Cosplaying Like A Bawse!!!

Freaks, weirdos, geeks, nerds, otakus, weeaboos all these different labels and names that people find for us but none capture fully the true essence of what we are. Passionate! About a culture so refined and foreign to us that damn near everything about it pulls you in. The time honored history, values and culture that is passed on through not only the people but also the media that manages to leave its country and make its way overseas for us to partake in. It has been 50 long and noteworthy years since Jamaica first partnered with Japan as countries in arms and I am proud to see such an out pouring of support from so many for events such as Anime Nation. This will now be the 5th year since this event took Jamaica by storm and oddly it shows no signs of slowing down. Every year more and more people show up and every year the lovely people at JA Cosplayaz have to find a bigger and better venue to house all the passionate anime/manga lovers out there.

JaCosplayaz is primarily spearheaded by the above 3 individuals; from left  to right: Tetrice Afayah Prendergast, Zane Francis, & Fabian Pinkney. AS you can see clearly they have a strong passion for the culture and all it offers whether through gaming or animation. It was this passion that has led them into a long standing partnership with the Embassy Of Japan that has helped bring awareness of Japan in Jamaica to higher heights every year. From the various cultural exchange programs such as JET (The Japan Exchange And Teaching Programme) to more local based events such as Anime Nation, Japanese presence and impact is at an all time high in Jamaica. Just want to take this time to say kudos to the aforementioned people and all the countless hours and sacrifices they made to make this recurring event the success it is today. Also want to give a very honorable mention to the three main admins of the JACosplayaz Facebook page Tara Sham, Sherae Morrison & Stephen Brown.

Stephen & Sherae Spent The Night Terrifying Patron Young And Old

The event started off well and granted some items ran overtime somehow managed to progress smoothly into the night. The day started off with a one of a kind interview segment with one of Japans animators of legend Masami Suda. One of the main driving forces behind such classics as Gatchaman aka G-Force and Fist of the North Star. Not to mention all the cultural displays and merchandise on sale; and if that wasn't enough there was a wide variety of live performances on display for the patrons from musical to animated. Hell there was even a video game tournament played for Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3. The night culminated into an epic costume parade to showcase some of the cosplayers in attendance. Local cosplayer extraordinaire Steffi Singh made a clean sweep of Anime Nation 2014 by winning not only the award for cosplayer of the year but also best costume of the event. Kudos to you Steffi you made a lot of people proud, really wanted to get one of your water paintings but my outfit broke my piggy bank so sucks to be me.

Steffi Singh

All in all great event, great turnout and great people. I am very happy with my first experience cosplaying even though I was pretty nervous about my outfit and being around so many people. The highlights of my night would be all the lil kids I took pictures with, seeing all the Japanese people instantly recognize my cosplay and wanting to take pics and getting to snap a picture with a fellow Dragonball Z cosplayer who was cosplaying as Gohan. Can't wait for next years event to roll around definitely going to cosplay a character that isn't short so I don't have to crouch for all my pics to stay in character, its been two days and my legs are still jello and ache. Sorry to those that would have preferred to see video coverage footage but my camera has issues and dies super fast if I record video so I focused mainly on taking pictures so feel free to look through the 200+ pictures I managed to get and remember to like our Facebook page. This is your friendly neighborhood gamer Zalgo Cometh signing off...

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Reminder Of Events Taking Place This Saturday To Come Out And Support

I finally finished my cosplay prop for Anime Nation 2014. Yaay me!!! This Saturday the 16th of August is chock full of awesome activities for one and all. Ill primarily be going to Anime Nation but I will try to make an appearance at one or two extra events to support the cause. Anime Nation has always been an awesome event and I expect this year to be no different. Here is a sneak peek at my main prop for my cosplay outfit: 

Next up is the Call Of Duty Ghosts gaming tournament taking place for $25,000 and bragging rights as the best local COD players. (event was postponed till the end of the month. Will update with a new flyer eventually.)

If you are more into the late night scene instead of the day time approach feel free to check out the epic party taking place on August 16th.

Just in case you subscribed to a higher calling in a more fast paced lifestyle we have just the event for you to check out over at the National Stadium on August 16th.

So no matter what your slice of life there is something happening this Saturday for your enjoyment so do take the plunge and come out to these events and enjoy yourself and if you see me at any of these events don't be shy to say hi and we can grab a pic together ^_^.

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Behold The Epicness Of Anime Nation 2012

*cue my epic intro music*

Welcome one and all to the gathering of freaking awesome people, also referred to as Anime Nation. Near and far alike many people assembled like the avengers to celebrate the merriment and wonder that is Anime and Japanese culture at its finest. We spoke a little about this event on Monday so I hope if you are a returning reader that you had the opportunity to come and see everything for yourself. If not then don't worry I got you back dude/dudette, not the greatest of video quality but I rep for my peoples so we got some video footage of the event to help you feel like you were a part of the action so to speak capturing some of the nights highlights. Not to mention the pictures that we snapped over the course of the night of varying cosplayers; I wonder if you can figure out who all these cosplayers are imitating? Well before I show you the main video I just want to say many a thanks to RETV who 'pass thru' through as promised via their shout-out on Twitter. Special thanks as well to the Japanese Embassy of Jamaica for helping spread their wonderfully rich culture with us. Last but not least the JACosplayers team along with all the anime fans that came out and showed supported to make this a grand success. So to quote a famous plumber; "Here We Go!"

So yeah, not the greatest of video quality of editing since i'm kinda working with limited resources and time at the moment but its at least an authentic and genuine experience into what the Anime Nation has to offer. Hopefully one day I will own my own professional camera and mic to shoot with but until such time or one of you kinda people donates to my worthy cause this will have to do ^_^. Anywhore got some other videos to show off as well along with the photo gallery of the event which will be on our facebook page so be sure to go and check those out along with all the other content we have their on Zalgo Cometh. Be sure to like the page and enjoy because it lets us know you care...

Sword Fighting and Caramelldansen Dance Performance

Highlights Of The Cosplay Costume Parade Contest

Well that about wraps up all our coverage for Anime Nation 2012 special thanks again to all the participants and extra special thanks to Stephanie for taking the time for that interview and all the work she put into her costume. Well I got some gaming to make up for so buh bye from In The Mind Of My Mind. Hope you enjoyed our little bit of coverage; definitely hope to see you out in full force supporting next time around. I would also like to point out that this was by no means a sausage-fest as many females were in attendance and people from all age demographics. Check out our full photo spread on the Zalgo Cometh Facebook Page; as well as the JACosplayaz photo album and Facebook page. So until next time, keep on gaming...

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