KrisZ on Anime, Manga, Cosplay and Video Games

The first cosplayer I have ever taken a picture of at Anime Expo 2004 (Meroko from Full Moon wo Sagashite) Anime conventions are great events that has guests, panels, dance, kareoke, and have a wide variety to offer to the fan. The first thing one notices in a convention are the people dressing up in outfits, and how seemingly normal it is to the person dressing up and the people around them. What they are doing is called Cosplay, short for Co s tume Play . In this short introductory piece, I will examine the culture of cosplay and the popular vernacular used for cosplay and among cosplayers. Cosplay is very popular among anime fans across the world, go to a convention anywhere in the world and you will see people dressing up in outfits. There are two main divergences in cosplay culture, Japanese Cosplay Culture and Western Cosplay Culture.

I have been attending Anime Expo since 2004, since then my tastes in Anime Conventions have shifted significantly. I have moved from having a general interest to cosplay photography to being a full-blown cosplay photographer who is a well-known and recognizable face in the cosplay community. I have moved up the ranks in the anime convention, so I have an appreciation of all the hard work behind how a convention is run. Ever since I have been attending Anime Expo, I have gotten more into the hobby of anime and manga so that I can recognize the variety of cosplay out there and can engage in conversation with the members of anime conventions.

Anime Expo, the Largest Anime Convention in North America Anime conventions are massive events in which fans from many backgrounds, culture, socioeconomic groups join together in one location to show a common love for the medium of anime and manga. Early on these conventions were short-lived, since they came out of pocket and dissolved in about two years. It changed in the early 1990's with three anime conventions, A-Kon, AnimeFest, and Anime Expo. Anime has grown in popularity over the years with it being an integral part of the culture of the younger generation of fans. With the growth in popularity of anime and manga, we have seen a growth in the number of anime conventions in the United States. One of the large centers of the anime fandom is California. Without further ado, here are the California Anime Conventions worth visiting (in calendar order).

The dot com boom in the late 1990's led America to times of great growth. When the bubble burst in early 2000's it left America in a short economic mess. There were some positives that came from the dot com bubble, an over-investment in internet which led to the internet age we know now. As the internet became more of a utility, intent speed increased through broadband internet. The rise of broadband internet fundamentally changed markets forever. One industry that felt this sea change was the Anime industry with the rise of digisubs. I will examine the history of fansubs and explore how they got popular. I will also explore how the Anime Industry is responding to fansubs. Anime is fairly well known, and the younger generation of anime fans will not even bat an eye at the extensive amount of anime available since it is so ubiquitous. When anime was first starting to become known in the 70's, 80's, and 90's it was separated into two classes, anime that would be re...

Don't look deeper into it, I just wanted an excuse to post pictures of Madoka Magica (an AWESOME unlicensed series) Have you ever wondered how an anime or manga gets licensed in the United States? Licensing is a popular method to release anime and manga in the USA until a Japanese producer will determine that it is easier and more profitable for them to open up directly-owned production firms in the United States sometime in the future. For a product to get licensed in the USA, an anime or manga goes through a process by the domestic licensor to determine if the license is feasible. Once they have determined feasibility they will go to the Japanese producer and start negotiating. After the negotiations are done, a contract is written and a product is officially licensed. How an anime or manga is licensed and then subsequently released is interesting, I hope you will learn a little bit on the process. While I say “United States,” the example could easily be Germany, United King...

Valkyria Chronicles (戦場のヴァルキュリア) is an innovative, classic video game that turned the genre of strategy RPG's on it's head with its varied gameplay, unique art style, and its innovative battle system. People pined for a sequel for it, and they got their wish, Valkyria Chronicles 2 ( 戦場のヴァルキュリア 2: ガリア王立士官学校 ) was announced for the PlayStation Portable. The announcement was met with lots of "complaining" for the lack of a better word since the original game is considered a classic on the PlayStation 3. When the game came out, it was a polished, well-developed game with some flaws. A majority of the complaints were about the second game's setting, poor class upgrade system, and redundant map design. After the release of Valkyria Chronicles 2, they announced that Valkyria Chronicles 3 ( 戦場のヴァルキュリア3 Unrecorded Chronicles) is coming out with a darker theme and a more direct influence from the original Valkyria Chronicles. The game was supposed to fix all the flaws in...

Japanese Role Playing Games have been available to buy for consoles since the original Phantasy Star was released on the Sega Master System. The genre rode the wave of popularity during the release of the PlayStation console. The company that benefited the most from the tremendous popularity was Square. During this time period, they were able to release classic and innovative franchises (Xenogears, Parasite Eve, Threads of Fate, Vagrant Story) and create amazing iterations of classic franchises (Final Fantasy VII, VIII, IX, and Chrono Cross). The PlayStation 2 saw a flood of equally good and interesting quality games from Square. With the publication of the new generation of consoles, the production of games has been severely limited on both the home consoles and on the handheld consoles. This culminated in this E3 where one of the higher ups in SquareEnix has lamented the lack of representation from its Japanese Development. What went wrong with SquareEnix and how can the company go...

  Last Monday, Sony formally announced the PlayStation Vita at its press conference. In Inside Anime Expo , I correctly predicted a $250 price point and that one of the main markets will see the console near the end of 2011. Sony also announced that the console will have a 3G version whose internet will be supplied by AT&T with a retail price of $300. Since the announcement, a trickle of information has been coming out about Sony's successor to the PSP. In Examiner , we learned that each console will be sold at a loss. Interviews with Sony staff suggest that the battery life of the console will be between 4-5 hours. The first released will be known as PCH-1000, and if the PSP is any precedent that there will be a PCH-2000 in the future. In all the PS Vita consoles, there will be no internal memory, the consumer has to buy Sony's Proprietary flash memory.

Starting tomorrow is the beginning of the biggest industry gathering on the planet, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (aka E3). Over the course of the next week, some of the biggest announcements will be coming from companies in the gaming industry. Gamers around the world wait in breathless anticipation for what will be announced during this event. I am not connected to any of these companies, nor do I have privileged information. I will be discussing my hopes and dreams for this E3. I already discussed what potential announcements may occur at E3 in another article. Without further ado, here is what I hope happens at E3. Nintendo Project Cafe - The codename for the successor to the Nintendo Wii. It is well known that the next Nintendo console will be coming out in 2012. Nintendo officially announced its existence a couple of months before E3. Reliable sources have written on their articles that this console will be at least PS3/360 in terms of power, have a 6" touchscreen...

I am hosting a cosplay photography panel during Anime Expo 2011 with Bryan Yang. We are currently working on the powerpoint for the panel. Day 1 will pretty much be 80% presentation and 20% Q&A. The panel on Day 4 focus on more advanced techniques and have more time for Q&A and feedback. In the Anime Expo program guide: "Ever wanted to improve your cosplay photography? Want to find ways to improve your poses during a photo shoot? Anime Expo's Bryan Yang and Kris Zoleta will give tips and tricks for cosplayers and cosplay photographers to get better pictures" Cosplay Photography Panel July 1st, 2011 10:30am WS2 Cosplay Photography Panel July 4th, 2011 9:00am LP4 Times are subject to change, but please visit us and say hello.