Hello hello, one and all to my blog! Thanks for coming an-
Umm... no, it's not a rant. Really. Promise.
POSITIVE STUFF that's happening! I've began a workout program to be a buff mofo at AX next year. Gotta practice everyday and workout a lot, but it'll be worth it. I want to do some particular cosplays, like Raoh from Hokuto no Ken and Dio Brando from Jojo's Bizarre adventure. The problem? Both are EXTREMELY fit. So that's my physical goal for cosplay.
ANOTHER POSITIVE NOTE is my challenge. To myself! This is a program that I'm really looking forward to. See, this year at Anime Expo, I was a bit... dissappointed. I'm an apprentice blacksmith, and I work on SCA weapons and armor, all full steel (except the weapons, which have a ratton base). So I was walking around and I saw someone in a Dragoon cosplay. It was alright, but his armor was plastic. I saw several other cosplays with "armor", and it was all cloth, plastic (rare) and craftfoam! I was really dissappointed in this fact, but continued on my way.
Now to the people in the masquerade, I'm sorry. I was dissappointed by a lot of the sketches and cosplays up there. Some of the groups, namely the coconut bubble sex performance, the one piece sketch, and the dramatic battle one were the ones I enjoyed. In terms of cosplayers, I liked the Medicine Seller from Mononoke (she's so cute in person
I feel friggin oldschool right now. I just watched Hokuto no Ken in it's entirety, and I gotta say, I still love that show. It's THE BEST action show around man. And I wanna challenge anyone out there to throw down a recent better show.
So throw out some newschool names. Tell me why your favorite action show deserves the title "Best Action Anime Period". Throw down some facts and some fanhood, and I'll check back on this later.
Man, if you've seen Over 9,000, Balls Are Inert, you know about Kajeto Kun, aka Kajmaster Kaj. Well, he, myself, and our slew of accomplices are doing this panel. He put a LOT of work into it, and made a commercial. I garuntee you, if you come, it'll be worth it. LOTS of fun.
Rise up, Otaku brothas and sistaaaahs-ah! I have witnessed many things in my time as an Otaku, but I have been saddened by the recent events I have seen with my very eyes-ah! How some people act can effect the entire view of someone that looks into our subculture-ah! And frankly, it’s time I went Malcolm X on your asses-ah!
Alright, to begin: stop closing yourself off from everyone else. I recently saw a group of Otaku at my local library, and I went to talk to them. I was dancing earlier that day, so I had some of my standard gear for dancing on (shorts, a tight-ish shirt, my converse kicks and a Samoan wrap with a Shemagh). They were talking about Pokemon, all girls and boys between 16-18, and I asked if I could join the conversation, and they grumbled at me. “What would a wigger like you know about Pokemon? Go listen to your rap and slap some hoes.”
Well, I admit I was angry at that comment, but I didn’t yell or hit them. “I bet that my Pokemon could beat yours,” I taunted as I whipped out my DS with my recently acquired version of Pokemon: Pearl Version. We had a quick game, where I nearly won, but victory was his. We had a discussion about it, and they apologized. They had been having problems with bullies in their school as of late, some of them dressed like me. They had been getting crap because they were open about their fandom.
Well, I knew there was more to the story, so I asked them what they were into. And sure enough, they were Otaku. When the first name you throw down is Gackt, L’arc~en~ciel, Dir en Grey or High and Mighty Color, there’s a 95% chance you’re an Otaku. They watched anime, read, manga, made AMVs, and everything the stereo typical fan does. “Well, have you tried to get into THEIR hobbies?” I asked, to which they laughed. “Why would I be into something as dumb as Hip Hop, or Football? I mean, men touching each other and a sport… not my thing!”
What is this, people? Where does this mentality of hatred toward your fellow man come from? What happened to the days of turning the other cheek? Listen-ah, you have to be a bigger man-ah! A bigger woman-ah! Manga and Anime aren’t accepted because the fans that read and watch it tend to be socially outcast. The proble is that these people tend to do it by choice! Why is that? There is anime for ALL people of ALL walks of life. Violence, romance, comedy, sports, you name it, there’s one out there. Hell, most of you can look at this list and name one as you read it off.
So I challenge you, Otaku! Go out, and make a friend that’s NOT an Otaku! Try something new, go out and have a new experience instead of being locked inside your room on the computer, or at your friend’s house! If you have friends like this already, try integrating with their friends, making even more friends! Just because you’re friends with them doesn’t make you a different person, you’re friends and that’s that! Oh, but don't do anything stupid, people
Before I get any comments about hypocrisy, I’m a break dancing, con going, cosplay making Eagle Scout that is into music, community service, martial arts and history, and I have lots of friends in lots of areas. So I know for a fact that it can happen!
I need to leave Carlsbad. Young people of Carlsbad, you understand when I say this community is boring as hell. And so, I'm thinking about moving. Where? As the name suggests, I'm thinking LA. Why LA and not SD? There's actually a few reasons.
Because I want to be away from what I know, for starters. I want an experience. I want new. I'm so tired of knowing where everything is, being known by people; I want a fresh start, and to know only friends in the new area I'm going to. To go on a fresh, solid note in LA, unlike when I moved here. Some of you have known me since I was what, 10? When I moved here from Oregon, the other kids were mean. I was labeled fat kid and was left alone, which affected me my whole life. At least when I move, I want be alone emotionally.
Secondly, as I mentioned before, most of my best friends are in LA! I mean c'mon, what's not logical about going to where one is loved? Team Banzai, a lot of the cosplay community (really nice people on average, even if a little eccentric), and the members of numerous con teams (you know who you are) that all like and me and treat me with respect, as opposed to hear, where the adults are all robots that hate their child's friends, and a lot of the people my age are either people I can't see often or I have no will to know. I'll admit, I'll miss all the INTELLIGENT PEOPLE I know down here, but something I'm willing to sacrifice, I suppose.
Third, jobs! My aunt's in-law is a famous Editor named Matt Chesse, and he may take me under his wing as an assistant when he gets back from his current project, Quantum of Solace (the new Bond film? lol) or he'll get me under a colleague. I'm excited by that.
Plus, I can get a job easy within the community. Totally tooting my own horn here, my intelligence will set me apart from a lot of the high school drop outs and, sorry to say, folks that don't speak the King's English. Plus living in areas like Glendale (still LA, lol) will make s&%$ cheap, like a loft for what was it, 800? I'm gonna ask my buddies Max and Casey help with that, so I should be fine on that part.
So folks, I'm just gonna say it now: I love you folks in San Diego, but there's not enough adventure here for me. I just gotta get out of here. Hell, I've been here almost 11 years! Ugh! I'm so bored with the quality of my life, need to change it. So in July, my folks want me out ANYWAYS, so this'll work for the best.
Yeah, interesting title, right? Well, lemme break it down for ya: This is the first time I have EVER done a cosplay that was more then 5 minutes of gathering shit. No, this is the first time that I will be making something from nothing, buying all the materials, using craft foam, sewing it, the works. I'm even having a commision done for the weapon (an Axe with an Ox head) and the arm gaurd (A horse head looking bracer) by my friend Paul. He does amazing work, check him out.
I'm ALSO doing something called Pokemon Gijinka. It's an art style where humans dress up like Pokemon, it's really cool. If you're going to Fanime, I'm holding a friggin gathering based on that concept alone. Be creative, and come down.
But the thing is, I'm doing Blastoise. I gotta make that friggin shell. That itself is gonna be a pain in my ass. Then I gotta design the rest of the costume...maybe Blue shorts, a striped short, and a blue beanie...and aviators. Because they're cool as fuck. Oh, and a super soaker XD or something like it
Last one I'm doing I can't talk about, because it's gonna be a big surprise for my buddies, and one of them are here. Word travels fast with us.
I'm totally dedicated! I'm even shaving my head to fill these roles! It's gonna be awesome ^__^ Please look forward to seeing it!
Warning: I swear. A lot, sometimes. This is an angry rant. If you got something to tell me, don't be afraid to say it. But I bite back.
You know what I hate?
I hate people that openly look down on other cosplays. I mean, yeah, sometimes a cosplay is REALLY bad, or the person just looks terrible in it. But there's some things you just keep to yourself. I mean, what do you think you would feel like if someone came up to you and said "Your cosplay sucks"? You'd feel like shit! And maybe that person tried their damndest to get that cosplay finished, pushed back by perils called "a real social life". Maybe it was their first time. Maybe work got in the way. Maybe they're just untalented. But who the funk are you to judge them?
We are a community inhabited with a majority of social outcasts. And don't tell me I'm wrong. Yeah, we have our own social circles, but face it: you probably weren't voted Prom King or Queen. I myself felt totally outplace when I was in high school. Thankfully, after I left highschool, I was delightfully surprised at how more the world was accepting of my hobbies. However, I still don't talk to sports jockies too much because they deal with their own stuff.
My point is, however, we tend to stem from an outcast social standing. We've been picked on a lot. And for those who are reading this and haven't, well good for you. You've avoided the worst thing that can happen to a kid. From my personal experience, I got picked on, and I know a lot of other people that just didn't fit in that were into cosplay and anime and video games.
So if you've been on the losing end of the situation, why are you making this person feel like shit? There was an experience I went threw once that perfectly shows this. I was at ComiCon, and this kid was walking around as Goku. He couldn't have been more then 15. He was walking around, proud of his cosplay that, frankly, sucked. The color was yellow, he had a posterboard headpiece for the hair, his PVC Pipe powerpole was flaking off into small pieces as he moved it around, and the Kanji was all wrong on his back and fron, which didn't matter to him, it seemed. He had enough confidence to do his thing, went into public, and while I couldn't help but smirk at the quality of it, he was a trooper for pulling it off.
So what happened? After I took his picture, he walked off, and these three guys started pointing and laughing. What's worse, they started going up to him, and made fun of him to his friggin face. What's wrong with some people? These guys were all obese nerds playing the Naruto trading card game. What right did they have to say s&%$ about his costume? So instead of "handling" the situation like I usually do, I talked to staff, and they were permab&. Apparently, they had been on the short list because of starting some s&%$ earlier. Whatever, they're not coming back.
Another example was AX last year. My friends and I did this thing called Team Geodude. It was a fun, original cosplay we did to celebrate the release of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. We were all wearing the same thing, and we were just having fun with what we were doing. Well, the last day, I was wearing it, and this girl, who was obviously into her cosplay, came up to me and said something along the lines of "Don't wear s&%$ like that. It makes us other cosplayers who actually WORK on our stuff look unprofessional". "Unprofessional?" I ask her, "And what's so professional about dressing up as a cartoon? I mean, I'm having fun. Are you in your costume people will forget about in a month, tops?" And with that, I left. She was boiling and screamed asshole or something. I didn't care. She was being a bitch, I let her have it.
What I'm trying to say is people need to lighten up. Cosplay is about fandom and fun. It's better when you work your hardest on it, you're original, and you have fun. Your best is all you can do. If you don't like someone's cosplay, don't be a bitch. keep your fucking comments to yourself.
This is a lighter rant/blog. Though I warn you, it's a bit harsh.
I've always asked myself: Why don't people work out for cosplays? I mean, I've written before about being yourself and doing what you like, but that's not what I'm talking about. It's great to wear a cosplay you love, and something you actually enjoy doing because you like it. But there's a difference between wearing a cosplay that's bad and being a bit overweight in a revealing costume.
Now granted, yes. I know. I'm one to talk. I think all but one of my cosplays have been shirtless. To name a few, King Hippo, Sagat, E. Honda, Mr Heart... all of them are exposed, all of them shirtless. So I realize the level of hypocricy this blog has. But there's a bit of a difference between cosplaying a big guy and being revealing because it's a big man's cosplay and cosplay a 12 year old japanese ninja fresh out of Ninja School. Oh yeah Naruto cosplayers. I'm talking about some of you.
Why can't some of these people get in shape for these cosplays? Males and females alike, there seems to be a bit of trouble. I know that yeah, we as americans, have an astronomically high obesity rate. But that doesn't mean you can't change that. It doesnt' mean that you can't hit the gym and help improve yourself and your health! Now, again, I'm talking about a big difference. The women I put in my earlier blog about good cosplay? The one that was the Sun girl from Dynasty Warriors? Loved her. She was awesome. The weight thing? Overshadowed by the sheer awesomeness of her cosplay. I saw a few pics of some cosplayers that made me cringe. I won't share with you the pictures because I really don't want to have to let them float around.
Now again, I know I'm gonna get "Shut up unless you're willing to do it yourself". But you know what? f%&# you. I'm beating you to the punch. Three and a half years ago, I weighed in at 350 lbs (158.757 kg ). Now, I'm 250 lbs (113.398 kg). Yeah, I've lost a hundred pounds, yo. And I'm still trying to lose. So bam, there took out someone's arguement.
But oh ho ho, this isn't about just fat people. We tend to be very proud of who we are. I ALSO have a problem with the overly thin. Yeah, that's right skinny people. What are you doing? I mean seriously. You've already been given a thin body. What should you do? Bulk up. Not fat, I mean hit the gym, hit some weights, do some push-ups. Yeah, skinny is nice, but a muscular body is better.
There's so many people that don't workout, it hurts my mind. Cosplayers, don't you want to look good? I mean, I ALWAYS respect a cosplayer that has a good costume. And I respect a person that works out. Imagine if the two were COMBINED! Holy shit, we would have sexy people walking around EVERYWHERE! Wouldn't that be nice, people over the age of 18? I mean, I'm sitting here with a lady friend of mine, and she said to me "It would look like models everywhere," and I'm inclined to agree.
Now, if you have a health problem, that's different. And sorry if that seemed insensitive. But s&%$ like "my body aches when I run" or "my knees hurt" isn't tolerable. If you haven't been given a doctor's note that says "Don't excercise", you should excercise
Why do I broch this issue? I'm starting to workout again. I'm going to be doing Dian Wei from Dynasty Warriors 5, took a look at my guy, and said "Fuck this". There was a new gym that was built near my home (like 1/3 of a mile! SCORE!) and I'll be hitting that up as much as possible. I'm also going to couple it with dieting. I'm going to be doing Squats, Bench Press, Curls, Running, and Swimming., hopefully in 30-45 minute sessions.
Now, time for the suggestions: I think it'd be better to bullet these -Run! Running is the fast way to shed pounds! Start off slow, because longer runs are more affective then shorter runs -Swim! Swimming laps is PHANTASTIC when you're trying to lost the flab, AND it helps your body tone FAST -Stop drinking Liquid Satan! Oh, I mean Soda! Cut back on soda completely, or ween yourself off, and you'll see a noticible 5 lbs difference -Eat healthier! Lots of proteins if you're looking for muscle, less starch if you're looking to lose that fat! -Go outside! Temptation starts where you can access it
Do you love Pokemon? Want to be cute or cool? Want to be in a fun cosplay group? Catch all the fun with the Pokemon Gijinka group at Fanime! The more the merrier!
But wait, you want more? How about an actual Pokemon League? That's right, an actual Pokemon League will be in place! Over the weekend, you will the chance to win Badges and the first 8 to win badges will be able to go against the Elite Four! And if you win that, you go against one last foe: THE CHAMP. Don't miss out on this oppertunity!
The league is being run by Team Banzai, and we plan on making it work. We've already got the Gym Leaders picked out, and the Elite Four as well. The winner of the Socal Pokemon League will be will obtain the rank of Pokemon Master in the West. And if things go over well here, that title will be up for grabs again at Anime Expo, and there's a possibility that we will get it going in Otakon too.
What are the challenges? Anything and everything. Anything the gym leader has you do at the time of said battle. There will be no gameboys needed. Each Gym is it's own island, and so each Gym will have a different challenge for you to take! Can't you feel the excitement already? I sure can!
