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[InsaneDavid]

Hopefully Presea from Magic Knight Rayearth (mid 1990s)

That would be great!

My girlfriend and I are JUST about finished with our old school cosplay for this year (who am I kidding, all we do is old stuff) - just some boot covers to finish up.  Then it's on to starting our next new one for this year.  Time is running down!

Also, every Friday, Saturday and Sunday until the week of Fanime, I'll be posting an anime opening from each decade the Old School Gathering represents over at the Facebook Event Page - https://www.facebook.com/events/1155421784469122/

[Michi]

That would be outstanding.  DQIII is such an important game to the history of RPGs in the east, really when they became fully formed and dropped the baggage of Wizardy and Ultima III that was in their DNA from the start.  Also the first RPG with bunny girls! 

Our group has the bunny girl class too, hehe.

[Nina Star 9]

I'll be able to make it to the gathering, but I might be a little late -- I'm hosting a panel from 4-5PM, so I'll have to run over from the Fairmont.

It's between Lady Oscar (Rose of Versailles) and Angela (Seiken Densetsu 3) at this point. I'll probably post again once it's closer to con and my schedule is fully set. (I'll be wearing both, but I haven't decided yet which is a Friday costume and which is a Sunday costume.)

It would be fun to wear my oldest source material cosplay (going back to 1973!) at this gathering, but it would also be fun to wear something from a game like SD3. It'll probably come down to photoshoot schedules, so I need to start contacting photographers before I can decide. :]

[InsaneDavid]

That would be outstanding.  DQIII is such an important game to the history of RPGs in the east, really when they became fully formed and dropped the baggage of Wizardy and Ultima III that was in their DNA from the start.  Also the first RPG with bunny girls! 

Our group has the bunny girl class too, hehe.

Super important to have one in the party - easiest way to a Sage!

I'll be able to make it to the gathering, but I might be a little late -- I'm hosting a panel from 4-5PM, so I'll have to run over from the Fairmont.

It's between Lady Oscar (Rose of Versailles) and Angela (Seiken Densetsu 3) at this point. I'll probably post again once it's closer to con and my schedule is fully set. (I'll be wearing both, but I haven't decided yet which is a Friday costume and which is a Sunday costume.)

It would be fun to wear my oldest source material cosplay (going back to 1973!) at this gathering, but it would also be fun to wear something from a game like SD3. It'll probably come down to photoshoot schedules, so I need to start contacting photographers before I can decide. :]

Cool!  No problem what so ever about running late.  I plan to run this gathering super laid back as the last two years I attended were.  Talk a bit, get everyone up on the stage for some pictures, and have some fun.  I'm glad we tentatively have an entire hour as I think last year it was only 30 minutes - although we all hung around for awhile and talked with BSaphire on the second gathering day.

I want to thank everyone for the positive response concerning this gathering continuing.  I'll admit I was a little nervous about taking up the hosting duties but when I see that people are genuinely excited about attending, it reaffirms how important this gathering is and how privileged I feel to be part of its continuation.

[InsaneDavid]

Less than a month to go!  I hope everything is coming together for everyone smoothly.

[Nina Star 9]

I've decided on a costume -- you'll see me there as Lady Oscar from The Rose of Versailles.

Again, I might be a little late, depending on how quickly I can get there from my panel, but I'm determined to make it!

[InsaneDavid]

I've decided on a costume -- you'll see me there as Lady Oscar from The Rose of Versailles.

That's the one thing I haven't done!  Patlabor is done and I love it (because my personality can be a lot like Kiichi Goto and my girlfriend can be a lot like Shinobu Nagumo) so much I want to wear it all day Saturday now.  I'm considering going double duty Friday / Saturday but that depends on my plans Friday evening after the gathering and how warm it is that day.  If I wear the same cosplay twice during a con I like to have one non-wear day in between to give it time to be laundered / freshened up / aired out.  If not Patlabor then it'll be Cyber Formula again, like last year's Friday OSG.  Cyber Formula gets nowhere near enough love outside of Japan!

Again, I might be a little late, depending on how quickly I can get there from my panel, but I'm determined to make it!

I'm really glad this gathering has been given a full hour, I really hope that sticks.  Previous two years had been half hour gatherings if I remembered correctly and for the bigger crowd last year on Friday we really could have used JUST a little longer since there was such a varied turn out.  See you there!

[Nina Star 9]

Good luck on choosing a costume! That's always the hardest part. I still need to figure out what I'm going to be wearing on Sunday morning of the con, since I cut a costume from my lineup and can't wear my Sunday afternoon costume for more than a few hours.

I'm not familiar with Cyber Formula, but I just googled it, and the designs look really cool. (I'm also not into Patlabor -- it just isn't my type -- but I'm at least familiar with the concept.)


I'll see you there! I'm excited for this gathering. My Lady Oscar got a really good reception when I wore it to Krakencon weekend before last, so I'm hoping the reception will be even better at a gathering like this!

[InsaneDavid]

I'll see you there! I'm excited for this gathering. My Lady Oscar got a really good reception when I wore it to Krakencon weekend before last, so I'm hoping the reception will be even better at a gathering like this!

That's my favorite thing about this gathering, and old anime / manga in general, is no one has seen or knows it all.  However it tends to be a community more adept to looking into titles they may not be familiar with.  Just posting anime openings on the Facebook page on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays has expanded the amount of stuff I want to watch.

[cherryteagirl]

I'll be cosplaying as Arle from Puyo Puyo (1991). 

[InsaneDavid]

I'll be cosplaying as Arle from Puyo Puyo (1991).

Awesome!  Technically Arle can even stretch back to 1989 - http://puyonexus.net/intro/madou.html

[InsaneDavid]

The 20th Century (and earlier) of Japanese entertainment may be in the past but you only have a little over a week into the future to finish up your old school cosplay!

I hope everyone's cosplay is coming along smoothly - or at least progress is being made.  I'll be real easy to spot at the gathering, just look for the two uniformed Patlabor officers.

[saboli]

I'll be cosplaying as Shogo Yahagi from Megazone 23 Part 1.
Right now I'm having a hard time finding a right wig, so if I weren't able to find it, I might cosplay without one. This will be my first time going to a cosplay gathering and I'm very excited 

[nix]

Hello! My husband and I have a Full Metal Panic! cosplay - I'm Chidori and he's Sousuke in the casual school uniform. Would this fit in the gathering?  The light novels started in 1998, the manga started in 2000, but the anime show aired in 2002.  It's right on the edge of old school and not...

[InsaneDavid]

Hello! My husband and I have a Full Metal Panic! cosplay - I'm Chidori and he's Sousuke in the casual school uniform. Would this fit in the gathering?  The light novels started in 1998, the manga started in 2000, but the anime show aired in 2002.  It's right on the edge of old school and not...

Your fine as the manga began before 2001, in 2000 as you said.  It's the same thing as Fruits Basket where the anime series didn't air until 2001 but the manga was first published in 1998.

There a handful of series like this and as long as an original work, generally a manga as it's a visual medium, began before 2001 you're good to go.  The only thing I would have caution against is characters that were introduced in later incarnations of a series, Mari Makinami from Evangelion 2.0 as an example, as they are more modern / contemporary characters.  (Although that leads to the Mari debate as she's in the manga - but in the final volume published in 2013! )

Anyway.... come on out to the gathering and have a great time!

[Nina Star 9]

I know that I don't really have any say in this, but I feel like if I were running the gathering, I'd prefer it to be more inclusive rather than exclusive...so if a case can be made that a character or series fits, then I'd rather include people who are potentially old school fans even if it can be a bit fuzzy.

I've also seen the gathering in past years say that as long as the character existed before the cutoff date, then it's fine, regardless of outfit or anything like that. I suppose an argument could be made for the same about the series itself, or for one or the other to have existed.

(I know that I personally have done SEVERAL cosplays that originated in 1999, which I think has been used as the cutoff year in previous years of this gathering. Why is 1999 such a good year for cosplay for me? lol)

Either way, excited for the gathering.

[InsaneDavid]

I know that I don't really have any say in this, but I feel like if I were running the gathering, I'd prefer it to be more inclusive rather than exclusive...so if a case can be made that a character or series fits, then I'd rather include people who are potentially old school fans even if it can be a bit fuzzy.

I've also seen the gathering in past years say that as long as the character existed before the cutoff date, then it's fine, regardless of outfit or anything like that. I suppose an argument could be made for the same about the series itself, or for one or the other to have existed.

(I know that I personally have done SEVERAL cosplays that originated in 1999, which I think has been used as the cutoff year in previous years of this gathering. Why is 1999 such a good year for cosplay for me? lol)

Either way, excited for the gathering.

I know for at least the previous two years it has been anything pre-2001 and that's the template I want to follow.  The crux of the gathering is really to have a generalized place specifically for older series fandoms that otherwise wouldn't have enough singular pull to have individual gatherings.  Also a place for people to get out there and see what they've missed because we've all missed so much!

I would also like to keep it Japanese based, which I do recall was a request in years previous as well.  However if someone shows up as, I don't know, Dilbert for a random example, they won't be turned away or anything.  It's a request, not an enforcement as I'd like to think I'm not that big of an ass. 

So yeah, it's exactly what is described in the gathering introduction - "Essentially if your cosplay character appears in Anime, Manga, Video Games or Live Action pre-2001 on back, then this is the gathering for you!"

If they were created before 2001, you are good to go!

[InsaneDavid]

Less than 72 hours to go!   

[InsaneDavid]

See you all later today!  May registration go smoothly for you all.

[InsaneDavid]

Thank you to everyone who came out to the 2016 OSG!  Thank you equally as much for putting up with my unusually quiet and raspy voice, as I'm in the tail end of a sinus reaction that crept up on Wednesday night and has exhausted me every day since.  I swear, I'm usually 300% louder with 500% more energy.  ...that sounds like either a Japanese coffee or pachinko advertisement.

I really cannot express how much it means to me to have had so many people attend this gathering.  I hope to see you all again next year for the 2017 OSG - the 35th anniversary of Japan's favorite working-class video game hero, Dig Dug!

Once the pictures my co-host took are uploaded, I will post the link here.  Additionally once FanimeCon staff pictures are up, I will do the same and post the link here.

See you space cowboy...