5 Reasons why you should know Goldy more

Not many people know Goldy, known in Japan as one of the best cosplay craftsmen and cosplayer around.  But then again, not many people are really into mecha, armor and hands-on crafting in general. 

But to tell you the truth, if you don't know Goldy, you're missing a lot about knowing one of the legends of cosplay.

In a nutshell, Goldy has been inspiring a small community of cosplay/mecha enthusiasts into building their own seemingly impossible mecha or armor costumes, and back then around early 2000's.  If you've been around that time and you see pictures of this awesome "Gundam Guy" floating around forum sites, and even 4CHAN (admit it, some of you have been there often), he would be THAT "Gundam Guy".  Some cosplayers look up to him as inspiration that they themselves created works equal to his. One of them notably is Clive Lee of Singapore (yes, the other "Gundam Guy").  Honestly back then I tend to mistake them both as the same guy, before I got the chance to meet Clive online and in person.  So if this bit of info doesn't convince you, perhaps these 5 other reasons will:

1) He's been cosplaying mecha for about 10 years.  And its not just 10 years, with certain year or two in haitus, but 10 years of continued mecha and armor making.  That makes him a guru on anything mecha costume related (Why guru? More on that later).

Screenshot from Cosplaygen's article: http://www.cosplaygen.com/goldy-marg-a-wizard-of-cosplay-crafting/

2) In those years, he made 11 very well made mechas and armor.  Not including the numerous quality props he made for himself and other people.

From his Cosplay.com account: http://www.cosplay.com/member/146645/costumes/

3) He teaches other people how to build them.  He conducts workshops in Akihabara, with plenty of satisfied attendees. Plus he uploads them at his Youtube account.  Of course there is always the problem of the language barrier but fortunately there are videos that had interpreters or english-speaking assistants to help him out.  Check out his website Gadget Tool for more info regarding workshops.

 

No, that guy is not Goldy but one of his assistants/students helping him out in

demonstrating one of his techniques in making a body part mold.  This clip is

amusing because it does show Goldy in action, but his face is off-camera. XD

4) He's been featured in several well known websites and publication, like Cosplaygen, Anibee.TV, London's Costumerism,  Cosplay in America's Tumblr, website and book, and All-Nippon Airlines (ANA) Cool Japan website.  And I'm sure you've seen his cosplays in 4Chan as well.

https://www.ana-cooljapan.com/cosplay/#/

5) He's been around a lot.  His work had made him a representative for Japan's World Cosplay Summit in 2006, in which he won a special award for his craftsmanship.  He also became an invited guest, judge or speaker for numerous events not just in Japan, but in Korea's World Cosplay Festival 2008, Thailand's Animation & Multimedia (TAM2007), Singapore's Cosplay Challenge 2009 and Asia Cosplay Meet 2012, London's MCM Comic Con and as far as USA's Anime Expo.

Now he is now visiting the Philippines for the first time as a guest at the premier cosplay-centric event, Cosplay Mania.  Even other famous cosplayers like Reika is excited to see him that she even announced his visit at her own Facebook Page.

I'm pretty excited myself.  If these reasons aren't enough to make you want to meet him, I don't know what will.

For more information regarding his visit, head on to http://www.cosplaymania.com/.

You may follow them for updates at
FB: /CosplayMania
Twitter: @CosplayManiaPH
Google+ http://gplus.to/CosplayMania

Pets cosplaying their favorite characters?

I am amused as how some event organizers cash in on the cosplay craze and use it to describe costume party events.

Case to point: Pet Cosplay.

Making costumes for your pet is a common and generally liked hobby by pet enthusiasts.  But to use the word "cosplay" usually brings to mind a mind-boggling marriage between a hobby about wearing costumes of your favorite character, and a creature that generally has a hard time communicating with humans what their favorite is, beyond their familiar comforts such as food, shelter and attention.

Cosplay is about wearing the costume of a character you love and admire.

Im sure he admires lobsters.

I  have nothing against owners dressing up their pets.  I think its cute that they wear something different once in a while to amuse human beings.  I just don't like how Cosplay is being inserted in just about everything concerning costumes.  What's next? Ati-Atihan Cosplay?  Mariones Cosplay?

Going back, I had always hoped that cosplaying would be within the limits of pop-culture and its fandom, normally done inside the confines of a convention.  It would help as a reminder that we are there to celebrate one's fandom, that we chose to do so willingly and not forced unto us by higher beings thinking we look cute in them, or its a sure-fire way to win a contest by sacrificing our dignity.

For the record, I'm glad that pets are such forgiving creatures.  Either that or very patient ones when it comes to plotting their revenge.

Its been a while

Its been a while since I last posted.  For the past month there has been so many things I'd like to say about cosplay but I just end up deleting the whole entry because it reads like I overdosed myself in LSD and is now looking for a face to chew on.

But in the end, I realized its just wasn't worth the time to mull over as there are much better things to work on like preparing for upcoming Cosplay Tournament of Champions and Cosplay Mania.  In the end I'm glad I didnt go through my initial foam-in-the-mouth rants as a few days later I read this article by cosplayer Jin Joson called "The Misunderstandings about Cosplay" and my faith is restored.

If you don't know who Jin Joson is, then it's high time that you should go beyond the media drivel of "cosplay gods and goddesses" labels and get to know her, as she is in my opinion the best person to represent the virtues of cosplaying.

A lot of people tend to follow only the surface and never dig deeper as their reasons are never really about the hobby but about other things.  Don't worry, I totally understand that one.  A friend may have invited you to join in without providing any real insight, or discovered your crush has joined the ranks and wanted to be part of it just to be close, or you saw the success on TV and decided its a stepping stone to fame and fortune-- these can be legitimate stepping stones in trying to find out the real core of the matter regarding cosplay.  That is, if you are even willing to take that one crucial step beyond that.  But since not many people are really the research type and are more of "im-just-here-for-the-moment", they probably wouldn't care less about the hobby's core concept and history and just go with the flow and make things up as they go along.  "Walang basagan ng trip".  To each his/her own.

The sad thing about this is that some of the media (traditional and new), in their goal of making things more interesting, make things up and label it as their "their own style" just to make theirs different and yet use the same word to describe them.  Sooner or later, the Apples and Oranges comparison will no longer exist, as the end product will most likely have no resemblance other than the kind that stink.

But I'm just glad that there are still those who do it right.  I was asked time and again that maybe I should be more vocal about my views or even be more involved.  I am in my own way, through this blogs, through the events I help organizing, and by example.  I'm not after sending a loud message for the masses, just a clear whisper for the few willing to listen or having the patience and insight to ask.

Reviving Past Cosplays

Whenever I look back on my past 11 years of cosplay, the thought of reviving some of my past cosplay costumes came to mind.  I was thinking that I should try applying what I know now on costumes that were back in the day, the best effort I could give with whatever budget and material limitations given to me on that particular point in time.

Listed here are my top five costumes I would like to repeat again, this time with better materials and techniques.

Our first ever Mecha Photoshoot

We've planned for this for a long time but it always seemed stonewalled at ever corner thanks to our work and other real life responsibilities. But thanks to a surprise opportunity by my friends from Cosplay.ph and the laser-tag gaming place called Lazer Extreme we were able to do our photo-shoot in return to being temporary mascots for the establishment.

Me and my friend Ricki were able to bring over our Zaku I and GM mobile suits for the photo-shoot.

It wasn't really the most well prepared of photoshoots, as our costumes were already in disrepair by the time the opportunity came. But we were able to make the most out of it: even Ricki was able to make me a Heat Hawk out of scrap material, in exchange for me lending him my sniper gun (which happens to be almost physically similar to what the MS Feds use with their own snipers).

I also realized trying to stay still in a prone position !@#$&^#$!! hurts your back and lower legs like hell! You'd think making your costume out of rubber sheets would be light enough, but try doing it in a photo-shoot where the positions you need to do is what most people would normally called Yoga. I'm exaggerating, but still, try doing it with a heavy load on your back.

GM and Zaku Cosplay Mania X

Finally was able to convert and upload one of the few vidoes I had of me and Ricki's Gundam 08th Team series cosplay last Cosplay Mania X. Ricki cosplayed the RX-79[G] Ground Type GM and me as the Zaku MS-05L Sniper Model. It was fun to see ourselves on video, seeing ...how other people saw us walking and acting like robots. Enjoy!

Thanks to Wilson and Addy for the assistance, and Polidread and Jam for the video!

My Zerg Hydralisk Cosplay

My Starcraft Hydralisk Zerg costume made for You Got Game convention last 2006. I only remember seeing two videos of it in action, one shot during the catwalk, and this. This was shot in our garage, where a friend of mine wore it because he wanted to borrow it for a Halloween party. Added some sound effects.

The costume was retired, its fate documented in my old Livejounral entry back in April 19, 2008: http://teeth-for-eyes.livejournal.com/2008/04/19/