Anime community – Yuki The Snowman

What Will The 2020s Bring The Otaku Community?

You know, it’s amazing to watch the growth of otaku culture and anime as a medium. I remember nearly twenty-plus years ago when anime was treated as, as my friend “H.H.E” puts it, an exotic art wonder from this mysterious faraway land called Japan. If you were a kid during the 1990s, you knew that the only way to view anime was on Kids WB, Fox Kids, Fox Family, Toonami (Cartoon Network), or – if you parents or older sibling had the money – buying an $30+ VHS tape of an anime series at a geek or video store at your local mall. Commutations between otakus, as well as sources for anime news and anime conventions were limited. If you wanted to talk with fellow anime fans online, you best knew how to use a BBS (Bulletin Board System) or know about websites such as Geocities/Angelfire or Anime Turnpike.

The New Millennium brought innovation and advancement in internet technology. With broadband internet slowly killing the inferior and soon-to-be obsolete 56k dial-up internet, it was easier for anime fans to upload fanart and fan animation based off their favorite series. One would be pressed not to find a Dragon Ball Z fan Flash animation on a NewGrounds page. Infamous otaku images boards 2channel and 4chan provided a space for anonymous otakus globally to talk about anime. Although still going strong in the early 2000s, Geocitites and Angelfire would give way to anime related message boards, indie websites, anime internet databases, and blogs. In the real world, Sci-Fi, Tech TV, and Cartoon Network would air anime geared towards older demographics; exposing a generation of anime fans to more “adult” anime series.

Still, despite the growth of anime in America, anime was still treated as a weird exotic trendy commodity for children, degenerates, and perverts.

Fast-forward to the mid-2000s. Further achievements of internet technology gave birth to YouTube and Nico Nico Douga: two websites that allowed users to upload video content. With this, otaku had near superior space to share their interests and creativity relating to Japanese pop culture. It was common to find teenagers and young adults from both America and Japan to dress as SOS-Brigade performing the Hare Hare Yukai dance from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya at schools, a friend’s house, or at an anime convention. You didn’t have to look hard to find otaku performing and covering songs from otaku driven media. Social media platforms such as MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter helped created spaces for anime fans to find and connect with one another. As a much needed bonus, anime slowly became popular with the mainstream; causing the medium to lose its unfairly earned stigma.

The 2010s is what I like to call the “Golden Age of Anime”. Anime massively boomed. No longer did you have to go online to talk and meet up with anime fans: finding an anime fan in your city was a easy as finding a sports fan. Internet video streaming media companies CrunchyRoll , Hulu, and Netflix made it easier than ever to access anime with their on-demand video services of anime. Two unlikely companies, Arby’s and Wendy’s, marketed their products to consumers of anime with anime-related ads and social media posts. Dominos ran a collab ad campaign Vocaloid with Hatsune Miku as the face of the company. Speaking of the cyan hair virtual idol, she infamously appeared on the David Letterman Show (it was awkward for everyone). Established anime conventions saw an unexpected rise of attendees while newer ones spout up nearly every week in major cities.

Anime characters and characters from iconic otaku driven media would appear in mainstream news. An image of Suika, the alcoholic oni girl of Touhou Project fame appeared as a drunken camerawoman in an ESPN reporton the infamous Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao fight. An printed photoshop image of Zombieland Saga Lily holding a gun threatening feminists was shown to the U.K Parliament in May of 2019.

Memes relating to anime were a driving force during the 2016 elections and could have inspired Donald Trump’s presidential win. At the end of 2019, Taiwanese politician Lai Pin-yu started cosplaying as Asuka Langley Soryu hit classic anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion.

It’s safe to say that anime has found its place in the mainstream and lost its unearned stigma.

*****

We are now in the 2020s. It’s a bit early to say what changes, trends, and shifts we will see with anime and otaku culture. Of course, I could comment on how anime fans are using anime characters as memes to cope with the possible start of World War III between America and Iran after American air bombed Baghdad: killing top Iranian general Hossein Salami. Of course, that is to be expected in this era of anime pop culture and memes.

Outside of politics, we’ll see anime shining strong in the mainstream limelight through collaboration with major companies in various fields of entertainment. Example: Hatsune Miku, the virtual idol of Vocaloid fame will be performing at Coachella this Summer 2020. Something like this could open the door for Japanese virtual idol music producers to collab with Western artists. Perhaps one day in this decade we will see Miss Hatsune actually performing alongside Big Boi, Killer Mike, and Jeezy at a concert this decade (hip-hop artists sampling from otaku related media is nothing new of course).

The mainstream entertainment industry won’t be able to deny the presence and power of otaku culture and fans – especially given the children of the 90s and 2000s anime fandom are entering the entertainment industry itself. Soon, it’ll be consider normal to see anime characters and otaku culture used and seen in mainstream culture. Yes, there will be bitter soy milk drinking otaku cornballs who believe that Shinji Ikari and Tatsuhiro Satou are personality types that will be upset that anime has become popular.

I say this: fuck them – let them be bitter while you capitalize on anime’s everlasting growth this decade.

New decades bring forth new trends, ideas, and themes that will define them. Anime and the culture surrounding it are no different. What will never be different are the fans of anime willing to see and help this culture grow. What will always be the same are the fans whom seek to find other fellow anime fans, may it be online or in real life. Regardless if this is the 2010s, 2020s, 2030s or 3030s, people will always love anime. People will always be otaku. People will always be willing to bring forth change to this medium.

Until next time

-YukiTheSnowMan

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on January 6, 2020

25 Days of Blogging 0

25 Days Of Blogging Day 12: Cosplay: A Quick Rundown

WHAT IS COSPLAY?
Cosplay, using the combination of the words “costume” and “play”, is the performance art in which people (or cosplayers) wear costumes and fashion items modeled after a specific character from movies, anime, manga, TV series, books, comics, Western animation, and etc.

The term “cosplay” was coined by movie producer Nobuyuki Takahashi after he attended the 1984 World Science Fiction Convention (or Worldcon) in Los Angeles.

The following is an excerpt from Brian Ashcraft’s and Luke’s Plunekett book’s Cosplay World on how Takashi came up with the word “cosplay”:

“In the 1970s, Japanese college students began dressing up as manga and anime characters. These young people had grown up on a steady diet of comics and cartoons, and when they attended manga and anime conventions (as well as school and university festivals), going in character was, as in the West, a way to express fandom.

Sci-fi conventions had existed in Japan since the 1960s, but in 1975 Comic Market (aka Comiket) launched, creating a venue for self-published comics. It was a fan convention and, in this environment, what would become cosplay in Japan started to flourish. There was already a Japanese term to express the concept of dressing up: kasou (仮想).

However, the word carried a nuance of disguise and didn’t quite capture the spirit of what cosplay had become. In the West the word ‘masquerade’ could be used to refer to costuming, but when Takahashi and some university friends tried to translate ‘masquerade’ into Japanese for a magazine article they were writing, it sounded ‘too noble and old fashioned’. According to Takahashi, ‘We needed to find another way to express the concept.’

Various terms were floating around. ‘We had heard the English word “costume” and seen events with names like “Costume Show”, “Kasou Show”, “Hero Play” and whanot,’ says Takahashi. In Japanese, English and other foreign words are often combined and/or shortened, for brevity’s sake. For example, the Japanese for ‘remote control’ – rimooto kontorooru – is shortened to rimokon. ‘So we started to think of different combinations,’ Takahashi says. ‘Finally, we came up with “cosplay”.’ The term was a portmanteau of ‘costume’ and ‘play’. It was perfect.”

Source: https://kotaku.com/where-the-word-cosplay-actually-comes-from-1649177711

WORD ORIGIN OF COSTUME:
Early 18^th century: From French and Italian costume ‘custom, fashion, habit”. From Latin consuetudo, which means custom or useage

WORLD ORIGIN OF PLAY:
Old English pleg(i)an ‘to exercise’, plega ‘brisk movement’, related to Middle Dutch pleien ‘leap for joy, dance’.

HOW DID I DISCOVER COSPLAY?

G4 Tech TV’s G-Phoria 2003 award show:
One day in 2004, I came home from summer high school to discover that my dad brought new channels on the cable box – G4 being one of them. The first show on G4 was G-Phoria 2003 award show (in preparation for the 2004 live show). Never seen an award show for video games, so I sat down and watched. After a few gaming presentations, there was for Kingdom Hearts – featuring cosplayers doing a skit based on a scene from the game (One of them in black face. Dunno how they let that one slide on TV).

After that, they brought out around 15-20 cosplayers on the stage, each posing and showcasing their costumes and props. I never seen this kinda shit before. I never knew people made costumes based off fictional characters for fun. Went online and saw that people cosplay at conventions and how there were anime cons all over America were people do the shits. I was blow away to say the least. It made me wanted to go to conventions.

…and then I played a romhack of Final Fantasy 6 (FF3 in the USA) called “Awful Fantasy 3” where the romhackers made fun of cosplayers, the art of cosplay, and how cosplayers are highly immature and love causing drama at conventions.

Thanks Something Awful for that reality check. I never went to a convention since.

A Relm cosplayer kills her unwanted baby during a cosplay skit in Awful Fantasy 3

WHO COSPLAYS?
People of all races, backgrounds, nationality, and ages cosplays. From Teenagers wearing their first store-brought cosplay online to 20 and 30 something professional cosplayers who craft their own cosplays from hands and brought shame and embarrassment to their family, to even old ladies in wheelchairs rockin’ schoolgirl uniforms, everyone cosplays. No matter how old or young, people cosplay. And they cosplay whoever they want to.

Now, you do have those in the cosplay community who think certain people shouldn’t cosplay (i.e.; racist white elitists cosplayers who think dark skin and Black people shouldn’t cosplay as Asian people even though these white boys and girls are cosplaying as Asian characters), but that’s a topic for another day where I make low-self-esteem having racist cosplayers by attacking their insecurities rooted from childhood until they commit suicide by blowing their brains out in their Sailor Moon or Goku cosplays.

WHERE CAN YOU COSPLAY?
Well, you can cosplay anywhere, but keep in mind that cosplaying outside of convention events will mark you as a weird ass socially awkward idiot unaware of social cues. With that said, the world is your backdrop for your cosplays. Go dress as Marisa Kirisame from Touhou high off shrooms in the woods. On casual Fridays at the gig do homage to Urien’s pin stripped suit from Street Fighter V by matching his grey pin stripped suit, purple oxford shirt, cognac colored belt and shoes. Dress as Junko Kanno from ZombieLand Saga while completely coked out like any other 80s pop music star at your college’s music hall.

Cosplay anywhere you want.

For the rest us who have common sense and understand the rules/norms of society, save the cosplay for conventions or do them subtly in public or in the workforce. If you live in a society where public cosplay in frown upon or even forbidden outside of events (i.e. Japan), don’t wear your cosplay to the event. Pack it in a small carry-on bag and don’t put it on until you get to the event.

Sources on the Japan’s negative views on public cosplay:

How Do You Cosplay in Japan by the Cosplay.com Community?

https://cosplay.com/archive/thread/5dgg46/how-do-you-cosplay-in-japan

What To Expect When Cosplaiyng in Japan by R. Lowen”

https://aroundakiba.tv/stories/cosplaying-guide-japan/

The Lowdown on Japan’s Cosplay Industry

https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/the-lowdown-on-japans-cosplay-industry

they_wont_understand_you_in_japan — Don’t cosplay in public.

WHERE AND HOW CAN YOU BUY AND GET COSPLAYS CREATED

There are options.

If you’re cosplaying as a character who wear everyday clothing (examples includes Shirou Emiya from the fate series with his grey and white baseball v-neck shirt and blue jeans or Reigen from Mob Pyscho 100 with his suit and tie) then it’s just as simple as going your local clothing store (such as Goodwill, JC Penny, Nordstorm, Jos. A Bank, Tom Ford, etc.) and buying the clothes there. You may have to do some alternations, but they’re minor.

Useful store to buy casual cosplay pieces

For cosplaying characters with unique clothing that you can’t find in stores (certain school outfits, armor, body suits such as Solid Snake’s sneaking suit), then you going to get them custom made. Amazon and eBay have stores where vendors sell pre-made cosplays or you can go online for website that specialize in creating cosplays. Please keep in mind that online cosplay shops tend to be a little on the cheap and mass produced side of the game, so the quality may not be of that of a professional made cosplay.

If you do not want to go on the cheap side of the cosplay game and you want high quality, then you will have to pay a decent amount of cash to get your cosplay created. Don’t know anyone who creates cosplays? Then check your local convention city scene for cosplay creators (such as anime con Facebook groups).

And if you really want to do it yourself, you can learn how to.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF COSPLAYS

With so many people of different backgrounds, races, ethnic groups, and creativity it’s nearly impossible to list all the different type of cosplay within the realm of cosplay. With that said, here are the most common type of cosplays you will find at conventions.

The classic anime schoolgirl. Easily ID’d by her (or his) sera-fuku, pleated skirt, penny loafers, white blouse and ribbon. On the the preppy side of the school uniform game , the schoolgirl cosplayer wears a blazer, button-down shirt, v-neck sweater, tie, etc. Commonly seen at anime cons.
Armored cosplay. A cosplay that revolves around armored characters (fantasy characters, giant robots, mech suits, etcs.) Can be found at sci-fi, comic, and anime cons
Superhero cosplays. Leaping out the colorful pages of American comics into the real world, these cosplayers focus on the larger-than-life heroes from Marvel Comics, Darkhorse, DC, and more. Can be recognized by their long capes, one piece zentai suits, and hero emblem. Often seen at comic book conventions but have been making their way into anime cons.
Closet Cosplay. Cosplays that uses everyday clothing (as mentioned earlier) that can be found at stores or in your own closet. Very simple and easy to pull off – but, in order to stand out from other closet cosplayers – you need to put in the effort (mixing high and low cost items, using a high quality wig, etc.)
Genderswap cosplay. As the name states, it’s cosplays in which the cosplayer switches the canon gender of the character. Example: a grown ass man with a full beard gender swapping Shouko Komi (form Komi-San Can’t Commicate). Instead of wearing her red skirt, he swaps them out for red chino slacks. For the vice versa: a woman cosplaying as Goku (Dragon Ball series).
It’s crossdressing, but in cosplay.

WHY COSPLAY?
Because you have no personality whatsoever and nobody loves you unless you put on an outfit based off a fictional character.

Plus, ever dressed up as Oishi from Higurashi no Naku Koro ni doing Hennessy shots with a dude cosplaying as Keiichi while his homegirl cosplaying as Rena Ryuguu gotten into a drunken fist fight with an Ai Enma cosplayer over some internet weeaboo con drama while a Terra Brandford is grinding her ass on a Celes Chere cosplayer at a hotel party on an average day?

Didn’t think so.

Until next time!
-Yuki The Snowman

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on December 12, 2019

anime 0

25 Days of Blogging Day 4: You Can Watch Anime At Any Time

25 Days of Blogging. It’s like ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas, but you won’t shoot your eye out reading my content.

“Rising of the Shield Hero came out this past Winter! It’s old! Nobody cares about it anymore. You’re too late!” I laughed as this ashy cornball nerd with a Stevie Wonder styled hairline, draped in clothes he brought from the local Goodwill tried to nerd check/gatekeep one of our administrators of a Black anime nerd group I help run for not watching Shield Hero during its original run this past Winter 2019. I asked the cornball why our admin had to watch it while it was airing, not on his own time, and as well as stating that he’s still a fan regardless of when he watched it.

He didn’t say anything.
So I muted him for a week.

Admin power abuse to the side, I never got this train of “logic” that you need to watch anime while it’s currently airing. According to many anime nerds out there, you’re not a true a fan of an anime if you didn’t catch it while it was airing, or only watch it because of hype. For most shows, I like to wait until at least a few arcs are completed, or wait until the entire season/show has finished to watch a few episodes a day.

But some nerds don’t like waiting. You have these people who love bragging about being a part of the anime fandom conversation; because they want to be like everyone else due to their lack of testicular or ovarian fortitude of separating from the weeb pack mentality. They log into social media to boast about how much they love the last episode of a show to others. It’s so they can generate likes in the virtual world because nobody likes them in the real world. They want to be in the know for the sense of community and camaraderie

Inherently, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s natural to seek out fans of products that you enjoy to build a community around it; it’s why we go to anime conventions, interact with anime fans online, and wear graphic tees featuring our waifus out in public. It does, however, become wrong when you decide to gatekeep and check somebody for getting into an anime series months or years after the show ended.

I hope I hurt some feelings by saying this: If you only watch a show, regardless if enjoyed it or not, just so you can brag about how many shows you’ve watched a season, you’re not a fan. You’re just a nerd who’ll never produce anything of high value and quality: so you only exist to consume media for consumption sake. You’re just mad that you can’t just wait until something is over to watch it, or don’t have the courage to be your own person in the anime fandom; because you’ll never be shit without it.

Why does it matter that somebody waited until then to become a fan of the show? Why do people need to watch the show while it’s airing? I’ll never understand that.

-Until next time,
Yuki The Snowman

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By Yuki The Snowman Posted on December 4, 2019

Anime community 0

Reflecting on the KyoAni Arson Massacre

In my 20+ years of being an anime fan, the thought of a twisted individual committing mass murder against those within the have anime industry never crossed my mind. Anime studios are known to receive death threats from disgruntled fans for whatever reason. Studios dismiss threats because those who send them never follow through with them. They are treated as people who talk a big action but never follow through. Thus, (and sadly) death threats aren’t taken as seriously as they should within the industry at times.

Until recently.

On July 18^th, 2019 around early morning at the Kyoto Animation studio, 33 lives – mostly young people who not only just got their start in the anime industry, but in life in general – were senselessly taken from the world. Their stories, wisdom, ideas, and creativity for the anime industry will never to be brought to life for the world to see – because of one angry disgusting man whom decided to end their lives. Buildings can be recovered and restored, yes. Alas, we can not recover nor restored the talented lives that were lost.

It’s reported that the murderer was angry at Kyoto Animation (KyoAni) because they stolen something from him. It’s rumor that what was stolen from him was a light novel idea that KyoAni allegedly rejected and used said idea for one of their anime production. Out of anger, he broke into the main studio, pour gasoline on not only around the entrance of the building (to prevent people to escape the building) as well as inside it, but on his victims.

Even if KyoAni did steal this man’s novel idea, it is no reason for him to commit murder — let alone mass murder — through such inhumane means of turning a beloved animation studio into a death trap; burning people to death in the process. As a creative person, I understand the rage of having people steal your ideas/works and claiming them as their own. I would be livid if somebody stole my works and gain something from it. I even admit that I would go as far as to cause physical harm against a person if they stole my works. But, to commit (mass) murder over something I could prove was mines or creative a better version of it is maddening and illogical.

What was so valuable about that horrible man’s work that he had to take so many lives over it?

Is the love for one’s own art that extreme that people should be murdered over it?

-Benjamin Snow

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on July 18, 2019

Anime community 4

There Will Always Be A Need For Fan-Run Conventions

As I was reading through the comments of my post inquiring information on the Ontario, California based anime convention Anime Los’ Angeles (ALA) and how it compare to Anime Expo (AX), there were a few comments that caught my attention. These comments focused on the fact that ALA was a fan run convention that will never succumb to corporate greed and draw in the normies (unlike Anime Expo and San Diego Comic Con according to these commentators).

Personally, I’m a fan of corporate and industry ran conventions (or at the very least, conventions who have some sponsorship from corporations and members of the industry). Anime conventions with corporate/industry backing have the means to bring in the big name heavy hitters of the anime industry. In addition, they also allow the major players of the anime industry to have world premiere of new and upcoming anime projects that you (almost) never get the chance to see at your local small-to-medium size anime convention.

Content creators such as myself love attending conventions that feature big name guests as it gives us superior coverage and content for our brand. It’s not to say that fan-run conventions don’t make for great content, but let’s be real: You’ll get more flies drawn towards your honey pot if your honey pot just happen to have somebody like Mamoru Miyano in it because you reported on him talking about his latest roles during Anime Expo.

(And no, I did not attend any of his panels at Anime Expo because my Black ass KNEW any and all Mamoru Miyano related panels would be jam packed with fans and I am not willing to stand in line for 10 hours for a seiyuu I’m barely a fan of just for internet traffic).

220px-Miyano_Mamoru_from__GODZILLA_The_Planet_Eater__at_Opening_Ceremony_of_the_Tokyo_International_Film_Festival_2018_(30678349737).jpg — He’s kind of a big deal in the weeaboo world

As nerd culture steadily enter the mainstream limelight, there is this looming shadow of fear that has been overcast on the world of nerd culture. This fear is of both smaller and larger fan ran conventions yielding to the all-mighty dollar offered to them by major corporations – forswearing their humble grassroots beginnings.

Can’t blame them on this one, really. We see this happen often with conventions grew massive in size and income. They get accused of “selling out” (note: knowing your worth and the worth of your brand isn’t “selling out”; that’s broke jealous dusty nigga/hipster talk). Once they “sell-out”, the content of the convention becomes water down and lose focus on the fan-driven material in favor of industry related items presented on the programming. Therefore, the loyal fans of the con since day one up and leave the con.

Now, if you’re a critical thinker, you can see where this is going and know the solution to this problem. If people are dreading that some big conventions are “selling out” for big businesses, then that means that you are going to have people who are still in favor of fan-run conventions that won’t “sell-out”.

Think about it: you have a market of fans who don’t want anything to do with major conventions that have corporate backing and they’re going searching for cons that are operating on the grassroots level. They would rather spend their money towards conventions that favor fan-related content and programming over what some Japanese industry jackass who snorts cocaine off a teenage schoolgirl’s ass while she’s cosplaying Ichigo from DARLING in the FRANXX in his office at nighttime thinks what makes good programming at an anime con (okay, probably isn’t that extreme, but you get my point).

Some scared Japanese girl who just wanted to be a cosplay model and not have some depraved shady Japanese businessman do drugs off her ass while she cosplays as his waifu.

It’s that “for us by us” mentality that most nerds crave when it comes to anime conventions. Fan run content that shows the true passion and appreciation of fans of this medium in an event that provides the means for such fans to talk about their love for anime – in person with other fellow fans.

Fan-ran events means you have the freedom to express your fandom and love for anime through any means without worrying about an overhead busting your balls telling you what you can and cannot have in your programming (it’s not to say that fan run conventions have overheads busting balls as well, but they’re more lax than say somebody who works for a big anime business).

There’s a certain magic of fan-ran conventions that allow programming such as a room party block with free drinks, a massive cosplay parade downtown, ribbon collecting, and cosplay stripping shows that most of your major big business ran convention wouldn’t dare allow. This magic you can’t find at most industry ran conventions. Is it true that these industry cats understand what fans want in terms of content for their cons? Sure, but it doesn’t mean that they’re gonna provide the means to fulfill said needs.

dragon-con-parade_1535827773081_12830021_ver1.0_1280_720.jpg — Dragon Con Parade. Image source: https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/thousands-to-line-the-streets-for-dragon-con-parade-2018-saturday/825110116

So, will fan-run conventions go away anytime soon? No. Why?
Because there will always be a need for them – no matter what.

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on July 15, 2019

Anime community 0

Recording Otaku History (And The Growth of The Western Anime Community)

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a (cleaner) copy and paste free write of my thoughts of the evolution and history of the Western anime fandom taken from my Facebook page Yuki The Snowman. As such, I was shooting from the hip; so it is unstructured and lacks research and sources to a few statements.

While out-of-state at a friends’ house catching up on old times, we were disusing plans on attending an up and coming anime convention in their area next year named Dokidokon. During the discussion, they mentioned how cool it would be for us to report on the convention, it’s growth, and recording the events as they unfold at the con. With glee, they stated that it would be exciting to take record of what we witness there. Further into the talk, it was mentioned that we’re living in perhaps the best time period for otaku history in the West and how it is important for us bloggers, vloggers, and content creators to record such events in history.

I started to ponder.

While my friends and I enjoy attacking the otaku culture with venomous scorn, taking cheap shots against anime fans whenever the chance presents itself, and mock the culture for its many faults, we still hold onto our great appreciation for how far the anime medium and fandom has come. This is especially true given how Western otaku culture and conventions came up from (to my knowledge, mind you) the underground college anime clubs and conventions of the 70s and 80s to the massive juggernaut in which we are a part of today where the modern anime community is an indescribable melting pot of distinctive demographic coming together to celebrate our love for anime.

For those who might be too young to remember, it wasn’t that long ago when Western anime culture and fans where pushed into the darkest corners of the pop culture world. We were treated as unwelcomed outcasts by – and please note – most (meaning not all for those who are from the remedial side of the education game) nerds and geeks from different sets of the pop culture world (film, comic books, gamers, sci-fi, etcs.).

In the past, Anime (in the West) didn’t have that unbreakable grip that it has on the Western pop culture world today. Thus, us fans were mocked and alienated by outsides (both normies and, ironically, non-otaku nerds who too where shunned for their love for comics, games, etc.) for enjoying something that most people didn’t get. Maybe it was due to xenophobia, lack of understanding, or the pure pride of the ignorant who didn’t want to study why people like and watch anime, but anime fans were treated like some weird nerds who were too much in love with some whacky Japanese cartoons.

Sure, you had timeless hits such as AKIRA, Ninja Scroll, and Ghost in the Shell making noise in America; planting seeds and paving the path for what we are witnessing today when it comes to the Western Otaku culture, but they didn’t have the weight to help put anime in that sweet postion that we call mainstream appeal (Dragon Ball Z would take that honor and run with it in the mid-90s despite what the anti-entry-level anime elitists may want to argue to deal with the fact their favorite obscure anime didn’t get the job done but that’s another topic for another day).

Time went on. The influence of anime in the West grew stronger. Its popularity increased with shows such as Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, and Pokémon. Television networks such as Time Warner, The Sci-Fi Network, Tech TV and Freeform created program blocks dedicated to anime (Toonami, Anime Unleashed, and Made in Japan) in order to carter to the blooming Western anime fanbase. Online bulletin board systems (BBS) and websites revolving around anime culture sprung up on the dial-up internet side of the game. Magazines dedicated to anime such as Anierica were sent out to the mailbox of the American anime fan. Video stores started carrying anime that never aired on TV in America.

It was inevitable that anime in the West would become a huge deal.

****

Today, you can go on your favorite streaming website (legal and illegal) and pull up almost any anime from the past or present. Popular or obscure. Modern or classic. If you can think of an anime, there’s a good chance that you will find it online. No more wasting time and gas money traveling miles to a nearby video store in hopes you can get your anime fix. No longer do we need to call up a certain BBS to communicate with fellow fans of a peculiar anime and wait two-to-eight hours for a response.

With the advent of modern day technology and social media, we can instantly chat it up with fellow anime fans moments after an episode finished airing. Best of all, fans can communicate and interact with voice actors, creators, production studios, and distributors through websites such as Facebook and twitter – something that was once only possible at annual major conventions and snail mail.

History is being made.

As content creators, we must take advantage of this era of Western anime history. We must take part and note of the trends and the happenings of the fandom – despite the fact if we love or loathe such trends and happenings. Remember: future generations of anime fans will be curious on how their favorite shows and beloved parts of the culture became to be. They will research the roots of their favorites and find connects to the past (that is currently our present). There needs to be a record of what is going on today in the world of anime: both in the East and here in the West.

Keeping record will perverse what is happening currently. It will prevent experiences from being lost to time and history. Just imagine if nobody recorded the famous viral video of the Filipino female prisoners performing the Hare Hare Yukai dance from The Melacholy of Haruhi Suzumiya or most recent, the ever popular live-action versions Chikatto Chika Chika dance from episode 3 of Kaguya-Sama: Love is War!! by energetic otakus cosplay as Chika herself.

It would be utterly depressing.

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By Yuki The Snowman Posted on June 20, 2019

Anime community

Finding The Time To Watch (And Talk About) Anime

From spending 40-45 hours a week cosplaying as a stable adult at my job for drug and alcohol money (for both anime con partying and to deal with life), to working with my homeboy The TV Guru on our new podcast The Swarthy Nerds Podcast, to reading books on how strengthen my troll game against people with the laws of human nature, and to downloading a ludicrous amount of best Monogatari girl Hanekawa ero pics and doujins as research material for an analytical video essay on her tits for the 10th anniversary of the anime series, finding time to watch (and talk about) anime can be difficult for hard working grown ass man reaching his 30s like myself.

298-2984567_bakemonogatari-neko-by-grindmx-d4m81bv-bakemonogatari-neko-hanekawa.png — Seriously, I’m gonna make an analytical essay on her assets.

With so many anime coming out each season (roughly 60 shows a season) and the ever growing desire to watch hard hitting classic shows such as Evangelion, GunBusters!, and His and Her Circumstances (Anno’s a beast director I wanna learn more about him beyond FLCL) which fills my everlasting backlog, it can be a struggle to discus and view anime with the limited amount of time I have.
Sure, I can watch old anime and ignore the new shows. With older anime, there’s no need to dread on the fact that the next episode of an anime won’t come out for a week. Plus, older shows already have an established fanbase, which makes it easier to talk to fans of it (sans the asshole die hards with no personality who think they’re better than everyone because they watch the show on its original run 10-25 years ago).

But, there’s a drawback to using my time to watch and talk about older, classic anime.

First, (most) older anime suffer from a lack of discussion (around the show). Unless it’s a timeless show such as Sailor Moon or Dragon Ball, the chances of me finding people to talk about an older anime is rather low (and if it’s an obscure OVA from the 80s, then the chances of me finding anyone to talk about it are neigh impossible).

Second, watching older anime will alienated me from the current discussion; where – thanks to social media – an anime that came out last season is consider old news. Example: Talk revolving hit Fall 2018 shows such as MAPPA’s Zombieland Saga, Studio TRIGGER’s SSSS.Gridman, and CloverWorks’s Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai has decreased since their finales.

The focus shifted to Winter 2019 shows such as Mob Pyscho 100 2 and Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War. However, with the Winter 2019 season finished, the community are going to talk about the Spring 2019 season with shows such as One Punch Man 2, Carol and Tuesday, Fruit Baskets 2019¸ and Aftertouch (Shoumetsu Toshi). I have to be willing to talk about the new shit if I want an active audience, so I can’t waste too much time on the past.
You have to be in the know, you know?

*PROBABLY* not the best scene nor anime for the statement above, but you get it.

If you’re like me, a content creator with a “real” job, then you know how much of a chore it is to try to watch and talk about anime. It’s bad enough that we have to dedicate 40+ hours a week to earn worthless pieces of paper we call money (unless you’re using the money to help you buy and consume drugs at an anime con after party, then it’s not useless). But what’s worse is not having enough free time to focus on our purpose; just limited time.

the_lonley_ass_time_senshi_i_forgot_her_name — Sailor Pluto has all the time to watch anime, but she’s also lonely and sad and possibly an alcoholic.

All time is limited, of course. We could die today or next week, thus robbing us of all the time we could have had to work on our shit. Even if we do live into old age, some of us will spend all our time working until retirement. Retirement does nets us all the “freetime” in the world. But now you’re too tired and old to do what we want (bear in mind that you can’t compete against the younger generation at this point of life unless you’re a very late blooming outlier – which is rare).

With this in mind, we have to spend our limited time wisely to ensure that our messages of great weeaboo cartoons reach the masses. We have to manage time. For me, I work on my content before work and do light studying on the topic of my content after work. I may skip breakfast (which I don’t recommend) to have more time to work on a post.

However, if not eating breakfast for a while means having so much extra time to present more content to the world because I was able to turn this hobby into a career (that’s making me 3x the amount of money then working a 9-to-5 on a consent level), then it’d be worth it.

Me after becoming the world’s first trillionaire otaku

Even on my off days at work, there’s complete focus on my personal work.
I also tend to put forth a lot of work towards my projects on my days off, or if I plan on being a shut-in weeb and not kick it with friends at the bar. Time and sacrifices have to be made on my end in order for me to talk about anime through blogging, podcasts, etc.

Until I have made double, if not, triple the amount talking about anime in comparison to the gig; therefore enabling me to have access to as much time as I want to create content or just dick around and watch shows all day while still netting automatic (passive) income (thus not being hurt money wise), I must make do with the time I have and watch a few shows.

Does it suck?
Yes.
But, in order to do what I wanna do (if you haven’t guess by now, talking about wacky Japanese cartoons for a living and eventually creating a media company from it), I gotta spend my time wisely.
So, readers, how do you make the time to watch anime? For my fellow content creators: do you find it hard to balance content creation and having a gig (if you work a normal job while building your brand)? Let me know in the comments!

CHECK OUT MY NEW PODCAST The Swarthy Nerds if you’re tired of autistic, annoying white nerds with nasty, unkempt beards who dress like they’re still in middle school telling you about nerd culture and you desire something more on the real side of the nerd game:

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By Yuki The Snowman Posted on April 17, 2019

Anime community 5

Post-Con Blues: I Don’t Get It (Litterally and Figuratively)

In my eight years of traveling to conventions and browsing through convention social media pages/groups, there is one ailment that tends to impact many an otaku: Post-Con Blues. Post-Con Blues is the feeling of depression and sadness at the end of a convention. Many will have to wait a year or so to see their cosplaying friends and weird ass costumed brethren, dealing with the “normies” of the real world. I’m going to be real: I do not get this post-con blues thing. It sounds goofy to me. Ever since my first convention (Anime St. Louis 2010) I never felt this feeling of sadness. Did it suck that I had to return to the real world after my first convention? Kinda.

1446435879-e8376cec408c8da4442102bcc470c290 — A Sayaka cosplayer crying in her hotel room while her Madoka cosplaying friend awkwardly looks on.

I say kinda only because I figured years ago if I go back to work, spend and save my money wisely, I could continue and traveling to conventions and write about my experience on them (althrough seven years later after my first convention but whatever, I’m lazy). Going to conventions weekend after weekend would burn me out and destroy my bank account. Seeing the same people and cosplays would bore me quick.

Another counter messaurement I have for post-con blues is my hobbies outside of anime. I love reading books (business, self-help/education, money, etc.) – so I focus my attention on those things. I kick it with my friends when we’re free. Watching anime helps as well…when I have the time (being an adult working 60 hours a week is brutal).

Something to help keep my mind off cons for a bit.

If I do get upset after a convention, it’s more so I’m leaving a more cultured city and returning to the hellhole that is Saint Louis, lmfao. I remember being treated with so much love at Atlanta when my crew went to Anime Weekend Atlanta back in 2014. People were friendly, polite, helpful, and not on some bullshit back in St. Louis. I love St. Louis, but we are fucking backwards. We are too slow to catch trends and by the time we do get trends, it’s too late. I’m not saying Atlanta is perfect, but when you know your city barely has any culture and you go to a city full of it, it changes your mind about your hometown.

Now, my next statement will be harsh. Cruel even. But you guys know me – I don’t care for the feelings of others (for the most part). I personally (again, I) think if you have post-con blues, that simply means you have no life outside of your anime hobbies. Sorry, but that’s how I feel. If your life revolves around whacky ass Japanese cartoons (and you’re not making money or major moves off it), you live a sad life. If you use conventions to escape your problems rather than reward yourself for solving them (that you can control mind you), you’re an idiot.

To conclude this short little essay or freewrite or whatever, I don’t’ get post con blues. Never have and never will. I feel that I have means to avoid that shit and do better myself, but that’s just me. If you have post con blues, then do something about it rather than whine about it.

Peace.

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on April 3, 2018

Anime community 2

Your Nerd Hobbies Didn’t Get You Rejected: It Was You

You gotta love bitter nerds. Ever since the emergence of nerd culture in mainstream culture, pathetic, dusty nerds have come out with their sob stories on women rejecting them (for being nerdy). You may have come across such stores like “Anime was the reason why women never like me” or “Now that comic books are popular ya wanna join the hype train but ya weren’t down with me back in high school!” If these sob stories describe your experience with women, then you need to hear the truth. You weren’t rejected because you like anime or video games. You got rejected because of you and you alone. Blaming your nerd hobbies only mean that you don’t have the courage to admit that you suck.

Let me explain why – because you losers need a wakeup call.

I know it’s hard to admit fault (for your rejection), but hear me out. The rejections happened because of your flaws. You’re a boring ass person lacking charisma. The girl you wanted like men who can wow her with their confidence and social skills – which you clearly lacked. Who wants a relationship with a man whose personality is that of the mundane Yuki Nagato off The Melancholy Haruhi Suzumiya combined with the unbearable stoic Obi-Wan from Star Wars Episode 1.

Next, your horrid appearance landed you that denial. You fucking stink. You smell like pure unwashed swamp ass. The last time you took a bath or put on deodorant was when Half-Life 3 came out. Your crusty dry lips are begging you to apply Carmex on them. You’re out here sporting disastrous, greasy unkempt hair. That doesn’t make you look cute. It makes you look like the three-way fusion of Post Malone, Digibro, and Mick Foley/Mankind. And that’s pretty nasty my man (no disrespect to the greats Digibro and Mick Foley). And your fashion sense boy! Did you really think rockin’ a fedora, a button down Dragon Ball Z shirt, and New Balance shoes was gonna get you some women?

How dense are you?

Enough your shit tier looks. Let’s talk your blame game. That shit’s weak. Yes, people are shallow and won’t date you over hobbies. That’s okay. I doubt you would date a normie girl with normie interests. With that said, wasting your life playing video games, jackin’ off to ero anime, and reading slice-of-life manga all day long as hobbies are turn-offs to some. Honestly, that’s boring. Nobody wants to hang around with a boring person like you. Find other things to enjoy, like watching live-action television, going out to the movies, reading things that aren’t manga.

Liking nerdy interests alone doesn’t make you special: It makes you uninteresting.

Gotta love bitter nerds. I mean, really. You can’t help but laugh at them for blaming their hobbies and others for their shortcomings. Are you amazed at how they can’t see their own faults and improve on them? Because I am. Look, if you are a nerd who does these things, you need to work on yourself and stop playing the blame game. Take a shower. Have confidence in yourself. Go update your fashion game. Indulge in cool shit other than nerdy shit.

Just stop crying.

Feature image source:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10155704042323751&set=a.5078413750.5401.690068750&type=3&theater

Dude with the DBZ shirt:
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By Yuki The Snowman Posted on February 23, 2018

Anime community 2

Anime Fans: You Need To Travel!

Recently, I bought my first plane tickets; booking a flight from St. Louis (my hometown) to Los Angeles, California (for the convention Anime Expo). The purchase marks major progress for not only the Yuki The Snowman brand, but for my personal growth too. In my years of traveling, I’ve met strangers who turned into friends, visited unexplored places which became my favorite spots to hit up, and unknown cities which became my home away from home. Of course, I visited anime conventions in these different cities (that I grew to love). All of these experiences I earned thanks to traveling.

Trust me, you want these experiences. Let me explain why you should travel as an anime fan.

You’re away from your hometown. You don’t have to deal with the same ol’ people from it. You know; the mindless normies who make fun of you for liking anime. Traveling gives you the chance to explore a major, prosperous city; filled with innumerable cultured people who just get you and your passion. This is especially true if you’re into the arts – like anime, film, theater, music, etc. Your pathetic hometown isn’t filled with cultured people who appreciate the arts. You need to go where your interests are appreciated and respected.

I know there’s a small voice in your head telling you to leave. Don’t deny that voice.

the-world-is-bigger-than-your-hood-ston-get-outatravel-16056089.png — Get and AND travel the world they mean.

Traveling provides you with new experiences – experiences you’ll never have in your small town. In 2016, I traveled to Atlanta, GA. for the world-renowned Dragon Con. Dragon Con is an American multimedia convention where over 80,000 from across the globe invade the entire downtown Atlanta: celebrating nerd culture for five days.

On Saturday of Dragon Con, there’s a massive parade for the convention that wraps around the downtown ATL area. This parade is full of cosplayers showcasing their talents and sci-fi themed floats. Did I mention that throughout the event, Dragon Con has over thousands of non-stop programming that doesn’t end until the afternoon of Labor Day?

Oh, and it’s an open container party convention for you alcoholics and party nerds (like myself).

My backward ass hometown doesn’t have cool shit like that. We got conventions, but their main programming end between 7pm-1am (depending on the convention). We have no parades celebrating nerd culture (because the local rednecks and ignorant Republicans here think the arts shouldn’t be celebrated). The thought of a convention being hosted in downtown St. Louis with over 80,000 nerds is viewed as a joke out here. There’s only one convention that allows open container and partying (Archon, ya know I love ya). If you try to throw a party at our other conventions, security and the police will shut your ass down.

I bet your small town has those issues as well. Even if it does have anime and sci-fi conventions, there are only about 500-1000 people who attend it. Maybe 1500 – and the numbers are made from the same nerds you see in your community. Your con’s guest list is made up of the same 10 voice acting and industry guests each and every year. If you go out of town to a major city that hosts a massive convention, chances are, you’ll see over 30 industry guests. For conventions like Anime Weekend Atlanta and Anime Central, you may even get to see a voice actor from Japan.

Do you get why you should travel as an anime fan?

Traveling allows you to meet new people and gain new networks. Let’s say you’re an aspiring vlogger, blogger, social media starlet, whatever. Your hometown will never support you because they see you every day. They don’t wanna support a person who they believe they will never get anywhere (despite how hard you grind to produce content), or if that person is making more moves (then the average person in their town).

Here’s where traveling to new cities come to play (for your craft). As stated above, new faces in new cities mean new networks for you and your brand. Let’s pretend you’re at Anime Expo, and this is your first time vlogging at such an event. You’re interviewing a marvelous Beatrice (Umineko no Naku Koro ni) cosplayer who spent all of 2017 professionally designing and building her frilly dress and pipe (which is fully functioning). You guys plan to kick it after you two get done with your business because you’re both huge Umineko fans and wanna talk more about the series and she finds you as a cool person (and also wants to smoke you out using her pipe).

Not only did you got a cool cosplay interview for your vlog, you now made a new friend off a love for an obscure visual novel. I’m doubtful the ignorant bums of your small town have no clue what’s a visual novel is. Hell, they’re probably too stupid to read a normal novel.

Umineko_no_Naku_Koro_ni_Majo_to_Suiri_no_Rondo_Beatrice.png — Beatrice from Umineko

Additionally, it’s smart to meet new friend globally for growth. Furthermore, you need to drop your (loser) friends. Friends who don’t appreciate and understand why you’re so passionate about the things you love aren’t worth having around. What is worth it is having around are people who get you. You like people who like you; who vibes are just like yours. That’s why you must travel.

‘If you’re not feeling it, find new friends.’
-Gary Vee (from his video SURROUND YOURSELF WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE)

Traveling allows you to grow. It’s an outlet for a person to see new places and obtain experiences that their small town will never provide. Exploring the world brings you to new faces that will support you and even befriend you. You need to get out of your hometown and grow.

This is an enormous world. Don’t be content with being in your pathetic tiny town forever.

Art and Photo Sources:
Summerdress Anime Girl:
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Dragoncon Parde Image
http://www.superherohype.com/news/314011-cosplay-photos-from-the-dragon-con-parade-2

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on February 16, 2018

Anime community 2

Hey Broke Weeaboo! Don’t Blow Your Income Tax Money.

Congratulations! After pimping you out of your hard earn money for a year, the government has given you back $2000 on your tax return! As a hardworking former NEET (Not Employed, in Education, or in Training), you deserve to treat yourself with that pathetic amount of money. So, what are you going to do with that $2000? You gonna blow it on a big tiddy Hotaru Shidare mouse pad? You really gonna drop $500 on a catgirl Yumeko Jabami figurine that will only collect dust over time? You thinking that wasting $50 on a fake Supreme shirt with a half-naked Sailor Venus sippin’ on lean and a lit blunt in her hand while Sailor Mars snorts cocaine off Venus’s ass gonna make you look like your rich? Boy, are you stupid? Don’t use your income tax money to stunt like you’re Jo’on off Touhou 15.5 for a week. Especially if your bank account says you’re living like Shion for the rest of the 51 weeks of the year.

__yorigami_jo_on_and_yorigami_shion_antinomy_of_common_flowers_and_touhou_drawn_by_harukawa_moe__sample-275b8e62a478b7b1370760a1e2992178.jpg — Jo’on (left) and Shion (right)

Use that income tax money to invest in yourself. Income tax money should be viewed as an opportunity to expand your otaku empire. You want to be a content creator on social media? Good. Then use the money to buy a high quality camera. Spend it on audio tools such as pre-amps, condenser microphones, pre-amps, and studio headphones (especially if you’re going the podcast route). Your income tax money should fund and fuel your passion (may it be becoming an anime vlogger, having your own show, etc.) Putting income tax money towards on a Megumin wall scroll isn’t an investment. It’s stupid (unless you’re doing it for you YouTube channel then go ahead).

Are you tired of going to same, small to mid-size conventions in your hometown each year? You never been to Los Angeles before and want to go to Anime Expo? Perhaps you’re interested Otakon in Washigton, D.C. and wanna hit it up. Perfect. Use the money to travel to those cites and hit up those conventions. Leave your hometown for once. If you’re a vlogger, then you can vlog about your first experiences at those conventions. Plus, this is a great way to meet new people and expand your network. In addition, if you go to these larger conventions, there’s a great chance you might meet Japanese voice actors and creators that your small, local conventions will never have.

Trust me: You want that experience.

Income tax season come and goes. You will only get that money once a year. Once it’s gone, it is gone. Knowing that, you should be wise with it and spend it on things that will help you grow as an otaku. Putting that money towards traveling or your anime YouTube channel is smart. Blowing it on anime figurines that won’t bring you overall value is stupid.

Please don’t be stupid.

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By Yuki The Snowman Posted on January 15, 2018

Anime community 2

The State and Culture of Anime Conventions in Five Years

Note: This is merely my prediction of the convention scene based on my seven or so odd years of experience a member of the anime and sci-fi convention scene. As such, these predictions may not hold weight. Please do not hold it against me if my theories or predictions aren’t right in 2022.

Browsing through the East Coast convention group “Casual Uncensored Congoers Kindred Society”, I encountered an interesting question asked by the administrator of the group. He asked how do we see the convention scene changing within the next five years. He then followed up with if we think American voice actors will still remain as the dominate guests, if cosplay remain a money generating commodity, and if there will be new content featured at conventions based on upcoming new ideas and trends.

The Facebook group “Casual Uncensored Congoers Kindred Society”

Replying with my thoughts, I stated that I don’t care if people make money off cosplaying/cosfame (while realizing that bubble will burst). I also predicted that the type of guests that we will see a shift from voice actors to social media personalities, cosplay guests, etc. As I typed, I started to deeply think about the future. Things will change in five years; I have no doubt about it. Personally, I believe we are starting to see this new change of the future today. With social media growing each day, it’s easier than ever before to communicate with fellow fans – as well as the ability for content creators to showcase their talents and gain attention.

Cosplaying and attending conventions are both niche hobbies. As niches, it’s natural for the two to evolve and change overtime. What changes do I personally think hold for the future of these hobbies? Well, let’s talk about it!

PART 1: The Current Scene

We cannot discuss the future without addressing the present, and how it’ll shape the upcoming years. From what I’ve noticed, the current state of the convention scene is run by four major elements: Social media (the umbrella for both cosplay and personality fame), money (such as businesses and corporations), the mainstream (such as the “nerdy is cool” trend” and the general convention public and corporate influences. As stated earlier, I could care less if people attempt to make money through social media and cosplay. You should take advantage of both cosplay and social media – as it’s a useful tool to fill your bank account (if you’re smart and work smart – not hard)

If you have to do a lewd cosplay version of Reimu from the Touhou series to get a stack, go for it. If you have to perform goofy acts as Deadpool at a convention for your social media platforms, go for it. Money and fame attract people. Attention follows the money. The Money pays attention. I’m sure you heard the story of the Japanese cosplayer who claimed that she made over $100,000 in a course of two days during the Japanese anime convention Comiket a few years back. I bet you that many are attempting to emulate her success once that report came out.

The fastest route for some (mainly female cosplayers, blessed with great generics) to make big bucks is through lewd cosplayers: a rather controversial career path within the cosplay community. If done right, a lewd cosplayer could easily make $10,000~$13,000 a month through Pateron, sales, etc. Sex sells and people are buying. There are some (mostly jealous, insecure women and beta male virgins) who believe that lewd cosplayers are ruining the community. They think that the focus should be on cosplayers who have craftsmanship skills – not tits and ass. Non-lewd cosplayers are vocal about their hatred for sexy cosplayers. It doesn’t help that most of these sexy cosplayers are involved with some form of controversy – which will slowly ruin the image of this trend if not taken care of.

Assuming if these controversial lewd cosplayers and cosfame people continue to generate controversy (and if people stay in their jealous, hating feelings), then I can see this trend’s bubble bursting. Too many people will enter this bubble in hopes to make it big. While sex sells and attention pays out, you still need a great (and marketable) personality and brand. Jessica Nigir, whom some consider to be one of the founders of the lewd cosplay trend in the West, still makes money – despite she doesn’t do lewd cosplays as often as she used to; Thanks to her brand.

With the “nerdy is cool” trend, there’s an increase of attendance from those who may not be true nerds. With nerd culture and hobbies becoming more acceptable each day, people are hopping on the bandwagon to take advantage of it. More people (may they be real nerd or not can be ignored here) means more money for conventions – especially for conventions who’re profit. Corporations are taking notice; therefore, they want in through sponsorships. This leads to conventions becoming corporate. This isn’t necessary evil, but one must understand that few may not accept the idea of larger conventions going corporate.

From my personal research and experiences, the general convention and cosplay public community is divided on the upcoming changes. There are some who view the corporate changes, the (lewd) cosplayers who cosplay for money, and conventions going corporate as great things for the scene. Opposite, the old-school nerds are fighting against these changes in hopes that it won’t ruin and “corrupt” the traditional, imitate homely feel of conventions they’re used to (and thus, will be driven out). They refuse to accept the fact that things change. Will the corporatization of conventions become a problem within the next five years? We must wait and see then.

Discussing the future is impossible without addressing the present. Lewd cosplays and social media personalities are cosplaiyng for the money. Nerd culture is slowly becoming accepted in the mainstream. Fans fear that the convention spirit will be lost overtime, while some see this as a great idea. Or there may not be any changes. Only time will tell us in the future.

Part 2: The Future of the Scene.

The trends of today will influence the trends of tomorrow.. We’re seeing the seeds of the future planted today. With the advent of easier access to information on anime series , fans can research creators and artists of their favorite series effortlessly (thanks to the Sakuga community providing comprehensive information on these creators). Because of this, I predict that these creators will become the main guests for conventions. Now note that larger conventions such as Anime Central and Anime Expo were ahead with this, but mid-size conventions will follow suite once they increase their budget to emulate this.

Social media has impacted this new era. Like it or not, social media personalities/”celebs” are becoming more known – so much that they’re too are becoming guest of honor. Digibro – the prolific (and infamous) anime vlogger was a guest at Anime Expo 2017. Veteran Dragon Ball historian YouTuber Geekdom 101 is hosting his own convention (KamehaCon). Social Media is the superior choice for content creators in this community to become known. The more you’re known (because of your content), the more likely one could become a guest at conventions.

Social media has also created the lewd and non-lewd cosplay money boom. As with any major boom, this bubble will burst Once that happens, I imagine the following scenarios:

1. The majority will be out of work and money. They’ll be too scared to make a move and give up.

The minority will take advantage of the bubble burst (as well as a few others). They will work harder and smarter to stay relevant and make money during this time. Think Amazon during the Dot Com bubble burst and how they survived it through smarter tactics.

It will be a hard time for the cosfame people to recover and find work during this burst. But the smart ones will rise. Besides, sex sells. People love seeing their waifus being lewd up by a sexy woman. The bubble will recover and the trend will start anew.

Larger conventions will become corporate. They will increase prices on badges and will become stricter to appeal to a boarder consumer. The possibility of these conventions losing their homely, fan feel is high. But do not dread! If there’s a positive to this then it’s the fact that these corporate conventions will have more money to bring in bigger names from the industry. Not every convention will go with the corporate flow. Smaller cons will still have their welcoming, personal home-like vibe and will refuse to do this.

Finally, we will see the end of the norimes who are bandwagon “nerds”. I see them out once either nerd culture becomes a part of everyday culture. They will stop caring after this. You already know that this will make the gatekeeping elitist nerds happy: seeing the normies whom once bullied them for liking anime out of their nerd club. Do I think this will bring us back to the old, golden days of the conventions? Possibly not.

Trends come and they go. The cosfame trend bubble will burst. We’re seeing upcoming social media personalities as big guests. Trust me: Do not sleep on them – social media is the new television. Conventions will become cooperate, and some will lose their classic fan feel. And the norimes who were on that fake nerd shit? They will go away.

Hopefully…

Part 3: What Will Remain?

Tupac famously said that “some things will never change”.

We can say this about the convention community. Despite this community changing every day, (for better or for worse), there are some accepts that will never change. Humans are social creatures who thrive to connect with others. Conventions will always be a place for fellow nerds to come together. With that said, this also brings in drama. Drama will never end. People will always start shit and bring their beef to the conventions. Smaller and mid-size conventions will refuse to grow big and corporate. Those conventions will remind fan run. There will always be those who want to cosplay because they love to: not because they want money or fame. Opposite to that, cosfame and lewd cosplay will be hot; given that sex sells and people love money and will seek to gain it by any means in this capitalistic society.

Finally, what will remain are the various guests of the industry ranging from voice actors, online personalities, artists, creators, and so forth. We appreciate the people who gave life to our favorite characters through their vocal talents. We give much respect to the personalities who sit in front of a camera and passionately analyze their favorite series. We will continue to celebrate our favorite creators whom dedicated their lives and time to create such marvelous creations. Our love for these creators will never change.

Our love for this hobby is forever.

It’s interesting to speak about the future of the convention scene as we’re seeing the changes of the present impacting the unseen future. Currently, the cosfame appears to be a dominating force with the prize of money behind it. Larger conventions becoming corporate seem unavoidable, but some already saw this coming and accepted this. The unseen future reveals that social media stars of nerd culture could become major guests; as they’re growing ever popular. Change can be either scary or great – some will embrace it and work with it., Others will attempt to fight against the change and either become successful, or lose.

YouTuber’s illacertus’s states this about change in his animation summary of Robert Green’s book The 48 Laws of Power, and this is my closing statement:

Don’t fight change. When you catch yourself in the futile attempt to resists a new order, remind yourself that did you not only missed the opportunity to predict it, but to adapt to it in time.

You have to be anti-fragile.

Image Sources:
Cover image:
http://www.animegator.com/article/best-anime-convention-cosplay

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/herocomplex/la-et-hc-anime-expo-20160701-snap-story.html

http://www.hxchector.com/crunchyroll-expo-2017/

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on December 5, 2017

Anime community 2

Stop Crying. Not Everyone Will Like Your Favorite Anime.

As a person who brutally reviews and talk about anime with joyful smite, you come across people who get mad at you because you don’t like an anime they enjoy. Shoot, you don’t have to be an anime reviewer to run across these folks. You know, the people who go “Turn your brain off and enjoy the show!” or “You’re not allowed to talk about a show you like” and my personal favorite, “Fuck you, you darkie for trashing my waifu this is why you blacks get shot by cops and lynched!”

Anime fans are goofy.

I don’t see the idea of getting all in your feelings over the negative opinions on an anime. I get it: you invested endless hours on a show. I know what it fell to fall in love with a character that you have a personal connection with. That’s cool. What’s not cool is being all mad because somebody said something like “I don’t think this show wasn’t that good.” or “This show was trash.” They just didn’t feel the show the way you did; that’s okay. You cannot expect everyone to think your favorite anime is awesome as much as you. You cannot hold everyone to your standards when it comes to appreciating every show this medium has to offer.

You will be disappointed.

If you come across somebody who says “This show suck” or something, just ignore them and move on. You are confident (I hope) with the show’s enjoyment level. You love the show. Why does it really matter if others don’t like your favorite show? Why do you get in your feelings because somebody negatively review a series you enjoy? If you get all angry over the opinions of others over a cartoon that you did not even create, you need mental help. Like forreal. Does Wit Studio send you a Chise Hatori cosplayer to give you head for every 20 time you defend The Ancient Magus’s Bride? Let me know because I would totally defend Touhou Project to get head from a Junko or Yukari cosplayer. Space MILFs and older gap women are two of my things. But really, what is the point of defending your favorite show against somebody who will never change their opinion about it?

Let’s be honest: Everyone is critical about something. You included. It’s human nature to judge something and either have a positive or negative reaction to it. Anime is not excluded in this. I bet you there are many shows that you’ve watched and did not enjoy. Don’t bullshit me. People who say they’re not judgmental on any anime are full of shit. We all have anime series that we don’t’ like enjoy. We all have shows that we love to bash. I bet you there’s a show that came out this Fall 2017 season that you straight up hated and spent your precious time talking shit about.

I know I have.

And it’s’ fun seeing the results of having a negative review on a show.

To conclude this little rant, people won’t like your favorite show. Deal with it. If you love a show and somebody else doesn’t, that’s on them. The simple fact that you like that show should be more than enough for you to not be bothered by somebody else’s negative opinions. You need forreal help if you get angry about it.

You’re not Aqua. Please stop crying.

Vector trace Aqua source:
https://the-old-y.deviantart.com/art/Vector-Crying-Aqua-672981501

Butthurt entry-level visual novel virgin fan:

My Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/yukithesnowman/

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on November 3, 2017

anime 0

How-To Get Your Non-Anime Watching Friends and Family Members into Anime

Your father has finally given in! After years of belittling and disowning you for it, he wants to watch those weird, girly “Chinese cartoons” with you. Your football jock buddy has been curious about those anime cons you attend often. He wants to bang him a hot, but depressed/mentality disturbed cosplay girl. But he wants to watch some anime first (so he won’t appear like a total tool). Your African-American youth pastor just heard about this Bible Black anime and wants to know if it’s about Black people going to church (spoilers: it’s not). Your entry level weeb girlfriend has finally grown some taste. She doesn’t want to watch Dragon Ball Z or Sailor Moon anymore. She wants something more deep and artsy.

Suggesting anime to newcomers and casuals alike can be a difficult task. The world of anime is full of diverse shows begging to be watched. The effort to suggest a show to your normie friend might be overwhelming; as there are millions and millions of anime out there in this world. You can’t choose one over another to start them out with. You may be thinking “Well, I can show them the classics! Everyone loves the classics!”. You’re right. You can show them a classic anime series. Good luck with that though. Some people don’t have the time to watch 100+ episodes of a “classic” series (whatever that means). Your friend might not like a classic anime series like Fist of the North Star. The violence and length of the series might them him off.

You could try a short and sweet classic series. Like, let’s say High School of the Dead. It has that 1970s grindhouse movie influence with the violence, gore, and sex appeal. Yeah! That might work. Then again, you don’t want to show your dad an anime full of fanservice and big tiddy animu girls (it’ll give him clues on why you’re such a kissless virgin).

“But Benjamin! I can suggest Cowboy Bebop to my normie dad, right?! It doesn’t have high school girls being sexualized like HSOTD! It’s a modern classic!” Sure! You can do that. But what if they hate space adventure sci-fi series? They’re gonna be bored with Cowboy Bebop and drop it after five minutes.

(And you wonder why you’ll never have a great relationship with your father. No wonder he’s more proud of your sports playing older brother than he is with your Chinese cartoon watching ass!)

Now, do you see why it’s hard to suggest anime to non-anime fans? Many of you assume that they’ll like an anime because it’s a classic. No son, it doesn’t always work like that. But don’t fret! I, Benjamin “The Greatest of All Time” Snow, will use my oh-so-superior, borderline arrogant, and elitist anime wisdom to great use. I myself will help you suggest great anime to your non-anime watching friends. You can trust me; you guys already know my tastes are great (and if you don’t know, now you know). So, how do you go about suggesting new anime? Well, it’s real simple and easy.

Check this out.

The best way to suggest anime to non-anime fans is this: show them anime based genres, TV shows, movies, etc. they already like. That’s it. Seriously. It’s neither complex nor deep. Your dad, he loves the sport of boxing, right? He loves boxing movies such as Rocky and Million Dollar Baby. Get him to watch the classic boxing series Hajimete no Ippo by Studio Madhouse. Simple. Very simple.

Your brother, he’s a kung-fu film fan, no? He spends hours emulating spinning kicks and karate chops in front of the mirror. He idolizes Jackie Chan: the legendary martial arts master and actor. The classic martial arts adventure Dragon Ball is right up his alley! Dragon Ball was inspired by many kung-fu movies that Toriyama (a major movie fan) watched in his spare time during the development of Dragon Ball. Your brother might catch some classic kung-fu movie references in this epic series.

Is your friend a sci-fi nerd who loves long-running, story-driven space epics like Star Trek? Have him check out Legend of the Galactic Heroes; a series with vivid characters of various backgrounds. He might even enjoy the military and political narrative themes of Galactic Heroes.

Now, that wasn’t so hard, right? You just need research anime series that will match non-anime friend’s interests. Don’t suggest shows that you like – your friend may not like them. Remember: one bad experience with a show could turn them off from all anime forever. You don’t want that.

Now, what if your friend or family members are already casual anime fans? They have a few popular series under their belts such as Death Note or Naruto, right? Yet, they want to branch out to other series but don’t know where to start. I gotcha, it’s just as easy as suggesting anime to non-anime fans.

Since you have a general idea of what shows they like, you can suggest new series based around their favorites. If they like Bleach then, they may like Yu Yu Hakusho. If they like fanservice, have them watch Monogatari. Your little sister enjoys Sailor Moon? Have her watch Card Captor Sakura or Madoka next. Over time, you can show your casual friends more artistic, deeper anime such as Paranoid Agent or Ani*Kuri 15. It will take some time for your casual friends to get into series that aren’t considered mainstream. Be patient.

Before I go let me say this: Do not get offended if your non-anime or casual anime fan friend or family member doesn’t like the shows you do. If they like a show you don’t, let them enjoy it. Attacking shows that they like, or getting upset that they do not like the shows you enjoy only makes you an insecure little bitch.

Don’t be a little bitch.

(Note: The Shit Art Online image is for clickbait views only. Never suggest such a trash series to anyone it doesn’t deserve money or more fans.)

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on October 11, 2017

Anime community 0

Itasha At Anime Weekend Atlanta 2017 (VIDEO)

Itasha (lit. Painful Car) showcase at Anime Weekend Atlanta. Taken from my live stream on my Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/yukithesnowman/

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on October 6, 2017

anime 0

What TO Do At Cons DJkillzone Feat. Yuki The Snowman (Text Version)

NOTE: This is the text version of the audio discussion between my friend DJ Killzown and myself on the same topic. The link to the YouTube will be provide below.

Conventions are a wonderful place to have fun and let loose with fellow nerds. However, conventions can also be overwhelming for newcomers, lacking knowledge on what to do. So, out of the kindness of my heart (and because I need to clean my public image), here are a few things to do at conventions!

Panels

Wanna learn interesting tidbits and facts about your favorite series, gain knowledge that’ll set you apart from your peers, or learn more about your favorite voice actor or creator? Go to a panel! Usually, conventions will have four types of panels: Fan, Interactive Industry, and Guest.

Fan panels are run by passionate and all-knowing fans of a series, sharing their expert knowledge to others fans and newcomers alike.

Interactive panels are panels in which you can partake in the action and/or have an hands on experience in relation to the subject. Examples include sake tasting, sewing tutorials, murder-mystery solving, cooking anime inspired foods, and hypnotism panels.

Industry panels are run by industry guests such as Funimation or Viz Media. Industry panels will host series reveals, news on upcoming projects, and the industry hosts will answer your questions about what’s currently going on in the industry. Sometimes, industry guests will reveal get exclusive news andcontent about a project first at their panels before the rest of the world get the information.

Finally, guest panels. Guest panels are of course hosted by the guests of honor. It’s worth your time going to one as you can learn about your favorite voice actor on a more personal, learn how they got their start, and even learn how they feel about their co-workers that they normally wouldn’t say in front of their face (did you know that a lot of America voice actors hate Vic Mignogna?).

Meet Guests

Me with Ryukishi07 (creator of the When They Cry series). Anime Centraol 2014

One of the best experiences of a convention is meeting your idol and having them autograph their materials for you! To start, learn when and where the guest(s) that you want to see are hosting panels and autograph sessions and attend them. Did they make your favorite manga? Get that shit sign. Are they a voice actor you really love? Get your DVD signed by them! Do you want to know how your favorite voice actor got their start? Go to their panel! Be aware that popular gusests tend to have a long waiting period for autographs sessions. Be sure to have fully charged cell phone or a book to read on standby while you wait!

Cosplay/Fandom Meets
wtc_cosplayers

Higurashi and Umineko cosplay meet
Met new friends within you fandom and show off your cool (or trash) cosplay!! You can find information on meet ups in the program booklet or on the convention social media and website. Showcase your cosplay or just chill and kick with fellow fans and make new connections.

Dealers Room/Hall

1/8th of the mammoth-sized dealer’s hall of Comiket. Yes. 1/8th. Imagine the full hall.

The dealers room is a hall or room full of offical merchandise, fanmade items, wigs, cosplay materials, etc. They’re open all weekend but it’s best to wait until Sunday for the best deals and discounts on products, as merchants want to reduce the amount of items they have to take back home Sunday or Monday.

Game Room

nerds_playing_smash_bros — Scrubs playing a wannabe fighting game.

Play video games here with other cons goers (or be that one asshole who hog ups the console all day because you couldn’t even make friends at an convention) Setups can range from the old school, current games, arcades, or a mixture of all three. Tournaments (such as Street Fighter, Project Diva, Mario Kart. etc.) are often held here, so you should try to join in a tournament if you’re confident in your skills.

Make Connections
Relax! You’re with like-minded people! Cons are a great place to make new friends and networks that can last for life (or a few years until some petty drama comes up and ruin your friendship)! You are all here for a common passion and love. By networking and befriending fellow comic book nerds, weeaboos and otaku alike, you will build a network that can help you find and learn about more conventions in the area and other cool nerd shit outside of cons. Who know what new connections can lead you in the world of convetions.

For you bloggers, vloggers, etc – make sure that you have a business card if you’re networking with others in your field (thanks for that DJ Kill Zone)

Cosplay

Dress up as your favorite character and join the cosplay gatherings and meet. Take pics taken of you in your cosplay, never to find them online! Cosplay is a wonderful hobby that will bring joy and new people into your life! At least do one cosplay in your life if your curious about it!
That wraps up my “What do do at cons” post! I’ll hope our tips will help you enjoy the con!

IMAGE SOURCES:

Lost Girl Panel:
http://www.mcmbuzz.com/blog/2013/10/29/disguises-surprises-and-cross-over-ideas-lost-girl-panel-at-mcm-comic-con-london/

Comiket Picture:
http://www.bigshinyrobot.com/31516/lets-go-to-the-ultra-con-introducing-comiket/

Game room:
http://agamersescape.com/post/107228508851/winter-sacanime-2015-review

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on July 26, 2017