Valkoinen Samurai edition: Who ends up in my cosplay list and why?

Whazzup guys?

Last month I made this cosplay decision process post and –as some might remember– at the end of it I asked if there was interest for a follow-up about how I personally choose my cosplays. Well well, seemingly some peeps were curious so I'm gonna go ahead and make a hopefully not-too-long post about what kinds of character qualities and such tug on my "need to cosplay" strings!

Before I start I'd like to apologize in advance for eventually messy text coming through but oh well, it shouldn't be too bad I hope.
So, where to start huh? Hmm well, if we take it from the start; when it comes to series that I end up watching/reading I wouldn't be lying if I said that a big chunk of them have some sort of roots or at least references to Japan's history. I'm a sucker for history and historical figures to begin with so of course any series that has this will have additional appeal points from me! Oh, and we need not mention samurai series, these especially catch my interest before anything else does. But of course I still end up watching/reading other stuff – everything from Digimon to Uta no Prince-sama and Wolf's Rain. I can get interested in pretty much anything as long as there is at least something in the series that catches my interest, be it character design(s), art/animation style, plot or even a single badass weapon.

Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga sword is epic, hands down.

But when it comes to the characters themselves in any given series there are indeed some more or less specific things that can add to a more secure place into my ever-growing cosplay list.

Character personality: I have a rather noticeable preference towards more silent, calm, serious and/or distant characters, sometimes even outright "I'm better than you"-minded and possibly cruel ones like Sesshoumaru from InuYasha. Mysterious characters who you can't really tell if they are good, bad or neither tend to tickle my fancy... and so does anti-heroes every now and then as well. There are a lot of different character personalities that can appeal to me in all sorts of combinations so it's pretty hard to just say some traits because anime characters are sometimes very diverse. But I do often like characters who start off as almost emotionless/uncaring and cold and then gradually turn out to be or turn into a good guy in one way or another. Oh, and occasionally I will end up liking the seemingly mean/teasing/trolling one of the bunch, especially if they are anything like Okita from Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan who's often cracking jokes at the expense of others and such – I tend to like the sarcastic bastards.

Okita, y u so awesome?

Character story/background: Well, this is a pretty hard one to answer because it can be anything. For me the character's past isn't the most important part if I plan to cosplay them or not but it can be a nice bonus. But I must admit I'm a bit more fond of characters who've had a tragically spiced past, something that evokes feelings and makes one feel for the character. But yeah, I'm pretty much open to anything when it comes to character backgrounds. Then again, I sometimes tend to be a bit "meh" about characters whose background stories are never revealed or explained/developed enough. But most of the time, cosplay wise, it's not an issue – design and character personality comes first.

Character design: Okay guys, everyone better go hide away from Captain Obvious who will land on Earth just about now and tell you the fact that I am indeed very biased towards characters wearing kimono or Japanese styled/inspired clothing. Hands up if you honestly didn't see this coming!
*insert long silence here*
– No one? Okay, good, thought so.
Also I do like stylish outfits in general with details, armored parts and stuff – chains, belts, wings and flowy clothing parts give bonus points as well as jackets with buttcapes and such. There's a lot design wise that I find awesome. I also like fantasy style clothes or what to call it, especially ones with cool details like Reyson from Fire Emblem, for example. Oh, and speaking of which I dare say I often end up cosplaying pretty boys. There, I said it.

Reyson.

Character props: Let's say this – if I like a character enough to consider cosplaying them it doesn't have any big significance anymore if they have a prop or not. Sure thing that a guy wielding a badass sword that eats half the universe because it's so awesome has a higher chance of ending up in my cosplay list than, say, someone who only has pockets to put their hands in but well, some characters are awesome as they are... even without a weapon or whatnot. So yeah, characters with props might be more interesting but I'm not gonna dismiss otherwise likable characters just because they don't have a weapon or whatnot to tell me how they are 20% cooler.

Yuan from Tales of Symphonia is one of my favorites in the game and one of the extra reasons I want to cosplay him is because of that huge epic weapon!

Hmm, I guess that about sums it up shortly. I have a feeling in my stomach that I might have forgotten something but anygays, I feel pleased with this for now. I hope those who wanted me to write this this found it interesting as well as whoever ended up reading this thing! :D

Valkoinen Samurai leaves the building!