Cosplay: Nimatsuri 2017

Last week, I mentioned a cosplay briefing for an event to come; the event I went to today is that event. Now, the explanation and review for this event could be a little convoluted, but bear with me. First up is the name of the event. The name of the event is short for "NIGOSHA no Matsuri", where NIGOSHA is the name of the Japanese association of the school hosting this event. So it's another school event, literally meaning the Japanese festival of the school. The origins of this event could be said to be the same as the school event from about a week ago; the school hosts an outside event, then the school hosts its own, and the rest is history. It's a good progression to be sure, but there's always something to say about the execution from year to year.

As for cosplay today, I chose to go with Classic Ash for the same exact reason as the event from last month, incidentally with the same costume: I wanted to redeem last year's experience with this one. Admittedly last year didn't go quite as well as it should, so I'm doing it again and going to great lengths to do it, and that includes signing up for the cosplay walk. I always want to have the best experience possible when cosplaying (in particular with Pokémon costumes), so if that means having to repeat last year's costume, then by all means. It means forsaking variety, but at least there is still some worth to it.

I did say that the cosplay competition - and the only one today - is a cosplay walk. However, in its execution, it could also be turned into a cosplay performance. They offered participants to send in background music to be played while they appear, and I took up the offer; I sent in a cut version of "OK!" (one of the second-generation anime opening themes, but also works with Classic Ash) which was one minute long, half of my allotted time on stage. This was what allowed me to structure my performance, and I thought I did well enough on stage. Unfortunately, I'm only one of 14 entrants, and of those 14 entrants, only two were chosen as a winner. At least it's been fun to do something more structured on stage.

Outside of cosplay, I got to interact for quite a while at the event with a couple of close friends that also happen to like Pokémon in some way. One of them likes the games quite as much as I do, and we got into discussions about what could be best for us in terms of the games. The other, in addition to being a fellow cosplayer and competition participant - also didn't win - could be considered a closet fan of the franchise, showing appreciation for a good portion of the anime and the games; this was where stuff got good and we could update each other on what's happening. It's interactions like these that make me glad to be a Pokémon fan, and I want to continue to be able to have these.

The event itself was shorter than usual, only 7 hours from start to finish. Food stands were a little short as were community stands, but it was fine. Perhaps that is a blessing in itself as it means fewer things to manage, but then again last year's stands were quite more varied. Still, the event attracted lots of people, maybe just as much as last year, and that's a good thing.

Overall, I redeemed myself plenty today even though I didn't win the cosplay competition. I did have a good time at the event and got to interact with friends, especially in regard to Pokémon. I would gladly re-live every moment of the event if I could - and hope some might turn out a little differently - but I think I did just that today compared to last year. In any case, I'm completely satisfied and highly expectant of events to come.