....Or anyone outside of the active community (Photographers, helpers, avid Animanga fans etc). Because they always ask me questions I find difficult to answer and I always find myself unable to justify and uphold the hobby.
Person X: So what do you do during Cosplays?
Me: erm.... take pictures and go to events ...
Person X: oh I see... what do you guys do when you attend events?
Me: erm.... mingle with other fans, watch the stage activities and stalls and. ...... take pictures.
And it's not like they are even trying to bring the hobby down, they were just being inquisitive! Double fun is how everyone always ask the same questions xD I guess they really don't have a clue eh?
Strangely, no matter how much I enjoy the hobby, every fun factor in the hobby suddenly pales and wither when a non-Animanga fan queries about it =___= ||||
I mean, taking pictures is fun to me! But explaining that to someone else never fails to put a rock in my throat. I think I need some help in coming up with intelligent answers!
The next dreadful comment would be this “Oh, I think the Japanese Cosplayers are awesome but Singaporean/ Caucasian ones are far from it”.
Seriously, sometimes I wonder what's the purpose of telling me that. Were they expecting me to bow in agreement and do a cheers hug with them ? Are they trying to prove that they know something about this hobby. Or are they trying to imply I won't ever be as good as my Japanese counterpart?
Person Y: Oh you cosplay?
Me: yeah...........
Person Y: Ooh, I've seen some really awesome Japanese cosplayers, they really look like the characters!
Me: haha yeah...
Person Y: ...but the ones in Singapore can't really match up....
Me: Haha I can't really agree. There are actually a lot of really good cosplays here...
Person Y: But the Japanese ones are REALLY good! The ones I've seen are really good! You should see it
Me: Erm okay, personally I admire western cosplayers more.
Person Y: hahah the Caucasian ones are, I'm sorry to say very far from good
Me: Well actually there are a lot of very good Caucasian cosplayers. Have you seen some
of their costumes? It's really awesome.
Person Y: Well maybe they win by their costume but looks is another thing
Me: *getting agitated* That's where you're wrong :D! Imagine how those final fantasy characters are all modelled after Caucasians! If a westerner can do a good job on their costume (and be of the right physique), they will look even closer to the characters than an Asian will ever be!
Person Y: Hmm but I still think Japanese are better. If you've seen the pictures I've seen...
Me: *Getting VERY annoyed* Of course I'm sure I've seen a lot of very good Japanese cosplay but I don't think they are the best...
Person Y: I still think they are the best , I think it's a personal preference thing
*The above conversation is a re-enactment of an actual conversation but highly unreliable as is based on my failing memory *
My point is, can we STOP GENERALISING?!!!! Yes, there are some very good Asian Cosplayers and some bad Western cosplayers but who's to say a specific race is better than another when the hobby itself is so varied in presentation?
JiakiDarkness cosplay Gakupo BRS by ~Jiakidarkness
The same cosplayer can be awesome as Character X ( example: Deedlit, Gakupo) but fail desperately as Character Y (example: Uzumaki Naruto, Hatsune Miku). There is no such thing as a "1-person-fits-all" nor a “1-race-fits-all” !
Uzumaki Naruto is back by ~WammysCosplay
I have nothing against Japanese Cosplayers and yes, a lot of them are really awesome. But I definitely wouldn't reign them as my personal throne master. It could be due to the fact that my language obstacle has stopped me from seeing more of their cosplays. But from my admittedly skewed and shallow perspective, I find their cosplays too made-up and lacking in variety. Then again, I guess I don’t see enough of it as a whole to judge *shrug*. I guess I should schedule a trip to Comiket soon huh?
Anyway I digressed.
Coming back to the discussion, why is someone who have never cosplayed before giving me his/her Critics and Comments and expecting me to take it?
What I dislike most is the jab in the eye by a supposed "outsider" implying I should know lesser than them! Every time one of them tell me "If you've seen the pictures I've seen..." I pulled a muscle restraining myself from retorting " What makes you think I would have seen any lesser than you?".
Phew! That’s a lot of anger and retort and bitching going on above. Truth be told, this entry was written maybe 6 months ago but I never got around to finishing it until today. Had been very busy =(
I hope nobody takes what I say personally. As usual, I’m not being vindictive nor am I discriminating anyone/any race. My objective here is to share my observation of the reaction from non-Cosplayers and start the discussion rolling with like minded Cosplayers (or at least people in this community).
Am I the only one who gets responses like these when someone finds out you Cosplay?
Comment and share your thoughts about this!