THE DAOS!-The Way Of The Cosplayer Series!
Issue Fifteen: Cosplay For All!

In my final issue, we will be talking about a growing trend in the Otaku community, which is known as Cosplay! In this issue, you’ve finished the outfit of your choice, and you’re all set and ready to go! Before you go out to show it off for all the otaku community to see, be sure to read this issue!

The DAOS Under New Management!
Due to growing time and work constraints, and in an effort to make The DAOS a much more consistent newsletter among the anime community on DA, I Miss Red Rose, will be stepping down as chief editor of The DAOS Project. With the ending of my works, ends this volume collection of the DAOS. However, in a few weeks, the Second Volume of The DAOS will be moving into the awesome hands of our friend and Anime/Manga Gallery Director ^Damaged927 Please support his continuing work by reading and keeping the ideas flowing for the DAOS! I personally thank all of our fans for joining the newsletter and keeping it alive on DA and it has been a pleasure writing for all of you!

Reviews Of The Week

Kanon, Volume 1
1 Volume available from ADV Films

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Plot Summary: Yuichi Aizawa returns to this city after seven years. In his childhood, he often visited it, but something happened in the past, which caused him to block out his memories of the events of seven years ago. On the day after he gets settled in, he meets a girl carrying a backpack with wings on it. Her name is Tsukimiya Ayu and he begins to recall the memories he had lost.

Pros to the Anime: As to be expected from Kyoto Animation, this anime is absolutely beautiful! From the backgrounds to the characters, everything is put together so perfectly that you can’t help but watch. The characters are beautifully animated and their development is moving right along. Each character has their little quirks that makes them loveable (for instance, Ayu’s Uguu or Makatos Auu) and this adds a ton to their development.

Cons to the Anime: Erm, this is going take some serious effort on my behalf, so let’s see… Ok, how about, the English version of “sleepy” Nayuki doesn’t do sleepy Nayuki justice? Ok, yeah, let’s go with that angle. The dub, though not terrible, kind of kills some of the characters quirkiness in my opinion. The dub itself is actually pretty good, but if you really want to get the most out of these oh so cute characters you really have to watch it in Japanese. When you watch it in the original Japanese “sleepy” Nayuki takes on a whole new meaning.

Damaged Thoughts: What can I say? This is an amazing anime, straight up. The characters are cute and loveable and the animation and art is beautiful. Ayu is possibly the cutest thing in the world and Makato makes me laugh every time she is on screen. Honestly, does she think she can hurt Yuichi? The whole story appears to revolve around Yuichi’s lost memory for 7 years ago, but it is not portrayed in the typical memory loss scheme. No sir, Kanon actually is making the memory loss angle work. I can’t recommend this volume enough, so go buy it, watch Sleepy Nayuki (in Japanese) and fall in love with all the characters Uguu.

+ANIMA, Volume 1
6 Volumes available from TokyoPop



Plot Summary: The +Anima are beings who possess animal-like powers. They walk among us in an alternate universe--shunned by society--as they search for others who have similar powers. Cooro is a boy with crow-like powers who is on a quest to find other +Anima. When he meets Husky, a disrespectful boy with a past shrouded in mystery, he finds a kindred spirit who also possesses animal-like powers. Together, they try to gain acceptance in a world cruel to anyone or anything that is different...Already a hit in Japan and Europe, Mukai-sensei's epic fantasy series is a journey of wonder and awe!

Pros to the Manga: I am a huge fan of the artwork shown through out this manga. The panels are easy to follow and are aligned in such a way that will keep the story moving right along. The characters are fun to get to know as well and I like how people are afraid of Cooro since he has black wings. I mean, if I saw a person with wings I think I would be a little creeped out, regardless of their color.

Cons to the Manga: Well, first and foremost, I had no idea that Cooro was a male when I started this. Actually, most of the males look so feminine that it is easy to get confused. I found this to take away from the manga since I had to keep reminding myself of his gender. The characters are developing at a very slow rate, almost to the point where it is not worth reading. The story itself seems a bit convoluted in these early stages and it seems like they just want to get going with out laying the groundwork.

Damaged Thoughts: I was not really that pleased with this manga. I was hoping that this would take a new spin on the animal/human hybrid manga, but, for what I gathered from this volume, it is not. It is your standard, “Oh, you’re a +anima too? We should be friends!” manga with some adventure plot in the background. Then, of course, they find some really; shy +anima and he became their friend as well, but does not say anything (of course). He is all mysterious and carries a book around with him (typical). Honestly, I kind of had high hopes for this one, but in the end, it follows the standard manga template of this genre.

Issue Fifteen: Cosplay For All!

So you have got your costume all designed and ready to go! You’re now probably wondering: what next? For convention veterans, you already know what to expect. WEAR IT TO A CONVENTION! But for all those who do not quite to know what to expect, let’s break it down..

The Many Types Of Cosplayers
For all those veterans who know, when you walk into a convention, you will see a lot of random people dressed up in an array of outfits. First of all, take a deep breath and know that this is a normal thing to expect at a convention. And if you are bringing any parents, be sure to let them know, that there will be a display of really weird people. Here are some of the types of cosplay outfits you should be expect to see:

Furries- A lot of people like to wear furry hats, or dress up as weird furry characters. So long as they do nothing illegal, then you are all set!

Gothic (Lolita and Other related forms)-- Anti-Goth people, despite the fact that there is a stereotype against the gothic lifestyle. When it comes to Visual Kei, Gothic Loli and Lolita, it is more of a tasteful display of gothic designs. However, some people do take it a little too far, the majority of those cosplayers, look like dark medieval characters.

Anime Characters-- The majority of cosplayers, are those who dress up like their favorite characters from anime and manga series. At an anime convention, this is normal. Also normal, if you attend a video game trade show.

Science Fiction/Comics-- Many cosplayers dress up like Batman, Catgirl, or any other kind of comic or science fiction character that they like. At an anime convention, you will most definitely find at least one or two people dressed this way. At a science-fiction or comic convention, you most definitely will find them out and about.

The Do’s and Don’t of Cosplay Display

Do's
~ Check with both the cons weapons and costume policy. Many cons have them on their websites, where they talk about what is acceptable for cosplayers and what's not.
~Make sure that all your props won't actually hurt anyone if they get stupid and play around with it.
~Remember to dress somewhat decently. Let loose = yes, Let it all literally hang out = big no-no
~ Be ready to be asked to have your photo taken. Heck, isn't that the point of even cosplaying?
~ Please be ready to either deny or accept hugs. And also be sure to ask when doing so for other cosplayers.
~ Take part in the Cosplay Masquerade. It's fun!
~Do also tho, be prepared. If you have a pose, then do so, if you have a skit for the Masquerade be sure to have everything prepared in well advance. Fans don't like to have too much delay and waiting for another skit.
~ If you had your costume commissioned, be sure to give proper credit where do, or carry a set of that tailor’s cards so you can refer people to them. It's the greatest compliment a Cosplay designer can receive.
~ Take LOADS OF PHOTOS. Build collections and have loads of fun with it, the best memories are made with photos they say. So do it.

Don'ts
~ Let it all hang out literally. Not only is that super gross, in many places, it's illegal.
~ Diss another cosplayers costume. Yes even if it looks terrible, many cosplayers are young and may not have the designing abilities of older and more experienced cosplayers.
~ Think that just because you are in cosplay, the staff will treat you differently. They may ask for more pictures yes, but if you are doing something wrong, they don't care, they will discipline you fairly. That's just because it's their job.
~ Be mad if you lose in a Cosplay Competition. Judges do carry their own set of tastes and likes, and they may not like your work. But that doesn't mean you permanently suck, please remember this also when you are at a bigger convention. Bigger conventions + more cosplayers = more competition and harder judging.
~ Be rude or disrespectful to anyone. Period. It's just not cool.

There is one more rule above all others. HAVE FUN! You took the time to make the costume, be sure to have fun while in it as well! So this endeth my run as the writer of The DAOS Project. But this isn’t the end of me, rest assured you will find me doing something else just as wicked sometime on DA very soon. You can always find me over at =MissRedRose where you can check up on my crazy DA adventures and me! Best wishes to all of you and keep the Otakudom alive!

Long Live Otakus!
~Miss Red Rose~