Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Cosplay Skills - Wigs

If you don't have the hundred dollars to spend on a high quality grade wig don't fret, I've got you covered. If you have old wigs you can always re-use them. "But it isn't the right style or color." You might say, well that is an easy fix.

First of all if you don't have a wig then go buy a cheap one from your local party supply store. If you are going to dye it a different color try to get a blonde or white one, the lighter the color the better.

Once you've purchased a wig or dug up an old one you're going to want to get the tangles out of it. "But oh it'll pull out all the hair!" Relax! I got you! You're going to want a soft bristled brush, the softer the bristles the better. Yes a few hairs may come out but it'll be fine I promise. Make sure you brush out from the bottom, the tips of the hair, and work your way up to the "roots" of the wig. If you find a super bag tangle just take you're time with it and comb it out from the bottom of it. You can even try to pick up some of that de-tangling spray for you're wig if it's too bad, you know, the kind that kids use. There are some specific brands for wigs and fake hair but I just used that Lorel stuff. :/ sooo yeah.

Once you've gotten the tangles out you're going to move onto the next step. Chances are you will need it straight for most cosplays. So if your wig is curly then we are going to straighten it. DON'T USE A FLAT IRON OR REGULAR IRON ON IT!!!! That's really important because it will melt the plastic-like fibers your wig is made out of. :/ There are lots of tutorials on this online, but since you're here lets review.


You're going to need a wig stand or something you can hang your wig on first of all so that it can hang straight. Next heat up some water to about 180-185 degrees, or the near boiling water that comes out of you're sink if you have that attachment. In all of the tutorials, they said to pour on the water, but I simply ducked my whole wig in a huge bowl of the hot water and then hung it up 0.0 it worked just fine for me. :/ You're going to want to let it drip-dry all on it's own. I took my fingers and king of wrung it out a little to help spend along the process and help keep the curls straighter as it dried but you don't have to.

Depending on how curly your wig was you might have to do this several times. it's not a fast process at all, not by a long shot, it took my wig a whole night to dry! D: But I guess I wanted to save money XD so it was okay.

Now that you're wig is straight if it's not the right color you're going to need to dye it! D8 Oh god. Well you're probably thinking,"Easy enough, I dye my own hair all the time and this time I just have to dunk the wig in the dye right?" Eh...wrong. Since wigs aren't made out of the same stuff as you're hair (unless you bought a human hair wig then I don't know about any of this :/ ) it doesn't dye the same way either. Wigs are made out of a plastic like material and you're going to want to dye it with ink. There are several tutorials on how to do this as well and I'm going to relate to you how to do it the simplest way I've found.

Below is the video I used for wig dyeing and it worked pretty good. :) The girl seems to know what she's doing and stuff so yeah just follow her lead. XD I hope I've helped a little bit and I hope this girl helps you a little bit too! :D

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Episodes Finished - Recognizing Good Anime

Count of Monte Cristo - Episode 1
Just finished the first episode of Count of Monte Cristo. Its set in the future and it starts out with Albert and the Count luring him in. It has crazy art work that keeps me simply entranced and I held my breath for so long a few times I was so tense. It looks like it will stick to the story line just fine :) That makes me happy that it can be new and original yet keep to the real story (or at least it seems it will.)

Shigurui: Death Frenzy - Episode 1

I don't quite understand it yet. I will have to watch the second episode. So far its very gory, like pretty gruesome, which I was looking for, but it was kind of boring, which I don't like. It was very calm and seemed almost political with how serious it was. I'll watch the second episode and get back to you but so far it seems that it is set in the Feudal Era of Japan and Japanese Sword Fighters compete to work for the lord, however instead of fighting with bamboo swords, the lord has decided that they should fight with real swords, causing many to lose their lives.

Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne - All
I've actually finished the entire series and I really loved it. There are a few parts that are VERY adult such as bloody scenes and sexual scenes. So if you're over 18 its great, but if you're not then uhm, you're probably not allowed to watch it. Either way the main character, Rin, is amazing. She is strong but believable and while she can be cold and touch she isn't mean. Just watch the first episode and I promise you'll be hooked.

Murder Princess - All

I've actually just re-watched the whole series, its only six or seven episodes, but still. Its a super great anime. There isn't any romance but its filled with action and its absolutely hilarious! The opening and ending theme are great, the opening theme is by BACK-ON a super popular band as far as anime openings go. Murder Princess starts out, explaining that there is a rebellion in a small, quiet kingdom. The princess,Alita, is forced to flee however things take a chaotic turn when she accidentally pushes herself and a fierce bounty hunter,Falis, off a cliff! The two switch bodies and, seeing Falis's strength, begs her to help save the kingdom in exchange for anything she wants! (Such an admirable princess) They finally come to an agreement and now not only is Falis -in Alita's body- supposed to end the coup-de-tat, but she has to continue to save the kingdom as it stabilizes.
This is just all around a great anime, because not only is it funny and filled with action but all of the characters are endearing and its next to impossible not to love them! :D

Gosick - All

I've, once again, finished this anime. Gosick is just good overall. It's not gory or bloody or anything and there aren't any inappropriate sex scenes or anything, but it is still amazing. Its actually pretty funny, very romantic in a sweet, young love sort of way, and it's best quality is how intriguing it is. In this anime Kujo, a Japanese exchange student, goes to a school in Sabre -a country next to France- right before World War II. Once there he is rather feared by most of the students because he seems to have some kind of "The Reaper Who Comes In The Spring" sort of a legend or ghost story on campus. There seems to be a lot of those surrounding this school due to it's rich history. Soon Kujo finds himself wrapped up with Victorique, another student who is labeled with a ghost story nickname, The Golden Fairy. Victorique is a small, adorable girl who resembles a doll only in appearance, her mind on the other hand is brilliant. She is an avid reader and is able to piece together mysteries that baffle everyone else, however she "locked up" in the school's huge library...and not by choice. That being said Victorique and Kujo go through the series solving mysteries and along the way getting closer and closer to the secrets behind Victorique.
Its really an interesting anime and if you like ghost stories or mysteries I promise you'll like this anime. :)


Recognizing Good Anime -
Finally if you've ever wondered how to tell if an anime is going to be good or not based on it's opening here is one easy simple rule for people who like anime with action and an intricate plot line.....watch the opening and look for a "naked" woman.
When I say naked, yes, a body suit counts. It doesn't necessarily have to show anything on her, but she has to be naked or in a body suit! XD

For some reason, I've noticed, that in most of the animes I've seen with the juiciest plot and the most shocking turns that all just draw me in and grab me...all have a second or two of a naked woman in the opening. :/ Maybe it's symbolism or maybe its just a strange coincidence, but for whatever the reason....when I see an opening, if I was questioning the anime, and I see a naked woman or a woman in a body suit I immediately know it's going to be good! XD
(I don't think this goes for romantic comedies, although Sailor Moon does transform in the opening, hence a body suit, but there is always and exception to the rule. Soooo yeah XD Naked woman in the opening = probably bloody, very interesting, plot twisting, anime. :) )

Totally Amazing Anime/Game Night

Alright so we've got two amazing things on the agenda for tonight.

1. Anime, Anime, ANIME! I'm testing out several different animes tonight. Yay!

I'm looking for things are are amazingly and incredibly interesting and gory, gory, gory! So we'll see how it goes! :D

The list I'm trying to burn through goes like this:
A.The Count of Monte Crist - because I love that book
B. Shingurui: Death Frenzy - because it looks gory and interesting
C. Saikano - because i think it will be gory and I heard its interesting
D. Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne - I've already watched it but I'm going to try and watch it again to understand it better @.@



2. LEGEND OF ZELDA: SKYWARD SWORD!

This is truly going to be orgasmic. So as you all know twilight princess was rumored to be the LAST LEGEND OF ZELDA GAME EVER! and that's just heresy....Like LOZ is awesome. :D Anyways I preordered the game and tonight I'm FINALLY going to be able to play it. :) So I'm really excited for my night of nerdy things! :D

Second Season Is Deeply Missed - Posting

*SIIIIIIIGH* Hey guys....I'm a little dispirited right now, and you may be asking why...well I'll tell you!

I watched the anime Ga-Rei-Zero and it is an amazing anime! Honestly it's like filled with action and drama and it is just honestly a ten out of ten! :D So try it out, its not so much romantic but I think this one will be like Ouran in the fact that its just good all around and generally almost everyone will like it. Cause lets face it, who doesn't love Ouran High School Host Club? Not that these two animes are alike in any possible way or anything :/ I mean Ouran is a romantic comedy and Ga Rei Zero is certainly NOT. But its still amazing! :D I mean it has its romantic parts and its funny sometimes but its not a romantic comedy, anyways onto the article.

Well there is no season two of Ga-Rei-Zero, the reason being that the anime Ga-Rei-Zero is simply a prequel to the manga, Ga-Rei. A manga that I haven't been anime to find in any stores near me, so I finally turned to online. :P So there, if my manga fix won't be provided, I will just get it myself.

So I miss the second season of Ga-Rei-Zero, you may wonder how I can miss the second season if it doesn't even exist yet, right? Well I don't know how it happens either, I just know I miss it terribly. I yearn for a season two unlike anything else I've yearned for my entire life! I yearn for season two of Ga-Rei more than I yearned fora season two of Ouran, And that's a lot people! Well I guess that's about it...I was just thinking about that and I figured it would be a perfect time to make a post.

Hmm I just noticed my posts have had about no order at all to them...I guess I should be posting like once a week or once a month or some set of dates to come however....for me it just doesn't work that way =.= I'm truly a fail at life, but I mean if I don't get any news or something for a month then well I don't have anything to post and if there is a sudden interest in something, then I have something to post about . 0.0 hmmmmm....well sorry I can't be more stable! Just know more posts are coming you way! :D

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Keep It On The DL - Where To Find Your Manga

Hey guys, alright so I've noticed something lately. Finding manga is getting more and more difficult, and not only because they can be rather expensive sometimes or even scarce. You used to could go to Barnes and Noble or Waldens, there was even a Hastings around where I live. However lately I've been hearing that a lot of book stores are going out of business! Its horrible, and I don't know if you've seen the mangas available on the Nook or whatever it going on, but its a pathetic selection I've been told. Anyways....lots of my friends have been trading off where they can read their favorite mangas, some of them because they can't collect manga because its just too darn expensive, and other because their favorite mangas simply aren't available. Now I'm here to introduce you to the best websites to find your unattainable manga.

Alright so lets get started, first of all, buy as much as you can if you like the series. :/ Honestly I am a believer in reading it free online, but if you can afford to and you really like it, support the author and stuff and throw 'em a bone by buying one in the store or ordering it online.

So the websites that I have found that work best for me have been www.mangaone.com and www.mangafox.com. I know Mangaone cut down on a lot of their manga because of copyright stuff but it still has a few. Also Mangafox has this great advanced search filter so that you can select the genres you do and don't want to appear if you're just browsing around for a new manga to read.

I will probably add more websites to the list later but the most recent website I've started using is called MangaTraders (www.mangatraders.com) I warn you you have to make an account to download manga, but its completely free and it didn't hurt me sooo yeah it's worth it. They also have an advanced search where you can filter out genres and what not so that's really nice for me. :)

Now you may be thinking, well that's all nice and dandy but I still have to buy my manga to tread it on trips of I don't have a Nook or whatever. Well no, not really. If you don't have one of those new-fangled darn things that gives you internet access on the road, don't worry, I've got you covered....sort of. My Zune doesn't have internet BUT it does support pictures. So if you have a way you can bring pictures on a flash drive or on your Ipod or whatever heres what you can do. Go online and download the manga you want from Mangatraders or find a place by google, but becareful cause of viruses okay? They suck.

Next get the scans and download them onto a flash drive or your Ipod or Zune or whatever you're taking with you that will let you see the pictures. then once you're on the road, read it by just looking through pictures! :D Yay! Have a nice day everyone and remember that manga rocks!

Friday, November 18, 2011

Manga Reveiw! - LOVE ATTACK!

Hey guys, I recently started re-reading Love Attack by Shizuru Seino again and I was reminded of just how much I love it so I decided to do a brief review of it. :)

Some people say that love just hits you when you know....well it kicked Hirata in the face..actually Cheimi kicked Hirata in the face and then he fell in love with her! XD Or at least asked her out. Haha! Love Attack is about the shy and tender couple...who are the scariest couple in school. Why you may ask? Well before they got together Hirata wouldn't run from any fight,although he doesn't start them, and he never lost one. and Cheimi? Well, she may be cute, but she sure does pack a punch. She beats up bullies of all kinds but never picks a fight for no reason. When Cheimi's teacher threatens to expel her for fighting though, Cheimi is given one last chance to redeem herself. Her teacher asks her to straighten out Hirata because he almost never comes to school, doesn't wear a uniform and gets into too many fights and to be blunt about it the teacher doesn't want to deal with him either.

Cheimi is nerve wracked because even she is afraid of Hirata, or the Deranged Devil -as some like to call him. So when she sees him in another fight she jumps from a window and kicks him in the face! (They get together in chapter one I believe and the story goes on from there about the trials of their relationship.)

Alright so yes, its a romantic comedy, but its not boring like most romantic comedies. The first few books I was roaring with laughter because this couple is just hilarious. Cheimi and Hirata are the two most unexperienced people in romance and how they handle situations that are thrown at them is just great! XD Not to mention they are adorable together and apart. Cheimi is an endearing character in the way that while she over reacts and has a terrible temper and is a huge drama queen, most people just see her as violent, but she is just a girl. :P And she's just plain endearing. Don't even get me started on Hirata though! (Too late I started) Hirata is an incredibly hard worker and not as bad a guy as he seems, his hard outer shell is really just covering his shy nature! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 he gets five hearts for being adorable!

As the manga goes on the author does a great job of bringing in a lot of drama yet keeping it light and absolutely hysterical! Part of the thing that makes it funny isn't only how Hirata and Cheimi handle problems they come to, but their friends! Hirata and Cheimi's friends are great comic relief and are almost worse than the couple is at handling problems, giving them bad advice often and putting the two in hilarious situations! They may be side characters, but there wouldn't be a manga without Hirata's and Cheimi's friends! It just wouldn't be half as funny! XD

The art in the manga is great too! The character designs were wonderful and each fit the characters perfectly I think! :D One thing that I love about the art work is the adorableness of it. Cheimi and Hirata make the best faces and they are both so innocent! I'll try to get some pictures up soon so you can see what I mean.

The last thing I want to point out is that the characters are perfectly flawed. Cheimi isn't perfect and that's what makes it so easy to relate to her. Like I mention earlier she is violent and can kick anyone's butt she wants, but in the end she is still just a girl who loves her boy friend. She's a little insecure, she has a bad temper, and she is terribly stubborn. However despite all of that she has high morals and is lovable because of it. Lets face it ladies, we hate perfect heroines and people who try to act perfect in real life. That's why we love our friends, quirks and all right?
Cheimi's Best Quality: Morals
Cheimi's Worst Quality: Stubborn

And Hirata! Wow, just wow. On the outside he is violent and rather cold, not the most cuddly of tough boyfriends and sometimes he seems to wear his emotions on his sleeves. He is caring, loving, and hella cute! :D He's always there when his friends are in a bind and even though Cheimi can get on his last nerve, he is obscenely patient with her constantly and even when they are in a fight he won't abandon her.
Hirata's Best Quality: Loyalty
Hirata's Worst Quality: ....uhm...nothing yet :/


Hmmm so yeah this book for me gets a five out of five stars manga rating because I just absolutely love it! It doesn't exactly what it is supposed to do, it makes me laugh and keeps me swooning like a fan-girl! ;D Happy reading guys! I will definately be looking out for other books by Shizuru Seino!

Shizuru Seino gets points on this manga for great art, a great story line, and an extra bonus for lovable characters! :D Way to go you Shizuru Seino.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

4AM and Late Night Anime

Hey guys, this morning I woke up at 4AM and could NOT get back to sleep to save my life so I messed around and thought of a post so I was like 'what the heck, I haven't been keeping to any kind of schedule anyways' XD So hey. Its about 5 in the morning and I've got a report. When you are tired and want a soothing before bed anime I would suggest Mushishi. Its is a beautiful anime, like gorgeous animation and the opening theme is just great. It doesn't really have a plot so you can watch whichever episode you want. I warn you some of them have bitter sweet endings but hey, sometimes thats the only way a story can end.

Mushishi is about a guy who sees spirits and travels around, helping out with them and what not. It takes you to so many different characters and it tells you their stories. this isn't an action anime and its not romance, but every episode is just a story that everyone should know. I know it probably sounds boring but its not, if you watch one episode you will be hooked! Not to mention its perfect before bed or early in the morning if you don't want to get all worked up with a fighting scene and swoony over romance scenes. However its a good anime to watch anyway so watch it any time! :D Just be sure to watch it. Well good morning everyone! :D Have a good day!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

The Different Types of People You Will Meet at a Convention

There are several types of people you will meet when you go to an anime convention. I decided that this was valuable information that everyone should have, because just because you've gone to one anime convention, doesn't mean you've met them all. So here we go, lets just dive right into it shall we?

The Noob: This person is probably cosplaying as (character from mainstream anime that is horrible) or wearing one of their t-shirts because this is their first convention. Being new to a convention is fine, you have to start some time. Being a noob is fine! You have to start some where. Being a noob forever is not okay. The characteristics of a noob are listed below for you convenience:
- They have only seen mainstream anime and will defend that its good til death, or at least until they've seen a good anime.
- They are probably younger in age.
- They are probably obnoxious about their love for the anime and have every single piece of merchandise for the anime and are probably very proud of it.
- Finally they will most likely think they are the best at any video game they play, until they meet serious people in the game room and have their butts handed to them and are shamed until the tournament next year.
The Noob probably travels with a group of some sort, if you should encounter a noob, I guess its judgment call, I try to suggest gateway animes to them to help them break the ice into good anime. :) However if they annoy me I just walk away because I have little patience.

The Fakeimes:
(Fake-uh-may) This people have come to the convention but they are dressed up as a character from an American anime (a cartoon lol) instead of a Japanese one. I know Fakeime has a negative connotation, however I don't think its a bad thing. Lets face it, there are good American "animes" and there are bad Japanese animes. I consider Teen Titans to be a wonderful American "anime" and I consider One Piece a horrid excuse for whatever it is trying to be because it just sucks all around.... :/ yeah. That being said, congratulate them on their awesome costume and don't treat them any differently because its Teen Titans or Kim Possible, they both rock. :)

The Anime Lover
(or Anime Veteran): This is a relatively normal person, they love anime and probably do a little gaming, not much though. They are cosplaying and this isn't their first convention. They are friendly and nice and might ask you for your number or e-mail to stay in touch. So yeah that's pretty much it, they dont watch mainstream anime, although they did at one point, like everyone else, and chances are this person has moved on to more underground animes and watch a lot of subbed anime. :) This is a pretty safe bet for a friend. (The other term is the Anime Veteran because they are an experiance anime lover and are past gateway animes and beginner animes)

The Otaku:
She may seem like a regular anime lover at first, however if you talk about the right thing, her true nature will come flowing out. She is an otaku, she is obsessed with at least one fictional character and will fight you for him! She will talk forever and ever about how cool this character is and how much she loves him and how they are perfect for each other! She isn't a personality for everyone, but her friends love and (probably) pity her.

The Anime Snob:
This is somewhere between a Noob and an Anime Lover. They are past Beginner Animes (i.e. Sailor Moon, YuGiOh, Naruto) and they have even passed Gateway Animes (i.e. Bleach, InuYasha) however they still only seem to watch very, very popular anime, otherwise known as mainstream. (Mainstream can refer to Mainstream animes in the real world, beginner animes, or mainstream animes in the anime world. The difference is the audience. When a mainstream anime refers to a beginner anime, we are talking about everyone in general, when we are referring to a mainstream anime in the anime world, this is something that everyone who is past beginner animes know of because it is so huge and everyone-in the anime society- has just seen it. ) The anime snob tends to only watch bigger animes like Vampire Knight, Code Geass, Death Note etc... However they haven't really seen a lot of underground animes that are only subbed and the main title is still in Japanese.

The Topper:
I have previously spoken about an anime Topper before. This person is the most annoying person you will ever meet in your whole entire life. No matter how many animes you've seen, they have always seen more, no matter how vast your manga collection, they always have more, no matter what this person is on a quest to top you...even if they have to lie. Toppers make up roughly 25 to 45 percent of the female population at anime conventions. Brace yourself and if you meet one, don't compete with them because it will only frustrate you more, just leave as soon as possible and avoid contact with them for the rest of the convention, don't be mean, just avoid them because no one wants to get punched in the face like you are likely to do to this girl if she says one more word about how her friends calls her manga collection a library because they pretty much "check out" manga from her because she has so many......screw her, no one cares, just be quiet! (If you do prepare yourself to tango with this check, make sure you have a silver bullet or ace of some sort that can top everyone, and do your best to make sure its true in case proof is asked for, and more importantly, flaunt this as little as possible, DO NOT TELL ANYONE ABOUT THIS UNTIL YOU HAVE TO USE IT IN BATTLE! Other wise it becomes less impressive. :P )

The Weirdo: She takes things from anime way to seriously and she actually thinks she a dog demon. She has a whole background that she is half way consistent with that has details about how, while she is human and is only 16 years old all of her memories and her parents memories are fake, because she is really from either back in time or a different dimension and how there she is a reincarnated demon, her old soul was 5000 years old and she is tormented by how her lover died in her past life.....yeah...She will growl at you and possibly bite...beware of this character, she is highly dangerous and if you try to point out that she is crazy she WILL attack. When you come in contact with this person, you may not know it at first, she may just seem eccentric at first, however you will realize sooner or later (hopefully sooner rather than later because these girls have a tenancy to latch on and believe you are partners in crime or something and that you are destined to be friends forever) you will realize it and the best thing to do slowly back away.....

The Gamer:
A foreign species to most anime lovers because I have noticed that most people are either anime fanatics or hard core gamers. While I'm not saying people who watch anime don't play video games, and that people who play video games don't watch anime...thats just not true. The difference is the severity of time and effort put into the hobby. A Gamer will spend the majority of their time playing video games, completing them, and being the absolute best at them. To me, they are the jocks of the anime world. They play to win and the look cool doing it. You may wonder how this relates to jocks, well in high school a jock plays football or baseball or something like that, and lets face it, when the entire stadium is cheering for them, its pretty hot. Now take DDR for example, while it may not seem very masculine, it takes time and LOTS of energy and athletic ability to master it. When the player goes in for the final stretch and is getting perfects all the way for the final seconds of the game and they finally beat it, the crowd that had gathered to admire him goes crazy that he actually won on expert mode on the hardest song imaginable! Its the same for guitar hero and all the games like it. Now you may wonder, 'what about games that you just use controllers with?" Well its the same thing. We all gather to see who will win at some shooting game or Super Smash Brothers, we cheer and we get into it! So when the game is over and victor emerges, face it again, its exciting. That is their rightfully earned fifteen minuets of fame when girls in slutty anime costumes hug and congratulate them. You will usually find Gamers in the designated Gaming room of the anime convention most of the time, they may not know a lot about anime, but for some reason gamers and anime watchers mix perfectly and in harmony.

The Know It All:
This is the geek of the anime world, the know everything about every game and anime and about anything else you can imagine that falls under the spectrum. The know what kind of gun and every single attachment to it that is used by the main character in the video game down to whatever kind of metal it is made out of...how they know? I don't know, I'm not one, but they have their ways.


The Skinny Girl:
You walk into the anime convention in your well thought out costume that, while it may be low cut, you chose it because it is flattering and makes you look good....then you see her. The girl in a warrior battle armor bikini or something like that that shows their stomach and amazing legs and cleavage. Yes, they are usually very nice people and if you had that kind of body, you'd wear that costume too, so don't be too jealous, or try not to be. Instead ask for a picture cause her costume is cool and she IS that character you love and in your head be glad that someone got to look that good. Then look in a mirror, cause you look good too and we all know you're beautiful! :D Alright?

The Skinny Girl We All Hate:
She's in animes, she's in real life, heck she's every where, and she is probably by your side as your best friend. This girl is skinny and in a revealing costume and she is just smoking hot...and she has a huge bag of sweets, the reason is because she already devoured her first bag and she is starting on her second. Even though she is probably very nice we are all jealous of her because she can eat and eat and eat whatever she wants whenever she wants and she is still gorgeous. Don't worry though because like I said before you are beautiful too and unlike girls at school, she is probably nice and doesn't even think about her weight, she can't help it she's perfect. XD

The In-The-Closet Anime Lover:
This person is dressed normal attire, jeans, maybe some kind of anime or gaming T-shirt or an adorable/cool hat. The bare minimun for the convention. This person tries their hardest to be normal in day to day life, keeping their love of anime or gaming a secret and it is possible that this is their first or second convention and they just aren't ready to cosplay, or in some cases cosplay seriously because they may also be in a generic cosplay outfit of a school girl or priestess or something. They may shy away from the hard core cosplayers and the stranger panels. (The difference between an in the closet anime lover and a noob is easy, noobs are beginners, if you are simply in the closet about your love, you have years of experience under your belt, go you!)

The Stud Muffin:
The Stud Muffin is attractive, he is dressed in regular clothing, but you think he could probably be in the closet about his love of anime, or maybe it was his first con. Well no such luck, sorry, he is a stud muffin for an anime convention, he probably very nice, and he has no problem with anime lovers, he actually probably likes them and accepts them as close friends...but he isn't an anime lover himself even though his friends have tried to convert him. The only reason he is there is actually only there because he is with his friends or he is looking for his family member or friend who have attended the convention.

The Mr.Perfect Fake Out:
He is gorgeous, or at least hot for an anime convention, and he is in cosplay! He MUST like anime! Then you find out he is only in cosplay for his girlfriend or because his friends forced him too, sorry, better luck next time.

The Mr.Perfect:
He is amazingly hot. He is just beautiful, he is in cosplay, you approach and ask for a picture to strike up conversation and you find out he is single and he loves anime! He likes your cosplay too, chances are this won't result in some sweeping, manga-type romance but you gained a new friend, probably a phone number, and hope that "he" is out there.

The Couple: This is simple. You will see a lot of couples at anime conventions. It is anywhere from gay, lesbian, to heterosexual couples. They might be friendly, but they tend to kiss in the hallway and block your way a lot, also if your single, they are really annoying to see. :/ So if you're bringing your someone special to a convention, please keep it in mind to be courteous and have manners, don't be over excessive with your PDAs in public, you are there for the convention anyways, not to suck face. Don't stop in the hallways, conventions are always crowded and people are eager to get around, so step to the side or find somewhere to sit out of the way. I think that's about it. :)

The Group: This is not a person, but rather a group you will meet, you will actually probably meet several of these. In this group there are an assortment of characters, there is probably one very strange person although after you hang around more he is cooler. the rest of them are usually friendly and they are probably either all already friends with each other or chances are they met up at the hotel because they are in the same one or something like that. Either way most groups you come across will be easy to interact with because of the variety of characters in it. So don't be afraid to approach groups, cliques don't exist in anime conventions...not really.

The Rare Cosplay Group:
This group is the coolest group of people you can ever meet at an anime convention, everyone is cosplaying as a different character from the same anime or video game. The most common group I have seen is Kingdom Hearts and yes it is magnificent to see all the kingdom hearts characters together. You often see these marvelous groups shining and posing for pictures together, doing a cosplay skit for a crowd, or dancing tech tech para of some sort in sync. They have worked all year decided who would be what character and making sure their skit or dance is perfect, all for this convention. It usually goes off without a hitch and once again, this is probably the coolest group you will ever meet. Unfortunately they probably move kind of fast and all already know each other so while they are probably very friendly people they might not exactly have time for you to follow them around like a puppy trying to be their best friend. Sometimes this group uses the same cosplay every day, or they might only go one day. I like to think of this cosplay group as a rare phenomenon of sorts at an anime convention that takes months to perfect. The only thing more rare is when several people cosplaying from the same anime come together and group at the convention by chance.



I think this concludes our guide to the different types of character you will meet at a convention. I warn you this is a pretty basic guide to them and there are always exceptions to the rule. :) Keep that in mind as you try to keep an open mind at the anime convention.

(nov.7,2011)
(11:30)