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Japan wants people to cosplay properly ... for only $5500!

Gothic Girl | March 11, 2008 | News | Misc 
Japan is serious about their cosplay. Very serious.
While cosplaying might be a fun little hobby in the West, it can be a fierce competition in Japan. Japanese cosplayers need to perfectly emulate a character in both appearence and actions. Image is everything and photos are your trophies - The more people take photos of you, the better and more well-known you become.

The Vantan Career School in Tokyo has taken notice of Japan's competitive side to cosplaying, and have started up a cosplaying course at their college. For a hefty fee of ¥560000 (about $5500 US) students will learn how to perfect their hair, make-up and costmes to match their favorite game or anime character.
In Japan, if you want to cosplay, you'd better do it right! And pay alot of money for it.
For successful kosupure ("cosplay," or "costume play") it is not enough to know your "Bleach" from your "Basara." You also need to be able to make your plats stand on end like Itsuki (from the manga "Basara"), give yourself an extra jaw like Grimmjow Jeagerjaques (from the manga "Bleach") — and as well deck yourself out in a black cloak like Ichigo Kurosaki or a white one like Sosuke Aizen (both from "Bleach").

Most cosplayers learn their makeup and costume-making skills from magazines and by talking to their friends. As of January 30, however, one of Tokyo's largest vocational schools, Vantan Career School, has also been offering a more professional approach.

The three-month course, which includes up to 12 hours of tuition per week at a cost ¥560,000, is centered on two key classes — Character Hairmake and Costume Making — with others for prop-making and photography.
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  • 0 thumbs!
    RikuNova | March 12, 2008
    I bet some cosplayers in Japan will be crazy about this...

    $5500 is quite a lot...
  • 0 thumbs!
    Vito Raliffe | March 12, 2008
    Asian cosplayers (Japanese mainly) dominate cosplaying, especially when it comes to Americans. I have seen AMAZING cosplays, where people look just like the characters they are portraying. Some of the best I have seen are Tifa's and Rikku's. They get the hair down perfectly too, even for characters like Cloud. It doesn't look like they used anything in their hair at all.
  • 1 thumbs!
    jmac353 | March 12, 2008
    Helllooo Tifa .
    • 2 thumbs!
      Xenctuary | March 12, 2008
      I wouldn't mind playing with her. Uh, cosplaying, that is...

  • 0 thumbs!
    ShinyMilotic | March 12, 2008
    Pretty big price, but if it is that serious then whatever lol, I agree some of them do really well.
  • 0 thumbs!
    black doom | March 12, 2008
    Can anyone pull off Sonic or Yoshi?
  • 0 thumbs!
    Donnelly | March 12, 2008
    Am I the only one who thinks cosplay is a really really sad thing to do.
  • 0 thumbs!
    ShinyMilotic | March 12, 2008
    Lol no you are not, but people get paid for it
  • 0 thumbs!
    BANDITO ATTACK | March 13, 2008
    as soon as i read 'competitive side to cosplay' i fcuking lold so hard

    its stuff like this that makes me glad i live in a country that still lols at grown folks dressin up like animu character.
    • 0 thumbs!
      Gothic Girl | March 13, 2008
      Instead you live in a country that holds OFFICIAL cosplay competitions and hands out actual trophies to cosplayers.


      Japan doesn't do that.
      • 1 thumbs!
        BANDITO ATTACK | March 14, 2008
        we cant stop all the weaboos. theres just too many of them >_>
  • 0 thumbs!
    Seeker X | March 13, 2008
    I'd like to take this moment and compare this to Modeling. They're both fine in their own right, but if this kind of money gets involved, somebody *bleep*ed up.

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