New Cosplay App for the iPhone/ iPod Touch

Cosplay has come to the iPhone/ iPod Touch.  Developer, Daniele Malorana has released iCoplay to the Apps Store. iCosplay allows users to take photos from the library or newly taken photos and transform them into manga or anime. Users can then send these images to friends or post them on Facebook or Twitter. iCosplay is available from the Apps Store for a promotional price of $.99. A Lite version is coming soon.

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Animania Sydney 2009

If you’re stuck for something to do on a weekend, what is better than attending a convention full of awesome things you love? Nothing – that’s why I went to Sydney Animania 2009 at the Australian Technology Park in Eveleigh on September 5th! After being given my media pass, I wandered around to take some pictures of the various stalls and areas before the massive crowd of people outside were allowed in. Once they started letting people in you could tell at least half the amount attending were all about the cosplay! There were a lot of really well made costumes, and a few that weren’t. However, being that that they made the effort why would I knock them right? Out of the better ones, the highlight for me was the guy (below) dressed as the wonder chef from Tales of Symphonia. I gave him a GA sticker to say

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Guest Article: Cosplayers at Otakon 2009

Every year, and at a rapidly growing rate, anime and gaming conventions are popping up all over the country and expanding in size. Many people attribute this to not only an increasing volume of anime and game fans, but the fans who take their enjoyment a step further, utilizing various talents like sewing and prop making to do so;  Cosplayers. This year at Otakon, the East Coast’s largest anime convention I decided I wanted to know what inspired some of these lovely girls to put so much time and effort into this hobby. I specifically set my aim this time toward girls cosplaying from video games, since I had been working on a cosplay in that area myself this year. I made quite the effort to polish off my sewing skills, so I could portray a character I enjoy from Valkyria Chronicles effectively. After combing the halls of the Baltimore

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SEGA brings Bayonetta to Comic-Con

SEGA has announced their San Diego Comic-Con schedule which includes a ton of Bayonetta coverage. Every day on the floor at the SEGA booth (#5229) , visitors will be able to get a hand’s-on with Bayonetta demo. Other titles at the booth are Iron Man II, Planet 51 and SEGA All-Stars Racing. On Friday, July 24 from 6:30-7:30pm in Room 10, Producer Yusuke Hashimoto will be discussing a behind the scenes look at the making of Bayonetta. Also on the panel is Lead Character Designer, Mari Shimazaki. On Thursday, if cosplayers dressed as Bayonetta can win entry into an exclusive Bayonetta event that evening. The real live action model will be at the booth, Thursday and Friday at various times.

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Convention Etiquette 101

7 important things to remember at any convention, may it be your first or your last. 1. Ask first, touch second. Do not glomp, hug, poke, or in any other way touch a cosplayer outside of accidental (bumping into them in a crowded artist’s alley, for example) without their permission. Some people spend a lot of money and a lot of hours making their costumes, and one ill-placed glomp can ruin all of that work. You then will have a forced hug and an angry person. This can get you in a lot of trouble if said person is in a foul mood. 2. Ask before taking photos. Do not take candid photos of people. A lot of cosplayers will gladly pose for you if you want a picture of them. That’s a big point of being in costume, knowing that people will want to take pictures. It’s just courteous

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FanimeCon 2009

This past weekend, I had the honor to go to FanimeCon 2009 in San Jose, California. It was just as I had expected: cosplayers galore and so many booths and things to check out. I was really excited to see the arcade room, which took up an entire exhibit hall. I couldn’t believe there were so many Dance Dance Revolution variants, even something called ParaParaParadise that is another dancing game that uses hand motions instead of feet. Aside from the coin-operated games and claw machines, there were numerous tables for card players, as well as a giant stack of board games. There were a bunch of televisions set up in a big square with game systems hooked up to it. I saw people playing anything from Rock Band to Castle Crashers to Pokemon Stadium. I was a little sad that so few people were playing card games. There were offerings

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Earn A Spot In History: Cosplay World Record Attempt

Thinking about donning your favourite video game cosplay for this weekend's London MCM Expo? Ever wanted to go down in history for something hilarious? (Imagine putting Cosplay World Record Holder on your CV!) Well, now you can! Grab your Lara Croft hot pants, don your Rikku wig, get your Judy Nails guitar... this Saturday is your chance!

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London MCM Expo 2009

The MCM Expo needs you!

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Company releases Tentacle Grape soda

Mnemosyne has teamed up with the Anime After Dark Film Festival to bring you something that really only oktaku’s could love or find humor in. The item… tentacle grape soda. Yes, in case you can’t get your caffeine from enough sources, this new beverage is aimed at gamers, cosplayers, and comic book fans. “Obviously I don’t take the brand very seriously… we can’t. The best I can do is develop products that I’d want to buy myself and frankly this is the right combination of ridiculous and delicious.” Says brand creator, Dekker Dreyer. Each 12 oz glass bottle comes with the collectors’ edition label which is only limited to the first thousand cases. Now they appeal the the collector in you. You can buy a six pack for $15.99 plus shipping at www.tentaclegrape.com. A special bonus for those that order before January 5th, 2009 you can receive Tentacle grape branded

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KagoMegan’s Anime Expo Day 4 Final Adventure. :(

So it was finally over… Waaah. The last day always makes me want to make the most of it. So I tried! We scoured the Exhibit hall for deals, and our friends finally found our elusive DOA XVB Ayana figure. :> We went to the artists and director’s panel where the Japanese guests made their appearances to talkk about their work. I couldn’t wait to see [b]Akemi Takada[/b] up close and in person. She did the art on such projects as Urusei Yatsura. She was very funny and had a great sense of humor. She impersonated American anime fans and it was quite amusing. As she was leaving the panel, she fell from the stage and laughed at herself. The director’s panel featured [b]Masamitsu Hidaka[/b] (at least as far as we were concerned). The director of Pokemon and other famous anime spoke about his role as a director and his

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