Uncategorized – Yuki The Snowman

Zelda Wynn Valdes: The Mother of Bunny Girls

The iconic bunny girl suit: one of anime’s prominent items of fan service.

Since its debut in a particular historic student animated film in 1983, countless characters have worn the alluring outfit, ranging from Bulma from Dragon Ball, Haruhi Suzumiya from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Saki from Girlfriend Girlfriend, and Mai Sakurajima from Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai.

Even characters who’ve never worn it in canon material can be seen donning the outfit in other media. Got a “boring” female lead whose people think her only personality trait is rambling about the bonds she holds dear to her? Throw a bunny girl suit on her in your gacha game. People will look over the flatness of her character ~~(and physical)~~ traits! Is she the toxic ex-girlfriend type who everyone in the fandom hates? Just make a figurine of her as a bunny girl. Everyone will love her and forget how she manipulated her ex-boyfriend!

Sex sells, you know?

Of course, the origins of the bunny girl suit of anime can be traced to the Playboy Bunny’s waitress uniform: a symbol of sensuality in its own right. Everyone knows that! Countless women wear it for Halloween or at a weekend anime convention. It’s the perfect way for ladies to show off their confident, playful side. That’s a known fact. You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t know about the man behind Playboy: Hugh Hefner and his impact on erotic and gentlemanly media.

But did you know that a Black woman designed the bunny girl suit?

Meet Zelda Wynn Valdes: An extraordinary Foundation Black American. Without her talents and a keen eye for fashion design, we wouldn’t have cute and sexy fictional and real-life bunny girls for us straight, healthy heterosexual men to fawn over!

Okay, but for real, despite her grand achievements in fashion, pop culture, and most importantly, the Black community, few people know about her. I want to change that – not as a mere anime fan who loves bunny girls – but as a Black man who’s proud of the achievements of his people and what we’ve done for the world.

In this article, we’ll go over the extraordinary life of Zelda Wynn Valdes, her impact on the Black community, and how a chance suggestion from Playboy director Victor Lowens inspired Hefner to hire Zelda to design the Playboy Bunny outfit. You know, the suit that’d forever changed pop culture and anime fan service trends.

If all that sounds great, then let’s get right into things!

Part One: The Woman Herself

Zelda Barbour Wynn Valdes was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, on June 28th, 1905, to Cuban father, Jose Valdes, and Foundational Black American mother Ann Barbour. Despite her mixed heritage, Zelda identified and connected with her Foundational Black American roots. While most of her youth and general life are unknown (due to Zelda being a private person and the lack of record keeping), she held an affinity towards sewing, pattern design, and the musical arts.

By age 13, she was already a skilled pianist and seamstress who impressed her family with her talents. Her beloved grandmother, who once doubted that she could design a dress for a woman of her tall frame, was so impressed by the final product Zelda made for her that she was buried in it.

After graduating high school in 1923, Zelda moved to White Plains, New York, to work at her uncle’s tailoring shop. In addition to working there, she also worked at a white-owned boutique. There, she worked her way up to selling, alterations, and later becoming the store’s first Black salesperson and tailor. Zelda stated that working at the white-owned shop “wasn’t a pleasant time, but the idea was to see what I could.”

The idea paid off as by 1935, she opened her own business in White Plains, where she focused on women’s alteration. By using Black-owned publications to advertise her services, she expeditiously built her client list and reputation as a highly-skilled designer among Black women.

In 1948 she opened her own boutique, “Chez Zelda,” in Manhattan on Broadway and West 158th Street (modern-day Washington Heights): becoming the first Black person to do so. Zelda’s reputation among influential Black celebs and high society circles exploded as time passed, with many noticing her work.

Black celebrities of the time, such as actress Dorothy Jean Dandridge, jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, and Maria Cole, hired Zelda for her services: furthering her credibility. In 1994, Zelda told The New York Times that she only fitted Fitzgerald once in the 12 years they worked together. “I had to do everything by imagination for her,” Valdes stated. She achieved this by looking at recent pictures of Fitzgerald in the newspapers and taking notice of any changes.

As the late 40s went on, Zelda focused on designing dresses for special events and serving her client’s needs by working with their personalities. At the same time, she became president of the New York chapter of the National Associate of Fashion and Accessory Designers (N.A.F.A.D.): A Black fashion designers’ think tank.

In the 1950s, Zelda moved her shop to 151 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan, hiring nine seamstresses in the process. Taking advantage of the prime New York neighborhood, Zelda made her brand more exclusive by charging over $1000 (or $12,000 in 2023 adjusted for inflation) per dress. The Black women who wanted her services didn’t care to pay the high prices; Zelda’s shop was a safe haven against the white supremacy they would have faced otherwise at white-owned boutiques.

As time passed, Zelda’s talents were in higher demand by more and more Black celebrities. Joyce Bryant, a megastar singer in the Black grassroots of the time, was one of them. Known for her sex appeal and many nicknames such as “The Bronze Blond Bombshell” and “That Voice You’ll Always Remember,” Joyce had landed a photo shoot with LIFE Magazine in 1953. Understanding that this would be a significant career milestone for her, she hired Zelda to design a dress for the photo shoot.

Before meeting Zelda, Joyce was known for dressing modestly due to her strict religious upbringing. Zelda noticed this and created a dress for the singer to expose said curves to the world. The dress?

The iconic low-cut skin-tight gown – Zelda’s trademark dress design.

It was a massive hit. All eyes were on Joyce as millions of LIFE readers fell in love with her and her dress. From this, Joyce Byrant’s career skyrocketed as she became one of the early pioneers of Foundational Black American sex appeal.

As for Zelda, her reputation and fame grew stronger as the 50s continued. There was no doubt that Zelda was an accomplished woman at this point in her life. She was undoubtedly among the most successful and respected people in the fashion world and the Black community.

However, what the future had in store for Zelda would change not only her career but also change pop and anime culture forever…

Part Two: The Birth of the Bunny Girl (Suit)

As Zelda’s reputation as a master designer grew, an up-and-coming adult gentleman publication from Chicago caught wind of her flair for capturing feminine sexiness through fashion.

In 1958, Hugh Hefner commissioned Zelda to design the world’s first Playboy Bunny waitress outfits for his chain of Playboy Clubs on the strong suggestion of Playboy director Victor Lownes. Playing with the fact that rabbits symbolize sexuality and sexual nature, Herfner confidently believed she could translate his desires into reality with her talents.

So, was Zelda able to deliver?
If you said no, I need to ask you to put down the pipe and bottle for once in your pathetic life…

The outfit was first previewed on Playboy’s Penthouse: a variety talk show hosted by Hefner. It would officially debut on February 29th, 1960, in Playboy Magazine, where it received high praise. Valdes’s original design of the Playboy Bunny suit differs from its contemporary version as the ears were much larger and lacked the iconic bow tie and cuffs (they were added on later). Regardless, it was a success.

The Playboy Bunny suit would become the first commercial uniform registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Prior, only military and government uniforms were allowed registration. Next, and as I’ve said before, the suit significantly impacted pop culture. Countless female celebs have worn it in films (like Bridget Jones’s Diary, Legally Blonde, Mean Girls, and The House Bunny) or just for fun. Finally, when it comes to anime, let’s say the suit winds up taking a life of its own.

To understand, let’s take a time machine to 1983 Osaka, Japan.

August 20th, 1983.

Student animators from a local university are working hard to finish their short animated feature for the sci-fi convention Nihon SF Taikai Daicon IV’s opening ceremony. The group, led by Hiroyuki Yamaga, Takami Akai, and Hideaki Anno, gained a favorable and respectable reputation within the otaku and animator communities for their impressive work on their short animated film Daicon III during the last Daicon convention two years earlier.

For those unaware, Daicon III focuses on a schoolgirl requested by the Science Patrol from Ultraman to deliver a glass of water to “DAICON”: a battle spaceship shaped like a daikon radish. On her quest to the DAICON, the unnamed heroine faces off against other copyrighted figures like Godzilla, a mecha from Starship Troopers, ship fleets from Star Wars and Star Trek, and other famous figures from Western and Eastern nerd media.

Despite Daicon III‘s success, the trio planned to disband after the convention. However, instead, they founded their own production company, Daicon Films (which later became Gainax). They figured that because they were in debt, the team could use the money they had earned from their film’s sales to help finance their next animation project (Daicon IV) to get out of debt.

Daicon IV debuted later that morning in front of thousands of otakus holding high exceptions for Daicon Films. The short opens with a quick 90-second summary of the previous film, with Kitarou’s Noah’s Ark serving as background music. Following this, Electric Light Orchestra’s Prologue plays with its lyrics appearing in space as an outline of the DAICON battle spaceship passes.

However, the film truly beings once Prologue Transition into Twilight.

Some time has passed since Daicon III, as our heroine has grown from an innocent schoolgirl to a proud, action-driven battle-harden warrior woman. Her immunity to copyright laws reappears as she faces off against a never-ending army of sci-fi monsters, Gundams, a giant Xenomorph, and of course, her legendary showdown with Darth Vader – complete with lightsabers and storm-troopers.

The most essential thing that needs noticing is that our heroine is in a Playboy Bunny Girl suit: marking the first time an animated character has worn it…granted, without either Zelda’s or Playboy’s permission. Nevertheless, it shows how influential a Foundational Black American woman like Zelda Wynn Valdes was to pop culture globally with her fashion designs.

Since Daicon IV, the bunny girl suit has served as a noteworthy emblem for anime fanservice. In Japan, it has long since lost its association with Playboy and is simply known as the bunny girl outfit. In fact, instead of merely having a female character wear the suit, some creators have made full-on literal bunny girls such as Reisen from Touhou, Usagiyama from My Hero Acamedia, the Chiester Sisters from Umineko no Naku koro Ni, and for you sick weirdos out there, Haru from Beastars and Carrot from One Piece.

When you beat multiple copyright lawsuits back-to-back.

But enough with fictional women who’ll never make an immutable impact on the world long-term outside of geek circles! Let’s see what a real woman who actually did something for the world, Zelda Wynn Valdes, was up to in the 80s.

Zelda, now age 84, has since closed down Chez Zelda. Before the closure, she’d worked with famed ballet dancer Arthur Mitchell to design costumes for and tour with his company, The Dance Theater of Harlem. Despite her advanced age, Zelda was able to produce for over eighty productions and, like always, came up with a new innovative design.

The design? Matching the tights of the dancer with their skin tone.

While that may seem basic by today’s standards, you must understand the times Zelda was living through. Black dancers were forced to wear pink tights to emulate their white counterparts’ skin tones. So, from that, she wanted Black dancers to embrace their skin with thighs mimicking their skin tone. Valdes continued working with The Dance Theater of Harlem until her death on September 26th, 2001, in New York City at 96.

FINALE

Zelda Wynn Valdes lived a robust life filled with milestones and achievements that would impact not only her life, community, and time but the world of media. She has touched, inspired, and blessed so many people with her talent, and even after her death, her iconic designs are still being used and worn today. Fashion, like all trends, will change over time – that’s a given. But nothing will ever change the fact that Valdes’s art will always stand the test of time.

“I just had a God-given talent for making people beautiful.”
-Zelda Wynn Valdes.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

The Swarthy Nerd Podcast
A Black nerd empowerment podcast where Black nerds (well, all nerds, but Black first and foremost) can get together and talk freely about nerd culture while also acknowledging systematic white supremacy and racism in nerd culture. Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday we drop episodes containing serious and laidback topics, while on Saturdays, we drop episodes talking about TV shows, anime, film, comics, manga, and video games.

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By Yuki The Snowman Posted on 4 weeks ago

black nerd 0

Revenge of the Cornballs: Michael B Jordan and Black Nerds.

Do you know what feels good? Putting doubters in their place. It’s even better if you publicly humiliate them while doing so! This is why I (like many others) applaud Micheal B. Jordan for checking former classmate and Morning Hustle reporter Lore’l over her ‘corny’ comments towards Jordan and her overall fakeness.

During the premiere of Creed III the star/director was interviewed by Lore’l: a woman who admitted to calling Jordan corny, mocking his name, and calling his heads shots “stupid” when they were in high school on The Undressing Room podcast days prior. With a fake smile and annoying giggle, she brought up how they go way back.

However, Michael B. Jordan stops her and says “The corny kid, right?”: a reference to Lore’l’s remarks.

She awkwardly laughs the question off while defending herself saying that she was simply “misquoted”. Jordan counters, stating that he heard the “corny” remark himself — with the classic “Bitch, we know you’re lying, but continue” look on his face. Laure’l double downs on being misquoted and continues until Jordan’s co-star Jonathan Majors steps in. After a few more questions Laure’l ended the interview with “Well, you’re not corny anymore.”

Passive aggressive much?

In the days following the now infamous interview, the internet has been sounding off on Micheal B Jordan’s actions – especially male Black Nerds as they see Jordan as the ultimate Black nerd icon. He’s a rich movie star and director. He’s a lover of anime who has gone on record with IGN that boxing series Hajime no Ippo and Megalobox as well as shounen series Naruto, My Hero Academia, and Dragon Ball Z influenced Creed III’s direction. It must be also noted that the armor design for his character Killmonger in the film Black Panther may be an homage to Vegeta’s armor design from Dragon Ball Z.

Plus, like many Black nerds, he’s been mocked, teased, and bullied for his quirky passions.

Seeing Jordan check Lore’l has driven Black nerds to go online to tell their dark tales of being tormented and tortured by their peers for being the nerdy ones. Oh, how they rant about Black girls (and girls in general) dissing them because they weren’t a street dude or a normie only to get their get back years down the line. Reading about their painful past is enough to make you cry…

…with laughter, because these grown-ass cornball ass male nerds haven’t yet realized that they have a shitty personality that made people not wanna be with them. They really be letting that high school shit from the past turn make them super bitter and angry toward Western women. Straight up got these victim and persecution complexes going on. They yearn for their “Beat it, chick!” moment one day like their hero Mike.

(Okay, that was kinda mean. I’ll be a little bit nicer – just a little bit, though.)

Look, I understand why my fellow Black nerds can relate to Micheal B. Jordan’s moment. Many of you were the little awkward geeky kid who was counted out, dissed, ignored, bullied, and/or belittled by everyone else in school. You were ostracized by Black normie society and it really burned you up inside. Most of all, you wanted to prove a point: being a nerd isn’t corny and you’ll be way more successful than the despite being a nerd after high school.

This is where things get interesting. I might wind up offending and triggering many of you nerds because this gotta be said.

Yes, it’s common for nerds to disprove their high school critics and wind up becoming massively successful both financially and socially after high school. However you need to have a sense of self, a clear vision, and a strong work ethic to become a successful Black nerd after high school. Michael B. Jordan is where he is today because of hard work and drive – not simply because he’s a nerd. Did being a nerd play a role in his success? Of course, but it’s not the sole reason. This is where many Black nerds get things twisted.

Let me break down what I mean.

First, a lot of Black nerds are corny; we gotta tell the truth here. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen my fellow Black nerds do some of the most GOOFIEST nonsense at anime conventions. I mean asking female Japanese voice actors if they are single during panels when con staff repeatedly told them not to do so, standing around looking awkward and not talking to women at room parties, singing off-key to anime opening theme songs, and making speeches about the cons and attendees in front of white people who don’t care to hear their ramblings.

Next, many game-goofy Black nerd males love listening to dating and lifestyle “coaches” who tend to be mentally unstable incels with (single) mommy issues. They take in this corrupted version of the dating game as a tool to be hateful, abusive, and just downright nasty to women. It’s ruining the dating scene for those Black male nerds who got their shit together.

Finally, you have Black Nerds who are so confused and wrapped by geek culture that all they know is being a nerd – nothing else. They can tell you everything about Star Wars, Game of Thrones, the MCU, and the latest popular anime series from a niche source, but they know nothing about Black history or culture. If not that, they don’t know about dating/relationships, being a man/woman, having a tangible skillset, and having your money straight.

So, if you fall into any of the three above I mentioned, you’re corny — and not because you’re a nerd.

Anyway, to conclude this, Micheal B. Jordan is living proof that being a Black nerd isn’t corny. Even if it were corny, it’s only corny to those who will never get you and your passion. Work on bettering yourself and drive yourself to prove them wrong. But don’t think being a Black nerd and not a street dude automatically means you will become successful no matter what.

Put in that hard work to better yourself, Black male Nerd.
You’re only corny if you don’t.

The Swarthy Nerd Podcast
A Black nerd empowerment podcast where Black nerds (well, all nerds, but Black first and foremost) can get together and talk freely about nerd culture while also acknowledging systematic white supremacy and racism in nerd culture. Every Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays we drop episodes containing serious and laidback topics while Saturdays we drop episodes talking about TV shows, anime, film, comics, manga, and video games.

Instagram: YukiTheSnowMan314

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By Yuki The Snowman Posted on 4 weeks ago

Conventions 0

How To Travel to and Attend Conventions Alone (2023 Edition)

So you’ve finally decided that you want to travel to and attend conventions alone. While you’ve loved attending them with friends and family, you know deep down that you can’t stand all the clutter of sewing machines, bags, figurines, and alcohol bottles they’ve generated in the hotel at each convention.

Maybe you like to party into the late hours and don’t wanna deal with waking your lame, square, non-partying roommates up at 3 in the morning in your intoxicated state. Perhaps you’re a working industry professional or content creator yearning for a quiet, private space to do work or wind down after a long day of being productive without distractions.

Whatever your case may be, you just wanna start attending conventions alone. However, you might be utterly confused, terrified, and don’t think you can do it due to your lack of knowledge and experience. As someone who often travels to conventions alone, I got you covered! While it can be challenging and expensive, traveling alone can be both rewarding and fun! You’ll learn so much about yourself and the world as well as gain new insight and experiences that you’d never have gotten through traveling with others.

This guide will teach and show you how to find the right hotel that fits your budget, what mode of transportation you’ll need, how to network with fellow convention attendees, and much more. While we will focus on major conventions outside your city, you can apply some of the information from this guide to local and regional conventions.

If this all sounds great to you guys, let’s get started with the advantages and disadvantages of solo convention travel.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

For our first advantage, there’s no waiting on others. We all had to wait on someone within our group during a con for something. It sucks and it wastes your precious, short time that could be spent doing something else. When you’re soloing it at a convention, there’s no waiting outside of being in line for an event, panel, or to get inside the convention itself. Once you’re done prepping in your hotel room, off you go to whatever you had planned, which brings us to the next advantage.

You can switch up your plans without protest. You know how sometimes switching up a plan with a group can cause beef, conflicts, and clashes that can lead to childish drama within the friend group? You’ll always avoid that mess by being alone.

Maybe you had planned on going to a Komi Can’t Communicate panel but you had hit it off with a Yor Forger cosplayer earlier. She wants to hang out and know more about you for whatever reason; may it be because you were cosplaying as her favorite character from a rather obscure series or you had a nice, charming chat in line with her while waiting for an event.

Guess what?

You can change up your plans without upsetting anyone. Hell, who knows? Maybe you and the Yor cosplayer hit it off so well that later, you guys decide to have a few drinks at the bar or a room party before heading to the rave. Things get a little heated and you guys decide to take things back to your room where we have our next advantage:

You have the room to yourself.
I don’t think I need to explain why this is great (especially for us single folks).
Okay, I probably should…

POV: I’m bumping this in my hotel room with your girl who’s cosplaying as my waifu, not yours. We were DMing each other behind your back weeks prior to the con.

Look, having a hotel room to yourself is a godsend. You ever noticed how when you share a room with others how peaceful the room gets when everyone is out at the con and you’re the only one in the room as you rest up? Now, imagine that feeling – throughout the whole weekend.

Plus, cosplayers, no matter our background or skills, are NORTITOUS for being messy. We can take up so much space in a hotel room. We can spend hours in the bathroom preparing for the convention. It can be chaotic. When it’s just you alone in that room, you will have order, space, and peace.

(Now, if you’re room is messy even without others in it, you’re just nasty.)

Finally, there’s no drama. While conventions should be an enjoyable experience, drama between friends can happen. It can ruin your convention weekend. Nobody wants to deal with drama during a time of relaxation and personal work. If that means going solo, so be it.

(By the way, if you often find yourself dealing with con drama with your friends, you may want to re-consider who are your friends truly are.)

That said, let’s cover the disadvantages.

The obvious drawback is cost. Things will get expensive. You could easily overspend or not have enough in savings. You won’t have anyone to bail you out in the event you exhaust funds before the end of your trip. Therefore, have a solid budget and save money often! Plan everything out all the way to the end expense-wise: hotel, transportation, food, con badge, entertainment, shopping, and party goods (if you’re into that part of the con scene). To figure out how much you need, count how many weeks until the event and divide the total of your budget by the reminding weeks left.

Second, you’ll have to leave behind your complex cosplays that require handlers. Yes, I know you want to show off your amazing ED-209 from Robocop cosplay that you busted your ass off for C2E2. But, if you know that you need a crew to help you get it and out of that cosplay and guide you throughout the con, it’s best to save it for Dragon*Con where you know you are going to be attending that con with a crew.

Finally, you have to watch your own stuff. At the airport or Amtrak station and gotta pee? Well, you gotta drag your luggage to the bathroom. It’s annoying, but it’s better than having your convention ruined because someone stole your stuff.

Now that we’ve gone over the advantages and disadvantages if you feel that you are up to solo convention traveling then let’s continue.

HOTEL/LODGING

When traveling alone consider the cost of your lodging options as they’ll play a major role in your budget. As soon as the convention allows for hotel bookings (usually around 6-9 months before the convention starts), see what’s being offered in terms of lodging. Choose a hotel and save your money for it as early as possible.

If you’re going to a small-to-medium-size convention within your home state or region, you could get away with saving your money about 5-9 months prior to the convention. However, if you’re planning to attend a major, premium-level convention outside of your home state or region like Dragon*Con, San Diego Comic-Con, Anime NYC, or Anime Expo, then you want to start saving up about a year in advance if possible (depending on your monthly income).

Remember that the convention rate will always be cheaper than the normal booking rate. However, you may find a good deal on nearby hotels outside the official convention hotels. Granted, these hotels may not be within walking distance, so keep that in mind. While we’re still on the matter, prices for the convention’s hotels will either increase or decrease depending on the brand, distance from the convention center, and hotel type.

If you want to cheat and save extra money, rent a bunk bed at a nearby hostel for about $30-40 a night (in America). Sure, you’re going to wind up sharing a room with strangers, but there’s a good chance you’ll meet travelers from all over the globe and across the nation who might be attending the convention. Of course, most hostels do offer private rooms for around $90-$120/night, which is cheaper than your traditional hotel stay.

If hostels aren’t your thing but you don’t mind sharing a room with strangers, there’s always the option to share a room with other convention attendees at one of the main hotels. Most conventions will have official or fan-run room-share groups on Facebook or Discord. On there you can find hosts looking for people who need space for the convention weekend and split hotel costs. Yes, this isn’t completely solo as you are sharing a room with others (even if they’re strangers), but it is cheap.

Now that we’ve figured out our lodging situation let’s move on to travel and transportation!

TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION

Just like your hotel situation, transportation too will play a major role in your budget. Therefore, you need to consider how you’ll travel to and around the city as well as the cost.

To start, there are long-distance bus services such as Greyhound or Megabus. For under $50-60, you can ride the bus to your destination. Unless you’re traveling less than five hours or making a transfer to the Amtrak station or to an airport to continue your journey, I wouldn’t recommend this.

First, bus services are notorious for delays. Furthermore, the cheaper brands tend to attract weirdos and shady types. There are high-end bus services that you can use to avoid this if you are willing to pay a premium. However, at that point, you could use the cash for the next mode of transportation on my list: Amtrak.

For around less than $70-100, you can get a comfortable travel experience compared to the bus with Amtrak. I prefer this method for cities that aren’t far from where you’re departing from. Trains don’t suffer from delays as often as buses. Plus, you can bring items on the train that you normally can’t get away with on the plane in addition to bringing on extra bags.

For those who are traveling long-distance and want to arrive at their destination in a speedier matter compared to rail or bus services, there’s flying; a rather expensive yet quick way to get where you need to go. With flying, you need to book your flight as soon as you get word of the convention’s dates, as flight prices increase the closer you get to your departure date.

Example: If a convention historically runs on a certain holiday weekend each year (ex. Anime Expo during 4^th of July Weekend and Dragon*Con during Labor Day weekend), you want to make sure that your tickets are booked at least 6-10 months prior to those dates.

You can apply this to your bus and Amtrak tickets as well. While Amtrak and bus tickets don’t increase as much compared to flight tickets, you still have to worry about the train and bus ride filling up as time goes on.

Always remember to arrive at the airport two hours before your departure (or two and a half to three hours if departing from a busy city/airport) if flying nationally, and four hours (or six hours departing from a busy city/airport) if flying internationally. For trains and buses, arrive about an hour to an hour and a half before departure.

Now let’s talk about moving around and about in the city itself.

When it comes to getting to and from the con (and/or getting around the city), you have a few options. First, there are ride-share services such as Lyft to get where you need to go. Of course, ride-share services can be expensive (especially during surge hour or you’re going to and from the airport).

Another option is public transportation. See if the city you’re in has a reliable public transportation system and if they do, research what bus and light-rail services you need to use and how often they come and go. If you can afford to, rent a car to get around the city! Always plan ahead, no matter what mode of transportation you’re using.

That said, let’s move on to buying your badge.

BADGES AND ADMISSION

There are three ways you can tackle your badge situation: Going all in (meaning, buying your badge ASAP), saving up to buy the con badge for purchase on a future date, or buying the badge day of. Let’s review each option.

By going all in, this means that you’ll have the funds to buy the convention badge instantly. I recommend this, as you’ll be saving both money and time more importantly. To call back on an old post of mine, “Hey Broke Weeaboo! Let’s Get Your Money Right For Your Next Convention”:

“Yes, you’ll lose money, but you won’t lose time waiting for your badge in line during at-door registration. Trust me: losing time is worse than losing money. Money, we can gain back – time, we can never recover.”

It’s best to buy your badge at the cheapest tier’s time frame. Now, if you can’t afford to buy the badge yet, but know that you can save up for future tier pricing, do that instead.

Example: Let’s say the second tier badge price starts at $55, the price increase will start on December 3^rd, 2017. This gives you four paychecks until December 3^rd. 4 paychecks divided by $55 equals $13.75 ($55/4=$13.75)

For the six months option (October 3^rd to March 3^rd): 12 paychecks/$75 = $6.25 a check. Again, just like your hotel money, place this money in your savings and do not touch it until you hit your target goal.

If you want to buy your badge the day of, that is fine. Keep in mind that you may have to wait in long lines if you chose that route, especially on day one. If the con allows people to register on day zero (the day before the convention, usually on that Wednesday or Thursday before the event), take some time out to visit the convention to buy your badge on that day. This way, you’ll have the rest of the weekend to do con stuff without waiting in line.

There are some conventions such as Anime Central, Anime Expo, and Youmacon that allow shipping of badges to your place of residence before a certain date. It may cost a little extra to ship (around $2-5 but no more than $10 depending on the convention), but it’s worth it to skip both at-site registration and per-resignation lines.

One final thing: while I’m not going to go over different types of badges such as Press/Industry Badge, Guest Badge, Lifetime Membership, VIP, or Premiere Fan (R.I.P until Anime Expo realizes they made a horrible crackhead-like move), it’s good to look into them to see what benefits they offer compared to normal badges and see how they’ll work with your budget.

FOOD AND DRINKS

Budgeting for dining options will differ from person-to-person. However, everyone will need to make sure they’ll have enough cash to keep themselves fed during the duration of their trip. There are no splitting costs or sharing with others here. With that in mind, here are some tips on taking care of your food needs.

Check out the surrounding area for restaurants, food trucks, supermarkets, corner stores, and liquor stores (if you’re into drinking/partying). Ask locals attending the convention what restaurants and supermarkets they recommend for dining and shopping. Make a list of the places that fit within your budget and diet.

A meal at a fast-food chain restaurant should run you no more than $7-10. Meals at most local restaurants shouldn’t be higher than $15. If you prefer to make your own meals because you’re at a hostel or Air BnB with a full kitchen, you should seek to spend no more than $45-60 on groceries depending on how often you’re going to cook for yourself.

With food out of the way let’s move forward to our next tip:

NETWORKING

Just because you’re attending conventions and exploring new cities alone doesn’t mean that you should be a total anti-social loner. Given that conventions are social events, you want to interact and connect with others who share your hobbies and passions.

Get a head start on networking and building your presence with fellow fans attending the convention. Most conventions will have official and/or fan-run social groups on social media platforms (such as Facebook, Reddit, and Discord) for attendees to interact and network with each other. Use this knowledge to get in good with these groups.

Why is that?

Having your name already known (IN A GOOD WAY) by people from that convention’s community before it even starts gives you a huge edge. You’ll gain information on local places to eat, shop, party, and hang out at during the convention. If you’re in a separate but decent size fandom group, forum, or server for a series, don’t be afraid to ask people if they’re attending the convention. You may find someone who’s going to the convention as you and you guys can link up and hang out during the con.

Make sure you are constantly communicating with people. I’m not saying to spend and waste your time being on social media 24/7. However, the more social you are in these groups, the better it’ll be for you come convention time. This is especially true for larger and major conventions in busy cities; as unlike local conventions or medium-sized conventions, your chances of meeting someone again are low at best and zero at realistic.

Now, I know many people in the convention/cosplay community (myself included, although a social variant) are introverted and find it a hurdle to be social in real life. While I won’t go in-depth on how to get out of your shell and become more social despite being an introvert, the best tip I can give you is to go out and make small talk with the world around you. Meaning, if you see a clerk or anyone else at the store wearing something relating to your geekdom, have a quick chat about it and keep it pushing. Keep doing this often and soon you’ll break out of your shell.

Anyway, let’s go on to packing for the trip.

PACKING AND CLOTHING CARE

When it comes to your clothing and cosplay, make a list of the characters you’re planning to cosplay in addition to your regular clothes. Listing your items ensures that nothing major will be forgotten and it prevents over-packing. Store an empty trash bag in your luggage bag to separate your clean and dirty clothes. Throw in a laundry sheet or two to make the luggage bag smell fresh. You want to do this a week before the convention.

If you’re not traveling in your own vehicle, pack light. When it comes to bags, have a medium-sized luggage bag for your outfit and a small bag for your personal items (such as hygiene products, electronics, IDs, and so on). That’s it. If possible, pack an extra outfit in your personal bag just in case you have any checked bags with your clothing that could get lost by the airlines.

If you’re on medication or need to use medical gear, ALWAYS have it in your personal carry-on bag or in your pockets. NEVER have them in checked luggage. Store your medicine on top of everything in an easily accessible section of your bag so you can grab it in case of a medical incident.

Invest in clear containers and toiletry bags for your smaller items If traveling by plane, aim for carry-on only. Checked baggage fees can be expensive and airlines often lose them. You don’t want to have your convention ruined because your clothes or cosplay were lost somewhere. Remember what happened during the Great Winter Storm of 2022 in America and how airlines (Southwest) were losing customers’ bags.

To save space, learn to do this simple yet effective packing method: the Army/Ranger roll pictured below.

Art Source: https://www.artofmanliness.com/skills/how-to/how-to-pack-a-bag-using-the-ranger-roll/

For my fellow closet cosplayers seeking to save space, see which article of clothing you’re planning to pack and see what each of your closet cosplay can be used for different characters you’re cosplaying as in addition to your casual/going-out clothes.

Example: I have a black blazer, black chino pants, a white dress shirt, and a brown belt and shoes use for both my Shido (Persona 5) and Tatsumi (Zombie Land Saga) cosplay (granted, I use two different white shirts for both of those cosplays). The only difference between those two cosplays is Tatsumi’s bow tie, vest, and sunglasses.

That’s it. Other than that, I’m saving space by using the same items for multiple cosplays. If I were to go to a nice upscale club or a bar in the city, I could use my dress slacks and shoes from the Shido/Tatsumi cosplay and use a polo shirt or nice V-neck t-shirt from my normie clothes I packed.

Since we’re on the topic of clothing, you want to take care of your clothes when you’re traveling. Make sure your clothes are cleaned, ironed, pressed, and/or starched (if needed) before you pack. Use the Army/Ranger roll packing method roll mentioned above as it can prevent wrinkles.

If you do get wrinkles, you can steam your wrinkled clothes in the bathroom of the hotel by hanging your winkles clothing on the bathroom’s door hooks, turn the shower on to its hottest, seal the crack under the door with towels, and let the shower run for thirty (30) minutes. By then, your clothes should be winkled free. If there are wrinkles left, iron them out. If you have a suit that has wrinkles, use the streaming options on the hotel’s iron or invest in a streamer to remove wrinkles.

Invest in stain removal pens and don’t be afraid to buy a small bottle of laundry detergent and fabric softener to hand wash your cosplays in case they get too stained/dirty or you know you’re going to wear the same piece of clothing/cosplay the next day.

While we’re still on the subject of outfits, now’s a good to talk about cosplaying at the con while solo.

COSPLAYING

You can’t deny that cosplay is a huge part of the convention scene and for many, they’re the reason why they go to conventions; may it be they’re a cosplayer themselves, or for content creation. While you can partake in this hobby with friends, you can still cosplay alone and have fun with others. Of course, cosplaying at the convention is merely recommended and not required.

However, cosplaying gives you that full con experience and by being a solo con traveler, you can make new like-minded friends. Plus if you’re introverted, cosplaying can really help you break out of your shell as a lone attendee.

How so you may ask?

First, check for any gatherings and photoshoots of your fandom(s) and fit them into your schedule. As mentioned before, if the gatherings have any Facebook groups or Discord servers, join them to start networking with others to get yourself known within that community.

Second, if you want (good) attention or something that’s an icebreaker, wear an eye-catching cosplay. Having a cosplay that stands out, is memorable, makes people stop in awe and want to take pictures, and talk about your cosplay on social media. If somebody asks questions about your cosplay (like how you made it or simply because they just dig your cosplay), don’t be scared to open your mouth and have a short chat with that person.

Finally, cosplay as a popular or beloved character within your fandom. If you are feeling ballsy, cosplay as one of the most, if not, the most hated character within your fandom. Trust me, people will give you props for having the courage to dress up as a character people have a strong hatred for, especially if your character did something horrific.

That said, let’s move on to the final item on the list!

MIND YOUR DAMN BUSINESS: HAVE AN ACTION PLAN!

When going to a convention as a group it is somewhat important to have an action plan for the convention for when you guys go your separate ways. However, as a solo act, it’s extremely important to have an action plan.

You need to fill your time up with action! Make a plan of all the things you want to check out at the convention and in the city you’re in. Guests panels. Guest Autographs. Dances and raves. Gaming Tournament. Events in the city like pop-up museums or comedy shows. Whatever you are interested in or slightly curious about, don’t be scared to interact with it at the convention.

If you find yourself struggling to break out of your shell but you manage to make a few friends at the convention in person or through networking, don’t be scared to ask if you guys can link up for a panel or two during one of the convention days.

If you guys don’t have any idea on where to go, take charge and go somewhere random yet interesting for the group. Are you curious about Chainsaw Man and see there’s a spoiler-free panel during your free time? Go to that with your new convention friends.

If you’re a content creator, it is triple important that you make an action plan. Focus on doing things at the con that you can talk about on your podcast, show, or channel. People are curious about what you have been through at the convention and are willing to listen if you produced good and respectful content based on the convention. Don’t forget to promote your content while you are there! Make business cards if you have to and pass them around to like-minded people! Take notes, record audio and video

Don’t aimlessly wander around. You’ll get bored quickly and don’t wanna do anything with the con.

CONCLUSION

I hope you’ve found this guide useful and that it has inspired you to travel to convention alone. To quickly go over what we’ve covered:

Have six-to-nine months of savings put aside for hotel, food, and transportation for the convention.
Buy your badge as soon as possible or have a target date on when you’re going to buy your badge and save money until that date.
Network with attendees through official and fan-run convention social media groups and channels.
Pack light. Learn to Army/Ranger Roll. Have a personal bag and luggage bag only.
Find out about cosplay gatherings for your fandom. No complex cosplays that require handlers.
Have an action plan for the convention so you aren’t wandering the con floor bored. Plan all the way to the end.

Finally, let me hook you guys up with a useful website to help you budget for your trip:
https://budgetyourtrip.com/

Check that out. Thank me later.

Until next time, later!

The Swarthy Nerd Podcast
A Black nerd empowerment podcast where Black nerds (well, all nerds, but Black first and foremost) can get together and talk freely about nerd culture while also acknowledging systematic white supremacy and racism in nerd culture. Every Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays we drop episodes containing serious and laidback topics while Saturdays we drop episodes talking about TV shows, anime, film, comics, manga, and video games.

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By Yuki The Snowman Posted on 2 months ago

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Reality Over Fiction: Why Real Life Empowerment is Better Than This Nerd Crap

“This Tupac museum is way better than going up to that little anime convention down the street!” I told a mother and daughter who asked me if I could take their picture next to a collection of notebooks from legendary rapper the late Tupac Shakur. Both women laughed and nodded in agreement. I myself was in awe reading his original, hand-written drafts of some of his iconic hit songs such as Troublesome ’96, To Live and Die in L.A., All About You, and California Love. From the pages, you could feel Tupac’s drive to make each of his works a masterpiece.

I was originally in Los Angeles during the 4^th of July 2022 weekend for Anime Expo: the annual anime convention in which broke socially awkward weeaboos with disposable income spend their money to help support Los Angeles’s train wreck of an economy (and to an extent, California’s own train wreck of an economy).

However, in the planning stages of my L.A. trip, I came across an advertisement for the Wake Me Up When I’m Free Tupac exhibit hosted in L.A. Live. I figured that it’d be great to take a break from all the weeaboos who finally learned some social skills and take care of their personal hygiene during the COVID shutdowns in order to do something more laid back. Plus, as someone who’s a fan of hip-hop, the arts, and a proud Foundational Black American, I felt that it was my duty to pay respect to the man who not only changed the world but especially inspired Black people globally to rise up against systematic white supremacy and to better themselves.

Anime conventions come and go. Most offer the same thing that you can experience at any other convention. But, a once-in-a-lifetime pop-up museum revolving around the life of a Black man who changed society, well, I had to go and check that out before it was too late.

Not mere seconds upon entering the exhibit, I felt powerful energy and drive that I’ve never experienced at any anime con. The energy of Black Empowerment. The drive to better myself as a Black man. Reading stories of Afeni Shakur – the mother of Tupac – and her courage to stand up against white supremacy as a member of the Black Panther Party during the 70s made me feel proud to be who I am.

Seeing how driven Tupac was in his short 25 years of life to create and produced only fueled my own creative drive. Reading about how he was able to produce many hit songs even in jail made me realize how much I threw away so much free I was blessed with during the 2020-2021 COVID lock-downs. Freetime that could have birthed work. Work that could have birthed content. Content that could have birth funds for me to have a much better and longer time in Los Angeles and Anime Expo. Don’t get me wrong: I had a hell of a time in Los Angeles and Anime Expo this year – but – it would have been nice to have more money in my pockets and more time on my hands out there.

Hell, if I wasn’t such a moron who let his inner darkness take control which turned into a destructive mental slump over a simple minor medical issue like heart failure (that landed me in the hospital for a week), I could have produced so much high-grade content for my blog and YouTube channel. That in turn could have birthed new traffic flow to my website and subscriptions to my YouTube channel. I could have grown big enough to land myself a free press or industry pass for Anime Expo; thus, saving me money and netting those glorious industry connections (only for me to lose them given how quickly they will discover how I could never be in their industry like that with my savage mouthpiece).

I know that you should never compare yourself to someone else. It’s a dangerous mental trap, but I gotta get this off my chest. Tupac spent time in a hopeless situation like prison and was able to produce hits after hit. Yet I wasted a year of my life feeling sorry for myself. A year where I could I could have risen up from the darkness and into the light and just produce masterpiece content like him.

As Foundation Black Americans, it’s a skill we’ve mastered due to 400 years and counting of going through the most horrific and sinister shit in human history. Honestly, being in that exhibit (as well as a real friend giving me a kick in the ass about my behavior) just gave me the realization that I have to go back to my old-school ways (producing content like crazy like I did during 2017-2019).

Like Tupac, I had to take control of my own life and direct my own fate.
That’s true empowerment.

*****

In contrast, the night before, I was at Atlus’s Persona 25th Midnight Masquerade dance party that was held during Anime Expo 2022. After waiting in the general admission line for over an hour, I had arrived just in time to hear this Asian DJ stop playing music (it wasn’t even Persona music, mind you) and start whining like a little bitch about as a child, he felt insecure about his racial heritage; wishing that he wasn’t Asian. As things couldn’t get more awkward, he sang a song about his struggles of being Asian in Canada. I wish that I would have recorded that, but I, along with my crew, felt second-hand embarrassment from that turn of events and left to chat it up with some Persona (and Shin Megami Tensei) cosplayers in the bar area.

(I can’t believe you early admission tickets guys really paid $25 to get in early only to hear that mess).

That was just pathetic. I couldn’t imagine being a young Asian person up at that party and hearing another Asian whine about how insecure he felt in his youth. How’s that empowering to anyone? Let me be that DJ! If I was him, I’d be up there talking reckless on stage about great Asians are because we made Persona, anime, and cosplay.

I would be like “If it wasn’t for us Asians making Persona and getting cosplay poppin all over the world none of these non-Asians motherfuckers would be here today dressing up as OUR characters! A lot of these dudes are only gonna get laid tonight cuz our race made characters like Ann Takamaki, Kasumi Yoshizawa, and Rise Kujikawa cuz these little cosplay hos are dressed up as the tonight! That Maya cosplayer looks positive and I ain’t talking about her always saying ‘let’s think positive’ in Persona 2 or COVID! Any guy getting with her later tonight better wrap up it! Anyway, We’re the master race – not the whites! Yellow Power! ”

I would MAKE sure neither Atlus nor Anime Expo hires me to DJ their events ever again!

That wild fantasy aside, that lack of knowing oneself through empowerment. It’s the mindset of most nerds. You have these white male nerds who have been given everything handed to them due to white supremacy. So, when something does go bad for them, they lack the willpower to get through it. That’s why you see these little white boy incels degrading shooting up public places, and getting involved with alt-right groups.

For the non-white nerds (and the white nerds who aren’t on board with white supremacy) they lack the courage to push through the hardships of life. Most only look forward to the past with blind nostalgia because they don’t see a hopeful future. Pride in oneself is absent from their psyche.

They use fiction as a shield to withdraw from and protect themselves against the savagery of this life. By hiding from life, they don’t have the foresight to see how amazing and beautiful life can be despite its cruel, twisted darkness. Most of these nerds don’t use any of this geek junk they indulge in to empower themselves. They hate on the alpha male and alpha female nerds who have the testicular and ovarian fortitude to not use nerd culture to hide from life. Why do you think there’s rarely any true self or communal empowerment at these conventions?

This is why I named this post “Reality Over Fiction”. I felt more driven to better myself in the two hours I spent at the Tupac museum compared to the 10+ years I’ve gone to these geek conventions across America. Honestly, you can’t find empowerment or people who want to better themselves at these conventions. Why? Because self-empowerment demands that you take a deeper look at yourself and force you to question what the hell have you been doing with all your life. They don’t want to realize they’ve wasted their life not doing anything with it. Funny, given the heroes they look up to (may they be fictional or real) rose up and empowered themselves.

Guess it’s easier in fiction than in reality.

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The Swarthy Nerd Podcast
A Black nerd empowerment podcast where Black nerds (well, all nerds, but Black first and foremost) can get together and talk freely about nerd culture while also acknowledging systematic white supremacy and racism in nerd culture. Every Tuesdays we drop episodes containing serious and laidback topics while Saturdays we drop episodes talking about TV shows, anime, film, comics, manga, and video games.

Instagram: YukiTheSnowMan314

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By Yuki The Snowman Posted on July 16, 2022

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Our Experience With 90s/2000s Internet (Swarthy Nerd Podcast)

https://swarthynerd.com/our-experience-with-90s2000s-internet-ep-135

Yuki and TV Guru remembrance over Wild, Wild West days of the internet as they talk classic websites such as Rotten.com, Angelfire, and Geocities. They also talk about early chat rooms and anime websites.

(The Swarthy Nerd Podcast is the world’s first and only Black Nerd Empowerment podcast in existence today. Join my co-host The TV Guru 108 and myself, Yuki The Snowman every Tuesday and Saturday as we talk about comics, anime, gaming, TV, and film as well as serious topics such as white supremacy in geek culture)

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on January 6, 2022

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Anime Review: With A Dog And Cat, Every Day is Fun!

Short on time but you still wanna watch anime? Check out “With A Cat and Dog Everyday is Fun.” on Crunchyroll!

B1Daily

Despite COVID-19 shutting down the world and forcing life for many to slow down, there are some people in this world who are still busy working at home. Oftentimes they may not be able to enjoy multiple, 20-25 minute an episode anime series a season. Sure, you may have some who can squeeze in a few anime a week, but for most of these busy people finding time to consume anime can be a chore all in itself when it comes to balancing work life and otaku entertainment.

If you, dear reader are one of these busy people who may not be able to catch up and watch currently airing anime, may I suggest an anime that is only one minute long and simple to enjoy? Do you own pets or at the least love animals? Then I have the anime that is right for your busy life:
With a…

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By Yuki The Snowman Posted on November 20, 2020

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The Call for Black Weeaboos to Get On Code

B1Daily

Growing up, I always thought that finding fellow Black nerds who shared the same passionate energy towards anime that I had was hard.

I don’t mean simply watching what was on Toonami or [adult swim] at the time. That was easy; everyone and their mothers watched anime on those two programming blocks.

What was hard (and I must repeat myself) was finding fellow Black nerds who were really passionate towards anime.

The ones who would spend countless hours browsing online researching and studying the studios behind such hits such as Gundam Wing, Sailor Moon, and Dragon Ball Z.

People told me that being a passionate anime fan doesn’t matter. That I was too invested into anime.
Discouraged, I kept my passion to myself (or on the wild wild west of the internet of the early 2000s with fellow outcast weeaboos who were discovering themselves) for years.
It wasn’t until…

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By Yuki The Snowman Posted on November 11, 2020

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Top Fall 2020 Animes to Watch NOW Part II

Part 2 of my Top Fall 2020 anime you must watch NOW!

B1Daily

Salutations fellow weeaboo’s, we hope your anime watching is as fulfilling as our commentaries, now let’s get right into this new must watch list!

Ikebukuro West Gate Park (IWGP)
In Ikebukuro, both violent street gangs and the Yakuza roam freely in its streets without fear.
As it is with the nature of both street and organized gangs, war is inevitable between rival factors.
Makoto Majima, a youth who makes Ikebukuro his home, serves as Ikebukuro’s street mediator between gangs. Makoto aims to resolve disputes with rival gangs in effort to protect his love ones and friends involved on the square side and the street side of the game.
Makoto works alongside with G-Boys, perhaps Ikebukuro’s largest color gang ran by the sharply dressed gentleman Takashi “King” Andou; Makoto’s old classmate.
Takashi may comes across as a goofy and joyful man with an affinity towards high end suits …

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By Yuki The Snowman Posted on October 25, 2020

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New Fall 2020 Animes To Watch NOW Part I

My top picks of new anime to watch this Fall!

B1Daily

Fall is finally here and you know what that means…

It means that you’re staying indoors like the perfect little weeaboo N.E.E.T (Not Employed, in Education, or in Training) that you are.

What? Thought I was going to say having bonfires with your friends while you guys sip on hot coca and eat S’mores? Now, you know good and damn well you don’t have any friends.

So, what you’re going to do instead my N.E.E.T friend is watch some currently airing Fall 2020 anime for the next 3 months! With over 35+ anime shows including both original newcomers such as Akudama Drive and returning hard hitters such as Attack on Titan, you may be overwhelmed with the choices of anime to watch this fall as you sink further into your seasonal depression and escapist fantasies in hopes that 2020 will get better! (spoilers: it won’t.)

Luckily for you, I…

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By Yuki The Snowman Posted on October 18, 2020

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Inside the 2020 Foundational Black American conference

B1Daily

We as Foundational Black Americans (FBAs) needed this conference.

Nowhere else on this planet could you find a gathering of like-minded, on code Black individuals that could politic, network, build, and create without the overbearing shadow of white supremacy lurking in the background trying to disrupt Black progress.
For almost ten hours, FBAs transformed the Georgia World Congress Center into a sacred place where we can be our true, proud selves without neither the dominate society questioning why are we expressing our heritage with boastful pride, nor non-FBA goofy Black immigrants sambo coons trying to stop us.

For too long, we as Black Americans have grown comfortable in allowing outsiders to get into our think tanks; thus making us to ponder why our progress was halted by invaders and why our movement was hijacked.
The historical first anniversary of the Foundational Black American Conference 2020 (FBAC2020) stopped that.

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By Yuki The Snowman Posted on October 10, 2020

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Uzaki-Chan and Fake Otaku Outrage [VIDEO]

Fake Otaku Outrage: Artificial, baseless outrage generated by those of the anime community to stir up and create conflict, “controversy”, and complaints over and from petty superficial topics and subject matter. Certain otaku will find the most minor thing to complain about as a way to create gossip and discourse that do not lead to anything tangible overtime.

Why is there fake otaku outrage towards Uzaki-Chan and how do you prevent yourself from being swept up by fake otaku outrage?

swarthynerd.com
yukithesnowman.con

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on September 13, 2020

Anime convention 0

Why You Must and How To Prep For The 2021 Anime Con Season [VIDEO]

The 2020 anime con season is dead. COVID has killed it. So, let’s get prep for the 2021 season instead.

In this video, we will go over why and how to get ready for the 2021 anime con season ahead of everyone else who are crying that they can’t travel to go and play dress up with other weird nerds.

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on August 7, 2020

anime 0

How Being Gameless Can Cost You With Rent-A-Girlfriend [VIDEO]

Join me as I break down how being gameless and having a lack of self-awareness can cost you big in this world by using the hit romcom Summer 2020 anime “Rent-A-Girlfriend”. What is game? Why do you need game to better yourself as a person? How do you value yourself as a person? What could Kazuya could done to better his situation?

The Swarthy Nerd Podcast:
https://swarthynerd.com/

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on August 4, 2020

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Ending The 25 Days of Blogging

Hello dear readers,

If you’ve been following me for these 25 days of blogging goal, then you may be upset that I’m ending it today. As much as I wanted to tackle this goal for myself, I’ve missed my personal deadline for achieving this it: produce 25 blog posts within 25 days starting on December 1^stand ending on December 25^th. I did not hit this deadline. Reason being is that I foolishly picked a time in which I would be incredibly busy at my restaurant gig; which didn’t allow me the free time to work on 25 posts within 25 days. Working overtime during the Holidays means I only have time to eat and sleep. For most, some would see this as failure.

But, I don’t see it as failure; it’s a step in a different direction.

I realized that it would be better for me to take my time tackling a single subject for maximum impact is much wiser. Creating a post is like cooking stew or broth: you must take time to prep the ingredients before putting it in the pot for a long boil. Once you put the stew or broth on the burner, you must wait until it’s ready.

If the stew or broth isn’t ready, don’t take it off the burner.

This is what I felt as I was creating topics and drafts for my content for this 25 days blogging goal. As I was coming up with drafts for the project, it dawn on me that it would be best to treat each topic as cooking stew: write notes and ideas around the topics, create an outline, write/edit 3-5 drafts, post online, repeat. If it’s not ready, I will not post online until it is. I would rather much give you the product when it’s hot, hearty, and ready – not when it’s still a cold, unseasoned mess.

I rather much have you consume a long, yet informative thought provoking post from me that will make you say “damn, I can’t wait for his next post” then for me to post a short, bare topic each day for you to read and forget about the next day with another short, bare topic that’ll be soon forgotten about (plus, it helps my SEO ranknings).

So, until I quit my job and do my own thing (which is one of my early 2020s goal), I won’t do something as foolish as make 25 blog posts in 25 days. I rather focus on one at a time and produce that then to tackle a challenge like that again. Once I free myself from working for somebody else at a 9-to-5 plus overtime, I’ll do the 25 Days of Blogging again.

Until next time

-Yuki The Snowman

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on December 30, 2019

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

25 Days of Blogging 0

25 Days Of Blogging Day 11: Don’t Be Sorry

“Do you know what the most convenient phrase in the world is? It’s “I’m sorry.”
-Shadow Maya, Persona 2: Innocent Sin

A baby-boomer father and his millennial aged son are walking down a busy street in Harlem. The father, John Shaft II is giving advice to his son, John Shaft Jr. (or J.J.), about being brave towards and around women, having a powerful manly spirit, and never being and saying sorry towards women.

J.J., perhaps due to his upbringing by his single mother and cultural influence of being a Milliennial, whole heartedly disagrees with his father’s teachings. He believes that women don’t like being told what to do. Shaft II counters his son arguments; stating that men used to be men in his day; while the men of the millennial generation worried too much about what women think and feel. To Shaft II, the millennial men are embarrassing themselves, and that men always own up to who they are.

However, J.J. believes that real men should take reasonability for their wrongdoings.
He is both wrong and right.

(Note: If you don’t know already, the scene described above was from the 2019 movie Shaft 2019. I was going to upload a video of said scene, but WordPress won’t let me.)

In most situations (keyword for you idiots who tend to get emotional over this topic matter: MOST), you should never apologize for your actions and who you are as a person. Example: There are people who aren’t confident with whom they are. They will be comfortable with their selves. So, when encountering others who have accepted themselves – flaws and imperfections included – they are fuming with jealous and envy. “Who the fuck does that asshole think he is?” they might say to themselves. Or, they might say “That bitch think she’s hot shit when she’s really not!” out of spite and anger. They’ll say some passive aggressive statement towards their target of hatred in order to make them conform and/or to knock them down a peg.

If you find yourself in a situation with such a person, you must do two things:

Stand strong, be yourself and check them on the spot.
Run far away from them. They will do nothing but poison your mind and bring you down to their bitterness.

You must never say sorry to them.

Constantly saying sorry when not needed can be a sign of weakness or worse – manipulation – may the latter be done consciously or unconsciously. If you’re constantly analogizing to everyone over the slightest little error or mishap, people will not take you seriously. They will get annoyed with you quick. Saying sorry every three sentence during a casual lighthearted conversation will turn people off towards you. It shows that you’re way emotional.

Now, I understand that some people who grew up in an abusive household with narcissistic parent(s) or older sibling. Others were in an abusive relationship with a controlling, manipulative partner; so saying sorry to others is common. You’re dreadful of offending others due to ill experiences with toxic people. Therefore, I understand why you might say sorry constantly. To that, I say this in the most living way possible: please seek professional help and don’t beat yourself up.

Using abuse as a segue lead for the topic; saying sorry can be used as a tool of manipulation. Let’s say an abusive male hits his girlfriend after a heated argument over his flirty, cheating nature. He might say “I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”, knowing full well his anger of him being caught up in his web of lies got the best of him. Because the abusive man knows his girlfriend is emotionally dependent, he lies and says it won’t happen again to keep her – until it happens again and the cycle repeats.

You’re not sorry.
You’re full of shit.

You may be wondering when should you say sorry. Well, there are a few situations when you should say sorry, mean it, and be cautious to not repeat the offense again. If you offend a person through your actions (actual offense: not this politically correct nonsense these social justice warrior liberals believe is offensive) and you know you were in the wrong, the yes: say sorry. If you loudly barge into a quiet, peaceful room (on accident) and disturb the peace of the room, then say sorry and never do it again next time. If you bring somebody into a situation they didn’t want to be in, take them out of it and say sorry.

Other than that, never be sorry. Never say sorry.

Until next time

-Yuki The Snowman

By Yuki The Snowman Posted on December 11, 2019