealer's room. I hauled out $250 worth of awesome stuff, personally. None of it being mainstream, to be honest.

Also, to your "hope of opening up a dialog" (nice choice of words...), there is most certainly something for everybody at Otakon. I keep seeing people whining about a lack of J-Rock, when just last year the musical guests were just as different as they are every year. I'm pretty sure Otakon caters to everyone's tastes when they go from MUCC and Nana one year to AAA and Eminence the next.

As said in an earlier post, Otakon is pretty much what you make of it. If you go with a negative attitude about mainstream things, you're going to get pissed off everytime you end up seeing anything mainstream, completely ignoring the new and quite different things that are probably right next to the mainstream things.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I see Bleach still around next year, but I wish people would stop with the stupid boring trash that is Naruto.

Of the current "popular" shows, there is only one that I have any sort of remote interest in. Bleach. The rest, Naruto, FMA, Dragonball, One Peice, etc are just boring. I never found them all that interesting.

Link to post
Share on other sites

dude i saw more stars members then naruto characters and believe me i was looking. but what i have to say that i saw the most of was cosplay wise was kingdom hearts. phoenix wright came in second followed by zelda characters. i saw allmost every zelda main and mentionable character even a few duku or is it deku links. but bleach wasent that big bigger then naruto but well when somethings popular and easy to get a costume of its going to be done a lot ...hence the huge amounts of venom shirts at the con. but as for next year i say look for tokko,street fighter, blood plus and either halo 3 the darkness or another game that blows up big.

believe It!

Link to post
Share on other sites
I see Bleach still around next year, but I wish people would stop with the stupid boring trash that is Naruto.

Of the current "popular" shows, there is only one that I have any sort of remote interest in. Bleach. The rest, Naruto, FMA, Dragonball, One Peice, etc are just boring. I never found them all that interesting.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I agree with you all, Halo will probably be out in force next year...for no real reason other than that it is easy to cos. I have "borrowed" supplies from one of my contracting jobs and i just might build a sheet metal, full body eva unit 01 outfit for 08'...see if i can't win me some prizes (haha).

I might even go as Iron man...for no other reason than i wore it at comic con and it was a huge success (if you haven't seen the trailor, try to find it online, it's incredible).

But i want it to be known that i have a BLAST at otakon this year and i guess it is saying something that my one quable is with the cosplayers and not the actual con happenings itself. Hoards of those pint sized orange jumpsuit ninja will inevitably be there but i guess that is alright with me...as long as there is just a TAD bit more diversification on merch (i saved up so much money for con that when i came home with over 2,000 left i was like..."wtf mate?"). There just weren't many choices for my particular fan-dom.

Link to post
Share on other sites

well if you came hme with that much money you should have done what we did and gone out for ome decent sushi. yumm best usage of money there since here wasent much good merchandise. i understand that you want to find certain stuf but the dealers are going to market to the most main stream. and personally im glad bleach is so huge it gets them to bring more swords. but i would like to see more diverse games and stuff to but for now im glad its not pokemon even though a evee plushie would be radd. but what i would like to see more of is some kind of order in the dealers room. like a manga alley a fashion corner and gamers lane just so it is easier to find what you wanted. but as for next year the only thing im hoping not to see any more of is those school boys/girls in really short skirts.

Link to post
Share on other sites

i think people shold be allowed to cosplay whomever they want to. as long as they have fun doing it. would not bother me if the whole con did only naruto and bleach. if they put in effort AT ALL into the char that they are cosplaying, i don't think they deserve to be made fun of, or outcast. i wonder what would happen if an anime starring boxes became popular. someone would be mad that everyone is cosplaying a box. who cares go to cons have fun. i say more of the same char cosplayed =more photos for me :D

Link to post
Share on other sites

Honestly, either i've just gotten to a point where everythign Naruto is blocked from my vision (It is the exact opposit of Kurz Weber's "Giglio Eye" for FMP Fans) or i just wasn't paying attention. I did see a LOT of Haruhi Suzumiya cosplays, which made me glad i didnt spend all that extra money to get one myself, i also saw a few Sailor V and Ouran along with other cosplay abundencies.

However, one can't control the fandom. people want to dress like their favorite characters, and unfortunately, naruto and bleach are two of the top animes right now, so people are going to dress up like them. no one wants to dress up like a character they barely know or a character who's clothing makes it hard to tell if the person's cosplaying or not so....

Link to post
Share on other sites

y'know what? You are completely, one hundred percent right.

WE SHOULD ALL GO AS SPARTANS NEXT YEAR!

hmm... I unfortunately couldn't make it this year, can anyone tell me if there were enough Naruto and Bleach cosplayers to form up a full cast of 300? This includes the Persian army too. Or... at least some Xerxeses and immortals.

Link to post
Share on other sites
but what i would like to see more of is some kind of order in the dealers room. like a manga alley a fashion corner and gamers lane just so it is easier to find what you wanted.

i think that is an awesome idea.

Actually, it isn't -- we've looked at doing that in the past but the dealers don't want to, because they believe it'd hurt their business. Most sell a variety of things anyway.

Aside from the food court, how many malls do you know of where they force stores into categories like that?

Link to post
Share on other sites
hmm... I unfortunately couldn't make it this year, can anyone tell me if there were enough Naruto and Bleach cosplayers to form up a full cast of 300? This includes the Persian army too. Or... at least some Xerxeses and immortals.
Link to post
Share on other sites
*shrugs*

I don't know where you were all convention, but I certainly didn't feel like there was a WHOLE lot of Naruto and Bleach cosplay. I think you have to approach it with a different mindset: instead of perhaps being expectant and pessimistic (i.e. "oh god, a sea of shinigami and shinobi") adapt one that is more of just being ok with it (i.e. "right, naruto and bleach. ok"). Besides, I think Bleach/Naruto nation is kind of giving way to Death Note and One Piece.

Just like you've pointed out, Bleach and Naruto are extremely popular. So of course both the Alley and the Dealer's room are going to cater to that. Same thing with cosplayers - it's a lot easier to get your hands on a set of kunai and a forehead protector or a set of shinigami robes and a bokken. It's not about being uncreative (a good example is the one Bleach cosplayer who created a bankai'd Zabimaru).

totally. the interesting offbeat costumes were really fun this year though. bill and ted, legends of the hidden temple, GUTS (i think), snake eyes (yeah!), yoko (gurren lagann), the crow demons (i'm glad someone finally told me what they were), 'the renji' (as you mentioned - sort of ...), etc. ... there were lots of other great things i forget. i tend to miss a lot of the most popular stuff as it all just starts to look the same. anyway, my point is, "look at the bright side". there is a whole bunch of variety out there if you do.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I didn't see much Naruto nor Bleach cosplayers much o_o... Only at the Naruto photoshoot and Bleach photoshoot really (of course)...But other than that: I didn't see like it was SWARMING of them. >_>

Besides, you can't stop them from cosplaying from those animes. It's really popular so, of course, you're going to see some around the con. In ANY anime/comic convention!

I actually saw more Deathnote around than Naruto or Bleach. O_O Other than the gathering time and places, that is.

You can't stop people from cosplaying as a character they like. Especially from such well-known animes like Bleach or Naruto and games like Kingdom Hearts.

It's fine that you're annoyed by it or whatnot but you have to know that you can change anything about it.

Link to post
Share on other sites
y'know what? You are completely, one hundred percent right.

WE SHOULD ALL GO AS SPARTANS NEXT YEAR!

hmm... I unfortunately couldn't make it this year, can anyone tell me if there were enough Naruto and Bleach cosplayers to form up a full cast of 300? This includes the Persian army too. Or... at least some Xerxeses and immortals.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I just kind of go with the flow when it comes to cosplay.

Yes like you I dont really dont enjoy many mainstream anime. 'Cept for Bleach, that one is managing to keep my interest up surprisngly well for a long running anime.

But back on subject here, I have just kind of gotten used the the abundance of those anime being cosplayed. I just have to rmind myself that back in the day, one of my Anime/Manga addictions was pounced upon by many cosplayers, and that series is Trigun. Now you hardly see any Trigun Cosplay at all!

All things will come full circle and eventually there wil be a new anime that will grab every Narutards attention XD

Link to post
Share on other sites
but what i would like to see more of is some kind of order in the dealers room. like a manga alley a fashion corner and gamers lane just so it is easier to find what you wanted.

i think that is an awesome idea.

Link to post
Share on other sites

d000d, there were waaaay more Naruto costumes in 2006. You just do not like Naruto it seems. Just a guess. It is all fun, newaaz. (just be glad you did not see those guys in 2000 or 2001 -- all sailor scouts (I think there were nine of them)! creepy.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Just to chime in...

I've been going to Otakon since Hunt Valley. That's a location, not a Miyazaki flick. I feel that I have a perspective that hasn't been presented here.

There are certainly a lot of costumes each year for whatever the popular shows are at the time. Remember the endless line of Rei & Asuka Otaku? When did Washu finally retire that hair? Speaking of Dragon Ball Z...but you get the idea.

What I enjoy is the tide as it changes from one show to the next...and seeing the occasional gem from a show that either used to be popular, or something that was never big in the *mainstream U.S.*. I saw a very good Devil Hunter Yoko this year! Score! I keep crossing my fingers for someone to do BGC...but I digress...

While some costumes creep me out I've always taken the stance of "Support Your Show and Have Fun". I may not watch it...and I may get sick of the Funimation/Adult Swim/Fox Kids show du jour but I know that these folks haven't gotten tired of it. They actually ENJOY it and this is the one place they can BE this way. Look at the Rave. We all get to dance and have a good time w/o the stigma that many of us may experience going to a 'real' club.

I know that many of us who've seen a ton of stuff get tired of the Naruto clones...but some of us (luckily not me) have gotten so wrapped up in being on the cutting edge of anime that we forgot what it was like when we first discovered this wonderful world.

I'm old (in Otaku years) and I didn't cosplay this year. I plan on doing so next year. I really don't know what I'll do, but my short list I've been Shi-Shi-O (before Kenshin was brought over as...well I'm not going to speak the toung of Mordor here) Priss Assagiri (complete w/ motorcycle...years after the show) and Larva. Who's to say that someone thinks it's sad that I'm cosplaying this "old" character? It's all relative. It's like the "elite" cosplayer who sees someone wearing an Escaflowne armor made from a bunch of cardboard boxes and saying "That's soooo not right; paint's wrong, the armor doesn't look like that, etc." and forgetting that at one point...the Elite was not yet Elite and they *still had a great time*.

Dealers: I can't blame them for bringing what sells. I'm personally tired of all the Naruto stuff ('specially when I'm trying to find things like an Ein pin or the Armatage III OST) but it's a business. I'm glad they come and I'm super glad when they bring things that I've never seen before...especially when I can afford them.

Anyway...I hope this didn't come across as 'flaming'; not my intention at all. Just something I didn't feel was represented on this topic to this point.

Granted that's just my opinion.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Revengel, i never thought of it that way and i am glad you chimed in. I appreciate your point of view and i have to agree (even though i'm upset i didn't get to see your Priss + motorcycle cos, but that is neither here nor there). I guess i was just worried our little convention would turn to mainstream and then like everything else, get slapped with too much promotional flim flam from pepsi or coke or something, and then turn into something it's not. At its core, otakon is beautiful. Anime really hasn't "caught on" and it is even frowned upon in the circles that i experience in my small corner of the world, however Con gives us all a chance to come together and celebrate our love. Like i have said before (and will reiterate now) i didn’t want that celebration of love to turn into a celebration of the popular (and i actually did see an Ein pin next to the very loud sword shop near the gaia booth...it was 20-something dollars though...but cute as a (pardon the pun) button).

Thanks again for the insight and really hope you show us all what true cosplay know-how is all about next year.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 4 months later...
Revengel, i never thought of it that way and i am glad you chimed in. I appreciate your point of view and i have to agree (even though i'm upset i didn't get to see your Priss + motorcycle cos, but that is neither here nor there). I guess i was just worried our little convention would turn to mainstream and then like everything else, get slapped with too much promotional flim flam from pepsi or coke or something, and then turn into something it's not. At its core, otakon is beautiful. Anime really hasn't "caught on" and it is even frowned upon in the circles that i experience in my small corner of the world, however Con gives us all a chance to come together and celebrate our love. Like i have said before (and will reiterate now) i didn’t want that celebration of love to turn into a celebration of the popular (and i actually did see an Ein pin next to the very loud sword shop near the gaia booth...it was 20-something dollars though...but cute as a (pardon the pun) button).

Thanks again for the insight and really hope you show us all what true cosplay know-how is all about next year.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...

Well i thought last years convention was more of an "urahara-con" Than anything, if you want to see over-done anime on stage then come to the masqerade this year there is a 2-years in the making skit about this coming your way!

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 4 weeks later...

Speaking of fads, what's the over/under on L/Light/Misa cosplayers this year? The Watari that was wandering around in 2007 suddenly looks very ahead of his time.

Link to post
Share on other sites
I'm not hating on Naruto...and far be it for me to say that i don't enjoy me some Bleach, but what gives? 07' was chock full of more orange jump-suited ninja and soul society clones than i could take. I understand these shows are popular, especially with the "Adult Swim" crowd, but damn...can we broaden our Cos-play horizon?

I pray i don't get flamed/ outcast for this, but seriously, Naruto is played out (...believe it.) I couldn't walk 3 feet in the dealer's room without being force-fed Naruto merch, and the artist alley seemed as if Naruto truly does possess the ability to replicate himself, because that kid was EVERYWHERE!

It is my opinion that life is too short, and that NO ONE should be able to tell another human being what, and what not, to like. If i didn't feel that way, i would probably still be an "in the closet" anime fan afraid of talking about the relevance behind "Ninja Pizza Cats" vs. Garfield, and how ironic it was that Astroboy (a Japanese take on American youth and television programming) seemingly started it all. But please, in 08' lets be creative. Let's showcase our passion with something with more substance. Let's see 300 people COMMIT to coming to con in red Speedos and golden helmets...maybe not that far, but i hope you see where i am going.

So in 08', i propose we lay down the keyblades, hang up the kunai, and sheath the Zangetsu...in hopes of diversifying our little ol' convention.

*If you were totally offended by this rant/proclimation that was not my intention and i hold the firm position that it was Tama-chan on my head that made me do it.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
i think people shold be allowed to cosplay whomever they want to. as long as they have fun doing it. would not bother me if the whole con did only naruto and bleach. if they put in effort AT ALL into the char that they are cosplaying, i don't think they deserve to be made fun of, or outcast. i wonder what would happen if an anime starring boxes became popular. someone would be mad that everyone is cosplaying a box. who cares go to cons have fun. i say more of the same char cosplayed =more photos for me ^_^
Link to post
Share on other sites

th eones i saw the mosy of were bleach and kingdom hearts, but i don't mind either of them. Besides, that means there are that many less people that might have the same char as me XD

seriously, though, might as well just doowutchyalike. mainstream or not. personally, i hate naruto, and wish it would go down, but i don't mind bleach. i really don't mind who everyone is cosplay, as long as they're having fun, and not trying to ruin my time like that one staffer did =(

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...

While I hate the Naruto and Bleach animes, im just glad that the Inu Yasha's are dissapearing... My soul broke slightly everytime I saw 80% Inu Yasha cosplayers in the gameroom lobby.

Personally I prefer to see cosplayers from underrated/somewhat older shows such as Utena, Kenshin, etc. I see one or two Utena/Anshii's each year, and every other year I'll see a Kenshin. Where are all of the Soujiro's -.-

How about some Asakura Yoh/Hao, or that Hikaru/Wizard pair two years ago, those two were awesome, and their costumes were amazingly done. Some Gintama would be nice. And I don't know if I just didn't notice them, but where are all the Nanoha/Faye cosplayers ;/

I see alot of girl's cosplaying Gundam 00 this year... overdone yaoi mecha series ftw!

I fully understand the draw of people to do an easy cosplay from an overrated anime such as Naruto/Bleach. Not everyone has the skill/talent to create these costumes fro mscratch, and not everyone can afford a $200 commission either. Plus the fact that most people won't cosplay "normal people". Characters with "normal" hair styles and everyday clothing, but don't forget that those of us who know, KNOW.

No matter how much I may hate a certain series, you have the right to cosplay whatever you want... just stay out of my way, or I might have to use some Battoujutsu and show you how to kill a ninja xDDDD

Link to post
Share on other sites

I just had to join in...One of the things I love and look forward to every Otakon meeting is the wide variety of cosplays. Yes, there may be an overrun of Shonen Jump brand cosplayers out there, but that's partly due to all the meetups and panels featuring those properties. While I'm at it, I'm also glad there is more of a lolita (as in fashion) presence the past couple of years and those panels last year gave a lot of good info, so expect more frilliness to offset the mainstream cosplays, hehe.

More later.

Link to post
Share on other sites
*shrugs*

I don't know where you were all convention, but I certainly didn't feel like there was a WHOLE lot of Naruto and Bleach cosplay. I think you have to approach it with a different mindset: instead of perhaps being expectant and pessimistic (i.e. "oh god, a sea of shinigami and shinobi") adapt one that is more of just being ok with it (i.e. "right, naruto and bleach. ok"). Besides, I think Bleach/Naruto nation is kind of giving way to Death Note and One Piece.

Just like you've pointed out, Bleach and Naruto are extremely popular. So of course both the Alley and the Dealer's room are going to cater to that. Same thing with cosplayers - it's a lot easier to get your hands on a set of kunai and a forehead protector or a set of shinigami robes and a bokken. It's not about being uncreative (a good example is the one Bleach cosplayer who created a bankai'd Zabimaru).

totally. the interesting offbeat costumes were really fun this year though. bill and ted, legends of the hidden temple, GUTS (i think), snake eyes (yeah!), yoko (gurren lagann), the crow demons (i'm glad someone finally told me what they were), 'the renji' (as you mentioned - sort of ...), etc. ... there were lots of other great things i forget. i tend to miss a lot of the most popular stuff as it all just starts to look the same. anyway, my point is, "look at the bright side". there is a whole bunch of variety out there if you do.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 4 weeks later...
Guest link617
I'm not hating on Naruto...and far be it for me to say that i don't enjoy me some Bleach, but what gives? 07' was chock full of more orange jump-suited ninja and soul society clones than i could take. I understand these shows are popular, especially with the "Adult Swim" crowd, but damn...can we broaden our Cos-play horizon?

I pray i don't get flamed/ outcast for this, but seriously, Naruto is played out (...believe it.) I couldn't walk 3 feet in the dealer's room without being force-fed Naruto merch, and the artist alley seemed as if Naruto truly does possess the ability to replicate himself, because that kid was EVERYWHERE!

It is my opinion that life is too short, and that NO ONE should be able to tell another human being what, and what not, to like. If i didn't feel that way, i would probably still be an "in the closet" anime fan afraid of talking about the relevance behind "Ninja Pizza Cats" vs. Garfield, and how ironic it was that Astroboy (a Japanese take on American youth and television programming) seemingly started it all. But please, in 08' lets be creative. Let's showcase our passion with something with more substance. Let's see 300 people COMMIT to coming to con in red Speedos and golden helmets...maybe not that far, but i hope you see where i am going.

So in 08', i propose we lay down the keyblades, hang up the kunai, and sheath the Zangetsu...in hopes of diversifying our little ol' convention.

*If you were totally offended by this rant/proclimation that was not my intention and i hold the firm position that it was Tama-chan on my head that made me do it.

Link to post
Share on other sites
could u plz imform me wen there will b another 1 of theseconventions and if there will b keyblades for sales?

We're happy to answer questions if you can communicate them properly.

Edited by ZGL
removed nested quotes
Link to post
Share on other sites
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.