...Lauren Memrik October 9th 2015 We all find something eccentric or unconventional which we can identify with and enjoy more than others do. Since cosplay has been expanding wildly, the participants have developed a passionate hobby, and for some even a lifestyle. For many people cosplay is an art and a way of creative expression and a vehicle to proudly display their love for characters and mediums ranging from literature, television and films. Before the term cosplay emerged it was called “costuming” dating back to the 1930s in North America. During this time period people did not mimic the appearance of characters, however they dressed accordingly to the specific theme. An example of such would be masquerade...
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...Japan Expo Paris 2013 feat. European Cosplay Gathering - The Best Cosplay Stage in the World Every first weekend of July since 1999, airport security at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport deals with more than just their ordinary odd size luggages: along with the influx of fake weapons comes a large group of ordinary-looking visitors accompanied by their extensive and extraordinary packages. Hotels within a 10km radius of the airport are entirely booked out 9 months prior to this special weekend. Foreigners and Parisians alike have all learnt to prepare for this sudden spike in human traffic. It is no longer considered unusual to be serving a cup of Starbucks coffee to a customer dressed to the personification of Hatsune Miku, and if asked why are they here in Paris? The answer is always the same: Japan Expo. Japan Expo Paris is possibly the largest Japanese Traditional Culture, Anime, Games and Pop Cultural event outside of Japan, boosting a staggering figure of 280,000 unique visitors over 4 days of its exciting, unique and fun-packed agenda. As Europe’s longest running convention held annually at Parc des Expositions (2 train stops away from Charles de Gaulle International Airport) over 4 of the largest expo halls, Japan Expo presents us a fine balance between the most traditional of Japanese arts, and the overwhelming world-famous Japanese Anime and Gaming craze-doms. Home to the critically-acclaimed European Cosplay Gathering (ECG) Finals, Japan Expo plays center-stage...
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...Human Barbie “I’m a Barbie girl, in a barbie world” The Barbie Girl song by the group Aqua became a catchy pop song during its released in May 1997. It was every woman’s song as they dream to experience Barbie’s life. And who would have thought that some women was so much dedicated to look like Barbie and some are just born with Barbie’s appearance. Here are some of the girls in different countries who really resemble the looks of Barbie 1. Valeria Lukyanova The most controversial and the creepiest human barbie comes from Ukraine. She’s Valeria Lukyanova, 21, a good looking blonde woman that turns herself to look like Barbie by putting piles of make up and blue eye contact lenses. She also underwent a series of plastic surgeries that include enhancing her breast, tucking and nipping her waist and carving her face to achieve a physique and facial features of Barbie. She spent almost $80000 for her Barbie looks. Other people said that she’s too creepy and lifeless. Maybe because of her big, glassy blue eyes and her tiny waist! KotaKoti Meet KotaKoti, also known as Dakota Rose! Her blogs and videos captured the attention of everybody especially in Japan and China. She’s one of the inspired living dolls in Japan. Her fans considered her as a cosplayer. She dresses the way she likes and doesn’t mind those people who make fun the way she dresses. Lots of people call her fake, arguing that her pictures are photoshopped. Dakota however just continues her girly life by blogging...
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...lifestyle has changed along with the changes in technology. People’s hobbies have changed as well, this is greatly seen in the growing population of what we could call otakus. In the Western part of the world, this term refers to the people who are fans of anime and manga. In Japan, however, this term is somewhat considered as a negative way of labeling someone. For the Japanese, otaku people are those who are obsessed with anime, manga and videogames to the point where some of them no longer go out and socialize with other people. Some of these otakus prefer to shut themselves in their rooms instead. Anime and manga has also led some people, mostly teenagers, to dress up and act as their favorite anime/videogame character. We call this as cosplay, the...
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...Japanese Fashion and Social Customs COMP 2000 ABSTRACT Every country in the world has it’s own culture, traditional way of dress and customs. Japanese culture is quite intriguing and there is much that is not known of the Japanese people and their culture overall which is the reason for this research. In doing research, the fashion choices of the Japanese culture was really intriguing; from the unique shape and intricate designs of their kimonos, to the more modern and outrageous fashion style of the Japanese youth. The Japanese street fashion is growing and changing even more everyday. Will it continue to evolve in the future? Japanese Fashion and Social Customs Japanese culture is rich and diverse and dates back to 10,000 B.C (Hickey, 1998). When thinking about Japanese culture people would first think about sumo wrestling or sushi, but there is more to the people and the culture than is known. Japanese culture revolves around more than sumo wrestling for sure, their cuisine, music, language, traditions, and unique history has left them with a multi-layered culture. Japan revolved plenty around social classes around their feudal era now they no longer have a feudal class system but still revolve around social status as it still plays a very important role amongst much of what is done in public and at home. Fashion plays a huge part in the Japanese everyday life (Slade, 2009). Their fashion trends are of both traditional and modern influences. Japanese traditional...
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...The Effects on Watching Anime to the High School Students A Term Paper Presented To Ms. Inot Lourdes College In Partial Fulfillment Of The Requirements in English 2 By Justin L. Yu Bachelor of Science in business administration Feb. 25, 2014 Outline i. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………2 ii. Body…………………………………………………………………………………2 a. The effects of watching anime to the students b. The effects for the students who are watching anime iii. Significance of the study…………………………………………………………. iv. Objectives of the Study…………………………………………………………… c. Do Watching anime is important of not important to them d. The disadvantages of watching anime e. Finding a ways how the students prevent from getting addicted on watching anime v. Scope and limitations……………………………………………………………. vi. Discussion………………………………………………………………………… vii. Summary and conclusion………………………………………………..……… f. Summary g. Conclusion viii. Bibliography………………………………………………………………………. Introduction On our generation nowadays most of the students get addicted on watching anime or reading Mangas (a Japanese term of comic books). If a person likes anime too much, he or she will be called as an OTAKU(is a Japanese term for people with obsessive interests, commonly the anime and manga fandom.) Otakus follows their desire without thinking first. They also follows the anime series they wants. There are many factors that urge students...
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...Assumption College, San Lorenzo Makati City General Education Department Sociology Area 2nd Semester, SY 2012-2013 “The Effects of Otaku Culture to an Individual’s Study Habit” A Research Paper to be presented to Ms. Exzie Calubayan In Partial Fulfillment of the requirements in Sociology By Villegas, Claire Bridget R. March 15, 2013 Chapter One “It’s not just anime! It’s a way of life!” Introduction The real meaning of “Otaku” had a small debate when the US coined it as a term for people who are obsessed with the Japanese culture, with also a considerably large amount of love for anime and manga. However, the real meaning of the word “Otaku” could be viewed as negative for a typical Japanese person because “Otaku” literally means “Social Recluse” (Also note, it is synonymous to “Hikikomori”) specifically speaking, when one speaks of “Otaku Culture”, one’s head would immediately pop out the word “geek” or “nerd”. The culture mainly speaks about Japanese traditions, pop culture, anime, and manga. (Wikipedia, Retrieved 2013) Otaku culture originated from Akihabara, a district of Tokyo where it mostly sells electronic goods as well as a famous hangout for otaku individuals. Originally, “Otaku” during the old times meant “house” or “family” while giving an emphasis on respect when used as a second-person pronoun. However, as modern Japanese slang continued to grow in the busy streets of Tokyo when fans of well known anime titles such as Neon Genesis...
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...Title: Anime Domination in a Student’s World Thesis Statement: Watching animes has various effects in a student’s life. I. Watching animes causes addiction to students. A. Students do not sleep just to watch animes. 1. They would have weakened their immune system for staying up late. 2. They will be sleepy in class in the next day. B. Some students are distracted in their studies because of animes. 1. They are chances that students will fail their subjects. 2. They will not learn something from school. II. Japanization brings happiness to the students. A. Most students that watch anime adapt the way anime characters speak. 1. They use Japanese or Nihonggo in communicating with each other. 2. They also name their selves after the name of anime characters. B. There are many cosplayers that dresses like an anime character. 1. Students would love to watch them and appreciate them. 2. Students feel that animes are real which they are dreaming of. III. Watching animes can create a student’s social life. A. When a student meets another student that loves watching animes, they would understand each other and they can be friends. 1. They would talk to each other about animes. 2. They would ask a copy of an anime from each other which will generate their social life. B. Students watch anime in a group. 1. The bonding between students is developed while they are watching anime in a group. 2. As...
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...With the advent of the internet and the opening of most national borders in the twentieth century, it comes as no surprise that much of mankind has already mixed and mingled with each other, drawing inspiration and fascination from each other’s cultures, customs and traditions. Whatever it is that a country takes pride in, be it architecture, cinema, cuisine, dance, embroidery, history, music, pottery, religion, sports, science, technology, theatre and so on, it is already celebrated by other countries as well, including our own. Enter the rich culture and history of Japan. You could read for hours on the wonders of Japanese performing arts or the depressing effects of the atomic bomb on the youth and the country as a whole and you’d still be left with so much more to explore: calligraphy, enka, origami, clothing, social hierarchies, etc. There’s so much about the country to fall in love with. Those who have are called otaku. The term refers to those with an obsessive or above-average interest in Japanese culture but most especially in the country’s anime and manga. Naturally, those in our country, and even in our campus have fallen in love with Japan, so much so that the practice of that love has become a culture in itself, otaku culture, if you will. Students of the Ateneo are wont to talk about their favorite anime and manga and display quite prominently how they love that small island country with events, clubs, gathering...
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...My topic is Wigs. My specific question was " how did wigs became popular again ?" This question came to mind last year when my best friend had start wearing wigs. I thought that it was old school and she was to young to be wearing a wig until I seen that there are multiple forms a wig comes in. starting at the beginning of this year I started to wear wigs because some caught my attention of course and the idea that I can make a wig look so natural influence me more to purchase one. In the beginning of my research I begin by looking at the different forms of wigs: Regular wig, U-part wig, lace wig, cap less wig and etc. Next, I started to look into the history of wigs and how it came to mind. Currently I'm at a pause. what I mean by that is...
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...Anime lovers are called Otaku, which is western for 'freak' or Japanese for 'fan.' Those that enjoy anime are shoved into that category for no reason aside from the fact that they like cartoon stories. They are seen as childish, immature, and having no real life. This simply isn't true. There are many reasons that anime is a legitimate art form and "otaku" should be viewed as no different from people who love action movies or love stories.. Many heroes in anime are not typical Western heroes. Our heroes are Rambo, Dirty Harry, and Indiana Jones - somebody with a gun, an attitude, and a way with women. Sometimes the hero is a woman, but these cases are few and far between- women are usually just romantic interests for the hero. You don't get swordsmen, space-age heroes (since Buck Rogers, anyway) or children in our movies-until you go to movies based on history, 80's kids shows, and kid's movies. In anime, the heroes tend to be younger and less capable. Their shows focus on the growth of characters instead of how many explosions movie makers can stuff in. (though there are still lots of explosions). Anime is Eastern-style cartoons, not Western.. Most American adults see cartoons as kid stuff. They 'grew out of it' by the time they were eleven, or so they'll claim. Why do so many people love anime, despite their 'cartoon' roots? The simple, wrong answer is that they don't have the mental capacity to deal with seventy-three seasons of "Friends" or "Everybody Loves Raymond." The...
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...Cosmo the Cougar is not a normal mascot. Cosmo is best known for his insane dance moves. Cosmo went viral after his dance to the song “Rolex by Ayo and Teo” with the “cougarettes” (Birgham cheerleaders) by his side. The dance has over 1 million views on facebook and he is now known across the internet for his dance moves (Larimer). He is so popular many people believe he could be in the Mascots Hall of Fame. The Mascot Hall of Fame is an organisation, they nominate mascots that do good deeds and have amazing performances. The building is opening later this year and will be a big tourist spot and a place for children to have fun. In order for a mascot to get in the hall of fame it has to be voted on by the leaders. People are able to submit ideas to the leaders for them to vote on (“Mascot Hall of Fame”). Not only is Cosmo the Cougar an amazing dancer, but he can do amazing tricks too. Cosmo would be great for the mascot hall of fame. He is spectacular with kids and he loves to entertain people. This cougar does many things and he amazes the audience every time. Although some might argue that Cosmo has a “freakishly large head”, Cosmo the Cougar should probably be in the Mascots Hall of Fame because he has outstanding performances, an amazing ability to interact with the community, a huge impact on sports, a super fun and unique costume, and a kid-friendly manner. Cosmo the Cougar, the mascot for Brigham Young University (BYU), has had many breathtaking performances. As a general...
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...Why do people watch anime? Anime is a type of animation that has originated from Japan. Some animes first start out as a comic known as manga. Moving from Japan, anime as been making its way across the globe, jumping from continent to continent. Now it is slowly becoming popular in America. Yet there are those who still think anime is something that should not be shown in America due to it being from another country. Also they do not bother to find out what anime truly is. Anime represents a style of animation that comes from a different country, and offers a way to meet new people, make friends and an inspiration to some. During World War II, cartoonists were forced by the government to draw propaganda mangas. Those who were not forced to draw propaganda manga were getting into trouble with the government. These cartoonists formed organizations to come together. After World War II, a young inspired artist by the name of Osamu Tezuka became a cartoonist. Throughout his career of success, Osamu Tezuka was named Father of Anime and manga, and was an inspiration to other cartoonists. Such as the young struggling cartoonist Walt Disney (The History of Anime and Manga, April 2012). Unlike the cartoons seen in the United States, which are mostly directed toward kids and young adults, anime has a spectrum of shows for people of any age (Shae Hazelton, April 2012). Many animes have interesting plot lines that cross cultural differences. The animes tend to have teenage characters...
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...that mirror characters in animes, video games or manga have their own term--cosplay. In America, cosplaying has greatly increased in popularity with conventions like Comic Con and Anime Expo. At these expos, people have the chance to dress up and show off. But in addition to that, Halloween is another day that people can do so as well. On Halloween one of my friends goes above and beyond. Every year he dresses up as a character from his favorite anime. This year he came in as Kaneki, a character from Tokyo Ghoul and wore an eye patch, a mouth covering, a formal vest, dress pants, dress shoes and a dress shirt. Attached to his pants were tails, but he was covered and not sexualized at all (Sakagami). This outfit was really different compared to his friends cosplay. One of his female friends wore a Japanese school girl’s attire that is seen in many animes. The costume consisted of a short mini skirt that went above mid-thigh and knee high socks. Another female friend of his wore a inori yuzuriha cosplay from the anime “Guilty Crown”. That girl’s costume was made up of a dress that had an opening between the breasts--exposing both her cleavage and stomach. In addition to that, there were cut outs in her costume so that her shoulders were exposed as well as the majority of her back. In comparison to the female costumes I saw, my male friend’s costume was a lot less sexy and revealing. From the cosplays seen on Halloween it is clear that animes have an effect on what individuals...
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...CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION History and Background of the Business Maid Cafés (Meido Kafe / Meido Kissa) are a subcategory of cosplay restaurants found predominantly in Japan. In these cafés, waitresses dressed in maid costumes act as servants, and treat customers as masters (and mistresses) in a private home, rather than as café patrons. The first permanent maid café, Cure Maid Café, was established in Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan, in March 2001, but maid cafés are becoming increasingly popular. As they have done so, the increased competition has made use of some unusual tactics in order to attract customers. They have also expanded overseas to countries like China, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Australia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, France, the Netherlands, Mexico, Canada and the United States. (e.n.wikipedia.org) Because of the rapid changes in the business specifically in food industry, our team must be kept up-to-date with the todays popular trends. January 30, 2011 when Philippines opened its costume play (cosplay) maid café in the country where servers entertain their customers with Japanese role playing culture. Since we Filipinos are innately hospitable and passionate to our guests. With this concept, we combined a perfect idea by establishing a café that is unique and is new to the eye of each customer. Nico-Nico Café is a cosplay café wherein people can enjoy their coffees either alone or with friends with a touch of japan culture. Waitresses dressed in kawaii (term...
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