Petit cours 101 sur l'étiquette de comment approcher/s'addresser a une femme en cosplay dans les convention

Put together by Aussie cosplayers Ardella, Eve, and Kitty, this is a fun video guide on how to talk to women wearing costumes at conventions. While you might think that's something most folks already know because we have brains and hearts, some people don't know how to fully operate all their equipment yet. It's cool, they'll get there! This lesson is sorely needed — especially when people running conventions often don't know how to respectfully communicate with women other human beings.

Good luck, cosplayers and the people who love them! (Respectfully.) (From afar, if necessary.) (Seriously, control yourselves.)

Cosplay in Japan is very different from cosplay in America, but there are similarities as well. Japan does not have as many conventions as the United States, so places to cosplay are somewhat limited. Japan also has different social rules than the United States. Over the summer, I went to Comiket in Tokyo.



Conventions in Japan

Comiket is short for Comic Market and it is held two times a year; once in the summer and once in the winter. I thought it was going to be a normal anime convention, but good thing I looked at the website first. That particular convention is free to attend, but if you want to buy anything specific, you are recommended to buy the very large catalog which is a little on the pricy side. Also, you can cosplay, but you have to obey the rules.

1.Never come in your costume: there are specific areas for changing and applying make-up. Some conventions don’t let you put on certain make-up. Also, most conventions do not allow hairspray and other sprays in the convention areas.



2.Photos are not allowed to be taken outside of the 3 areas on site: if you see someone walking in the hallway or working at a booth, you can not take their picture.

3.You always have to ask before taking a picture (unless there is already a group taking pictures, just join in). When you are done taking the picture, people typically bow and say thank you.



4.No inappropriate costumes: for example, no cleavage or super short or tight costumes allowed. This is for obvious reasons like harassment.

5.No pointy or sharp objects: to make sure no one gets hurt.

6.On top of these rules, there is usually a fee just for the cosplayers (about $10, which is not bad if you have been to Otakon or other large scale convention in America). Comiket is mainly a doujinshi (fan made comic) convention, so there is little to no official merchandise. Because of that, no photographs allowed at tables unless by the people running them. Also, they can sell whatever they want, and a lot of them were selling 18+ material and there were not covers or warnings (I saw way too much, that I can not un-see). That is totally different from conventions in America.

Conventions in America






I laid the groundwork for Comiket, so for those who have never attended an anime convention in America, here is how it’s similar and different.

American conventions have similar rules such as the weapons policy. Actually, some conventions have a weapons check where you have to get a certain tie put around your item to ensure that you are allowed to carry it. Metals like steal are not allowed in, guns have to have a painted tip to show that is is not able to be fired and some conventions don’t let you in if your weapon is bigger than you, so people have to scale them down. Some major differences are: American conventions only have a one time admission fee (either a 1 day, a weekend and some have 2 days if it’s a 3+ day event). You don’t have to pay extra money to cosplay and you don’t have to buy a book to navigate your way around. There are no special places to take photos, you can take them anywhere, but you should ask permission to take photos (not all do, I have found pictures where I was drinking water or sitting down). As for the costume content, there are no specific rules, but it has to be appropriate.

Many conventions have 2 places to shop: an artist alley (all fan made items like pictures and plushies) and a dealers room (people sell official merchandise).

Costume Process in Japan vs America:

In general, Japanese people don’t make their costumes from scratch. There are many stores that sell costumes already made in a variety of stores like Animate (a big name anime store in Japan). The costumes are professionally made and are high quality. They also sell high quality wigs and props for the costumes. These are not cheap, a Piccolo costume is about $120 in Don Quijote (kinda like spencers in America, but higher quality and not all of it is inappropriate). In the United States, you either make it from scratch, alter existing clothes or order online which is costly. If you order online, you are playing quality russian roulette as well, unless you are sure of who is making your costume, you can’t be sure how well it will turn out. There are many pros and cons to the Japanese way of cosplay.



If you buy your costume in Japan (at a store), it will be expensive, but well made. You can usually try it on (make sure you ask permission first) instead of waiting for someone to make it, ship it and maybe find out it is not fitting you properly. Also, the store people will be able to help you select a costume, wig and other accessories that will work with you. At most stores, they have wig stands, tips for cleaning costumes, binding materials and anything else you will need for your perfect outfit. There are some downsides: if you are not up to date on the newest anime, you may have trouble finding a costume. Most stores have a small cosplay section with only popular anime. Today, if you walked into any animate or other store, you will find costumes from Tiger and Bunny, Hetalia, Magi the Labyrinth of Magic, Evangelion, Uta no Prince sama and a few others. Other than that, you will most likely have to make them.



If you make your costume from scratch or you alter existing clothes, you not only have the satisfaction of making something yourself and also you have the chance of winning awards if you choose to enter a contest. It is also fun going shopping for the clothes! Get your creative side going with lots of reference pictures from all angles and just cut, sew, glue etc…

Where can you cosplay?



In Japan, people usually cosplay at concerts, photo gatherings (see the Sengoku Basara picture), Harajuku (usually on Sundays) and at conventions like Comiket. The photo of the Sengoku Basara cosplayers was taken at a Japanese “theme park” modeled after the Edo period. I was in the right place at the right time because of the fact that people don’t just cosplay in public as often as Americans. I personally asked them if they made their costumes and only one of them actually did out of the large group. In America, I know many people who just dress up and go places (the mall, a diner, etc…), that is absolutely unheard of in Japan.

Cosplayers are all human, they all are dressing up for fun. That, we all have in common. Because we love anime and want to show off that character, we cosplay. That is what it is all about.

Comic Market, better known among the subculture in Japan as "Comiket," is currently a bi-annual 3-day event that takes place in Japan. This past December 29th to 31st was the 83rd Comiket, and i had a chance to delve into the underbelly of what is currently the largest comic pop culture convention for the sale of doujinshi (independently written comics that generally copy or parody existing IPs) in the world.


Comiket been around for nearly 40 years (the first Comiket was held on December 21st, 1975) and through the years it's had its ups and downs and gone through a lot of changes. At present, the system of Comiket has solidified in the 3-day format, with different genres of doujinshi sold on different days. People come from all around the country (and in some cases, the world) to get books by their favorite doujinshi artists or purchase limited edition books or goods sold by the many game or anime companies that have booths there.

The day generally begins before sunrise with the very first train that arrives at one of the nearby stations (due to problems in the past ranging from littering to safety concerns, squatting overnight has been banned by the Comiket even organizers—though this doesn't keep some over-eager buyers from finding ways to spend the night for a chance to be first in line). From there, people begin to line up at what is currently the regular Comiket location, the Tokyo Big Sight.

People will line up in these tremendous crowds for hours, and any chance not to have to is a welcome thing.
A good friend asked me if I would be able to help him at his table at Comiket 83, so I was able to bypass the bladder-rupturing lines this time and go straight to the halls without any waiting. People will line up in these tremendous crowds for hours, and any chance not to have to is a welcome thing. It's like flying business class: once you've tasted the luxury, you can't go back to economy class. The Comiket organizers frown upon it, but some artist circles will give away to friends or even sell extra tickets on online auctions. And there's no shortage of buyers. Most circles won't sell books before the doors open, but just a chance to be able to be first in line at one of the popular circles or one of the company booths is something many fans dream of.

The stationary mob lasts until 10 AM, when the doors open and the event begins. From there it's a mad really-fast-paced-walk (running is strictly forbidden) to the tables or booths where lines are quickly formed and sales begin. Some of the lines can be over an hour long for the extremely popular or famous artists. Navigating the halls can be a feat in itself. The east halls are between 8,350 to 8,670 square meters apiece (and there are 6 of them) and the 2 west halls are each 8,880 square meters. And they're all packed full with people... This is where you can really see the organizers' hand at work with the strategic positioning of artist circles to prevent congestion among the sea of tables. Often, people will work in teams, buying books for each other so that each person won't have to spend hours in line, only to have the books they're looking for sell out. Here and there you'll find people with walkie-talkies reporting their position in the halls and what books they've managed to acquire.

Some circles will be lucky to sell 10 books, while others will run out after over a thousand sales.
On the other side of the tables it a fairly interesting sight. There's an almost audible rumble as the guests enter the halls and the shopping begins. Some circles will be lucky to sell 10 books, while others will run out after over a thousand sales. Indeed, some artists are able to (and do) make a living off of selling doujinshi. My friend had printed 800 copies of his latest book, and by the end of the day, we had probably less than 50 left.

The 3-day event ends at 4PM with an announcement and thunderous applause. From there, artist circles will pack up and head home, or to go drink and celebrate another successful Comiket. For Comiket 83, roughly 35,000 artist circles were there (And that's only a fraction of the actual number of circles that sign up hoping to take part). Across 3 days, roughly 550,000 people came to the Tokyo Big Sight to take part in setting a new Winter Comiket record. The third day (December 31st) alone clocked in at 210,000 attendees. People often joke that a well-placed disaster would decimate the Japanese otaku population. Looking at those numbers, I'm inclined to agree.

Cosplay: the amalgamation of the words "costume" and "play", and the act of dressing up as a character from comics, manga, movies, anime… Pretty much anything from popular culture or a subculture that people like. For Japanese cosplayers, the culture of cosplay can be a world of fun, photos, and sometimes bitter and petty rivalry. That said, how do Japanese cosplayers feel about foreign cosplayers entering their field? As it turns out, most are quite welcome to the idea.


In Japan, among cosplayers, there is an unspoken rivalry. Firstly, there is a divide between those who make their own costumes and those who buy them. Some people adhere to the school of thought that there's no love in buying a store-made costume and that anyone who buys a costume doesn't "love the character" as much as someone who makes a costume. Secondly, there is the divide between the people who do cosplay to "become the character" and people who do cosplay because they enjoy wearing the costumes.

In both of these cases, the divide is mostly one-sided, with people who make their costumes looking down on people who buy them, and people who want to embody the spirit of the character looking down on those they think are just wearing costumes. The divide is one-sided, but it is still there and causes rifts, and in some cases, outright bullying.

In Japan, among cosplayers, there is an unspoken rivalry.
There is also an unspoken rule that newcomers cannot out-shine established cosplayers. For a relatively new cosplayer to dress as the same character better than a veteran can be considered the gravest of insults. The more famous the veteran, the worse the consequences can be.

However, when it comes to foreign cosplayers, most Japanese cosplayers actually look up to them. One of the biggest reasons is because of the physical barrier that most Japanese cosplayers cannot breach. No matter how good the costume is, no matter how good the makeup is, when it comes to physical bone structure, physical height, physical proportions, foreign cosplayers come equipped with a better toolset. "Foreign cosplayers are better at it, and most of us are aware of this." a 14-year veteran Japanese cosplayer who wished to remain unnamed said to us. "When I see a foreigner dressed as a character I love, I feel like telling them, ‘thank you for dressing up as this character!' I believe everyone feels this way."

The cosplayer stated that while Japanese cosplayers can tend to get full of themselves among other Japanese, everyone holds foreigners in high regard. "We're grateful for it. I wish more foreign cosplayers would come to Japan."

Hear that? That's an invitation. Just be sure to keep it classy.

Spoiler:

en passant.... il y a de la compétition pour toi rick au #16a hehehe
si possible... prenez du temps avant de poster vos réponses en cherchant le net et trouver une image du personnage du cosplay avec si possible le dit costume.... cela aidera a faire le lien entre le cosplay et le personnage incarner.