Lack of convention badges

[Skrae]

At last years NDK rave someone spiked the water, there were more than a few problems last year...

[Wenchie]

Gah... what is up with all the Naruto cosplayers the past few years. I mean, enough is enough!

*sigh*

I used to staff Youmacon (in Michigan) and I've going to Anime Central (Acen in Chicago) and helping out unofficially there for a while... and I also work Sci-Fi/Fantasy conventions... so I completely understand the whole badge thing though. The only time I let people float was when someone I knew (and I knew she pre-registered because I saw her badge) showed up after Reg closed on Friday night and she couldn't get her badge... so I let her into the anime rooms since I was staffing them at the time. But if I don't know you and don't know that you actually paid, you're not getting past me. Sorry.

[Seenoevil]

This year at Anime Central I finally got the courage to cosplay for the first time. Please forgive me for this but I went as a Naruto character *

I've always found cosplayers and con-goers to be extremely friendly and polite but then I've never been to any of the wilder parties. I have to say its kind of fun being glomped by random people

* What can I say....Chouji fits my body type.

[Andara Bledin]

What can I say....Chouji fits my body type.

Cool. You don't see a lot of Choujis running around.

I have plans (still) to do Millie (Trigun) one of these years.

One of the most interesting cosplayers I've ever seen was a Vash/Alucard/(Armitage character maybe?) combo dude. He had elements from three completely different red-coated characters wrapped up in one very cool package.

One of the furry cons I attend had a trio of Kaiju (giant monsters). One was a really impressive Gamera.

The ones I really, really want to see go away are all the Sheshomaru cosplayers. I hate the character, and there are more lousy cosplayers of him than anyone else, even counting Naruto himself. What's really cool, though, is when you see a random Kagome pass a random Inuyasha, call out "sit" and have the guy actually faceplant purely on reaction.

^-.-^

[Dreamstalker]

One of the furry cons I attend had a trio of Kaiju (giant monsters). One was a really impressive Gamera.

Cooool! I've always been considering doing a Gamera/TMNT hybrid (emphasis on the Gamera half). Except that my molding/casting skills are sadly lacking and I want to do the best job I can on it. Right now I'm debating what to actually complete: GB proton pack (I've put too much $ into materials to give up, that's turning into a multi-year odyssey), Kenshin, Yuna, my wolf partial fursuit...

Dammit, I have too many awesome ideas and not enough time, skills or cash to pull them off

I tend to ignore the IY/Naruto cosplayers, simply because IMO both have been done, redone, and overdone.

[Tigress]

Animazement, Is that the one in NC at the Sherton in the Imperial Center office park? I know someone that helps run it.

I could be wrong too >.>

The very one. If you saw a chick carrying a tiger backpack for the past three years, that's me.

I've cosplayed two characters from Naruto: Ino Yamanaka (the bitchy one in purple) and Tsunade (5th Hokage). Because I'm stacked, I make a much better Tsunade. Most of my fellow Narutards consider me an awesome ninja because I actually know martial arts and can pull off some impressive moves in the 3" Tsunade Death Heels.

I've also done Inu-Yasha and have scared people with my launching into the air and face-planting on the unforgiving hotel floor.

The other ones I've done so far are Edward Elric (I'm short and loud, so it's perfect), Haruko from FLCL (she so freaking fun!), Belldandy (everyone loves it, especially little kids), and Jade from Beyond Good and Evil (because she rocks).

I don't bat an eye at the Narutards, because it's the popular anime right now, along with Bleach. It's usually their first cosplay, so I won't begrudge them their fun. And I usually end up playing Den Mother for them, so I take it as my responsibility to steer them towards the good stuff.

[Kogarashi]

The ones I really, really want to see go away are all the Sheshomaru cosplayers. I hate the character, and there are more lousy cosplayers of him than anyone else, even counting Naruto himself.

Aww. I'm a Sesshoumaru cosplayer (I try really hard to get the costume right). It's one of my favorite costumes to wear.

I also cosplay Kougaiji (Gensomaden Saiyuki), Ginji (GetBackers), Zephel (Angelique, done once for Masquerade at Anime Expo), and a half-finished White Mage (Final Fantasy). I've got plans to be Meryl (Trigun) at some point in the future, once I can convince my husband to be Vash.

[Shengirl]

My friends and I wore our kendo uniforms to a couple of Otakons. After a few too many people asking, "Are you an army of Kaorus?" and, "Are you the shinsengumi?" (wtf we didn't even look close to that), we decided to call ourselves the Furinkan High kendo team.

I also did Battlestar Galactica pilots with another group. But we did it the easy way, with boots, green pants from Sunny's, and two tanktops. This is what happens when you never learn to sew. :sob: It's no wonder, though. My mom can't pick up a needle without swearing like a sailor, and I never learned in scouts. Kinda makes cosplaying hard.

[Andara Bledin]

Aww. I'm a Sesshoumaru cosplayer (I try really hard to get the costume right). It's one of my favorite costumes to wear.

I also cosplay Kougaiji (Gensomaden Saiyuki), Ginji (GetBackers), Zephel (Angelique, done once for Masquerade at Anime Expo), and a half-finished White Mage (Final Fantasy). I've got plans to be Meryl (Trigun) at some point in the future, once I can convince my husband to be Vash.

Ok, ok... I guess I don't want all the Sesshou players to go away.

Oh, hey, if you do end up setting up for Meryl, let me know and I'll see if I can actually get around to doing Millie.

The hard part on that's going to be the gun. I want to make it collapsable so that I can actually carry it under the coat. That's going to be a trick and a half...

^-.-^

[Kogarashi]

Ok, ok... I guess I don't want all the Sesshou players to go away.

Oh, hey, if you do end up setting up for Meryl, let me know and I'll see if I can actually get around to doing Millie.

The hard part on that's going to be the gun. I want to make it collapsable so that I can actually carry it under the coat. That's going to be a trick and a half...

^-.-^

Good luck with that. ^_^ Unfortunately, I have no idea how you would make it collapsible.

But I'll certainly let you know if I ever manage Meryl. Height-wise, I'm really better suited to Millie, but hubby couldn't pass himself off as Wolfwood if he tried.

[tamezin]

I was tempted to tape every single Naruto cosplayer to the nearest wall.

Why didn't you

[Andara Bledin]

Good luck with that. ^_^ Unfortunately, I have no idea how you would make it collapsible.

But I'll certainly let you know if I ever manage Meryl. Height-wise, I'm really better suited to Millie, but hubby couldn't pass himself off as Wolfwood if he tried.

*snicker*

If we ever did go the cosplay route, my boyfriend would be doing Wolfwood... with the confessional headpiece.

^-.-^

[Kogarashi]

*snicker*

If we ever did go the cosplay route, my boyfriend would be doing Wolfwood... with the confessional headpiece.

^-.-^

Love it. How's he managing that?

[Kusanagi]

I love cosplay but I have to admit that I'm completely baffled by all the paranoia prop rules at the smaller conventions.

A few cons back east changed the rules that all props had to be made out of cardboard and less than 3 feet long. This meant ALOT of people didn't have staffs, and two of the people I did Yuna staff commissions on were PISSED, as was I.

I honestly have to say to anyone in charge of these policies: suck it. You guys are scared that something MIGHT happen when you're just a 5k person con in the middle of practically nowhere compared to DragonCon and Comic-con

Comic-Con has an attendance of over 150k this year and you're allowed to have LIVE STEEL on your person if it's part of a costume. (I went as Kisuke Urahara and actually was carrying live steel as part of my outfit) There's never been one instance at Comic-Con where someone attacked someone else with a giant wooden staff or cut their heads off with a sword.

Are people scared that they MIGHT do it so they completely wipe out any and all logic regarding all the previous years that it DIDN'T happen? It sure does piss people off and I've noticed the number of people that attend these cons and both the quality of the outfits goes down considerably due to these unneccessary regulations.

If I spend several hundred on an outfit and countless hours on a prop and then am told that I cannot take it in, I will understandably be pissed or simply not go to the con at all. I've had this happen several times.

I try to be the best cosplayer I can be but if I cannot complete the outfit with signature items I spend the time crafting, I just won't go to that con. I love Comic-Con out of all of them because they are the largest con in the country and have the laxest rules, and it works great for them.

If there's one thing that pisses me off about post 9/11 fear mongering, that's it.

[Andara Bledin]

My thrice-yearly gaming con has some boneheaded stupid rules about costume weaponry that have been pretty much ignored completely for the last decade or so.

... and I still wanna see your Urahara...

^-.-^