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Everybody Cosplay
Visit an anime convention anywhere in the North America and you'll see them fans dressed up in the costumes of their favorite characters, acting out their roles and assuming their personalities. In Japan, where cosplay was born, the scene is even hotter, with professional cosplayers modeling at events and selling their photo albums. Renowned cosplayer and beloved Newtype USA columnist Jan Kurotaki has been a fixture in the circuit for almost 10 years. Collected here are her photos and columns from Newtype USA, along with exclusive photos never published in the pages of the magazine. A true collector's dream!
160 pages, Paperback
First published November 21, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 25, 2008
This was a fun book I picked up at the library. In Japan, dressing up as characters from your favorite manga/anime is a big hobby, with many people learning to sew to make these elaborate costumes. It was fun to look at this fan's personal collection. Although, I have to warn you that some of the costumes are quite revealing. For some reason that doesn't bother me when it's in a comic, but seeing a live human dressed in a skimpy clothes is different. But I admire her devotion to this hobby.
March 14, 2019
This is a book about Jan Kurotaki's experience as a cosplayer and Newtype columnist between 1997-2007. It is primarily a photo book, though each cosplay is accompanied by a short column, discussing the character and the anime/manga/game it is from as well as some tidbits on how it was made.
The cosplays aren't shown in chronological order, so the quality of the photos and costumes is varied, which I personally don't like: I'd have preferred to be able to see the progression of Kurotaki's skill as a costume maker and model.
I also would have preferred more information on how the costumes were actually made. Kurotaki sometimes talks about the costs of a costume or personal experiences on how it felt to wear; but she doesn't talk about all of these aspects all the time, so it's hard to compare different outfits. It's very much focused on her own experiences and she's not trying to teach us anything. I would have liked some small tutorials, or phrases like: "I prefer to use this type of material, but you can also use this or that. If you want to make something like what I did, here's how I did it."
I would have also liked to see some progress photos, or pictures of the characters she's cosplaying for comparison's sake (though it might be hard to get the rights for those images, so I'm not hung up on that last point). Instead, we just get photos of the finished outfits - which, you know - they look fine and everything; it's just not what I was looking for.
One last point of critique is that Kurotaki doesn't seem to like wigs. Her cosplays are focused mostly on the outfits and if she can get away with using her own hair, she will. I personally prefer wigs, because they give more volume and make the character's hair more pronounced, makes it stand out more. It can also get a bit boring to look at the same hair over and over again.
When it comes to the characters, I don't know many of them but that doesn't really matter. Some of the outfits really appeal to me.
My favourites of Kurotaki's cosplays in this book are: Saber from Fate/stay night, Clair from Kara no Naka no Kotori, Sae Mikado from Gakuen Ojo-sama Kitan, Nurse from Kao no nai Tsuki, Rufus Shinra from FFVII and Shinku from Rozen Maiden. I pretty much love her frilly/maid dresses as well as her pretty boys, and any costume in which she wears a blond wig.
The cosplays aren't shown in chronological order, so the quality of the photos and costumes is varied, which I personally don't like: I'd have preferred to be able to see the progression of Kurotaki's skill as a costume maker and model.
I also would have preferred more information on how the costumes were actually made. Kurotaki sometimes talks about the costs of a costume or personal experiences on how it felt to wear; but she doesn't talk about all of these aspects all the time, so it's hard to compare different outfits. It's very much focused on her own experiences and she's not trying to teach us anything. I would have liked some small tutorials, or phrases like: "I prefer to use this type of material, but you can also use this or that. If you want to make something like what I did, here's how I did it."
I would have also liked to see some progress photos, or pictures of the characters she's cosplaying for comparison's sake (though it might be hard to get the rights for those images, so I'm not hung up on that last point). Instead, we just get photos of the finished outfits - which, you know - they look fine and everything; it's just not what I was looking for.
One last point of critique is that Kurotaki doesn't seem to like wigs. Her cosplays are focused mostly on the outfits and if she can get away with using her own hair, she will. I personally prefer wigs, because they give more volume and make the character's hair more pronounced, makes it stand out more. It can also get a bit boring to look at the same hair over and over again.
When it comes to the characters, I don't know many of them but that doesn't really matter. Some of the outfits really appeal to me.
My favourites of Kurotaki's cosplays in this book are: Saber from Fate/stay night, Clair from Kara no Naka no Kotori, Sae Mikado from Gakuen Ojo-sama Kitan, Nurse from Kao no nai Tsuki, Rufus Shinra from FFVII and Shinku from Rozen Maiden. I pretty much love her frilly/maid dresses as well as her pretty boys, and any costume in which she wears a blond wig.
December 6, 2018
Everybody Cosplay consiste na colectânea dos artigos publicados mensalmente por Jan Kurotaki no Newtype USA, revista de origem japonesa vocacionada para o mundo do anime e do manga, entre 2002 e 2008, os anos de existência deste periódico. Aficionada pelo cosplay, a arte de recriar uma personagem favorita de banda desenha ou de um jogo de vídeo através da minuciosa reconstrução do seu vestuário e visual, Kurotaki apresenta, na sua maioria, as suas próprias criações, levadas a convenções internacionais da especialidade, para demonstração e competição, tema das suas crónicas na Newtype americana. Adicionalmente, várias fotografias inéditas acompanham as suas melhores criações, completadas por um texto explicativo da confecção do traje e outro dedicado à introdução do personagem.
April 4, 2008
Focuses on just one person, renowned cosplayer and Newtype USA columnist Jan Kurotaki, this is mostly a photo essay of diifferent costumes she has worn over the last ten years. There are a few tidbits about each, but mostly it is a pictoral work. I think it will be highly popular with my teen anime fans, and hope I can keep it circulating rapidly without it getting stolen.
January 25, 2014
Due to the significant presence of technical details about the making of the costumes, it is probably more dedicated to cosplay professionals than to casual fans. Though, the beauty of the costumes and the good-lookingness of the author make it pleasing also for non-experts.
June 16, 2010
Lots of good tips and designs for future cosplays. Not to mention I loved her articles in NewtypeUSA.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews