On Filipino cosplaying and how ugly it is now

I miss the days when knowledge of cosplay or cosplay events in the country was limited to a select few. Yeah, I’m feeling a bit selfish but only because having it appear mainstream has so far, in my opinion, degraded cosplaying as a hobby and promoted it as a stepping stone to media popularity. Not to mention the fact that it somehow promotes the rampant perversion of the hobby. I also disapprove the fact that women (minor or adult) readily pose provocatively just so a pervert with a DSLR (who thinks he’s a photographer) can do “opportunistic” shots of that certain scantily clad female cosplayer. And the worst part of it all is that the “victim” doesn’t mind it at all; as if completely unaware.

I don’t know what will happen to the “wonderful world of cosplaying” here in the Philippines. I’m sure it’ll exist but I don’t think it’ll be better than what we HAD before; like 5 years ago. It’ll be of less quality and more on quantity at the very least. You will hate me for the following but I kind of realize how GT was right all along. I’ll even go as far as sympathize with him/them. I guess, to be fair, GT and his buddies were mostly WRONG when they were just starting. But in the last 2 years? Their past blogs would’ve had more fans now than haters compared to when they were posted back in the days where multiply was the warzone of every “popular” blogger.

The drama that goes on behind the stage is just too dumb for me to even consider them as serious arguments. Most onlookers don’t even have any idea how crazy these guys get when it comes to their favorite hobby (or, don’t laugh, “profession”). It’s like they’ll die if one person, among hundreds or thousands, would say some random nasty stuff about them. It’s like they don’t mind having to read every single good comment but they cannot, for the life of them, accept one ugly comment which was possibly written by a jealous fan or better yet, a fellow cosplayer. And the plot thickens! The battlefield is usually the internet and people get entangled in a web of fiery blogs. You don’t even want to know about the days when Alodia wasn’t on TV yet and when GT was just starting. These people can’t get over the fact that they can’t please one guy/girl out of a million fans (which are mostly pedophiles). This applies to every goddamn cosplayer out there who keeps on posting pictures for everyone to see and comment on. And for the record, Alodia was even good at keeping her cool despite insults to her family and the occasional death threats.

The fights only happen within the safety of the internet, though. So-called “brave” knights would ask people for a fight in the real world, even to go as far as attempt to do a stake-out. Yet nothing really happens. The cosplayers they’re “protecting” think it’s so cool and brave of them to do those things. What they don’t realize is that they do those things because the technology that enables you to actually punch a guy’s face on the internet has yet to be invented. I even see this as being a dumbass or a total idiot. I mean, why even get angry over some little comment when you have the whole world as support? To be fair, I’ll even go as far as say that I once was so naive as to act like a white knight when it came to “defending the innocent” on the internet. I didn’t hurt nor did I do the bad comments to anyone, though. I would’ve written some but I loved cosplaying so much I’d keep my comments to myself.

Oh wait. I remember one instance wherein a “hater” was physically “apprehended” by “the law”. It was GT being asked to leave a convention c/o Mr. Ronald Guanzon.

I used to be one of those avid fans you see falling in line an hour before the actual doors to the convention hall was opened. I used to book convention dates a month before they actually happen. I used to blog (and review) about conventions minutes after arriving home. I used to bring my trusty digicam with me and just be trigger-happy all throughout the day. I used to not mind the fact that I get dizzy or I sometimes get sick with fever since I enjoy the conventions. I used to not mind my feet killing me by standing and walking around for hours on end. I used to buy random souvenirs no matter how expensive or abusively overpriced the item was. I used to feel the thrill of immersing one’s self in a room full of very colorful people with very colorful traits and actions. I used to drown myself in a sea of what society would label as freaks or weirdos. Now I don’t even dare go inside.

It was fun the first 5 or 10 times but it got old not just because of the same things you see inside these so-called conventions (that I’d rather just call a “massive gathering” because conventions are more organized) but also because of the fact that you can see the same thing done every other time; the only difference being the people who do (and mostly ruin) the cosplay. It’s not just a case of low quality cosplaying but more on recent “cosplayers” disrespecting the said hobby by not doing it well enough; and I even have very low standards since I don’t even cosplay in the first place. Not to mention the fact that I soon realized how dumb I was for even buying overpriced items I can easily buy at half the price in some other hobby shop.

And talk about promoting piracy. Cosplayers who often adore the creators of their anime or manga can’t even have the heart to buy original. Torrent is one thing (since it’s free) but to actually sell stolen merchandise? I think I see a crime here. They say they want to have their own copies even though they can’t buy original. I say there is internet and fast download speeds. I don’t think it’s okay to label cosplayers in the Philippines to accept piracy as a way of trade. It just further diminishes the hobby to a whole new level.

With all that was written, I can no longer bring myself to a cosplay convention alone. It’s either I have a purpose to be there (like to be with friends) or I got kidnapped, stashed inside a barrel, and stored inside a convention hall the night before the event happens. It’s no longer fun anymore. The only “fun” thing that remains is how cosplayers humiliate themselves to entertain audiences (or mostly pervs with DSLRs) and it’s not even that funny anymore. I mean, they (cosplayers) are people too. I think they shouldn’t forget that fact. They’re not mostly there to be the laughing stock of the crowd nor are they there to make otherwise erectile dysfunctional men achieve a quick boner. They forget that they are there to play the role of the character they are attempting to, well, play. I wish they would at least reserve an ounce of respect for themselves before they get on their knees and do a pin-up pose.

I have respect for Filipino cosplayers. I love the fact that they try to introduce the wonderful world of cosplaying to the people of our beloved yet poor country. I admire the fact that they have the patience, time, and money to actually do what they do every month or so. It’s just that I believe in the saying “If it’s worth doing, then it’s worth overdoing”. It’s not like I lost hope but it’s just that I’m disappointed on how the current generation of cosplayers, though more in number, can’t somehow follow in the footsteps of their pioneers.

And this ends my rant.