Manga Monday: Kumoricon 2014 Cosplay Report!

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Manga Monday: Kumoricon 2014 Cosplay Report!

09/23/2014 9:40am

Just a few weeks ago was Labor Day weekend, which in the Portland area means our local Japanese fan convention, Kumoricon! “Kumori” means “cloudy,” and yes, it did actually rain a little, but not enough to dampen the mood. The layout of the con is a bit offbeat, as it feels more like it’s set on a campus than a site—events are split between two different hotels a block apart, with a walking path between them that passes by a railway overpass and a WWII memorial mural. You’ve also got a quad aspect, as one of the two hotels, the Hilton, is across from Esther Short Park, which the cosplayers sort of take over for the duration of the event.

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But the dealer’s room was in the other hotel, the Red Lion, and as you can see, some of the cosplayers were kind enough to come by the Dark Horse booth! Like Card Captor Sakura, for instance, holding up her own manga. Did you notice, by the way, that they peace-bonded her magic staff? Come on, this is Sakura-chan—she’s not going to hurt anyone.

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Like LL Cool J, Sakura got so many styles (courtesy of her best friend and avid seamstress, Tomoyo). You know, it just occurred to me that if CLAMP did a Batman series, Alfred would make a new outfit for Master Bruce every time he went out to fight crime. Kia Asamiya and Katsuhiro Otomo have done Batman; come on, let CLAMP have their turn.

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Look, it’s Hatsune Liam! Or maybe it’s Hatsune Noel; as a ham shank, I never could tell them fellers from Oasis apart. Kumoricon was the first show where you could buy our new Hatsune Miku manga omnibus (written and drawn by Kei, Miku’s original illustrator), and it didn't take us long to sell every copy we brought.

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Now here’s a duet I wasn’t expecting: Megurine Luka and Shinji Ikari. I’m impressed to see how Shinji stayed in character, and that even being in the presence of a dazzling chanteuse like Luka isn’t going to make him smile. I can’t help but think of how Evangelion would have been different if Luka had been an Eva pilot, but she’s well past their retirement age.

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But wait a minute, Kagamine Rin could do it! More musical than Rei, better eyesight than Mari, more attitude than Asuka, although Shinji still has her slightly beat in the belt length department.

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Speaking of whom again, another uncommon duo: Shinji and Naota Nandaba from our FLCL manga. And something else uncommon: Shinji is smiling—that’s how we know he must be the one from our The Shinji Ikari Raising Project manga, right on the table in front of him.

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Speaking of which, when is Kaworu Nagisa going to show up in The Shinji Ikari Raising Project again? Everyone knows that in a romantic comedy, the more competition for the main character, the better. I figured that Kaworu was just off somewhere being cool, and it looks like I figured right.

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As you know, we’re adding to our library of GAINAX-inspired works next May, when we’ll be releasing the Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt manga. This weekend, I did a panel at Rose City Comic-Con (thank you to all the people who attended!) and I saw a dude dressed as a Ghostbuster on the main floor, which immediately reminded me of all the American influences that went into P&Sw/G. We should be ashamed. I mean, proud!

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If there’s one character who exemplifies 100% pride in who she is (or the 200% pride that comes from also having 0% shame), it’s Panty Anarchy, who manages to be both anti-social and anti-anti-social at the same time. It’s the kind of holy mystery that churchmen will be debating for centuries.

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And speaking of piercing the heavens, let us end this con report on a high note. Dark Horse doesn’t publish Gurren Lagann, it’s true. But Derek D., cosplaying Kamina, does work for Dark Horse! Plus that’s Thao Trang H. as Yoko, and Natalie E. as Nia. Row row, fight the power!!!

—Carl Horn

Manga Editor

But wait a minute, Kagamine Rin could do it! More musical than Rei, better eyesight than Mari, more attitude than Asuka, although Shinji still has her slightly beat in the belt length department.