The FAQ - why I do things I do

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It is time for me to talk about a few things I keep being asked frequently and to clear a few things up that many seem to wonder about.

First a few landmarks:

My name: NanjoKoji
What I am: Cosplayer and leader of Europe's premier anime/manga/videogame musical and show formation TnS - Tsuki no Senshi. For information, you can look us up here: tsukinosenshi.net/ (official homepage), www.facebook.com/tsukinosenshi (Facebook page), twitter.com/#!/tsuki_no_senshi (Twitter page), tsukinosenshi.tumblr.com/ (Tumblr page)
I'm wearing and making costumes for the musicals I act in since 1998, I cosplay independently since 2004
I'm currently 28 years old, working on my PhD (doctorate), living in Germany, where I was born.
I love to travel the world, visit conventions, work on stage, express myself in the way I live and enjoy life.
My enchanting girlfriend is Ravenic, with whom I also cosplay often. My great friend with whom I work together the most in recent times are MissMindCrush, kurui-chan, HarrySirius, CanisMaior and more, they're all also part of my troupe.

I love your cosplay of character xy, where can I get it?
You can't. All my cosplays are selfmade - some of them by or with the help of dear friends, the clear majority made by myself. They're all unique and I don't do commissions. Sometimes I sell cosplays that I won't wear anymore; in this case I'm announcing it here in my journal.
A good hint for those of you who want to cosplay but didn't do it before: Don't buy cosplays, make them yourself. It's easier than it looks and the result will always look better and be more affordable than the overpriced and often badly sewn ones you can buy at various stores. Get an experienced friend for help and you'll discover how much fun making your own cosplay can be!

I don't know how to sew/style/do xy, can you help me?
Feel free to drop me a note and I'll see what I can do for you. Please make your question as precise as possible - things like 'how did you make this cosplay?' will not help. And please be patient - I'm getting MANY notes each day and it's often not easy to catch up with everything in time. But I'm always doing my best not do disappoint anyone and I'll answer everything as fast as possible!

Can I meet you at a convention?
Yes, you can! To perform there, I'm attending ~6 conventions per year in Germany. That's in Europe. I haven't been to american conventions yet - but let's see what the future brings!

I want to see your stage shows! Where can I watch them?
I'd love to welcome you in the audience at one of our performances! Each year, we're presenting two brand-new musicals of famous anime, manga and videogames at Germany's biggest conventions. If you're living too far away, you can always watch videos of our performances. There are many audience recordings and also a few official ones online at Youtube - just search for Tsuki no Senshi and the musical you want to watch. You can find recordings of Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts II, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Ludwig II., Eternal Sonata, Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core and Kuroshitsuji - Black Butler. The upcoming shows for this year will be The Last Unicorn, premiered in 3 weeks, and Trinity Blood, to be premiered in summer 2012.
Language spoken is german, but don't worry, we're following the original storylines and it should be easy to understand. Some videos also have subtitles available (be sure to turn them on in the lower right corner of the video box).

Where can I find you on the internet? Do you have different accounts, too?
You can finde me here:

Most active pages:
Tumblr (my blog, I'm most active there. Language: english) -> nanjokoji.tumblr.com/
Twitter (languages: german and english) -> twitter.com/#!/NanjoKoji
Animexx (I'm most active there, this is also where my full cosplay shootings are being posted. On DeviantArt, I'm always only showing a selected number. Language: mostly german. I'm linking you the english version though. For security reasons, you have to register to see everything.) -> animexx-en.onlinewelten.com/mi…
Facebook (Language: english) -> www.facebook.com/NanjoKoji
Formspring (registered users only. Language: english) -> www.formspring.me/NanjoKoji

Fan Clubs:
NanjoKoji fan page on Facebook -> www.facebook.com/NanjoKojiFC
NanjoKojians on DeviantArt -> nanjokojians.deviantart.com/
NanjoKojians on CureCosplay -> en.curecos.com/picture/?member…

Cosplay pages:
WorldCosplay -> worldcosplay.net/member/2597/
Cosbase -> www.cosbase.de/index.php?r=use…
CureCosplay -> en.curecos.com/profile/?ch=286…
My cosplay.com account is inactive for years
If you come across other accounts of NanjoKoji featuring my pictures, you can be sure that it's a fake account. There are many out there and not all are being reported in time.

How do you get your photos onto the Frontpage so often? I want mine to be there, too!
Frankly, I have no idea how it happened. One day, one of my cosplay photos hit the front page, no idea why. And since then my watcher community is growing steadily, reaching 20.000 this month. My photos get a lot of favs and so they're regularly on the Frontpage. I didn't do anything to bring them there, I'm just very happy about my luck and the many wonderful people out there who like what I do. Thank you for the long-time support, my dears! Thanks to each and everyone of you! I'm so lucky to present my little works to you, I cannot begin to express my gratefulness for all these years together with you ♥




To a few things concerning special shootings and photos in recent times:

Why don't you put the magazines to the weapons you used for Sucker Punch and Hetalia?
In most countries, it is illegal to walk the streets armed. Even in the States, the police would be upon you in an instant. We're doing our shootings mostly in public places and therefore looking armed would be absolutely indecent. The weapons are paintball guns, therefore they're legal, but they look very real. So the least we could do is to leave the magazines at home. And I don't think it takes away much from the photos.

Why don't I see nipples on you when you cosplay male characters topless?
I'm a woman, so I'm binding to cosplay men. So I have to edit the binding out if I want it to look good. That means that my nipples won't be in the picture if I don't want to cosplay topless, which would be pretty indecent in public places and I wouldn't feel with it as well. So if there should be nipples in the photo, they cannot be mine. And I don't want to edit someone else's nipples onto my photo. I don't want anyone's chest on mine. I could as well copy a good-looking face on my body, or a good-looking body as well, and there wouldn't be much left of what I contributed to the result. I'm working on my body to look good, no matter if cosplaying or not, and I could spare that if I wouldn't want to look good with what I am. And also in cosplay, I want it to be me, not what I stole somewhere. So I think, this is a decent solution. Also regarding the fact that in most manga/anime, the nipples aren't even drawn when the guys are running around topless. It that ok with you? At least it's ok with me^_-

Why are you cosplaying so much yaoi/characters that aren't from yaoi series in yaoi situations?
Because I like these pairings! Simple enough :D

Why did you do xy this way? I myself can't find this in the series, therefore it is wrong and I don't like it!
I respect your opinion. But cosplay is still a form of art, it's creative work and everyone interprets the things he likes in different ways. Some of my photos are allegories to the characters portrayed, some are situations or images I came up with because I like them. Keep your mind open - fine if you like it, fine if you don't. But I can't find any 'wrong' in matters of art.

*insert major trolling here*
Trolling is a problem of the internet, not just of the cosplay scene and not just of me. It happens often (although things got better in the recent year, maybe the cosplay world is getting used to my presence after so many years). But it is still not ok. Trolling gets reported immediately and I don't see a reason to answer to it. To point something out: I'm from Germany and in Germany, harrassing someone online, bullying and badmouthing someone is illegal. I know about the free speech concept in the USA and that many use it to excuse inacceptable behaviour. But I'm german and I see things the way of my country's legislation. It is not ok to insult someone, no matter who it is. I treat people politely and I expect to be treated politely in return. Constructive criticism and a different opinion is always welcome. But I do not tolerate trolling.


To be continued if something else comes on my mind.
Maybe you've got a question you'd like to have answered? Feel free to ask!
Hope it helps!

Have a good day, everyone, and thank you for the support!

Yours,
NanjoKoji
© 2012 - 2024 NanjoKoji
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blueheart29's avatar
:D

You have a great outlook on life! It is refreshing to see such liveliness and joy <3

May life keep blessing you with happiness :D