Last weekend, though I was having dizzy spells due to my recovery from Malaria, I still mustered up some strength and went to the "
Dekho Japan" expo/event in PC (pearl Continental), Karachi. The Event was organized by
Metal Seinen. More than anything I was interested in checking out their Cosplay roundup. Other things on the schedule which were also impressive were the anime fan art. It was a good GT for the Otaku's of Karachi (if not Pakistan).
I was slightly disappointed when I entered the hall. When I think of Japan and Anime together I see color, craziness and graphic. Nothing of the sort was present. Just basic stalls, seating and stage for program schedules and talks. I must say the effort to bring something like this together definitely gets brownie points though I truly wish the set up is more creative next time :) I also hope (and willing to help) to promote the event more next year. Promotion and marketing should be done more extensively but I am sure (coming from an advertising background) there are budget constraints and limitations.
Firstly for those who are wondering anime what? cosplay who?
ANIME (I get offended when people say cartoon instead!): In Japan, the term anime refers to all forms of animation from around the world. English-language dictionaries define anime as "a Japanese style of motion-picture animation" or as "a style of animation developed in Japan". Anime is a diverse art form with distinctive production methods and techniques that have been adapted over time in response to emergent technologies. The production of anime differs from Disney animation by focusing less on the animation of movement and more on the realism of settings as well as the use of camera effects, including panning, zooming and angle shots. No single art style exists and character proportions and features can be quite varied, including characteristically large emotive or realistically sized eyes. (Source Wikipedia)
COSPLAY (not Halloween!): Short for "costume play", is a performance art in which participants wear costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture centered on role play. A broader use of the term cosplay applies to any costumed role play in venues apart from the stage, regardless of the cultural context. Favorite sources include manga, anime, comic books, video games, and films. Any entity from the real or virtual world that lends itself to dramatic interpretation may be taken up as a subject. Inanimate objects are given anthropomorphic forms and it is not unusual to see genders switched, with women playing male roles and vice versa. (Source Wikipedia)
Sadly Anime and Cosplay are still considered child's play in Pakistan so I mostly saw youngsters dressed up and no adults as such. The only adults were some audience members. I have been an Anime and Cosplay addict since way back. I always craved for cosplays and comic cons in Pakistan. Not everyone cant afford to attend these abroad every year :/ though I am definitely attending the next
MEFCC :)
What
Metal Seinen did was truly a great step forward and I really hope it gets better every year. I know that a concept like this is quite hard to pull off in Pakistan. I consider Cosplay an art form. I was too sick to make a costume this time but next year for sure!
The Cosplay, the main focus of this Blog, was a great effort considering it doesn't happen much. I am posting some pics as they will do justice rather me blabbing further. I will point out that
Sabastien (from Black Butler) and
Ryuk (from Death Note) were my favorite :) The Cosplayers, guys if you are reading this, please go even crazier next time :)
P.s: Thanks to
Alyna Hasan Jaffery for the Photos :)
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Howl and Ichigo |
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Ichigo |
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Shinobi |
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Monkey D.Luffy |
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Plump Ichigo and Darth Maul :) |
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L (Death Note) |
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Orihime (Bleach) and Howl |
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Ryuk (Death Note) |
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Alucard (Hellsing) |
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Misa Mane (Death Note) |
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Hashirama Senju (Naruto) |
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Darth Maul and Sabastien (Black Butler) |
16 Comments
Was a good effort by all participants and such! Will be cool to see how they improve themselves next year though, IF they do it next year that is! Was fun still :)
ReplyDeleteOOOH I Definitely Hope they do :) and I hope they Have a Cosplay event or GT anyways soon :D
Deletegreat post
ReplyDeleteThanks Sorath :)
DeleteIn-depth! I love the fact that Pakistan saw proper cosplay in Dekho Pakistan. Way to go!
ReplyDeleteI Know :) was delighted!!
DeleteHow did I not know about this!! Looked so fun
ReplyDeleteSidrah even I found out just a day or two before the event. Next time I am going to make sure I spread the word WAY BEFORE so we can all go :D
Deletessalam-o-alaykum, First of all thank you Maliha for the post. Metal Seinen is a platform for creatives - we started organizing Anime Conventions in 2006. When we started we are only bunch of friends who watched it, and now it has turned into something bigger. we have organized 3 anime conventions until now and yes every time we organize we do make things better. like this is the first time we did cosplay and we got support from the youth. Infact Counsel General said Pakistani kids should participate in World Cosplay in Japan. We will organize more events soon and I hope this time we will get more support from youth and audience in order to make it successful. Thank you again
ReplyDeleteRegards
Adil Hasan (Metal Seinen Member)
Kudos to you Adil :) and belive me when I say this that dont just target the youth...Like I said Cosplay and anime is not JUST for the youth. A lot of my friends asked me about this event after they read my Blog and we are all in our 30s. Cosplay and anime lovers are not restricted to just teens and tweens ;) go beyond, go further :D and My support is always there whenever you guys need it!
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ReplyDeleteThat is reassuring :) you will be seeing a Lot more cosplayers including me next year!! :D yaaay!! *thumbs Up*
DeleteAlthough I live in Karachi. I missed it :,(
ReplyDeleteGreat job guys! I wish I had made it! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting, have a nice day!