Cosplay Events, Wherefore Art Thou?

As I've browsed through the posts of the previous year on this blog, I've noticed that nearly two-thirds of the year has passed, but a good number of the theme events or conventions that I've come to expect or were present last year have been strangely absent, dashing my hopes of returning to them with my Pokémon cosplay and covering them on this blog. While this is not strictly a Pokémon issue, because my cosplay involves Pokémon to a major part, it does become such an issue.

And yet, the fate of some of these theme events may be known. The DANOBU theme event, which was in its fourth edition last year, is seemingly absent this year, and the reason may be that the students couldn't secure approval for it, according to reports. As I've written last year, this is one of the local theme events that I feel rather deeply connected to due to its role in my cosplay efforts, so I'm sad that it's not around. The Nimatsuri event, which is usually held this time of year, appears to be absent too, though the reasons are unknown. It may be scheduled differently, in which case it might be held later, but otherwise there has been no word. This is a little unfortunate because of the cosplay connections I have with the event.

The pace of events or conventions have also been relatively tame; while there was a three-week run before the really long break, there has not been a weekly run of them recently, though I heard things will pick up soon enough. On one hand, this is a good thing, because it lets me have a break. On the other hand, it means that there's a possibility and liability of events or conventions stacking up in the next few weeks to come. That means I may be looking at events several weeks in a row, or events that are scheduled on the same day, forcing me to only be able to come to one. The former is tiring and the latter is annoying since I have to set priorities and decide which one I want to attend. While things may be good regardless, they still remain issues to deal with.

I should note that locally, there have been efforts to increase and promote theme events, and this was what a local organizer did with a series of three events, two of which transformed into the two events I mentioned above, before it settled and became the Daisuki Japan convention. The efforts could still be described as successful because they spawned the two specific events and could also be described as a progenitor to others, even without having been present. It seems it would be wise to take note of this for future events, and the organizer would be one to refer to for planning out new ones.

As I've said, Japanese theme events or conventions are not limited to Pokémon, but because the bulk of my cosplay involves Pokémon and that cosplay is welcome in them, they become relevant. Through them, my objective becomes to promote Pokémon through cosplay. But of course, I can't do that without their presence. It would really be to the benefit of everyone, including me, to have more of these events or conventions.

Here's to hoping there will be quite a few more later on.

One year ago: Connection Issues?