One of these days, I’ll finish my Ohayocon 2011 report… But first I have to gush a little about Paradise Kiss! Paradise Kiss is an anime series about a young woman who decides she doesn’t want the academic life insisted upon by her mother and stumbles into a modeling career. I finally finished watching it and must say that I enjoyed it a great deal because of its interesting characters and an underlying story that has a realistic amount of grit to it. In Paradise Kiss, the fashions may be gorgeous, but people’s lives are not.
One of the shows climactic moments is during Caroline’s (Yukari) runway walk in the big fashion show. She’s worried about all of the things that could go wrong, like stumbling or falling down. But at the same time she is overflowing with energy, confidence, and excitement! It reminded me in a powerful way of the first time I walked the runway in a cosplay fashion show. I was so worried about falling off the stage, but at the same time, in that moment I felt like the most beautiful woman in the world!
That turned out to be the crowning moment of a fabulous day of cosplay that began with a most wonderful compliment of my costume no sooner than I’d left my hotel room. So in a sense the runway walk had already begun, hours before my turn to strut across the stage. For cosplayers, I think the whole convention space becomes one big long runway. The whole world is watching YOU, the most beautiful person in the world!