Messages

Hey everyone, I know I haven't been as active as I usually am during the run-up to Fanime and the gathering.  Just have a lot of personal stuff going on right now that has been pretty trying.

That said, I have submitted the gathering officially.  Even if I'm not as active right now, I am still hosting the gathering as usual, and I hope I can become more active here again once things calm down a bit.

Thanks everyone!  Feel free to post any questions here or on the Facebook Event Page and I hope to see you at the gathering!

Hold Space (B).

Hold Space (A).

[Fanime 2023 Old School (Pre-2001) Cosplay Gathering!]

Greetings old school cosplayers!  Getting back to the Old School Gathering last year was a blast as always, thank you all for your amazing attendance, awesome cosplay, being genuinely considerate of your fellow cosplayers, and continued representation of the fandoms that created anime conventions!  Of course I'm back to host yet again!  Continuing the tradition of the gathering that got me into cosplay, I announce the...

Fanime 2023 Old School (Pre-2001) Cosplay Gathering!

Come celebrate the rich history of Japanese entertainment culture!

This is a hugely open gathering for those of you / us who cosplay as characters from the previous century.  Essentially if your cosplay character appears in Anime, Manga, Video Games or Live Action that began PRIOR to 2001, then this is the gathering for you!  Although I like to have a decidedly Japanese lean to this gathering, it is not completely exclusive.

Day : Friday, May 26th, 2023 (Day 1).
Time : 6PM - 7PM.
Meeting Place (MP) : Same as Location.
Location (L) : TBA due to the changing state of gatherings information.

This will be our sixth consecutive year hosting! Details about where we will be located for 2023 will be posted as soon as the location list for this year is revealed, but we plan to be on-site close to the convention center if not within it again.


Cosplayers : If you would like, please post who your cosplay character is, what title it is from and what year you are representing!  As this gathering is a total wildcard mix of different characters, series, studios, and genres - spanning time rather than properties - a definitive list is otherwise not provided.  Part of the fun of the OSCG is seeing just who shows up.


Legal Statement : Fanime / gathering co-host will likely be taking group pictures during the Gathering/Event this year. If you do not want to be included in those pictures please step aside for those photos. By remaining with the group when the pictures are being taken you give your consent to be photographed.


Photography Order : If there is any specific setup or shot you would like, just let me know!  This gathering is to celebrate all of us as cosplayers who keep the vintage fire alive.

Group shot.
By era - 1960's (or earlier).
By era - 1970's.
By era - 1980's.
By era - 1990's (to 2000).
Characters who use swords / knives / blades / etc.
Characters known to get physical / fighters / brawlers.
Military / rank and file / soldiers.
Characters with psychic powers / spiritual powers / espers / magic / etc.
Pilots / drivers / craft operators / mech jockeys.
Teachers / students / faculty / school attendants / etc.
Characters who use firearms / laser guns / projectile weapons / etc.
Magical girls.
Animals / pets.
Spacefaring characters / those who live off-world.
Robots / androids / synthetic people / mecha.
Characters who are mysterious / shadowy.
Public servants / government organizations / secret organizations.
Characters with secret identities.
Characters in uniform of any type.
Battle teams.
Video game characters.
Characters who are on the run / fugitives / scoundrels / bounty hunters.
Monsters / demons / youma / zombies / etc.
Characters who are technically minded / deductive / intelligent / geniuses.
Great warriors / legendary masters.
Civilians.
Aliens.
Heroes.
Villains.
Heroes vs Villains.
Cosplayers representing the manga version of their character.
Age vs Youth / old characters vs young characters.
Live Action only characters.
Pairings / couples.
Group shot for late attendees (regular / humorous).

Series groups (dependent on attendance / cosplayer request).
By studio / production team (dependent on attendance / cosplayer request).
Solo shots (cosplayer request).
Additional requests (cosplayer request).

I am always up for future ideas to add to the list!  A good portion of the photo order is built upon suggestions from previous years.  We have continued to consolidate the list to get the order cycled faster.


Facebook Event Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/863984558046972


This is an excellent gathering to psyche you up for the convention weekend.  If you're an old school cosplayer, stop by and join us!  Feel free to pop in for a moment to say hi, see some incredible cosplay, pose for some pictures, and continue to prove that just because it's old doesn't mean it isn't awesome!


Thank you so very much.  Let's have another great turnout and continue this wonderful Fanime tradition!

I had a lot of fun at the gathering!! <3 This gathering has always been one of my favorites to attend.

Can't wait for next year's! And glad we don't have to wait three years til the next one! xD

Thank you so much for attending!!  I hope your Inuyasha gathering went well! ^_^

[I want to thank everyone who attended Saturday morning!]

Hey, we had a great time hosting yet again!  Outstanding attendance as well.  I want to thank everyone who attended Saturday morning!

Truthfully I'm surprised most people stayed for the entire two hour / two session panel.  Of course we were wrapping around the 1.5 hour mark as I've trailed a slow-to-leave panelist before and I know it's no fun, but we did stay for some Q&A / discussion and used our full slot.

Interestingly enough, in four sessions across three FanimeCons, every single one has gone to a Tiebreaker Round.  In the case of 2022 Session A, the game ENDED in a tiebreak even after.  Thankfully every concession I built into the game at the start has not only worked out well, they've all been used.

Only bad thing... I've gone through 44 vintage titles so far!  Things will start to get more difficult to build balanced sessions that feature all genres, eras, recent re-releases, fansub projects, and of course... a couple that are very misleading to identify.  (as well as a few that most people could get)

We also gave away a TON of prizes this year! I had a bunch of titles that I had upgraded or double dipped releases of, so there was a lot to give away...

Session A
The Anime Encyclopedia Second Edition
Rhino Records "The Best of Anime" CD album
New Mobile Report Gundam Wing "Just Communication" Japanese CD single
Neo Human Casshan full series DVD set (New/Sealed)
Armored Trooper VOTOMS full series Blu-ray / VOTOMS OVA Collection 1 Blu-ray
Tetsuwan Atom / Astro Boy cartridge for the Nintendo Famicom
Cool reusable Daiso bag to cart it all away

Session B
The Anime Encyclopedia Second Edition
Rhino Records "The Best of Anime" CD album
Super Dimension Century Orguss full series DVD
Mobile Police Patlabor The Movie DVD (New/Sealed) / Patlabor 2 The Movie DVD (new/sealed)
Demon City Shinjuku DVD
Dragon Ball Shenron no Nazo cartridge for the Nintendo Famicom
Cool reusable Daiso bag to cart it all away

I also look for cheap / extra / sale stuff throughout the year (I actually already bought some future prizes this year at Fanime).  I joked that there was no Swap Meet this year, so we gave away two Swap Meet hauls instead.

2023 is a year away but I would love to come back for a fourth year and host this panel once again.  I think it's a great way to kick off a Saturday morning at Fanime - essentially the vintage anime / Saturday Anime / celebration of anime room.

But how did this work then when in pre-COVID years, badge checks were being done at the entrance of the convention center itself and not the individual rooms? I remember that change happening, as beforehand non-badge holders could just stroll through the con center as long as they did not enter any rooms.

When they moved to checking badges at the entrances, the video rooms were moved to the lower level expansion, which remained unbadged.

[Here is the link to the unofficial gathering photoset]

Hello old schoolers!!!

Here is the link to the unofficial gathering photoset, featuring all photos taken by the gathering co-host!  These are unedited and non-watermarked.

Feel free to tag anyone you may know and share!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1947430818779384

Facebook has gotten really weird with hosting images as of recent and doesn't seem to have a full resolution option anymore. If you need a higher resolution version of a picture - please message me (either here or on Facebook) and I'll send it to you directly.

If there are any images that you would like removed, please message me as well and I'll accommodate you as best I can.

Thank you to all who attended or showed interest in this gathering.  It was awesome to be back again and see so many amazing cosplayers once more!  I am so happy that the gathering has continued to remain popular, as I was worried that the momentum we had been gaining into 2019 would be lost by the time away - but that was totally not the case!

We hope to see you all again for FanimeCon next year and the 2023 Old School Cosplay Gathering!! It will always be held the evening of Fanime Friday!

It was a good gathering indeed. I'll be back next year!

Thank you for attending!!

Thank you so much for hosting!! I hope to see more Star Trek cosplayers next year haha

You're very welcome! I think we've had at least one or two 'Trek cosplayers every year!

Thank you so much to everyone who attended this year!  We will have the unofficial gathering photo gallery up within one week!  The link will be posted here, on the Facebook Event Page for the gathering, and on the Mokkori Cosplay Facebook page.

We will be back in 2023!

[Celebrating An Era - 1990's! Marmalade Boy (1994)]

Good afternoon old schoolers!

I'm about to head out to Fanime myself so I'm going to make this the last pre-gathering post for this year.

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has followed this gathering, either on the forums or the Facebook event page, especially those who have been here for the two and a half years or so - since the beginning of what was supposed to be for 2020.  We are right on the edge of the gathering finally and that is wonderful.

There are a lot of people who can't attend - due to life changes, level of comfort, and in some cases no longer being with us.  I am thankful for them as well.  For supporting the tradition of this gathering and keeping the vintage fire not only burning - but roaring.

I hope to see you all tomorrow.  Remember we are at G7 and will be beginning at 6pm promptly.  Remember we will have gathering ribbons for every cosplayer in attendance, if you have to leave before the end of the gathering PLEASE let me know tomorrow so I can give you a ribbon and a card!

Please be respectful of other cosplayers and other attendees.  Give staff and event hosts room to breathe and a "thank you" if so inclined.

Capping this year's old school OPs / EDs off perfectly - especially since it's just that windy in downtown San Jose today.  Here's the second ending from my all-time favorite shojo series.

Celebrating An Era - 1990's!  Marmalade Boy (1994)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmYhuTaoKhU (ENDING 2)

[Celebrating An Era - 1990's! Chibi Maruko-chan (1990)]

Good afternoon old schoolers!

So here we are, many of you already on site, the convention in the process of being set up.  I hope everyone is well and that everyone will be respectful to your fellow cosplayers, attendees, and staff.  I'm going to head out myself in a couple hours and dive into the changes of 2022.  I'll have one more post in a bit and then it'll all switch to at-con for tomorrow.  Here's a great ending theme of a pretty amazing family manga and anime that continues to be extremely popular to this day.

Celebrating An Era - 1990's!  Chibi Maruko-chan (1990)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmTJQVnNq5Y (ENDING)

[Celebrating An Era - 1980's! Aim for the Top! / GunBuster (1988)]

Good evening old schoolers!

Keeping it going with an OVA series that I've always really liked - in fact it's my favorite Gainax work.  Great to see there's a chance of it being properly re-released soon.

Celebrating An Era - 1980's!  Aim for the Top! / GunBuster (1988)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLr3b2bDBZg

[Celebrating An Era - 1980's! Sonic Soldier Borgman (1988)]

Good afternoon old schoolers!

Just two days away!  Here's a great looking series that some may know tangentially through the Sega Master System game Cyborg Hunter, which was a re-work of the Japanese Borgman Sega Mark III tie-in.  The series is out there with HK subs but it's better than nothing!

Celebrating An Era - 1980's!  Sonic Soldier Borgman (1988)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5WvRo8dloo

[Celebrating An Era - 1960's! Eight Man (1963)]

Good very late evening old schoolers!

How about something really old school for the late shift?  Anime's first cyborg superhero!  Probably better known to people in the west for the OVA sequel 8 Man After, which was part of the regular rotation of Saturday Anime broadcast on Sci-Fi Channel.

Celebrating An Era - 1960's!  Eight Man (1963)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE6V_PLn2IU

[Celebrating An Era - 1990's! Rurouni Kenshin (1996)]

Good morning old schoolers!

Keeping it going with another hugely popular title from the 90's boom.

Celebrating An Era - 1990's!  Rurouni Kenshin (1996)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oun6BUHI9eE

[Celebrating An Era - 1990's! Outlaw Star (1998)]

Good afternoon old schoolers!

ONE WEEK from RIGHT NOW the Old School (Pre-2001) Cosplay Gathering will be getting ready to get underway after three years!  We are so looking forward to bringing this gathering back to FanimeCon.  Remember, we're at LOCATION G7 this year - CONSULT THE MAP!! Hopefully, in the years that follow, we can move back inside but for 2022 we're tucked over onto The Slab at G7.  We know things will be different this year, we know we'll have to be a bit more spread out, but we will be there.

A couple changes this year -

1. Mask + megaphone just doesn't work out, so I've went ahead and made large flipcards that state each photography setup.  Hopefully this will keep me from losing my voice just before our big two hour Vintage Anime panel the next morning. (which you should also check out, Saturday - Panels 3 - 10am)

2. Pose counts will be shorter.  How close you get is about how comfortable you are (PLEASE respect your fellow cosplayers - especially at this gathering) but the idea is to keep us close together for pictures in shorter bursts.  This means we want to get people set for the picture quickly, strike the pose, get to the countdown faster, and then spread back out.  So if you're a photog following the gathering, we're going to go a little quicker, probably 3-5 second counts rather than 5-10 as in years previous.

3. More time for solo / small groups at the end.  Location G7 really does allow us to be a bit more isolated and protected, allowing space for cosplayers to step to the side and then get into position easier.  This should help us roll through the photography order faster, which means more time after for solo / small group photos utilizing our location.

4. Ribbon for every cosplayer!  Okay, this is no different than in 2019 but we do have a new ribbon.  At the end of the gathering we will be giving out badge ribbons and business cards.  The business card will have the location where an UNOFFICIAL gallery of all gathering pictures will be hosted a week after Fanime (taken by my co-host and myself).  We want to make sure EVERY COSPLAYER in the gathering is able to get that and a ribbon.  If you need to bounce before the end, just come up to me and I'll give you a card and ribbon.

5. REMEMBER WE ARE IN A NEW LOCATION!  You have to go outside and around and then between the Hilton and artist alley ballroom expansion, then all the way to the end.  Please give yourself time to make the journey.  We have to start at 6pm so we don't loose too much sunlight as it sets behind the Hilton.  It only takes a minute to get there if you know where it is - CONSULT THE MAP!

So there it is, we look forward to seeing you all in a week.  Please take care of yourselves and your fellow cosplayers, we're almost there.  Let's start the final week run-up with a series that should have found a bigger audience.

Celebrating An Era - 1990's!  Outlaw Star (1998)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoDUxs3rlRU

[Celebrating An Era - 1980's! Urusei Yatsura (1981)]

Good very late evening old schoolers!

How about one for the late night crowd tonight?  Kinda crazy to think a staple of anime such as this first aired 41 years ago!

Celebrating An Era - 1980's!  Urusei Yatsura (1981)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2Jiic05C0M

Corrected an error I had in the first post.  All systems are still go!  See you Fanime Saturday!

[Celebrating An Era - 1990's! Hana Yori Dango / Boys Over Flowers (1996)]

Good afternoon old schoolers!

Fanime weekend is closing in fast!  Remember we are going to be located at a different spot this year - OUTSIDE and around the corner at THE SLAB - Gatherings G7.  Consult the map in the second forum post / pinned Facebook post for directions!

Going to move to posing an OP here and there until the convention weekend.  How about the anime adaptation of the best-selling shojo manga series of all time?

Celebrating An Era - 1990's!  Hana Yori Dango / Boys Over Flowers (1996)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ul9WDDBBrzM