Cosplayers:  they’re fun, creative and hardcore!  And they deserved to be featured so we can learn about the creative process on their costumes and the fun times they have at conventions.  Today, we have Amanda, who dressed up as Princess Zelda at this year’s Anime Expo.  She has been cosplaying for a year but her costume suggests she has been doing it longer.  Let’s get to her cosplaying experience:

NERDSociety(NS) :  What attracts you to cosplaying?
Amanda: The thing that attracts me to cosplay is the fact I can be one of my favorite different characters each day at the conventions and that makes me happy! On top of that, as a cosplayer, you know you’re dressing up as someone else’s favorite character too, which makes them happy!

NS:  When was the first time you cosplayed?
Amanda: Last year at AX 2009, I was convinced to cosplay as Anise Tatlin from Tales of the Abyss and that was my first planned cosplay. Ever since then I’ve been hooked!

NS:  What’s your favorite moment?
Amanda: When you stopped me and asked for an interview, of course!  Haha, that and when I entered my Zelda cosplay for the Cosplay.com costume contest, I was chosen as a finalist! I didn’t win anything though but it was an awesome experience especially since it was my first costume!

NS:  So I take it you made the costume yourself?

Amanda: Last year I bought my costumes, but for this year’s Anime Expo I wanted to make them. I had just finished watching Death Note and I loved Misa’s character, so I started with that! After I finished that costume, I decided to be a little ambitious and make Princess Zelda. It took forever but it was totally worth it! I even got my boyfriend into it and made him a Link costume
 
NS: And your boyfriend’s reaction?
Amanada: Oh boy.. He against it at first actually. I had to do a lot of convincing haha.  But eventually I got him to change his mind a bit, and you know what, I think he might actually like it now! He was really happy with the Link costume I made him. So I think that made it an easier transition into the cosplaying world

The reluctant Link!

NS:  Back to the Zelda costume, how long did it take to make?
Amanda: My Zelda costume took FOREVER! I started the project in February and was tinkering with it up until the night before I wore it! It was the first thing I’ve ever sewn, costume or otherwise. So it was a very ambitious costume choice to say the least. I hear its one of the most difficult costumes to actually make. I’m very happy with how it turned out though (laughing).

NS:  What’s the weirdest experience you had wearing a costume?
Amanda: Haha! Oh lord…. too many to choose from… but I guess I’d have to go with the time when I was walking to get food before going to the AX convention center this year. I was in my Misa costume and I was getting cat calls and whistles from homeless men and guys driving by. It was super awkward but pretty funny.

Amanda as Misa from Deathnote

NS:  What’s one tip you can give to fellow cosplayers?
Amanda: I have to say be fearless!! Go into it thinking positively and have fun. Otherwise, what’s the point right! Its all about having a good time and feeling great.  Here’s another tip, for those just starting out making their own costumes.  Please don’t give up! It will get hard every now and again… maybe something doesn’t go right, but its ok! Be calm and know there is always a way to overcome all cosplay obstacles.

NS:  Besides cosplaying, what else are you into?
Amanda: I’m an artist by trade and I love drawing, painting, and anything artsy… but probably above all else, I LOVE playing video games!! I love RPG’s, FPS’s, Action adventure games…. well, I guess everything!

End Of Interview

I want to thank Amanda for the awesome interview!  Her Princess Zelda costume really blew me away and I’m glad she had a great time at Anime Expo.  We’ll see you at future conventions Amanda!

Are you a cosplayer?  Please drop us a line at cosplay@nerdsociety.com and let us know about your cosplaying experience and we’ll feature it on the site!

Booths featured include: Nintendo, SquareEnix, Privateer Press, Viz, Disney and many more.

Tron Bike

Transformers – Bumble Bee

Bobba Fett

Neytiri of Avatar

But this is what happens when people camp out to Hollywood panels and there’s not enough room for everybody.  Hall H  is probably the biggest hall they have and the lines are still ridiculously long.  While majority of the fans waiting to get in to Hall H are well behaved, I can see the stress on the their faces whether they could get in or not.  This causes tension and guess what?  Someone finally snapped today.  Instead of having fun, some attendees get carried away and take the event too seriously.  This kind of tension also happens at the Exhibit floor where companies are selling limited exclusive collectibles. The lines can be really long just to get a damn ticket and it doesn’t even guarantee a purchase.  It just assures you that you’ll have a chance of getting an overpriced exclusive, imagine that.

Hall H line last year courtesy of Comingsoon.net

Like I’ve said on previous articles, while I enjoy Comic Con, it is getting too crowded for its own good.  Everyone and their grandma is attending the event and it creates stress for everybody.  What Comic Con can do is either limit the number of Hollywood panels or move to a bigger location.  I doubt they’ll reject Hollywood from going to the event because it brings the organization publicity and moolah.  So the latter option makes more sense.  There’s a rumor that Comic Con might move from San Diego to Los Angeles after there contract is up in 2012.  The biggest factor for the move would be over capacity.

Capcom unveiled a major title today: Street Fighter Vs. Tekken.   The 3d world of Tekken will be ported to the 2d universe of Street Fighter.  Gameplay is from shoryuken.com:

Even though the players can be “tagged” similar to other Capcom Versus titles, the gameplay doesn’t seem as exaggerated as previous titles.  Namco is also producing their own Versus game called “Tekken vs. Street Fighter” and it won’t have projectiles like the fireballs or sonic booms.  It should be interesting seeing the Capcom characters without most of their powers! The games will be available for 360 and PS3

Suicide Girls’ statement to the accusation  is that they never sold a copy to a kid and they always check ID’s for people that look under 30.  The media got word on the story and asked Comic Con about the situation.  Comic Con’s official statement  is that Suicide Girls hasn’t been banned from the geekfest but there’s no booth available for them.  Suicide Girls started contacting other companies that already had reserved booths at the Con to see if they can share the booth.  Comic Con came out with another statement that if anybody shares a booth with Suicide, there booths will be taken down and the girls will be escorted out. 

Missy Suicide, the co-founder of Suicide Girls wrote on her blog that maybe politics is involved because Comic Con is trying to renogotiate with San Diego.  Some might argue that Suicide Girls doesn’t belong at Comic Con to begin with because all they do is promote their products which contains naked girls but I’d have go disagree with that.  The way the pictures are taken, I see it more as art and most of the girls are nerds.  So they’re not going for the glamarous Playboy shots. 

For next year’s events, I’m sure both parties will come to an agreement regarding the situation.  Comic Con is one of the biggest conventions in the world and this is the first time I’ve heard them have an issue with a company.  That’s a pretty good track record for convention that’s been running for 40 years.  While Comic Con is getting too crowded for its own good, the staff and panels have always been  professional. 

So next year, maybe we’ll see Suicide Girls at Comic Con.

Here’s a word from WB regarding DC’s 75h Anniversary :

Celebrate 75 years of DC Comics with films and TV series inspired by some of the most popular SUPER HEROES, including BATMAN, SUPERMAN and other iconic DC Comics characters. To celebrate this milestone, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution is highlighting dozens of movies and shows that are available for rent and for download on DC iTunes Experience Page, Amazon On Demand and WBShop.com.

Fans can download their favorite films and watch them anytime, anywhere. Highlights includes the blockbuster film THE DARK KNIGHT, all SUPERMAN movies, and full length DC Universe animated original movies including GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT, WONDER WOMAN, SUPERMAN DOOMSDAY and more, all available for rent and for download. Individual episodes and complete seasons of fan favorite DC inspired TV series are also available for download in HD including the complete series of SMALLVILLE, HUMAN TARGET and BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD.

The toy gift pack includes: 

One (1) 3-3/4 inch Deathstroke

One (1) 3-3/4 inch Black Adam

One (1) 6 inch Donna Troy

Entering the contest is simple:

1) Subscribe to our NERDSociety e-mail feed. If you’re not signed up yet, you can sign up here.  If you’re already subscribing, just fill out the form below

2)  Fill out the form below.

Thanks and have fun at Comic Con!

RULES: One entry per person. All entries must be in by Saturday, July 31st, 2010 at 11:59 pm PT. This contest is only open to email subscribers. All entries are validated against email subscriber list. Entries by non-email subscribers will be disqualified. Your personal information will not be shared with any outside parties. Contest is only open to residents of the United States. No international entries will be accepted. Winners will be chosen randomly from valid entries and will be notified by email. Void where prohibited.

Congrats to Tabitha P. for winning the Cosplay In America Book!!

Cosplay In America contains portraits of cos players in various Anime events such as AX, Anime Fest and A-Kon.  The photos were taken by Ejen Chuang and  we would like to thank him for the contest!

If you’re in Cosplay In America, please visit the official site for more information as well as Ejen’s book tour!

Orko, Prince Adam is laying at the bottom of the box.

So, here’s one of the best. It’s Orko from the Masters of the Universe Classic’s collection. Orko features color-changing plastic that makes him go from translucent red to clear. He comes with a stand and his magic wand, a spell book–and this odd accessory laying at the bottom of the package…Oh damn! It’s Prince Adam! Well, that doesn’t make sense… Orko is the star of the show and Prince Adam is an added bonus? Adam features his maroon sword and his jacket resembling the 80′s figure

Orko was always good for a laugh, now apparently he is more than just court jester, he has trumped over He-Man’s alter ego Prince Adam and became the main figure in the two pack.

Personally, I think it would have been best to have them side by side for collectors who keep their figures packaged.

After the convention, Orko will be available (for 5 minutes) on Mattycollector.com in his classic colors and not change color.

Cool figures–not the best set-up.

I really dig the Kick-Ass figure.  It captures his nerdiness and blood all over his face makes it funny.  Hit Girl looks like a turtle so I’m digging it too much.  I hope they’ll release Big Daddy soon…..KRYPTOOOOOOOOONIIIITE!

(l-r) Black Panther, Hawkeye, Captain America, Iron Man, Wasp, Captain America, Scarlet Witch and Vision. In the back is Goliath. Click on picture for hi-res

L.A. Times has revealed an exclusive painting from Alex Ross that will be exclusively sold at San Diego Comic Con.  The Avengers painting will be huge, coming in at 45 3/4 inches wide and 20 inches tall.  The painting will be limited to 350 copies (100 canvas, 250 paper).  The artwork will probably sell out by the end of the con but if it doesn’t, the rest will go on sale at The Montana Avenue Art Gallery.  You can also find out if other galleries will sell the item at MarvelArtWorks.com

Below are more of Ross’ work from Marvel Arts Works:

These guys look cool but I don't know what show they're from. Hopefully by next year, I'll be more familiar with anime characters

I’ve been to Anime Expo, the past couple of years but I still don’t know much about the anime community.  I mainly go for the impressive costumes and the cool people.  While I still wanted to hang out with the cosplayers and take pics this year, I wanted to learn more about the Anime Culture.

So on Saturday, July 3rd, I started asking attendees about their experiences.  I also talked to voice actor Kyle Hebert and several people from Artist Alley.  Although I’m still far from being an Anime expert, I was glad I talked to a wide range of attendees.  By the end of the day, I learned about J-pop, voice actors and Japanese fashion than I’d hope.  I want to thank everybody in the video for the interviews!  You guys really helped me broaden my horizon on Anime culture!

Below are the highlights:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here we goooo!!!

Zangief

Sgt. Frog

Woot Woot!!!

Capcom's Felicia

Porco Rosso

Hi-Chew Dude

Goth Lolita

Fabulous Mario, Luigi, and Bowser

Donkey Kong

NERDSociety indeed!

Random Bunny Girl

Totoro

Ezio - Assasin's Creed

More Goth Lolitas!!!

Metal Gear Solid and COD

Piranha plant and Koopa

Wolf Guys!

We couldn’t fit all the AX goodness in this page, for more pics, go to our Mega AX 2010 Gallery.

In one of the more unique panels at Anime Exp 2010, Hollywood discussed the failures of anime based movies such as the high budget Speed Racer and the CG animated Astro Boy.

Northrop Davis (producer, screenwriter) moderated the panel while  Nobuo Masuda (Bandai Producer), Jason Hoffs (VIZ Productions), Race Owen (Decipher Pictures Founder and President)  and Joshua Long (producing live action (Cowboy Bebop movie) were the guest panelists.

The panelists agreed that making a succesful transition from anime to a Hollywood movie is a tough task.  One major reason for the failure is the appeal of the movies.  What sells in Japan, doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll be a big draw in the U.S.

“The danger is over involvement.  The Japanese creators of the anime series are very proud of their work and want their input.  Hollywood tries to please both the creators and mass audience.  What you usually get are cultural differences that doesn’t make sense in the movie” – Owen explained.

Hoff addd that in order for an anime to translate well into a movie:

“You can’t expect everyone to be an Otaku.  The key players, the director, producer, need to be engaged and love the work.”

I don’t know if Hoff’s statement is true because this was the case for Speed Racer.  The movie stayed true to the anime series for the most part but the American audience just didn’t buy the concept of a teenage driver who raced on rollercoaster like tracks while hanging out with a monkey.  Warner Brothers heavily promoted Speed Racer and it was still a box office dud.

Masuda also explained that Hollywood doesn’t know where to focus its energy.  Sometimes they focus too much on making the characters physically similar to their anime counterpart and what you get is DragonBall: Evolution.

In the end, Owen explained his thoughts on a succesful transition:

“It is the responsibility of the filmmaker to balance the authenticity of the work.”

This I agree with.  They did this for Mark Millar’s work on his comics: Wanted and Kick-Ass.  The theme was the same but some parts were changed to appeal to the mass audience. Both movies turned out to be entertaining and made profit.

Maybe Hollywood needs to follow the strategy of Mark Millar’s success so anime based fiilms can be fun while making money at the box office.

Funimation announced at the AX panel that Badlands Rumble, will be released in 2011.  When asked if the movie will be released at theaters, the panel just responded with a simple “stay tuned for wonderful news.”

Trigun: Badlands Rumble opened to mostly positive reviews in Japan on April 24, 2010.  The major consensus from reviews said it captured the spirit of the tv series with humor, action and drama mixed in.

Below is the trailer:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Not a Cosplayer, but still!

The sexiest one of all….

Do you want to see more AX girls? Click here to visit our 2010 Girls Of Anime Expo gallery .

Compilation pics of AX 2010 here!