One of the most famous features of anime is, of course, the large, expressive eyes, which are so good at showing emotions. These oversized eyes seem to be the first thing Westerners notice about Japanese animation, and we generally “see” them as taking up half the characters’ faces, though in reality there’s a lot of variation in character designs, with many characters having eyes of normal size and color. Though these large eyes define anime today, it’s easy to forget that Japan has always taken their cues from Western animation like Disney and Betty Boop, and it’s not hard to see the influence of Bambi in anime eyes today. If you like anime eyes, remember that you get a free pair of J-List anime eye glasses with every order from J-List, subject to availability. Why not make an order today?
Monday is International Cosplay Day, a day to celebrate the global culture of costuming. The word cosplay has been around since 1983, when a Japanese magazine had to shorten the title of an article on “hero costume play” to fit a tight magazine layout, though costuming at conventions and similar events isn’t a new thing at all — we were doing it at the very first Anime Expo. While cosplay has always been with us, it used to be a fringe area of fandom, but that’s not true anymore. With the explosion in mainstream cosplay culture, an incredible number of amazing costumes can be seen at fan events from Comiket to your local anime convention as well as online. What amazing cosplays have you seen recently? (Cosplay credits 1 2 3)
Celebrate Japan’s tradition of cosplay with J-List by browsing our selection of awesome items, from authentic shimapan in various sizes (including “otokonoko”) to authentic Japanese swimsuits to “socks glue” that help your Japanese “absolute zone” socks from falling.
