In Similar News...

Has anyone else been staying tuned for the Heroes of Cosplay show?

And is anyone else as disappointed as we are?

A little background for those who have no idea what we're talking about. Syfy Channel is airing a 6-week series called Heroes of Cosplay. Here's the description from the official website

Cosplayers and cosplay contests are a fixture and highlight at the many comic book and genre fan conventions around the world. These conventions provide an international stage for fans to showcase often spectacular handcrafted costumes and portray their favorite characters from sci-fi movies, video games, anime and more. In Heroes of Cosplay, nine passionate fans put their imagination and skills to the test to make a name for themselves in the competitive world of cosplay.

The series follows cosplayers of all levels, from legend Yaya Han, to rising stars and newbies, as they make a splash at comic book conventions around the country. The series will dive deep into their lives, following their process as they create extravagant and visually arresting costumes each week. These nine constantly defy odds and race against the clock to transform themselves into amazing fictional characters that push the boundaries between fantasy and reality, all in hopes of impressing the convention judges to win a cash prizes and take their cosplay stardom to new heights.

With two weeks down, we've seen Wizard World in Portland, Oregon and Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle, Washington.

Smiling-Moon, our founder, actually attended Wizard World. She and a friend were approached by the contest organizers, was given a pass for the convention (she had just shown up to hang with friends) specifically to enter the contest, and the two of them actually placed in the top 25 of the competition. They were also interviewed and filmed for a good 30-45 minutes by the Heroes of Cosplay people, so we were triply stoked for this show to air last week.

Ultimately, the first show focused on 6 people: Yaya Han, competition judge and self-appointed "Ambassador of Cosplay"; Jessica and Holly, a sometimes catty duo who go to numerous cons to compete and promote their costume fabrication business; Jesse, a steampunk enthusiast and armor creator who hopes to go into business creating elaborate suits for others; Becky, an all-or-nothing cosplayer who likes to completely become the characters she portrays; and Victoria (and her boyfriend/fabricator Jinyo) who likes to go all-out in her costumes, but tends to be a little last-minute about things. A cattier, more drama-filled cast you will be hard-pressed to find anywhere else.

I won't lie, it was pretty exciting watching that episode, but not for the storylines or the drama of the featured characters. No, we had much more fun trying to pick out each other or other people we knew from the backgrounds. We finally caught better glimpses of Smiling-Moon and her circus partner when they pulled the top looks up to the stage at the end, but none of the interviews from any of the competitors ever made it to air. No, instead you can see flashes of them, as well as 2 short interviews from the winners in this online-only video here. If you're interested, Smiling-Moon is the black-faced demon with top-hat, and her friend is the demon with the parasol/umbrella  (48 seconds in) just before the Leela/Futurama group interview.

So besides the disappointment with unused footage, what did we think of the show? Well...for a show that seems to paint itself like a documentary, it is 'documenting' the wrong things. Firstly, and my biggest peeve, is the repeated line about people "spending thousands of dollars creating their costume(s)." That maybe true for some people/costumes, especially some of the competitors, but don't paint all cosplayers in that light. Some truly do go out in costume simply to show off their talents, have fun with friends, and mingle with other like-minded people. The two monochrome circus demons outfits & makeup cost maybe $100 between the two of them. Most pieces were either self-sewn, self-dyed, or Goodwill finds. We're not saying this is the case for most cosplayers, far from it, but to say that all cosplayers are well-off individuals who can spend as much time and money as they want on making and wearing costumes is a gross and disingenuous portrayal of most of the cosplay community.

Secondly, the "Heroes" they chose to highlight weren't all that interesting. Yaya, while impressive in her costumes and eye for detail, came off as extremely vain (especially in Ep 2) and snooty. Jesse, the battle armor creator, is looking to start his own business and wants a win at a competition to be his shooting-off point, thus is continuously disappointed at his losses and comes off as a sore loser. Jessica and Holly, in a bit of the same situation as Jesse, had so much 'last minute' drama and cattiness between them, they were annoying to watch, even when they did win.

Victoria was even worse in the drama department. First she decides to start on a new, intricate cosplay a week before the contest (though there have been murmurings that she had already debuted this costume at an earlier con...). In the process of creating the costume, her machine breaks, so she must fly to Portland with a half-completed costume, and attempt to complete it with mailed components the day of the contest. Long story short, she gets drunk, oversleeps, and doesn't finish the costume. So we devoted at least 15 minutes of air time to someone who didn't even compete?!?!?!

And then there were the actual heroes of week one and two, Becky and Chloe. Chloe is the host of a show called "Just Cos" which talks about the cosplay scene. This was her first competition, but she manages to have a lot of fun despite her stress, nerves, and not winning. Becky wears a Merida (Disney/Pixar's Brave) costume and has a heartwarming clip where she talks to a very young Belle completely in-character. She also earns an honorable mention in the competition, "crediting her confidence onstage" and character presence. Both displayed an upbeat spirit about the entire experience, with their aims being more about sharing their talents with other fans than actually winning a medal or making their hobby into a profession. Granted, Chloe already has a cosplay-related profession, so I can see her coming from a completely different place than, say, Jesse or Jessica & Holly.

Thirdly, the production was more disingenuous to the cosplay community by adding false atmosphere. Showing people staring (or CLAPPING) at their 'stars' when they enter a room/hallway/stairway is downright lying to the audience. If someone likes your outfit they run up and ask for pictures, strike up a conversation, or walk over and compliment you. Cosplay may have stars who are at another level (Yaya) who sell pictures and props, but 99.9% of cosplayers are just huge fans.

Lastly (for now), it would be nice if they highlighted the contestants who showed spectacular costumes more, instead of merely flashing through them every 2 seconds. Even if it was primarily online content, it would be nice to see more of the cosplay world in general, not just these 9 people (especially Yaya, who I'm sure didn't need any more attention). It's not like they don't have the footage, or the air-time. Cut out people who don't even compete (seriously), or don't show them bowling, drinking, checking into their hotel, etc. Focus on costume creation, competitions, convention floors, and maybe a little bit of backstage or backstories.

Episode 2 had more cringe-worthy things involved, but I won't take up any more of your time or attention going into them now. I'm planning on writing a full review once the show is over in 4 weeks and posting it on my blog. (I'll probably just link here so you won't have a novella in your inboxes).

But in the meantime, what about the rest of you? Have you seen it? What are your own convention experiences? What do you think of the show format, characters, message? Like? Dislike? Indifferent? Sound off below!