Cosplay: Daisuki Japan 7 - Wanderlust!

Boy, have I got loads of Pokémon stuff to share in the next few days, all thanks to this event. So on Sunday I went to a Japanese/cosplay event that is considered a yearly highlight and reputedly the biggest one in the region. Daisuki Japan is a series of events started by a local Japanese event organizer; it was first held as a series of three events within 2013 before becoming an annual event in 2014, held in the largest event hall possible where I live. Coincidentally, after it became an annual event, I exclusively cosplayed Pokémon characters, and this year was no different; this time I chose to step backwards a bit and use my fourth-generation Ash outfit, something that lended itself well later on.

Now, have you ever heard of the adage "the more things change, the more they stay the same"? Well, that could be said true for this event. The layout of the event was nearly the same as it was held two and three years prior (last year was an exception due to its structure and guests), only this time visitor numbers were through the roof as it was last year. Ticketing was painless this year as the lines for purchase and entry didn't overlap. All the community stands were safely sequestered indoors in the hall while most food and collection stands remained outside to brave the elements and the changing weather (which did indeed change). All told, many things did feel the same as those years.

One thing that did change was there were no competitions. None. Nada, zip, zero. There were no cosplay, anime song, band, artwork, or other competitions related to and usually present at Japanese events (including the previous year's edition of this event), and so cosplay was pretty much limited to non-competitive street cosplay. About the only thing closest to a competition was a social media contest, but I hardly call that a competition. On one hand I was disappointed since I wanted to try my hand at something new, still involving my Pokémon cosplay, and there wasn't a chance here, but on the other hand, having no competitions did not cause unnecessary delays to the event schedule and did not burden me. Thus interred, this year the event was purely a great exhibition, but that's not a bad thing. There will be other opportunities to try that "something new" later on.

I should also mention the two guest stars of the event, of which I seemed to have developed some connections. The first was Hiroaki Kato; he is a Japanese musician now well-versed in many things Indonesian, and he's popular for his Japanese covers of Indonesian songs as well as other original material. The connection I have with him is amusing. As the story goes (as he explained Sunday on stage), the first time he appeared on stage in the region where I live was five years ago, at a now-popular Japanese event which only started the year prior. By coincidence, I also came to that event and cosplayed, and back then I only had my fourth-generation Ash costume. The second time he appeared in my region was two years ago, at a local campus event - and guess what? I cosplayed fourth-generation Ash too at that event. And then came this event, where he appeared, and I cosplayed the same costume again. It seems I'm destined to wear this costume every time he appears in an event. It's puzzling nonetheless, but I'm amused. Perhaps I might just continue this tradition in the making. Thank you for coming yet again; it's always wonderful to hear you sing.

The second guest star was Haruka. No, not that Haruka, the Pokémon character who in English is called May. I'm talking about Haruka who sung the opening theme of an anime which could be considered in the neighborhood of the Pokémon anime (hint: it involves light and shadow). I too have event connections with her. The first time I saw her was two years ago at an out-of-town event, but it was only limited to glimpses, and I didn't get to see her ultimate performance. Therefore this was the second time I saw her, and this time I got to see her to the end. More than that, I got to interact with her further this time around. We got to talk during a break in the show, and we also interacted a little more at the end, with this as the result:

Guess who?

Well. She's a charming lady with great messages that she carries in her songs, and I applaud her for that. Oh, and I think she's a fan of Pokémon as well - I think I saw Pikachu stickers on her phone, and I've been told there's a few more Pokémon things that floated about when she was there. In any case, thank you again for coming to entertain at this grand event and I hope to see you at other future events.

Notwithstanding the minute differences, this has indeed been a great event and perhaps the best installment yet. The organizers will have to do something spectacular to top it next time or at another event, which they say they have already planned. I can't wait to see.