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Moon's Costume Blog

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Wednesday, November 4, 2009  0 Comments

Time for Pacific Media Expo!

The Pacific Media Expo is coming up this weekend, so get ready to experience “The Crossroads of Asian Pop Culture”. Pacific Media Expo considers itself a new generation of convention for a new generation of fans. PMX, for short, it brings the cutting edge of Asian entertainment to America, whether it is the newest anime from Japan, the hottest bands from the Pacific Rim, the latest street fashion from Harajuku, or the most disturbing horror films from Asia. PMX seeks to create an entertainment community for artists, industry, and their fans.

We mentioned to you in our costume blog in September that the cosplay Fan film, Fanime, would be filming interviews at PMX. But you can also look forward to the PMX CosFest, their Official Cosplay Competition.

They’re planning for this event to truly be a cosplay extravaganza, with great skits, special performances, and amazing costumes. They welcome costumes from J-Rock to J-Pop to Anime to C-Pop to Asian film, Asian animation, Asian comics, Asian-origin video games, or Asian music stars. They also welcome EGL (Elegant Gothic Lolita) and EGA (Elegant Gothic Aristocrat).
Online CosFest registration is now closed. But you can still sign up for the event at the convention. For more info, see their website.

Also, though not cosplay, it is a chance for girls to dress up…there will also be an Angelic Pretty Wonderland Tea Party for everyone who likes clothing covered in lace, frills and ribbons like that of the fairytale princess. Light snacks, tea, and entertainment with your friends, plus get a chance to talk with Maki and Asuka from Angelic Pretty about the creative process behind your favorite designs and learn what inspires them. L.A. fashion designer Tarina Tarantino will be attending the Wonderland Tea Party as a special guest of Angelic Pretty.

Check it out!

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Monday, September 28, 2009  1 Comments

All A Twitter About the New York Anime Festival


Twitter made it possible for the New York Anime Festival to be enjoyed in real-time by those who weren’t there. Examiner.com’s Twitter Entertainment reporter, Tammy Todd was our go-to girl for info and pics.
On Saturday, Sept. 26th, she told us that the NY Anime Festival (NYAF) was a trending topic for Twitter buzz within minutes of it's opening. Thanks to photo sharing Twitter applications like Twitpic, eye-popping pictures of cosplay were available for anyone who wanted to see.

A photo from the article's slideshow. On Sunday, Sept 27th, she reported on the climax of the Festival for many attendees—The Yume Cosplay Masquerade Contest. Participants competed for prizes, with the grand prize being a trip to Japan. Dressed in costumes of their favorite Anime, Manga and video game characters, cosplay performers acted in skits, dance routines and performed comedy bits around their characters. Flicker and other photo sharing services were sent a barrage of photos of cosplay performers only to be re-tweeted or re-posted on Twitter.

Number 4 of 10 from the article's slideshow.
Twitter continued it's weekend love affair with cosplay. Check out the trending topic on Twitter using the hash tag #NYAF. Posts included:

@EF Elmer "Final Fantasy cosplay group strikes a pose http://twitpic.com/j5wji "

@kart21 "Cosplay Not just your nerdy pimpleface boy http://bit.ly/Pwggl "

@ethics gradient "Arrived around 7 for #NYAF, caught...not much except the epic Cosplay Variety Show. I approve!"

@RockLoveJewelry "Was stopped for a ton of photos at NY Anime Fest - and interviewed for the steampunk documentary. Great evening with that krew! Thanks guys!"

@victoryfarm "A few photos from NY anime con... http://is.gd/3H2fT Farmhand was stopped for photo's countless times, including japanese anime mag."

@Deathstriker182 "Yes, I do! All those looking for #NYAF photos from Friday, look no further! http://supakitsune.djcubanking.com/nyaf/ "

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Monday, September 21, 2009  0 Comments

Be in the FANIME Cosplay Movie

The producers of a feature documentary film called “Fanime” are seeking devoted and diverse anime fans who are ready and willing to be interviewed and filmed. The professionally shot, on- camera interviews will focus on how anime films and series have impacted and influenced fan’s lives.

According to their press release, they’re really looking for people who have a personal story about the social impact of anime on their lives. For example: someone whose job or time-intensive hobby is related to anime—like perhaps collectors, or competitive cosplayers. Maybe you’re a hardcore otaku, but you date or live with someone who either doesn’t get it, completely mocks or actively hates anime. If you feel anime has changed or impacted your life in a significant manner, and can express it well, you may be just the type of person they’re looking for.

The interviews will be filmed during the Pacific Media Expo, November 6, 7 & 8 at the Los Angeles Airport Hilton Hotel. PMX brings the cutting edge of Asian entertainment to America. Their cosplay CosFest promises to be an extravaganza of costumes from J-Rock to J-Pop to Anime to C-Pop to Asian film, Asian animation, Asian comics, Asian-origin video games, or Asian music stars. They also welcome EGL (Elegant Gothic Lolita) and EGA (Elegant Gothic Aristocrat).

Cosplay costumes and props related to anime and the culture are encouraged for the interviews, of course. Keep in mind that for the only compensation for the hour or so of interview time you give will be a snack and soft drink and a free DVD of the completed movie. But if you end up in the film, the compensation may be eternal glory!

If you’re interested, send a brief description of yourself, why you feel your perspective is unique, a list of some of your favorite anime and characters, plus a recent photo or video to: info@fanimemovie.com . Good luck!

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Wednesday, September 9, 2009  0 Comments

Schoolgirls and Mobilesuits



Coming up September 25 – 27 at the Minnneapolis College of Art and Design is a gathering that is not a convention, nor a conference. Schoolgirls & Mobilesuits: Culture and Creation in Manga and Anime has developed over time to become a casual and intimate interaction between audience members and speakers.

Their website explains that their event combines the fun of cosplay, Otaku bazaars, fashion shows and anime screenings with the presentation and discussion of academic papers and the demonstration of artistic techniques, resulting in freewheeling discussions between guests and participants.

They tell us it’s a bit of a carnival as well — celebrating Japanese anime, manga, fan arts and the Otaku who love them. It is aimed at the Otaku who wants a bit more than the average fan event; who hungers for a deeper – more profound investigation into the complex narratives and amazing art of these forms. If you are either a high school or college student, you can receive a transferable college credit for attending the workshop.

SGMS has been devoting the first night of each conference to the exploration of connections between fashion and lifestyle and/or costume and anime/manga. A significant part of this evening is the runway fashion show—Fresh Fruits Basket fashion show. (This year, they’re having a contest to rename the event.)

It started as a small cosplay event, but has mushroomed in the past few years into a major fashion event featuring the work of many avant garde fashion designers whose work ranges from cosplay and Loli, to Steampunk and other amazing work by designers from all over the country. This has been the hard work of Samantha Rei of Blaspheminas Closet.com and Megan Maude of Megan Maude.com, who have expanded the discourse for SGMS in terms of the very important fashion aspect of the world of anime and manga. Photos from their

respective shows are shown above to entice you to check it out!

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Wednesday, September 2, 2009  2 Comments

Hollywood Style Cosplay



You may know actress Kirsten Dunst for her role in the Spiderman films, but now she’s playing a hero—from Sailor Moon.

MTV’s splash page tells us that actress Kirsten Dunst appeared to have some aptitude for full-on anime cosplay in the recent photographs taken in Tokyo's Akihabara otaku shopping district.

The stylelist says “Looking like she just stepped out of a manga comic, actress Kirsten Dunst got her Sailor Moon on…for a video directed by McG (of "Terminator Salvation" fame).

No stranger to anime, Dunst previously provided the voice of the main character in the English version of Hayao Miyazaki's "Kiki's Delivery Service." McG has also expressed a fondness for Japanese anime—particularly "Sailor Moon," a series which seems to inspire Dunst's outfit.”

According to Ideeli, the project is a "manga inspired pop video" scheduled to premiere in an exhibition later this year at London's Tate Modern museum of modern art.

Wikipedia explains that the Japanese title for Sailor Moon is Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn, officially translated as Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon. The story revolves around the battles of the defenders of a kingdom that once spanned the solar system…reincarnated as teenage girls wearing the sailor style of girls' school uniforms popular in Japan. They’re named for the moon and planets (Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, etc.) and transform into heroines when needed.

Of course, you too can dress up as any of the Sailor Moon characters, or any other anime character for that matter. You don’t even need a reason. You may not have a Hollywood director filming you, but you can still have plenty of fun.

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Friday, August 21, 2009  0 Comments

ChinaJoy Celebrates the Joys of Cosplay in China



Cosplay is wildly popular in China. In fact, ChinaJoy, the organizers of the national championships say more than 20,000 people entered competitions this year across China.

ChinaJoy is the country's largest annual video game exhibition, which also invites people to re-enact their favorite Japanese manga and anime on a game-show-like stage, as you can see in the video above. Competition teams can range from one or two people to 100, and are judged above all on their costumes, but secondly on props, choreography and audience reaction.

AFP reporter D’Arcy Doran described the scene. “The skeleton warriors briefly stumbled backward but kept lumbering toward 23-year-old Zhao Jing as she blasted them with two oversized six-shooters in a battle set to pounding music.”

Zhao's 36-member team rehearsed for 3 – 5 hours daily for months, and she's been competing with similar dedication in Cosplay tournaments from March to August every year for the past seven years. Last year she finally got the chance to represent China at the World Cosplay Summit international championships in Japan. Her team won second place.

At ChinaJoy 2009, female contestants easily outnumbered males, which may partly explain the video above. Zhao’s teammate, Zhang Li explained, "It's about making a dream world come to life." Dressed as a goddess, she shared that she’d been competing for five years, keeping it a secret from her parents…until she needed their permission to go to Japan. They were angry, but then at least she came home with an award. "Now they allow it as long as it doesn't disrupt my life," she said, before stepping on stage to magically repel sword blows with her bare hands.

Cosplay may resonate with young adults in China because the pressure to perform in school means childhoods are often deferred. But when they go to college, every university has an anime club and students have the freedom to invest time and money into it.

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Monday, August 10, 2009  0 Comments

You Might Be a Steampunk



If you have ever found yourself delighted and fascinated by stories that take place when steam power was still prominent, you might be a steampunk. The written works of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne are central to the subgenre, but the themes found there have been played out in anime and manga, film and role playing games, among other places.

The video above is from a panel at OtaFest2009 in Canada, called "Steampunk Anime: Scientific Romances in the Land of the Rising Sun". For the complete series, check out Voyages Extraordinaires.

Wikipedia’s list of Anime and Manga Genres lists these among the steampunk sub-genre:
Steam Detectives takes place where the only fuel source is coal, and the only means to produce energy is the steam engine. As the only source of energy, the steam engine has been the focus of technological advancement to the point where it can be substituted for any other form of power in modern technology. Steamboy set in a 19th-century context, D. GrayMan because it’s set during the end of a fictional nineteenth century, and FullMetal Alchemist because the world is styled after the European Industrial Revolution in a fictional universe in which alchemy is one of the most advanced scientific techniques known to man. Others included are Howl’s Moving Castle, Last Exile and One Piece, but there are many others you can cosplay.

You may have seen Steampunk-styled elements in animated films like Disney’s Treasure Planet or Atlantis: The Lost Empire, or films like The Wild Wild West, or The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Wikipedia tells us in their Steampunk page that fantasy steampunk settings abound in tabletop and computer role-playing games like Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends, Skies of Arcadia, and Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura. Final Fantasy VI also takes place in a steampunk setting.

Want a custom steampunk costume? We’ll make you one!

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Monday, July 20, 2009  0 Comments

Cosplay Cross Promotions


We’ve seen cosplay costume contests used to promote upcoming cons, or between niche-related media, but this is the first time we’ve seen a mainstream men’s magazine using cosplay to promote an anime series.

It’s happening in Singapore, where the launch of the second “season” of the supernatural action anime series Shakugan no Shana II on a channel known as Animax Asia is being highlighted by FHM (For Him Magazine) with a ‘Vote for your favourite Shana-look-alike Contest’.

Shana is a destroyer of monsters known as ‘Denizens of the Crimson Realm’. Yuji is a guy who possesses a special soul, a ‘Mystes’, that holds a powerful treasure that the monsters want... to throw the spirit world off balance, which would be bad. The new series (hence the “II” in the title) dives straight into the action to find Shana protecting Yuji with her deadly ability to wield flames as weapons and as wings to fly with, to battle ‘Denizens’ of all forms; while Fumina Konoe, a schoolgirl with a dubious background and questionable intentions enters the fold.

The contest will feature professional models from FHM Singapore, FHM Malaysia and FHM Philippines, all dressed as Shana – a babe with big fiery-red eyes and crimson flowing hair, with the temperament and fighting skills to match. They’ll be shown on Animax and voted on by viewers. Some lucky voters may even win a prize.

The models will also appear in pictorials in the August issues of FHM in their respective countries, and Animax will air exclusive ‘behind-the-scenes’ video of the Shana-clad models during the course of their FHM photo-shoots. Leave it to “hot” chicks to take cosplay mainstream! (Get it? “Hot” because Shana wields fire weapons?)

If you’d like to dress like Shana for your next con, we can make a custom-made costume just for you.

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Monday, June 29, 2009  2 Comments

Independence Day Cosplay

There’s nothing more American than spending a holiday weekend celebrating the melting pot of the USA by learning about another culture…or sub-culture for that matter. So if you’re itching for anime and cosplay, here are a few suggestions about how to spend the weekend. It doesn’t matter where you are in the great U-S-of-A, there’s a con going on in your region.

We’ve already told you all about Anime Expo happening in Los Angeles, CA July 2-5, but while you’re there, you might want to visit L.A.’s Maid Café and a shop called JapanLA. Also, the Pacific Asia Museum is running an Anime Film Festival showing Samurai X: The Motion Picture on July 9th.

There’s also Anime Overload happening in Austin, TX, July 3-5. If you were planning to go to this event but haven’t solidified your plans, be sure to note that they’ve changed their location. Their events include:

~ Anime Overload’s Cosplay Contest, for newbies, beginners, veterans or attendees looking for a good show.

~ A Cosplay 101 panel that promises to teach you everything from where to get supplies to how to pick a cosplay idea, and what materials you'll need. Everything to get you started and on the road to becoming a great cosplayer!

~ Cosplay Photography for anyone interested in organizing photo shoots, taking cosplay photos, or simply looking your best when getting your photo taken. You can get valuable insight in this panel, including information about pre and post-production editing and Photoshop tricks.

~ Cosplay Presentation - Learn how to do skits and walk-ons, and how to do them the right way to make your next skit or walk-on an award winning presentation.

And then, Otaku Omaha is taking place in Nebraska July 3-5. There’s still time to register for any of these cons, so get on it!

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