what I will do to cosplay the character in my sig and avatar - nothing. because I don't have the body and I don't want to be looked down upon for killing my own favorite.
how say you towards this?
Do you think you will kill your favorite character if you cosplay badly on it? or is it a homage regardless of effort and that it is a right thing to do if you like to do it? If so how much would you dedicate to a 'for fun' cosplay (just to note, we Asians seem to take cosplay very seriously, it is the whole thing, make up, set, everything, unless the characters themselves are in a joke character realm, by which means we can do whatever the hell we wish)
um, assuming this is meant for me, IMO (I always wanted to use that acronym!
), I don`t think I would ?kill? my favorite, but I certainly am reluctant to do so.
Luckily Touhou has many likeable characters, so it`s not hard to find other candidates and/or versions to cosplay.
There already is a good looking genderbent Nitori out there (apologizes to you if you do come across this), so I probably won`t do a normal version of her, at the least.
I feel that cosplay should be for fun in the US, especially in the warm Touhou fandom (I don`t know about Japan, but that Tokyo U. event makes me think so), but I also think that, borrowing off a friend`s idea, that it can also be to promote the franchise.
It is true that some people get into a franchise because they seen a heart-moving cosplay of someone. I assume there is the opposite as well, which adds to my reluctancy. (I made a new word?)
I do however, think any cosplay is a homage -but- (here comes where people hit me with unidentified funky objects) I do think it isn`t
as much when you can tell it`s store bought.
Yes, money used to purchase that costume was from a indirect form of blood, sweat, and tears, but originally, cosplay culture in Japan was appreciating these fans creating their own costumes out of scratch. (and they had no choice as there were few to none costume stores.)
I think this is where the ?there is no such thing as a bad cosplay? comes from. But now, since buying costumes is mainstream, unless you take it as a profession, I think many people conceive that message as ?there is no such thing as bad representation of a character,? which I feel is not entirely true.
I will take ?cosplay for fun? to mean cosplaying for self-enjoyment and/or as invoking humor. The other possibility being serious cosplay, trying to impress. (two categories for now)
To be considered a joke, I think things should be represented radically different from how it is originally presented.
In that case, for cosplay, I don`t have the body or face to do so. I still do think it`s homage in some sort.
There is a term in Japanese: 体を張る, which the dictionary says it means: ?To take a action at the risk of one`s life.?
I don`t think that term is used that way, more like: taking a risk in terms of physical aspects, like diving in head first. (figure of speech meaning inclusive)
I respect that random E. Honda I saw at comiket before, as I could never take his place.
I feel sad when I think about it -- (no offense to anyone, just explaining awkwardly) let`s say Santa Claus cosplayed a Touhou character other than -suke.
Of course, he cannot shave off his trademark, elf-groomed fabulous beard, so he would cosplay in the form of just wearing clothes meant for a girl as a jolly man.
That would be almost instantly be taken as a joke, for fun cosplay, and less are likely to judge Santa`s character (as in his personality).
However, born as a Asian, (I don`t want to raise a gender situation here but explaining what I think) most of us are considered more feminine than our brothers from other nationalities because of our less protruding facial features and generally less or thinner facial hair.
An Asian guy can easily become a Asian woman just by wearing a long haired wig. Of course, not beautifully, though.
So it`s much more difficult for our type to cosplay without automatically being mentally categorized by viewers as doing it for fun, and/or a joke.
I am also shocked to see the sudden increase in male cosplayers at C85, probably due to the cosplay areas expanding since C84.
So since the sheer number is rising, as well as quality, it makes non-fortunate-of-the-aesthetics hard to cosplay without receiving many rough comments.
It may lowered the entry level, but comiket, thus a large influence on Japanese otaku culture being composed of males, cosplaying for self enjoyment is more difficult.
This is where my concern lies, especially since cosplay, after all, is something we appreciate mainly by aesthetics.
When I cosplay, half my mind is always thinking if I`m not offending any fans, crushing potential fans, doing the franchise injustice, hurting the cosplay culture, and so forth.
Pretty unhealthy right?
I`m trying to push this aside with the more positive opinions I hear here, especially because I probably won`t ever cosplay in Asia, so Asian mindsets do not apply.
Do non-Asians expect a higher standard level when Asians cosplay?
(Some of you might think why I`m asking this here and not on cosplay.com or something, but it`s the Touhou community I care about.)
