Top 5 Costumes around the con....

[mightycrouton]

I keep hearing all this pyramid head talk! What is pyramid head >_< It sounds so familiar but I can't quite place it... Was it the pink hat with the moose horn type things

No, that's from One Piece (don't know the character's name)

Did you go to the Dating Game?  If you did, Pyramid Head was the girl who spoke in the high squeaky voice and made many references to blood and gore.

God. That was SOOO much fun. A Pyramid, a nun, and a skank. God. I really hope someone recorded that.

[Hige]

Oohh, wrong Chrono then. Sorry.

No Problem. . .Again no one knows little Chrono *Sigh* T_T

[MistressLegato]

Pyramid Head is from Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams

He is the main boss monster throughout much of the game and he PWNZ my soul.

Also, there were at least 2 different PH's, one male, one female n_n

[sumomo_san]

Ahh! I remember now! I googled it and now I recognize it from pictures I've seen, but I don't think I saw her in person.

[Rushifa]

As for personal criticism, the main thing about that is you shouldn't give it unless it's asked for. Kumoricon asks for feedback, so give us all you got, it's fine. Mary Jane Cosplayer might not have. Don't say the negative things unless someone wants to hear them and improve from them because if they don't want to hear them it just doesn't do anybody any good, whether you're right or not, ne? ^__^

But why not? As long as it's constructive and not a flame, I don't understand why there would be a problem.

Well, if someone doesn't want to critisms (many people don't), and take insult, they're less likely to follow your advice...I mean, if you feel insulted, you sometimes dig your feet in and refuse to change.  I think if someone's happy with their costume/skit as it is, and they're not interested in making changes, we should leave them to their happiness.

I'd like toe explain myself a bit more, so you guys can get a bit more context to my hasty statement, espeucally since it seems to have caused suck a stir.  *still feels guilty*

I was trying to be quick with my comments, since my main goal was to find out why people hadn't entered the costest.  I have a friend who was a judge, and we were both kinda miffed about the small number of people on stage, especually since we'd seen lots of great cosplays roaming the halls.  Also, I've heard they didn't give out all the awards (I think there was no best of show) because there simply were not enough skits to make a fair judge.  And basically, I thought it would be less painful to not be too specific, since this way I wasn't pointing my finger at anyone in particular.  It could definately have been worded better, and I wish now I had read through it before posting, but there's nothing I can do now.

My main disapointment with the contest, beside the lack of entries, was that some of the skits, while having good concepts, did not seem as rehearsed as they could have been.  There were some skits that were presently suprising, and others that I didn't understand because I hadn't seen the series/s, but I don't think any of them were bad.  The sub-par comment was meant to be directed to the lack of participants, not the skits and cosplayers who did enter.  Sorry for all the confussion.  This is why I shouldn't type up posts when I'm dead tired.  

Back to the topic, I was impressed by the number of Inuyasha costplays who actually had his sword.  Props are always awsome to see.

[Hermisia_kitty]

MistressLegato, are you, in fact, a Silent Hill fangirl?  I had heard rumors of a legendary sect of gamer girls who squeed with delight at the gore, but until this moment, I had assumed that they were mear myth, like guys on Journalfen. :shock:

[EerieLunarose]

I was trying to be quick with my comments, since my main goal was to find out why people hadn't entered the costest.  I have a friend who was a judge, and we were both kinda miffed about the small number of people on stage, especually since we'd seen lots of great cosplays roaming the halls.  Also, I've heard they didn't give out all the awards (I think there was no best of show) because there simply were not enough skits to make a fair judge.  And basically, I thought it would be less painful to not be too specific, since this way I wasn't pointing my finger at anyone in particular.  It could definately have been worded better, and I wish now I had read through it before posting, but there's nothing I can do now.

My main disapointment with the contest, beside the lack of entries, was that some of the skits, while having good concepts, did not seem as rehearsed as they could have been.  There were some skits that were presently suprising, and others that I didn't understand because I hadn't seen the series/s, but I don't think any of them were bad.  The sub-par comment was meant to be directed to the lack of participants, not the skits and cosplayers who did enter.  Sorry for all the confussion.  This is why I shouldn't type up posts when I'm dead tired.

I pretty much got your meaning and intention from the start; no harm, no foul, no fault. Love you Rushifa. <3

As to why there were awards that were not awarded... I happen to know for a fact that that was actually not because there were not enough skits entered that were worthy enough to give awards to. Just, some of them did dumb things and were disqualified because they didn't clear things with the coordinator, and that was sadness. Remember! Always clear everything that you think even MIGHT be a problem with the cosplay coordinator! Also, read your paperwork! Solves all the fussy-worry. ^_^

And @ Radien:

As for my 30 min comment, please do keep in mind that as my costume was not judged for technical aspects since I didn't sew it myself, and because we did not stage-rehearse, that shaved another half-hour at least off of the cosplay-involved time. Eventually I will do cosplay in a costume that is worthy of a meeting with the judges, but I had a ton of other obligations this year and needed to keep the time down to bare minimum anyway. Still, I don't think there was any one person who spent more than two hours of non-event time on the Cosplay this year, unless the judging took a lot longer for some than others. It was definitely a ton shorter than last year's judging.

I luv cosplay. *hugs all*

[eerielunarose]

MistressLegato, are you, in fact, a Silent Hill fangirl?  I had heard rumors of a legendary sect of gamer girls who squeed with delight at the gore, but until this moment, I had assumed that they were mear myth, like guys on Journalfen. :shock:

A common misconception, that. XD

We do not squee with delight at the gore. I myself prefer Japanese-made horror over American-made horror on the whole because it ~doesn't~ make so much use of gratuitous gore (with a few notable exceptions I can think of, of course- when the Japanese do make a gore-fest they do it to the HILT). Anyway, it is also the depth of storyline and characterization in Silent Hill which holds us. We may enjoy horror, but our love of Silent Hill is due to many factors, and the horror elements are by no means the entirety of the story.

And considering how many people seem to have thought the Pyramid Heads were AWESOME (and they -were-), there might be more Silent Hill fans out there than you think. Truthfully, I was surprised how many people even got the Silent Hill skit. I half expected to hear crickets chirruping. XD

[Rushifa]

As to why there were awards that were not awarded... I happen to know for a fact that that was actually not because there were not enough skits entered that were worthy enough to give awards to. Just, some of them did dumb things and were disqualified because they didn't clear things with the coordinator, and that was sadness. Remember! Always clear everything that you think even MIGHT be a problem with the cosplay coordinator! Also, read your paperwork! Solves all the fussy-worry. ^_^

Yeah, I heard about that, it really was unfortunate.  One of my favorite skits was disqualified  

I felt sorry for Bakazoku, having to cover all that time while the judges were deciding...which I'm sure wasn't made any shorter by the unfortunate disqualifications.

[mightycrouton]

@Rushifa
Oh,Bakazoka(?) loved it. They enjoy being showhogs =)

[Radien]

No one really reconized me that day It was like no one had ever read or seen Chrono Crusade I had a really really good costume.

Um, I would have recognized you from across a crowded room. But alas, I caught no glimpse of the Chrono costume from Chrono Crusade. I did see Sister Rosette at the Cosplay Contest... did you get pictures with her?

It seems that all the Chrono Crusade fans are at Sakura Con. There were three or four pairs of cosplayers from that anime at Sakura Con, all Rosette and Chrono. I don't know whether there were any Azmarie's or other chara.

Everybody really should at least try out Chrono Crusade. It's good, clean fun: a very balanced mix of action, drama, and comedy for the typical anime audience of ages 16 and up, both male and female alike.

And @ Radien:

As for my 30 min comment, please do keep in mind that as my costume was not judged for technical aspects since I didn't sew it myself, and because we did not stage-rehearse, that shaved another half-hour at least off of the cosplay-involved time.

Oh, definitely! Don't worry, I didn't plan on spending a measly 30 minutes rehearsing/getting ready/whatever, I just meant that if the con chair could manage to find the time to get on stage, then that must mean that the process was pretty streamlined.

I do have an idea for a skit that's bit sitting in the back of my head for over two years now: one which involves a pre-recorded CD, no microphones, and practically any mixture of cosplay characters as long as they're reasonably well-known. Unfortunately, the huge time commitments required for participating in cosplay at Sakura Con and a general lack of nearby potential "teammates" has kept me from trying it. Well, let's see if I manage to construct a team for next year... I've certainly wanted to try it for awhile.

Anyway, it is also the depth of storyline and characterization in Silent Hill which holds us. We may enjoy horror, but our love of Silent Hill is due to many factors, and the horror elements are by no means the entirety of the story.

True, you female Silent Hill fans did not "squee." But it was still quite eerily cute, seeing a bunch of girls wearing stubble make-up and darkened eyes and ratty hair, all hugging and falling asleep on eachother's shoulders. ^_^;

And considering how many people seem to have thought the Pyramid Heads were AWESOME (and they -were-), there might be more Silent Hill fans out there than you think. Truthfully, I was surprised how many people even got the Silent Hill skit. I half expected to hear crickets chirruping. XD

Oh, the thing is, Eerie, that it doesn't take much to "get" a joke about a horror video game. The commercials alone reveal no less than half of the cliche`s we've come to expect. Plus, I'm sure most of us have played at least ONE horror video game in our lifetimes. All I've seen in person (not counting the cinema clips you showed me from SH4) was a couple of excerpts from Resident Evil 2.

Also, so there WERE two Pyramid Heads? Yeah, I knew the dating game contestant borrowed parts of a friend's costume, but I THOUGHT I'd seen two different sets of bloody clothing to go along with the Pyramid Heads we all saw in the halls...



Okay, sorry this is getting to be so long. One more reply.

Rushifa and Blackjack:

The thing is, what is the point of criticism?... Usually it's either for A. the chance for the critiqued to self-improve, or B. a way of informing other patrons of what they're in for.

Well, it's not like we're paying these people to do skits for us, so scratch B.

Now, as for critiquing for improvement, what if the group already knows very well what went wrong and could have been better? What if they don't plan on doing the skit again? Or if they don't even plan on entering again as a group at all?

If your critiques are falling on deaf ears, you might as well leave them unsaid. For example, if you thought Skit A wasn't so hot, a simple "Skit A was okay, but Skit B took the cake for me" should suffice. It's simply a bit of entertainment, it's over; anything that went wrong most likely didn't kill you... so you might as well remember the good skits rather than call attention to the bad ones.

[Negima]

Did you go to the Dating Game?  If you did, Pyramid Head was the girl who spoke in the high squeaky voice and made many references to blood and gore.

God. That was SOOO much fun. A Pyramid, a nun, and a skank.

Why does it sound like the words "walks into a bar" should follow the sentence?

@Hige
I know about Chrono Crusade.  ^_^  I've been reading the manga even before the series finished in Japanese.  Unfortunately I didn't see a Chrono walking around.  Were you Full Demon Chrono or Little Boy Chrono?

@Rushifa
From what I heard, they didn't have anyone to give the (I just know I'm going to mess up on the title) Young Children awards because... well, there weren't any young children who participated.

[Luana-neko]

Eerie:
Some other highlights, just to name a few, and I mean only the slightest few: Alucard from Castlevania, a very flashy Sephiroth, P-chan with the awesomely constructed head, and Sophitia from Soul Calibur 2 with her simply excellent sword and shield props made from real wood and some metal, too, and finally the entire collection of extremely complex costume designs from Exodus: Faded Spirits.

You all inspired me, among others.

Yay! Us Exodus peoples made the list ^_^ ! *was adult Mya, the catgirl with the brown dress with the flame design and jingly sashes* We were pretty happy about the con, all 5 of the characters that were cosplayed earned hall cosplay awards.

[valliegirl]

....  um wow.  this was so not what i intended when i started this thread.

ok so, my opinion on this whole issue of the cosplay itself, I thought the skits (even the disqualified ones), did a very decent job.  Having been a part of a cosplay in the past, I know it's not easy, especially if it's your first time on stage.  A lot of people were going up on stage for the first time that night, and I give them all lots of hugs for being that brave.  Lots of skits are put together on the fly.  

I know some skits are meant to be a little more improvisational than others, and some run on a definite script.  I know of at least one script where lines were flubbed, but the rest of the cast picked up the slack and moved the skit along as if nothing bad had happened...  And that's just what happens in theater all the time, and when it still works even with the hiccups, it's awesome.

I wasn't a part of the cosplay this year, as I really didn't have a costume due to lack of funds.  Instead, I made due with my street clothes and a pair of cat ears so at least I didn't feel left out of the spirit of the con.  ^_^  But I give TONS of respect to anyone willing to walk around the hotel/lloyd center/downtown Portland in costume on any day...  there are tons of people who aren't so brave.  And going up on stage is a totally other issue, because there's a lot of people out there with stage fright.  So, tons of respect and love to anyone who's willing to stand up on stage and entertain me for 5 minutes or less.  ^_^  I know I get nervous when I have to go up and perform for people.  It's not the easiest thing in the world to do.

So, you know, I think that the skits this year did very well.  I'd really love it if some of those people came back next year with more ideas for cosplay and put on more skits for us.  The only complaint I really had is that through many of the skits, I had a difficult time hearing what was being said from my seat waaay in the back.  But I know, especially if it's someone's first time on stage, not everyone knows how to effectively use voice projection,  knows to face the audience when speaking instead of facing each other, or knows the best place to stand so that the microphones will pick up the voices.  And that's ok.  I could still figure out basically what was going on enough to still enjoy the sketches.

So, yeah, it would have been nice if more people would have done cosplay on stage, even just for walk ons, but I can understand that there are people in the world that are stage shy...  And that's ok.  Maybe through love and acceptance we can give some of these people the courage they need to take the stage next time around.

Anyway, back to the original purpose of this thread...  Show some love to the cosplays you saw around the convention!  What were your top 5 favorite costumes?

[MistressLegato]

MistressLegato, are you, in fact, a Silent Hill fangirl?  I had heard rumors of a legendary sect of gamer girls who squeed with delight at the gore, but until this moment, I had assumed that they were mear myth, like guys on Journalfen. :shock:

I consider myself a GIGANTIC Silent Hill fanh00r.  I have written theories about SH that have taken 2 to 3 months of studying up on symboulism, etc. to formulate  XD

And I squealed with joy at Pyramid Heads and Vincent and the WALTERS!!  I was soooo excited to see Walter cosplay XD

So yeah, I squealed, but not at the gore.  I love, like Arlene said, that Japanese horror is LESS about the gore and more about the psychological brain screwing.

I must say, the female Walter pwnd me.  She was short and adorable, but when she wasn't smiling I could totally believe she was thinking of making me a sacrament.

[Seraph]

Japanese horror is LESS about the gore and more about the psychological brain screwing.

thats likely why I like fatal frame 2.  now if 3 would come out in US already.

[Mr_Phelps]

I started watching anime by catching "Lensman" in a theater in Osaka while I was in Japan.  That was many moons ago and I have been to many game/sci-fi/fantasy cons that had a small group of con goers that did costumes.

Kumoricon blew me away with the number and variety of cosplay!  It was an awesome con.

Top five that I liked....     man, its hard to choose!

1. Sumomo - that was an excellent costume that you could tell had a lot of time in it.

2. No-face was very well done!

3. One of the Hellsing costumes that also did the teeth and makeup.  (Not my style of anime - but it was still good for details.

Too many others that I didn't recognize...  

Now I have to get working on something for next year!
Mr_Phelps[/i]

[Morbid Fangirl]

Well, first of all, I'd like to state this was my first con, and I surely wasn't disappointed! ^_^

The best costumes? Hm....

1. Pezzer's Hughes. The facial hair was an incredible addition. It was almost exactly what I think Hughes would look like in real life. Btw, what stance is Pezzer on the staff? I keep hearing his name mentioned around, but seeing as this was my first con, I'm rather clueless. *feels like a newbie*

2. The Anthy cosplay was awesome. I actually saw Utena for the first time today, and was pleasantly releaved of my feelings of ignorance concerning the origin of that cosplay.

3. The Hughes/Hawkeye cosplay. The pose they did was classic. "Nuf said.

4. The Cross-playing sailor scouts. They're unfforgetable.

5. The Faye residing in the halls on Saturday. That was an excelent one too.

Man, I could go on forever...

Oh, if anyone recognized me, I was the Zorin from Hellsing. My outfit would have been more complete had my scythe been ready and had I cut my hair, but oh well.

[Roy_in_a_skirt]

I liked
3. Roy Mustang in skirt (LOL I remember spitting out the water I was drinking when he came trotting down the hallway) *Roys my fav. character*

*glomps* I made number three! And you were actually there on monday! *glomps again*

~Roy in a skirt

[BlackjackGabbiani]

Rushifa and Blackjack:

The thing is, what is the point of criticism?... Usually it's either for A. the chance for the critiqued to self-improve, or B. a way of informing other patrons of what they're in for.

Well, it's not like we're paying these people to do skits for us, so scratch B.

Now, as for critiquing for improvement, what if the group already knows very well what went wrong and could have been better? What if they don't plan on doing the skit again? Or if they don't even plan on entering again as a group at all?

If your critiques are falling on deaf ears, you might as well leave them unsaid. For example, if you thought Skit A wasn't so hot, a simple "Skit A was okay, but Skit B took the cake for me" should suffice. It's simply a bit of entertainment, it's over; anything that went wrong most likely didn't kill you... so you might as well remember the good skits rather than call attention to the bad ones.

But you're not going to know if they're going to fall on deaf ears until you SAY them, right? We're not psychic.

[Kilik]

Wow. You all seriously need to chill. The person already apologized and said it was unintentional. Yet still you go on and on about it.

Get over it already and quit being so childish.

[MistressLegato]

Wow. You all seriously need to chill. The person already apologized and said it was unintentional. Yet still you go on and on about it.

Get over it already and quit being so childish.

I know she apologized, but obviously she isn't the person the argument is with.

[Radien]

But you're not going to know if they're going to fall on deaf ears until you SAY them, right? We're not psychic.

One word: ask.