I'm not sure if any of you have heard of this, but there is a show called Heroes of Cosplay on Syfy which is basically a docu-series following different groups of cosplayers competing at conventions around the United States. I watched a couple hour-long episodes and although I have to say the majority of it feels like reality TV, encouraging drama between the contestants, there are certain times when I really enjoy the show and getting to see how everything is crafted and put together. Some really beautiful cosplays are shown in the show. But I don't know. Most of the contestants being highlighted have this really competitive and snarky attitude and many times it even shows some of them saying they would gladly step over their competition by any means. I feel like somewhere along the road, the whole point of cosplaying has lost its purpose, which I feel the point is to enjoy yourself and have fun with it. That's why I really admire Holly and Jessica. As serious as they can be at times, they still know it's all about having fun. So what do you guys think? Is this show a good or bad representation for cosplay?
Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2015 9:39 pm
Hi Inubo,
Good Topic. Yes I remember when the series "Heroes of Cosplay" came out on the Syfy channel. Not having cable I did not see it myself. I did notice a very strong reaction from the Otaku community as a whole. Many of my Cosplay friends were very offended by the show and they told everyone to boycott it.
Basically the show was turned into a reality contest show. Kind of like the Top Model show and so many shows where the people on it all wanted to be the best and would do or say anything to be the best.
This show put the Cosplay / Otaku community in a very dark light. It made many people think that this is what the community is all about. Unfortunately their are many cosplayers and photographers out their that are just as bad and disrespectful in general.
These Celebrity type of Cosplayers are fortunately only a small fraction of the Otaku Community. At that same time they painted a bad image. Just like modeling I've seen Beginning Cosplayers turn into Elitist cosplayers. Many of them have burned themselves out and obsessed with being the best and having every detail perfect of their outfit. Shows like "Heroes of Cosplay" only reinforced this type of cosplaying. The joy and Love of Cosplaying was turned into high stress to make as many cosplay outfits as they could before a convention. Some of them the stress was so high that they stopped Cosplaying completely. This is a shame.
On the other hand their are many high level Cosplayers who make beautiful outfits and don't lose site of what Cosplaying is all about and that is fun and showing off characters that they Love. I hope someday that a TV show will come out that will be respectful of Cosplayers and give advice to beginning cosplayers and high level ones as well.
This is part of what this Guild is about. I have worked hard to make it that way. If you want to talk to respectful Otaku and need help or questions for anything convention or cosplay related you are in the right place. smile
Their are millions of Cosplayers out their who are decent and Love going to conventions showing off their cosplay outfits of all skill levels. At the same time their are younger cosplayers that have yet to go to a convention or make an outfit. They feel lost and don't know where to turn. It's part of my mission for this Guild to welcome these people into the Otaku Community. Some people think that only Cosplayers go to Conventions. That is not true. Many people go as they are and soak in the fun and magic that are in these conventions. Just like the Cosplayers they are their to enjoy the same thing Love of Anime and other types of shows,
I happen to do both. I'm a Cosplayer and a Cosplay Photographer. I usually go to conventions wearing one of my three outfits. Many cosplayers feel more at ease when another Cosplayer is taking a photo of them. When I see someone cosplaying another character of the series my Cosplay character is from I go right into character which surprises some cosplayers. Yes I Love to Cosplay as much as taking photos of them.
Ah yes. Heroes of Cosplay. I personally watched the entire series, watching the episodes as they came out, and I feel as if the show gives a sort neutral light to the community. My reasoning for this is because it gave others who weren't aware of what cosplaying was or how it was done a general idea. It showed the stress over making the costumes and gathering the materials for it. In the background it showed other cosplayers of all skill levels at conventions, walking around and having a good time. And it also shows the more competitive side as the main focus. And while I wish that the show was more about the aspect of having fun, which is what I personally think cosplay is really about, I understand that TV shows that are broadcasted need to have something extra in them for views. Not everyone is going to watch a TV with hour long episodes that is like a documentary from the history channel with a twist. (I'm sure I would, but I'm not everyone.) The editors edited and cut out a lot of footage from filming to add in drama and put things out of context in the show. This got it more views. Especially since there was a lot of fuss over it. The fuss I'm sure, only made others want to watch it more and see what the deal was. Yaya Han, the 'star' I'll say, of the show was even made out to seem like she hated one of her best friends. (Jessica Nigri.) They made a video together explaining the situation as well. Editors cut things out to put in drama for more views. So that's why I feel there's a neutrality with it. It shows how much hard work and effort and even stress comes along with cosplay. Buuut, it was primarily focused on competition and drama. Which is probably why a lot of the competitors would seem snarky or 'tude-y. Two sides of a coin. Another thing I don't like about the show is the it really gave a false image of the cosplayers that were featured. Many in the cosplay community use the term Elitist Cosplayers as a bad name now. which kind of upsets me, because while the editing certainly made the cosplayers seem sour, they're actually sweet hearts in real life. I'm going to use Yaya Han again for my example. As well as Jessica Nigri. Yaya is very devoted to her work. It's how she makes a living, making her cosplays, selling images, and creating parts for other cosplayers to use. The show makes her seem uninterested in her fans, but really it's the compelte opposite. She does what she does for her fans. She doesn't try to put anyone down, and she encourages others. Jessica Nigri is another good example. The 'feud' with Yaya in the show can be seemingly off putting, but Jessica is... well, she's very unique. In all honesty she's one of my favourite cosplayers. She's funny. She's weird. She's outgoing. She adores her fans. Just watch her videos on Youtube. I've added her on Snapchat as well, and I look forward to everything she posts. I'm never left with out a smile on my face. (If you love her as much as I do, I'm sure you'll agree vuv ) My point again for saying this is that it really made the term cosplay elitists arise in the community, and in a bad light. Instead of someone who makes amazing cosplay, it's now used as a term for cosplayers who only care about being the best. Yes, they both are very talented, but they have a wide fan base. That puts pressure on them, y'know? That's why they care so much about detail. Why they put so much effort into their creations. The show can be kind of off putting, and unrealistic, but there is also good things to be seen from it, in my opinion vuv.
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 8:54 pm
nerdiepi
Ah yes. Heroes of Cosplay. I personally watched the entire series, watching the episodes as they came out, and I feel as if the show gives a sort neutral light to the community. My reasoning for this is because it gave others who weren't aware of what cosplaying was or how it was done a general idea. It showed the stress over making the costumes and gathering the materials for it. In the background it showed other cosplayers of all skill levels at conventions, walking around and having a good time. And it also shows the more competitive side as the main focus. And while I wish that the show was more about the aspect of having fun, which is what I personally think cosplay is really about, I understand that TV shows that are broadcasted need to have something extra in them for views. Not everyone is going to watch a TV with hour long episodes that is like a documentary from the history channel with a twist. (I'm sure I would, but I'm not everyone.) The editors edited and cut out a lot of footage from filming to add in drama and put things out of context in the show. This got it more views. Especially since there was a lot of fuss over it. The fuss I'm sure, only made others want to watch it more and see what the deal was. Yaya Han, the 'star' I'll say, of the show was even made out to seem like she hated one of her best friends. (Jessica Nigri.) They made a video together explaining the situation as well. Editors cut things out to put in drama for more views. So that's why I feel there's a neutrality with it. It shows how much hard work and effort and even stress comes along with cosplay. Buuut, it was primarily focused on competition and drama. Which is probably why a lot of the competitors would seem snarky or 'tude-y. Two sides of a coin. Another thing I don't like about the show is the it really gave a false image of the cosplayers that were featured. Many in the cosplay community use the term Elitist Cosplayers as a bad name now. which kind of upsets me, because while the editing certainly made the cosplayers seem sour, they're actually sweet hearts in real life. I'm going to use Yaya Han again for my example. As well as Jessica Nigri. Yaya is very devoted to her work. It's how she makes a living, making her cosplays, selling images, and creating parts for other cosplayers to use. The show makes her seem uninterested in her fans, but really it's the compelte opposite. She does what she does for her fans. She doesn't try to put anyone down, and she encourages others. Jessica Nigri is another good example. The 'feud' with Yaya in the show can be seemingly off putting, but Jessica is... well, she's very unique. In all honesty she's one of my favourite cosplayers. She's funny. She's weird. She's outgoing. She adores her fans. Just watch her videos on Youtube. I've added her on Snapchat as well, and I look forward to everything she posts. I'm never left with out a smile on my face. (If you love her as much as I do, I'm sure you'll agree vuv ) My point again for saying this is that it really made the term cosplay elitists arise in the community, and in a bad light. Instead of someone who makes amazing cosplay, it's now used as a term for cosplayers who only care about being the best. Yes, they both are very talented, but they have a wide fan base. That puts pressure on them, y'know? That's why they care so much about detail. Why they put so much effort into their creations. The show can be kind of off putting, and unrealistic, but there is also good things to be seen from it, in my opinion vuv.
I understand the need to keep views for the show up. It's just unfortunate that that's what people are looking for in a show: drama. I guess that's not really the show's fault. Makes me sad that that's what most shows are focused on now though （．＿．） But you make some good points! Television does have a way of exaggerating.
Regarding Yaya Han, I always thought that too. I see a lot of people say she's a 'mean person' to put it lightly. But I never saw any reason for anyone to think that. If you look at the daily stresses and struggles she would put herself through for the sake of her fans and keeping her reputation solid, it would be hard to be 100% smilely all the time.
But then there's other parts in the show where it shows some of the groups bickering with each other, sometimes pretty harshly. An example was when two of the girls teamed up together and there was a third girl who was asking one of them if she wanted to team up with her after that convention. The girl who was being asked replied with this horrible attitude and told her off, saying she wasn't "on her level" and "she would never dream of cosplaying with her," which made her cry and leave. Now, I don't know if this was staged for extra drama or if it was legit, but it seemed really unnecessary to me. It was very unbecoming to the girl who said it, and it was pretty hurtful towards the girl who recieved it, which seemed unfair on both sides. So neither side of that wins really.
I hope that this didn't completely put the cosplaying community in some negative light for newcomers! o(；△；)o
I understand the need to keep views for the show up. It's just unfortunate that that's what people are looking for in a show: drama. I guess that's not really the show's fault. Makes me sad that that's what most shows are focused on now though （．＿．） But you make some good points! Television does have a way of exaggerating.
Regarding Yaya Han, I always thought that too. I see a lot of people say she's a 'mean person' to put it lightly. But I never saw any reason for anyone to think that. If you look at the daily stresses and struggles she would put herself through for the sake of her fans and keeping her reputation solid, it would be hard to be 100% smilely all the time.
But then there's other parts in the show where it shows some of the groups bickering with each other, sometimes pretty harshly. An example was when two of the girls teamed up together and there was a third girl who was asking one of them if she wanted to team up with her after that convention. The girl who was being asked replied with this horrible attitude and told her off, saying she wasn't "on her level" and "she would never dream of cosplaying with her," which made her cry and leave. Now, I don't know if this was staged for extra drama or if it was legit, but it seemed really unnecessary to me. It was very unbecoming to the girl who said it, and it was pretty hurtful towards the girl who recieved it, which seemed unfair on both sides. So neither side of that wins really.
I hope that this didn't completely put the cosplaying community in some negative light for newcomers! o(；△；)o
I don't really think the show put off newcomers, considering there was such a big fuss over it. I'm sure newcoming cosplayers, if they watched the show, would have at least heard something about it. Regarding to the groups and others within the show, I know for sure that it was half and half. There are definitely some cosplayers in the world who have the mindset that they are better than others and put them down, even though it's a horrible attitude to have. But most cosplayers don't. I remember one of the reasons why a lot of people wanted to get the show cancelled or boycott it was because of a certain cosplay group that went on and was seemingly very nasty towards other competitors. One of the people in the group posted to tumblr the full story behind what really happened, saying that there was a lot more that wasn't shown, and they were actually on good terms with people. Again with editors adding in unneccessary drama :/ I can't vouch for all of the competitors that have been in the show, however. But going off of that I can't really trust it, considering there's a lot 'behind the scenes' that we never get to actually see for ourselves.
Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2015 1:46 am
The show Heroes of Cosplay could have been done better and I apologize if my use of terms offended some people. From what I have heard from others this show put high level and celebrity type of Cosplayers in a bad light. To make things a little clearer I refer to elitist cosplayers as high level ones that have gone too far and become snobbish and want to rub everyone else into the dirt. I do admit that elitist cosplayers used to be put in a better light but to change with the times I had to unfortunately change my use of the word.
I prefer to call high level Cosplayers who Love to show off their skills and help other cosplayers out as Experts in the field. The number of expert Cosplayers easily out number the elitist ones. I've been to conventions that had Cosplay contests where some of the snobbish cosplayers in the competition called themselves elitist. So unfortunately the term elitist cosplayer has been seen as a bad thing for a long time now.
As for celebrities their are good and bad ones. I feel that the good Cosplay celebrities easily out number the bad ones. I've heard of some snobbish cosplayers who now call themselves celebrities who feel that they have to be asked and paid to appear at conventions. If they are decent cosplayers doing it as a profession and want to help out other cosplayers by sharing their skills I'm all for it. The Heroes of Cosplay show made it look like many of the Celebrity Cosplayers were only out to be the best and put down those who they felt were inferior cosplayers.
I agree with nerdiepi that Yaya Han was put in a bad light. She is a wonderful Cosplayer who is out their helping other Cosplayers. If you want to know more about how nice she is in real life check out her sites on the internet and their is a nice article about her in the 3rd edition of the Cosplay Culture Magazine.
In general the Cosplay / Otaku community is so large now that their are a lot of lost and confused new cosplayers and people out their. What we need are decent, good shows that tell the world the true joy that most cosplayers feel for the characters that they portray and the fun that they have at all skill levels making their outfits.
