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.

I'm Not Most People

This was originally written back in 2006 in my now defunct Vox blog and was republished in the first CPH mini-magazine during the 2006 National Cosplay Competition held by the people behind Ozine and CPH. I've edited some grammar but the info is mostly intact and original. If you change the dates from 2006 to 2011, you'd be surprised the gist is still the same.

Recovered this file using the Waybackmachine, just thought I'd publish it here.


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"Hi, my name is Robert, and I'm not most people."

Unfortunately this line, which was a statement of non-conformity back in 2000 to 2002, has lost its unique appeal given to the fact that what a few people did then has become the norm now. What am I talking about? Cosplaying of course.

Cosplaying has been one of those very unusual hobbies in the Philippines due to the fact that it involves people dressing up in garments similar to 2D cartoon characters and acting like them... in public. Yep, these little bunch of crazies would arm themselves in little groups, go to the mall during conventions, and wear costumes of their favorite anime idol. Its not what most people would do, or even touch with a ten foot pole. This hobby is within the realm of the underground minority at that time: the misunderstood, the rejected, the geeks, the freaks. Yep, they're called Anime Otakus.

Cosplaying is like the next step, a loud if not alarming statement to the public at large: "I'm wearing a costume, I love my anime, kiss my ass or bite me fools!"

So like i said, we were not most people.