When I exited Orchard Central at about 5:30pm today, I saw a group of cosplayers in front of the main entrance. (We shall leave aside what I was doing at Orchard Central in the first place, although co-bloggers Anthony and Edward can easily guess by my drastically-reduced wallet. Phantasy Star Portable 2 GET~) I admit the primary reason I noticed them is because of the Naruto cosplayer in show-accurate bright orange, and I have no idea how that works for the whole Ninja Master Of Stealth thing, but I digress.
If you are part of the group who was there, please do contact us. We’d love to hear from you, and any clarifications or corrections will be put up as soon as possible.
Apologies for the picture quality: the only thing I had on hand to take pictures was my cellphone.
They had the sort of enthusiasm in getting others to take pictures with them that I had previously only associated with paid cosplayers, ie those who were there to promote something or other. The balloons they were giving out and the brochures advertising the Open Doors Weekend Market (which I had hitherto not heard of; it’s on the 16th and 17th of October, so it’s a little late, sadly) lent credence to that assumption.
I got the attention of the guy with the hat and brochures and asked what this was a promotion for.
“Nothing,” he said. “Just here for fun.”
A surprise, and I think a good one. Further questioning revealed that the costumes came from one of the shops there, but that was about the extent of anything resembling corporate sponsorship. (I apologize again for not catching the shop’s name; I couldn’t hear it over the traffic.)
And watching the group as they pounced on passers-by, cheerfully dragging them in for photo sessions, I have to imagine that this is a pretty effective method of advertising the fandom scene in Singapore in a positive way. There’s a sort of passion in those who actually know and like the character they’re cosplaying as that shines through, and having enough of that passion makes it spread to others. These people are just here for fun, and they certainly looked like they were having fun. Fun is infectious, particularly when it involves impromptu photo sessions with little kids who haven’t yet learned to be shy about expressing themselves in public.
Also, balloons. Balloons are always fun.
I have to wonder if it would be a good idea to have these sorts of little street scenes here in Singapore, assuming they don’t contravene some sort of obscure law somewhere (cf. the fiascos with SingPost graffiti and the recent Philips Bear In Ulu Pandan). Have a day out in flashy cosplay! Take photos! Give out balloons!
Do it often enough, and I assume people will eventually have to take notice.