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2008: Another Naruto/Bleach con?


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While I'm really, really not a Naruto/Bleach fan (Seinen is more my cup o' tea; Monster, anyone?) I don't really blame people for dressing up as their favorite characters- it's part of the fun.

I remember one year when everytime I turned my head it was a Vash the Stampede or Nicholas D. Wolfwood. Much cardboard and fabric must have gone into all of those cross punishers, I tell you. Dunkin Donuts must have SOLD OUT that year.

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While i am not myself a fan of Naruto or Bleach, & can understand why the proliferation of such cosplayers may be perceived as annoying, i have to agree with the whole idea of "dress who you want to dress as, & have fun." Think that the general assumption may be that, if someone dresses up as someone from a popular, mainstream anime/manga, it is assumed that they don't know anything of lesser-known anime, which is not always going to be true.

It kind of makes me nervous, because i'm planning on going as someone who is still fairly obvious (now i don't know i want to say; eheh), but it's really one of the few "mainstream" anime/manga that i'm into, & i only got into recently, on a whim, & thus after all the hype. But if someone were to assume i was just copping out & knew nothing of other anime/manga, i would feel insulted, really, & kind of hurt, because that's not the case. I know what people mean when they type BGC, even though i've never seen it. I have a stash of Macross/Robotech icons that i made (that no one else seemed to get...). Very few people seem to read Dragon Knights, & i've got all except the final one (because it's not translated yet). But right now, the thing that i'm mostly obsessing over just happens to be a fairly well known series, & i'd like to go as one of the characters.

It's a little like when i finally got into Harry Potter, because for the longest time i just kind of blew it off because i thought, "Oh, it's too popular" or whatever. (So yes, i'm completely guilty of rolling eyes at popular, mainstream things.) That mindset can really ruin things like conventions like this, i think. It isn't fair to assume that someone's copping out. After all, they're probably just as passionate about their Naruto cosplay as you are about your.... i don't know, Crusher Joe cosplay. (Random old anime!) Of course it'd be nice to see some people cosplaying as lesser known/ older series-- that would be brilliant-- but people will do what they know & what they like.

Hope i don't sound snippy or insulting. Just wanted to point those things out, though some other people have already touched on them. My two cents.

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If you want to lower the ratio of mainstream to obscure cosplays, then become part of the solution and cosplay something obscure! That's all there is to it. As a cosplayer who consistently strives to be the only one at the con as their character, you notice two things:

- if your cosplay is well done, people will give you props and take pictures no matter what you are

- when those half dozen fans of the series find you roaming the halls, them flipping out is probably one of the best feelings ever :)

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*shrugs* XD I think whatever you're comfortable in and if you're happy with your cosplay, just do it! >> Personally I probably will get shot because i'm doing both a naruto and a bleach cosplay this year (lets top it off with the fact that this is my first time cosplay). =3 besides, i still say there are alot of unique cosplays out there that come out more and more each year. :) I guess its just how you percieve it. >3 although I still say there should be more Ouran Highschool Host Club.

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You're basically forced to lay back and accept the fact that Adult Swim watching, mall dwelling noobs are going to cosplay as Naruto or Bleach characters. They're both mass marketed and accepted by the mainstream.

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You're basically forced to lay back and accept the fact that Adult Swim watching, mall dwelling noobs are going to cosplay as Naruto or Bleach characters. They're both mass marketed and accepted by the mainstream.
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I didn't mind at all that there were so many Naruto and Bleach cosplayers, my brother and I made a game of it actually, "how many variations of this sword/ninja/whatever can you find?" game! All in all it was fun to see what the cosplayers came up with, and I even found some a Giant Mokona and the Ouran twins!

If you've got a unique cosplay kudos to you! If you've got an overdone cosplay, well at least your not alone!

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Quite frankly, if you love cosplaying as *insert name of character, regardless of anime* here, what should stop you? It doesn't matter if it's mainstream, upstream, downstream, somewhere in the stream, etc. 83 If you love the character and anime, then just go for it. I never understood why people get mad from seeing alot of ppl cosplaying as bleach or naruto characters. 83 anime has been in my life since i was 3 and yet i still chose to do mainstream costumes. Why? Because I love bleach and naruto. As long as you love what you're cosplaying as, x3 ya shouldn't let someone's opinion get in the way of enjoying the con. << and if I strayed off topic then i shall say back to topic

~<3

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While I'm thinking of doing adult Gohan from DBZ, I may go the more unique route and do the ever-so-rare Barry Burton from Resident Evil for this year.

I think everyone is too harsh on the topic creator-- I agree with her. While everyone SHOULD have no trouble cosplaying what they want, people should WANT to be bold and bring something new to the table

Last year I was Riku from Kingdom Hearts, and I recognize that a lot of my con interaction was brought on because I was dressed as such a popular character. I like Kingdom Hearts and mainly because I was Riku I was pretty much immediately integrated into the FF/KH crowd.

But you know what? I'll still meet tons of new folk as an under the radar character such as Barry and I'll probably bring a higher level of impression to fellow Resident Evil fans because my cosplay won't be one that they'd be seeing over nine thousand times during the con.

So I'm giving a call out too!: Next time you bring out your juunin vest-- Think about picking up something more unique!

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Here's my two cents: If you don't like seeing certain cosplayers, look the other way or just look past them and don't let it bother you. I've never felt like it was a big deal that there were 100s of Inu Yasha, Ichigo, and Naruto. People like it and that's cool.

I remember back at my first Otakon in '04 there was an awesome Sesshomaru from Inu Yasha in the registration line in front of me. I was stoked. So when someone does a common costume really well, its still cool!

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I remember a few years ago when Trigun was nice and fresh, they lined up about 40 Vashes and 30 or so Wolfwoods in the main hall. Twas quite a sight. Though Naruto just doesn't look as cool, specially with a couple dozen in sight at all times.

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Though Naruto just doesn't look as cool, specially with a couple dozen in sight at all times.

I dunno, I think I'd get a good laugh out of a shout of "Kage bunshin no jutsu!" followed by a horde of Narutos pouring out from a room or around a corner.

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  • 3 weeks later...
I remember a few years ago when Trigun was nice and fresh, they lined up about 40 Vashes and 30 or so Wolfwoods in the main hall. Twas quite a sight. Though Naruto just doesn't look as cool, specially with a couple dozen in sight at all times.
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  • 5 weeks later...

I mean people should cosplay who ever they want and if they are having fun then so be it! Doesn't mean I don't get bored of seeing Naruto, Bleach, and formally Kingdom Hearts everywhere. I mean personally I'd love to see some detailed outfits that look like they took work or maybe seeing people try and cosplay those things that may not be that famous.

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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.

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Haven't made a post in a long time. ^_^ Anyway I do get tired of seeing the same cosplay in abundance but face it, it's cool the first time around. I expect to see a lot of Code Geass and Gurren Lagann characters.

The market is so saturated with new shows I think we will see the most diverse crowd of cosplayers we have had in years.

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Haven't made a post in a long time. ^_^ Anyway I do get tired of seeing the same cosplay in abundance but face it, it's cool the first time around. I expect to see a lot of Code Geass and Gurren Lagann characters.

The market is so saturated with new shows I think we will see the most diverse crowd of cosplayers we have had in years.

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  • 1 month later...

Ahahahahahahaha aheee ahooo ahaaa.

Kudos to whomever started or supports this thread.

I'm not hating on Naruto or Bleach either (I personally can't stomach Naruto; Bleach isn't so bad, specially the manga). They just bring up a good point.

*Cough AC cloud and L too *cough

Meh, you can't blame the series though. Popularity is just popularity.

Edited by MercuryEnigma
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I'm not a huge fan of mainstream cosplay either. I like to cosplay things from stuff I like, but most of the time it's not stuff a whole lot of people are into. It's just overwhelming to see so many Bleach and Naruto folks, there are A LOT of other animes out there. It's cool if you love that show and your favorite character is from that show, but don't forget about the major amounts of other anime there is out there. This is a whole other topic, but this is where you can see the "pre mainstream" anime fans and the "mainstream" anime fans.

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I'm not a huge fan of mainstream cosplay either. I like to cosplay things from stuff I like, but most of the time it's not stuff a whole lot of people are into. It's just overwhelming to see so many Bleach and Naruto folks, there are A LOT of other animes out there. It's cool if you love that show and your favorite character is from that show, but don't forget about the major amounts of other anime there is out there. This is a whole other topic, but this is where you can see the "pre mainstream" anime fans and the "mainstream" anime fans.
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While I'm really, really not a Naruto/Bleach fan (Seinen is more my cup o' tea; Monster, anyone?) I don't really blame people for dressing up as their favorite characters- it's part of the fun.

I remember one year when everytime I turned my head it was a Vash the Stampede or Nicholas D. Wolfwood. Much cardboard and fabric must have gone into all of those cross punishers, I tell you. Dunkin Donuts must have SOLD OUT that year.

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I'm not a huge fan of mainstream cosplay either. I like to cosplay things from stuff I like, but most of the time it's not stuff a whole lot of people are into. It's just overwhelming to see so many Bleach and Naruto folks, there are A LOT of other animes out there. It's cool if you love that show and your favorite character is from that show, but don't forget about the major amounts of other anime there is out there. This is a whole other topic, but this is where you can see the "pre mainstream" anime fans and the "mainstream" anime fans.
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I'm not a huge fan of mainstream cosplay either. I like to cosplay things from stuff I like, but most of the time it's not stuff a whole lot of people are into. It's just overwhelming to see so many Bleach and Naruto folks, there are A LOT of other animes out there. It's cool if you love that show and your favorite character is from that show, but don't forget about the major amounts of other anime there is out there. This is a whole other topic, but this is where you can see the "pre mainstream" anime fans and the "mainstream" anime fans.

What's it matter, really? Are anime fans put into those two categories? I enjoy Naruto and Bleach but I definitely have more of a library than just those two and I don't mean DragonBall Z (which is probably a library all on it's own -.-) I think it's more of the difference between "Mainstream" Cosplayers and "Pre-Mainstream" Cosplayers and whether they want to be noticed or not. If someone cosplays as Naruto, you definitely know who he is by now even if you don't watch it. I, personally, don't like going as someone who people are like "wtf anime is he from?" however if you do that and someone does notice you, it does seem more special to you and I understand that but...I don't really think cosplayers should be segregated into the two categories. ^_^

P.S. BELIEVE IT!

(I joke! I joke! Don't hit me for using the god forsaken two words!)

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I don't think this will be another Naruto/Bleach con. I don't think that it ever is. Naruto and Bleach will be among the most cosplayed along with Lucky Star, Gurren Lagann, Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and Death Note. You may even see a few more Sailor Moon costumes, since two guest of honors did work for that series.

When I see over 140 plus Cosplay.com gatherings from 70-80 different series, OVA's and Video Games, no one show dominates the costumes at Otakon or any major size convention. A few have the gatherings that take up every square inch of the Fountains or Skywalk. I have seen Wonder Women and Cutey Honey's at Otakon. That says that costuming is more than the popularity of any two shows. It is an artform as vibrant as the fandom it is part of.

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Every convention will have it own group of mainstream cosplayers. The first time I been to Otakon I saw many cosplayers other than the mainstream ones.

And I took photos of them. :D

Edited by jkid
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I somewhat agree with the OP. The naruto/bleach/org XIII and L cosplayers at cons are a bit overwhelming, it's true. But, I'm in no position to tell people what they should and shouldn't cosplay. Up until this upcoming otakon, I refused to do the "mainstream" cosplays and just be another person amongst the hundreds of people.

Unfortunately, rarely being recognized wears on you (though when you are recognized, it's a great feeling). So, I thought I might give a Bleach cosplay a shot this year and see how different my con experience is. What will change and all that. I have never been to an "anime group photoshoot" considering most of my cosplays were from animes that never garnered enough interest in the cosplay community, I guess. So we'll see how that plays out too

Just my experience and observations to add

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I agree with Yongsoo.

Like when I choose my costumes I always get stuck in the situation of, "I want cosplay something that I'll be recognized for but I don't want something overdone cause I don't want to just blend in" or "I can do this hard thing, and maybe get recognized, or do this easy thing and be instantly recogized"

When I first cosplayed Ouran at AnimeUSA 06, there was such a small group, and same with Katsucon07, but at least alot more people recognized me by then. But man at Otakon 07, as long as you had that blue blazer everyone basically knew who you were.

While when I did D.gray-man for the first time at Katsucon07 there wasn't too many fans (let alone people who knew about it yet), but a lot of people enjoyed the costume thanks to my gigantic hammer (I cosplayed Lavi) Then when I went to Otakon and went to the main photo shoot I was amazed at the result, I bet there was a good 30+ people who showed up. Now that D.gray-man has reached past the 90+ episode mark, I bet there will be a lot of cosplayed at Otakon this year. =P

The only thing I don't like about the mass amounts of people cosplaying for example Naruto or Bleach is the hoard amount of people who don't really try hard on making it, I'm not being mean or trying to start fights and in no way am I an elitist (this is the third time I'll be cosplaying as Lavi and I've remade it 3 times too. Especially after seeing people do it "better" XP) But personally, I don't really like the SnJ remakes of all the characters, I mean yeah the version of Naruto or Konohamaru. But not of all the characters, yes its pretty cool to see other's imagination, but I would rather see a EXTREMELY good normal version of a character over a (most of the time) thrown together SnJ. I also have a thing where people get the costumes together and don't wear a wig, and do their normal hair especially when their "normal" looks nothing like the character (pet peev) >_< Its just you can see a better quality in the costume when they cut/styled a wig.

Ok wow, I'm just basically rambling now. But I hope someone will see some point to what I was trying to say. ( I had a couple more opinions but I decided to keep them to my self)

Anywho, I think this year we might see a lot of Luckystar cosplayers (along with Haruhi S) and D.gray-man and of course the usual Kingdom Hearts, Naruto(especially Shippuden), and Bleach. Though I'm hoping to see a lot more of those underlying done costumes. When I see a unique costume that I like, I research about the series.. and maybe even cosplay it in the future myself. That's the part about Otakon that I always look forward too.

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I just think it's based on a person's will to cosplay. Sure, mainstream naruto and bleach are, but what's it matter? Isn't Otakon suppose to be for fun, enjoyment, etc. for that weekend? I mean imho, it gets irritating too and I'm a part of both fandoms and i can without a doubt say I get annoyed too but (shrug) they enjoy it. I'm pretty sure nobody would want their cosplay to be knocked down if they painstakenly worked on it and it was from a mainstream anime. Sure, sometimes it's kinda suffocating to walk down the corridors of the BCC and there are Itachi's and Ichigos everywhere but its just worth watching. I remember my third Otakon, my eyes were possibly damaged due to how bright the hallway was from all the Narutos but i still thought "Oh, awesome!" and I've always had that thought. XD Sometimes ya just gotta be able to keep an open mind. While I'd love to see some more, relatively unknown cosplays and unique ones, I still get a kick of seeing any type of cosplay period. Well, enough of my rambling *inserts cue card here for the next post*

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while flipping through the otakon pages of A Fan's View and remembering what I saw at previous otakons, i do remember seeing a lot of uncommon and unique anime shows and characters being cosplayed - but there are also a lot of the bleach and narutos as we've mentioned. but i think those popular ones stand out the most because they're popular and what people are chatting about the most.

also, if you are cosplaying as an uncommon character/series and people don't reconize you - that could be a good or bad thing depending on what you want. ask yourself why are you cosplaying...... is it to be noticed and get your pic taken a lot, or is it for another reason? do you care what other people think or are you doing this for you? my first cosplay to a convention was hideous because it was my first one, i don't know how to sew, and i couldn't justify spending over $200 on one costume. i certainly didnt look like the character but i had an amazing time with it and had a lot of fun. but that's just me.... some people enjoy treating cosplay as modeling - and that's fine if that's what they like.

finally, i dont think we should get hung up on nit-picking people's costumes. trinity blood cosplayers may have $500+ for a costume but i dont think too many others do. to be frank, if you enjoy fussing about other people's costumes, then www.cosplay.com is the perfect place to do that. they have numerous threads were people pick to death about how someone's cosplay isn't perfect enough or your body type isnt right. but if you dont care about all of that, and you just ordered that akatsuki jacket or shinigami sword, then just have fun.

Edited by Duelistbluerose
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Guest Hpnotiq115

I'll admit that there are ALOT of Naruto cosplays (i don't think there are as many bleach...but i don't really remember... :D ). But I also think that if thats what you like, then cosplay away, whether it's considered "mainstream" or not. If you like it, you like it...and thats that! -_-

But I don't think that Otakon 2008 will be more of a Naruto/Bleach cosplays as there will be of Deathnote this year (just like there was ALOT of KH2 cosplayers last year). God! I can imagine now all the Light, L, and Misa cosplays XD!! :lol:

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lots of stuff in this thread to try and comment about...

Naruto and bleach will have a lot, but death note will have quite more, i think because it's mostly a closet-cosplay. It's a good manga/anime and easy to do.

Personally i've done naruto cosplays - i did tsunade when so few people knew who she was, I did demon form tayuya and NO ONE recognized me when i did Rin. (I guess being current issue manga naruto characters doesn't help noticibility). Anyway, i had fun as those characters (except tayuya- her wig with the horns in it hurt a LOT). and even if it seemed like less ppl payed attention because of 'oh, another naruto cosplayer' (even though it was 2004 and 2005 - yes even then) it was still a lot of fun because i liked those characters.

I've also done a costume where ONLY ONE PERSON aside from people I went with knew who I was. I was going to do it again this year since the manga is in shoujo beat and the anime is being released (finally), but I don't have time to fix it properly. I had a few comments in elevators and stuff at how nice my costume was, but no one along the way asked for a picture. It was kind of upsetting because i poured a TON of work into it and it was ignored quite a lot. Even now, 2 years later, i'm still proud of the details i put into that costume. I'll probably wear it again sometime. Maybe next year if i can get more people to do a group. groups are better for being noticed :)

and if you want to do something obscureish, and you have friends or in a community or group that also likes it, and you DO want attention, go as a group. you'll likely to be noticed that way.

i hope all that was on topic...

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Well.. as a complete narutard, I'd have to say that it *does* suck when people are like "Oh, you're cosplaying a naruto character" and they're all EPIC FAIL about the whole thing. But everyone's entitled to their own opinion, so whatever. Sure, if naruto or bleach isn't your cup of tea and you happen to go to a convention that's got like 98653948239473943843 of those types of characters, you'll prolly be all "OMFG" b/c of how many there are and it just might spoil your fun.

If it really bothers you that much, then look the other way. Otherwise, there really isn't a whole lot you can do about it. Mainstream (insert current popular thing here) will always be around. So you'll have to accept the fact that there's gonna be a CRAP load of people cosplaying whatever happens to be the IN thing. I actually didn't get into Naruto until like.. last year (and it's been around for a while, from what I understand). TBH, I was skeptical about Naruto when it first came. I dunno, something about BRIGHT ORANGE NINJAS didn't really appeal to me, until I actually watched the series. ROFL.

I might see this topic or situation in a different light than other people, when it comes to cosplaying something so common, but I really can't help what appeals to me, and what doesn't. Personally, I don't care if someone thinks what I'm cosplaying is 'over played' or this or that. If it's something I enjoy doing (just like everyone else) I'm gonna do it, regardless of how popular it is vs how it isn't.

Like what a lot of other people have said, cosplay what you want to if it makes you happy. As long as you aren't like.. blowing things up and starting fights and unecessay drama b/c of it, it shouldn't matter wtf you're doing as a cosplay. etc.

So there's my two cents. <3

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