Metrocon 2008 fun for everyone
Jason Preston
Issue date: 7/29/08 Section: Entertainment
Every so often the levels of frustration begin to peak intermittently like an angry sine wave and there's the need to blow off some steam. Luckily having been invited to accompany a few friends to the anime and video game convention Metrocon 2008 in Tampa Bay, the trip was a little vacation away from the usual debasement of whatever is spat out from the entertainment industry. Now since those who attend these conventions are often put together in their own classification of social weirdo, one can't help but feel like they must liaison the events like a foreign diplomat, in this case it will be in this reviewers stereotypical asocial manner. Now take it away, myself.
After a fun-filled drive through some very obscure areas in downtown Tampa thanks to the GPS hating the driver for missing the correct exit, we arrived at the hotel, which was a lovely 500-foot walk from the convention center. However, even before check-in there was a teenage girl who was huddling behind a kart of luggage because the average-sized towel in the hotel bathroom had more surface area than her costume. Needless to say this is the one of the pros and hazards of going to such events. Some people can really pull off the look of the character they're trying to emulate, others fail horribly, and others still just shouldn't even dress up at all. For instance, a 250 lb man cosplaying in a Japanese school girl's outfit is not something from Sailor Moon no matter how much you stretch the imagination, even with reality altering substances in one's bloodstream. Another bad case was the encounter with a Man-Rei, basically a man trying to look like Rei Ayanami from Evangelion. It was slightly troubling that there were more girls dressing up as male characters than actual males dressing the part, but when you recall that 95% of all male anime characters look like girls anyways, it makes it a bit easier to handle. While no one can tell others who they can and can't cosplay as, it's agreeable among most that a person should at least make a decent attempt at trying to portray the character. This is a convention after all, not Halloween, and even if it were, there's no candy for the 250 lb man trying to look like a Sailormoon character.
After a fun-filled drive through some very obscure areas in downtown Tampa thanks to the GPS hating the driver for missing the correct exit, we arrived at the hotel, which was a lovely 500-foot walk from the convention center. However, even before check-in there was a teenage girl who was huddling behind a kart of luggage because the average-sized towel in the hotel bathroom had more surface area than her costume. Needless to say this is the one of the pros and hazards of going to such events. Some people can really pull off the look of the character they're trying to emulate, others fail horribly, and others still just shouldn't even dress up at all. For instance, a 250 lb man cosplaying in a Japanese school girl's outfit is not something from Sailor Moon no matter how much you stretch the imagination, even with reality altering substances in one's bloodstream. Another bad case was the encounter with a Man-Rei, basically a man trying to look like Rei Ayanami from Evangelion. It was slightly troubling that there were more girls dressing up as male characters than actual males dressing the part, but when you recall that 95% of all male anime characters look like girls anyways, it makes it a bit easier to handle. While no one can tell others who they can and can't cosplay as, it's agreeable among most that a person should at least make a decent attempt at trying to portray the character. This is a convention after all, not Halloween, and even if it were, there's no candy for the 250 lb man trying to look like a Sailormoon character.
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