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Thread: Cosplay

  1. #31
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    M. Mouse vs. H. Kitty

    What an epic brawl this must have been...

    Minnie Mouse, Hello Kitty costumed characters brawl in Times Square: police
    BY Thomas Tracy , Joseph Stepansky
    NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
    Published: Friday, June 5, 2015, 1:08 AM
    Updated: Friday, June 5, 2015, 8:51 AM






    Costumed characters Minnie Mouse and Hello Kitty get into a brawl in Times Square over tips at about 3:30 p.m. on June 4, 2015. Sandra Mocha, 34, of Queens, and Giovanna Melendez, 40, of New Jersey, were cuffed at the scene and charged with assault, cops said. Bystander Jake Rullman snapped these photos and gave us permission to use them.
    Jake Rullman via Twitter @jakerullman

    Costumed characters Minnie Mouse and Hello Kitty got into a brawl over tips in Times Square on Thursday.

    The claws came out when Minnie Mouse and Hello Kitty got into a fight in Times Square Thursday, police said.

    The costumed characters came to blows over tips in the middle of the Crossroads of the World around 3:30 p.m., police said.

    Sandra Mocha, 34, of Queens, and Giovanna Melendez, 40, of New Jersey, were cuffed at the scene and charged with assault, cops said.

    "This is another reason why we need regulations to address the growing problems in Times Square," Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance, said about the brawl.
    Gene Ching
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  2. #32
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    Our freshest exclusive interview

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  3. #33
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    Our latest free web article offering

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  4. #34
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    Cosplay in China

    What cosplay is like in China, where home-grown heroes thrive, ‘play’ is emphasised and it’s not all about copying
    China’s cosplay market is uniquely open to interpretation due to its isolation behind the Great Firewall
    The practice itself has a profound effect on the identities of ‘cosers’, as they combine their own sense of self with the personalities and values of fictional characters
    Timothy Parent
    Published: 12:30pm, 26 Oct, 2019


    Chinese cosers dress as characters from the game Wangzhe Rongyao at an event in China. The subculture of cosplay is hugely popular in China.

    Cosplay is a portmanteau of costume and play, and the first recorded instances of cosplay were in 1908 in Cincinnati, Ohio, the US, and in 1910 in Tacoma, Washington.
    Two fans of Mr Skygack, the world’s first sci-fi comic, both dressed up as the strip’s protagonist, an alien anthropologist, to attend “masked parties”. But unlike Halloween, a costume for a “coser” is not relegated to one day per year and then disposed of.
    However accepted and even celebrated a coser’s efforts may be on Halloween, the practice has never really been considered fashion, as it simply replicates designs, details and demeanours from fictional and historical figures.
    But surprisingly, cosplay and fashion do share a number of similarities: they are both second skins, they are both kinds of performance art, and in China they both developed around the same time.


    A Chinese coser dressed as the character Gao Jian Li from game Wangzhe Rongyao.

    The world of cosplay, in China in particular, stems primarily from ACG, which stands for anime, comic and games. One game alone, League of Legends, was compelling enough for Louis Vuitton to partner with game developer Riot Games to design a trophy travel case, unique champion skins, “digital assets”, and even a capsule collection.

    Spin-offs from League of Legends such as Wangzhe Rongyao and Arena of Valor, alongside a slew of Chinese and foreign games alike, have created a rich archive of characters for cosers to emulate, but anime and comics are what first started cosplay in China.


    Louis Vuitton partnered with Riot Games for the League of Legends 2019 World Championship.

    According to netizen Banana Sonna, pirated offprints of popular Japanese animations such as Astro Boy became available in China as early as the late 1980s. These were made accessible by the Hainan Photography and Fine Arts Publishing House, but a majority of Japanese source material did not make its way to China until the ’90s.
    The term ACG itself wasn’t even born until 1995, but personal homepages were already being offered by NetEase in 1997. By 2000, peer-to-peer software allowed cosers to more readily connect, and BitTorrent in 2003 gave them access to much broader source materials.
    Soon events, conventions, stores, malls and associations specifically made for cosers began to pop up around the country, but the real boost to the movement came from Taobao, which lowered the barrier to entry for first-timers with cheap and accessible costumes. (Taobao is a unit of the Alibaba Group, which owns the Post.)
    For example, Amy Xiaotian Zhang opted to buy her Mulan outfit from Taobao to attend New York Comic Con instead of making her own, despite her formal training as a fashion designer. However, she is considering creating her own costume for next year, as she has had trouble finding costumes for Mulan as a warrior.


    Amy Xiaotian Zhang opted to buy her Mulan outfit from Taobao to attend New York Comic Con.

    But despite the general popularity of Disney, Marvel and Japanese characters in China, the protectionist tendencies of the country have provided a market for home-grown characters to thrive.
    Zhang started to see many more Chinese comics around 2010 when she first went to college, and now many conventions like the 22nd Firefly ACG Expo in Guangzhou focus primarily on Chinese IP and talent. Chinese characters used to be few and far between, but now there are many heroes that claim a Chinese origin.
    Having characters that look Chinese matters, especially when the cosplay industry is obsessed with exactly replicating fictional characters, but the irony of cosplay in China is that it is less about copying and more about interpretation. According to Wang Kanzhi’s research for a master’s programme in East Asian Studies at Lund University in Sweden, cosplay in China is more open to interpretation because the “Great Firewall” has isolated the community from not only other cosers but also original source materials.
    “Due to the different understanding of the original pieces, local cosplayers tend to add their own ideas and points of view into the activity, which obviously changes the original characters,” Wang says. “In other words, the local cosplayers do not only duplicate fictional characters, but add their own creative points to the original form and content.”


    In China, cosplay is typically a group activity.

    What Wang also notes about China’s unique cosplay scene is that the activity is typically for groups, not solo players; additionally, the play aspect is emphasised in China, so re-enacting or creating original dramas, plays, stage performances and video clips is central to the Chinese cosplay experience.
    There is an overlap between acting and cosplay everywhere, as actress and graduate student Heather Gilbert notes. She went to New York Comic Con as a gender-bended Dr McCoy with Spock from Star Trek. Gilbert notes that as an actress she is “already a show-off”, and the performative nature of cosplay certainly appealed to her as a real-life way to escape and express some sort of alter ego.


    Heather Gilbert went to New York Comic Con as a gender-bended Dr McCoy.

    But why are so many young Chinese people drawn to fantasy and escapism? Writer Charlotte Miller and artist Cao Fei explain this in The Gamification of Everyday Life.
    “Playing out their innermost fantasies of having certain magical powers – be it the ability to fly or being a skilled ninja – these youth turn to the world of the virtual, the world of play, because that is the world in which they find comfort, understanding and empowerment,” the book explains.
    “The characters played often are violent or power-hungry, reflecting the fact that in real life, these youth are powerless. The world of the game, or gamescape, becomes a space in which the youth can exert control over their own destiny, their own lives. In this gamescape, the youth feel like they have worth in society, a feeling that they do not have in the real world.”


    A Chinese coser as a character from the game Wangzhe Rongyao.

    The referenced “gamescape” is also known to Chinese cosers as the “second dimension”. Writer and strategist Tanner Greer explains that it extends far beyond ACG and is neither genre nor product, but rather “a world one lives in, visits and joins. It is both a culture and, in the minds of its inhabitants, a place.”
    This cultural and spatial shift brings with it a raft of social and economic implications, as well as opportunities. But by simply dressing up and emulating characters and personas, cosers in China have created an entirely new dimension, culture, economy and lifestyle for the 21st century.
    Cosplay is less about escaping by dressing up and more about embodying values through symbolism. For example, Jacob Rudolph, a 22-year-old student-athlete in Kansas, the US, has always felt a connection to Captain America because he always did what was right. Rudolph has invested quite a bit of money to look like Captain America, but the real benefit for him is being able to demonstrate, through the symbolic nature of his clothes, the values that he and Captain America share.


    Jacob Rudolph as Captain America.

    And this emulation of fictional characters is having a profound effect on many young people around the world. As they are still forming their identities, cosplay allows them to literally become their role models, values and all, regardless of the “realness” of these characters.
    As Christoph Noe explains in Young Chinese Artists: “It is in this gap between the realistic cityscapes and the fantastic havens these young people find their heroic alter egos.”

    This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: How world of cosplay took on a chinese accent
    Well, this article seems to have more from NYCC than PRCCC but it's interesting nevertheless. I feel that author misses a major factor of cosplay - the cameraderie of fandom. But I didn't realize cosplay was as much a thing in China. It makes sense - cosplay is massive in Japan so some would surely cross over.
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  5. #35
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    Xu Xiaodong v 'cosplayer' Yuichiro Nagashima

    Hey, Xu actually fought someone with some ring experience...

    Wait...cosplayer?

    Chinese MMA fighter Xu Xiaodong knocks out Japanese cosplayer; wants ‘fake Shaolin monk’ Yi Long
    Xu gets second-round TKO against former kick-boxing champion Yuichiro Nagashima in Bangkok
    ‘Mad Dog’ now hopes to fight Yi Long, whom he accused of rigging fights against Nagashima
    Nick Atkin
    Published: 12:56pm, 23 Nov, 2019


    Xu Xiaodong fighting Yuichiro Nagashima in Bangkok, Thailand. Photos: YouTube/Fight Commentary Breakdowns

    Chinese MMA fighter Xu Xiaodong returned to the ring on Friday in Bangkok, Thailand, but this time it wasn’t a kung fu “fraud” he pulverised – it was a famous Japanese cosplayer instead.
    Yuichiro Nagashima, a former kick-boxing champion who is also trained in karate, had fought several times against the “fake Shaolin Monk” Yi Long, and “Mad Dog” Xu had claimed the fights were rigged.
    Xu wanted to prove he could easily beat Nagashima, so that Yi Long would have no excuses for evading a fight with him.
    The first round was contested under kick-boxing rules, the second under MMA rules. Xu won by TKO in the second round, the referee stepping in as he delivered some heavy ground and pound.



    It was a different story to Xu’s usual fights – the 41-year-old has made a name for himself by demolishing traditional martial artists in China on what he deems as his mission to expose “kung fu fakery”.
    But Nagashima has fighting technique, unlike the hapless wing chun and tai chi practitioners Xu has knocked out in devastating fashion over the past three years. Nagashima was K1Max 70kg champion in 2010, although he has not won a fight since 2014.
    Xu looked sharp in the first round, throwing some smart combinations, but Nagashima caught him on the chin with his jab a couple of times early on.
    The fight was then briefly stopped after a low blow by Xu.
    Xu’s power was clearly superior and his plan was evident as he looked to counter. It worked to perfection, Xu distracting his opponent with a low kick before going high and knocking down Nagashima with a hard right hook.


    Xu Xiaodong walks off after the referee steps in.

    Nagashima looked weary heading into the second round, and for good reason – he was entering Xu’s territory now.
    Within seconds, Xu dropped Nagashima again and quickly proceeded to full mount, raining down blows before the referee stepped in.
    Ironically, it is the first time Xu has actually been able to take things to the ground in one of his fights, and he showed off his skills in ruthless fashion.


    Xu Xiaodong backstage after his win in Bangkok.

    Over to you, Yi Long. The Shaolin Temple has made a statement that Yi is not a trained monk, but he models his appearance on traditional Shaolin monks in his fights, with a shaved head and traditional clothing.
    “The fake Shaolin monk is not exactly a pushover. Xu may have a real fight on his hands,” one commenter said on a video of Xu’s fight, which was posted on YouTube channel Fight Commentary Breakdowns.
    “Let it be said if Xu fights Yi Long in a kick-boxing match he’s getting knocked out,” another user wrote.
    THREADS
    Yi Long
    Xu Xiaodong
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  6. #36
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    Lai Pin-yu

    Cosplaying Politician Elected In Taiwan
    Brian Ashcraft
    Today 6:30AM


    Image: All Images: 賴品妤 (Facebook)
    Kotaku East
    East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

    How many politicians can say they’ve cosplayed as Asuka from Neon Genesis Evangelion? Lai Pin-yu sure can.

    The 27-year-old Democratic Progressive Party candidate won a tight race in New Taipei City’s 12th District over the weekend. Taiwan News reports that Lai defeated former Taipei City Deputy Mayor Lee Yong-ping by 2,780 votes.

    Maybe a rally she did in December dressed as Asuka helped with the...anime vote?



    Before getting into politics, Lai was an activist and studied law at the prestigious National Taipei University.

    When Lai knew she had won the seat, she uploaded a Sailor Mars from Sailor Moon cosplay photo to Facebook writing (translation via Taiwan News), “Hello friends, I am Lai Pinyu, lawmaker of New Taipei City’s 12th District. Please give me your feedback over the next four years.”



    Besides cosplay photos, her Facebook page is filled with game, anime, and meme images:


    I think her politician cosplays are the most realistic, though.


    For more, check out Lai’s Facebook page.
    What just happened?
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  7. #37
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    Alas Japan...

    Such a bad idea. Most cosplayers don't profit from it. If anything, it's free advertising.
    KOTAKU EAST
    JAPAN
    The Japanese Government Could Change Cosplay Forever
    Brian Ashcraft
    Yesterday 7:00AM


    Photo: ROSLAN RAHMAN / Contributor (Getty Images)
    Kotaku East
    East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond.

    Currently, anyone in Japan is free to dress as their favorite characters. But it might not stay free for them to do so. The Japanese government is proposing big copyright law changes for those who make money from cosplaying—and possibly, even for those who don’t.

    As writer and translator Matt Alt points out, the Japanese government is currently considering changing the country’s copyright laws, so that professional cosplayers would pay for use of characters.

    Cosplay can be big business. Japan’s most successful professional cosplay Enako (pictured) has made over $90,000 a month from public appearances, merchandise, photobooks, chat sessions, and endorsements. Other cosplayers also earn cash for selling photos or clips of them dressed as famous characters. Creators don’t currently get a cut, and the amendment would change this. Moreover, it’s suggested that a standardized set of rules would help avoid any trouble with creators.

    According to Kyodo News, Japanese copyright law is unclear but points out that cosplay done without a profit motive is not necessarily infringement. So, for many cosplayers in Japan, things will probably not change. However, Kyodo News adds that even uploading cosplay photos to social networking sites like Instagram could be considered copyright infringement. If so, the effects would be felt throughout the cosplay community.

    On Twitter (via SoraNews), Enako discussed the issue, explaining that when she goes on television or appears at paid events, she dresses as original characters to avoid copyright infringement. Moreover, she adds that she also gets permission when she cosplays as characters created by others.

    Enako, who is a Cool Japan ambassador, has discussed the possible changes with the Japanese government but wrote that she personally had not heard that uploading cosplay photos to social-networking sites could violate copyright.

    “I’m not in a position to give an offhanded statement,” Enako tweeted, “but for me personally, I truly hope that the non-profit activities of fans won’t be regulated on social-networking sites.”

    Brian Ashcraft
    Originally from Texas, Ashcraft has called Osaka home since 2001. He has authored six books, including most recently, The Japanese Sake Bible.
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