About Mars

Hello! I'm Mars / Kasei Cosplay, a cosplayer from New Jersey. I have been cosplaying in the US (and occasionally Japan) for over 15 years and do work as a cosplay photographer. I love seeing people express their appreciation and fondness for anime through costuming!

I have organized dozens of cosplay gatherings, various anime and cosplay-related panels/lectures (in and out of cons), volunteered at conventions for a number of years, and won several awards for cosplay craftsmanship. I particularly enjoy researching fandom history.

Most of my costumes are handmade and I compete at the master's level in cosplay competitions. My strongest suits are sewing, embellishing, wig styling, and pattern drafting, but I aim to continue improving as much as possible.

I have contributed to a number of physical and digitally published fanzines, most commonly as a cosplayer or chef. I studied abroad in Tokyo during university and later attended graduate school in Japan, am certified in business-level Japanese, and am currently a Japanese tutor for other cosplayers.

Want to get in touch? Chat about the weather? Contact me here, through social media (links above and at the bottom of this page), or at KaseiCosplayPhotography@gmail.com. Additionally, I'm most active on Instagram.

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Magazine & Fanzine Experience

Cosplay Craftsmanship Awards (from the most recent)

Anime Convention Panels

Judging Experience & Other

Various Costume Examples

Magazine & Fanzine Experience

Magazines

COSPLAY MODE May 2018 print edition - Cosplay interview at A!Ikebukuro
Cosplay Realm Magazine July 2022 Anime Issue - Photographer for AnimeFratBoy

Fanzines

Nevermore: A Bumbleby zine - Cosplay Pinch Hitter (completed)
Nightshade Zine - Cosplay Guest Contributor (completed)
Dog Days: A Summer BNHA Zine - Artist Contributor (completed)
Creati's Craft Compendium - Craft Contributor (completed)
Level Up! RF Adventure Zine - Cosplay Contributor (completed)
A Familiar Charm - Cosplay Contributor (completed)
Wishing for a Good Ending - Cosplay Contributor (completed)
Nook Cookbook - Chef Contributor (completed)
Homemade in Hyrule - Chef Contributor (completed)
Retromania - Intern Moderator + Writer (Production phase)
Lustrous Stars - Cosplay Contributor (Production phase)
Painted Picture - Photographer for Sunflora's cosplay contribution (completed)
Once Upon A Time: A K/DA Zine - Cosplay Moderator + Cosplay Contributor (completed)
Aradia Collective For Magical Girl Comics - Cosplay Contributor (Production Phase)
Rumic Celebration - Cosplay Contributor (Production phase)
Order Up! Fandom Fast Food - Chef + Cosplay Contributor (Completed)
Sandwich Zine: A Zine for Sandwich - Page Artist (completed)
As The World Caves In - Photography/General Mod (Production phase)
Life in the Valley - Cosplay Contributor (Completed)

Cosplay Craftsmanship Awards (from the most recent)

Non-craftsmanship contests:

Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life Fanworks Contest - Honorable Mention (Celia/Cecelia)
Sakura Sunday 2011 Cosplay Showcase - Most Resembles Character (Hiyori Tamura)

Anime Convention Panels

Anime Trivia Gameshow
- Anime-themed Jeopardy. There are 24 interchangeable categories of varying difficulties that can be used based on how large the convention is, such as "Famous Catchphrases," "Attacks!," "Non-Ghibli Movies," and more. Depending on audience size, attendees can either volunteer individually or work together in groups so everyone has an equal chance to answer.
Beginner's Guide to Anime Conventions
- Aimed at parents and first-time anime con attendees. This goes over general convention etiquette, terminology new fans might not be familiar with (and how hentai/yaoi/yuri subjects are highly adult in nature), how conventions are generally run and how interested parties can volunteer in the future, and tips on how to have an enjoyable convention. In the past, this panel has taken place on the first day of the convention so attendees. It is tailored to the con it is being presented at so attendees can put the information to use (ex. hot summer conventions include tips on staying cool and preventing sweat on your costume, big conventions with lots of industry dealers will have tips on saving money while shopping, etc.)
Cosplay Craftsmanship
- How to make intricate and durable cosplay (beginner friendly but not aimed at fully novice cosplayers). This panel is for people who are interested in competing in cosplay contests or generally making their own costumes from scratch. This panel will go over the importance of silhouettes, fabric choices, fastener choices, edge finishing, and other techniques to improve your costumes (and their durability), as well as making impressive props that follow most convention prop guidelines.
Common Cosplay Mistakes (and how to fix them)
- Common cosplay mistakes to avoid, and how to fix them if they can't be avoided. This includes tangled wigs, snagged fabric, loose threads, wearing kimono incorrectly, indents in foam, paint on fabric where it shouldn't be, uneven thread tension, pieces falling off, wavy zippers, and more.
Facets of Cosplay
- Cosplay is said to be a hobby that consists of many sub-disciplines, most notably sewing and propmaking. This panel goes over many craft-related skills that can be used in cosplay and how their introduction as cosplay subskills have changed cosplaying as a subculture over the years. (For example: how metalworking, weaving, and cobbling have been on the rise in cosplay (and how to get started with them). How photography and videography have increased cosplay's popularity. What 3D imaging and sculpting has done for cosplayers.)
Fandom Feud
- Family Feud-style gameshow. We ask 100 (or more) weebs in various online anime communities to fill in the blank through anonymous online surveys, then pose those questions to convention attendees to see if they can guess the most popular answers. ("Name an anime your parents would ground you for watching." "Name something a cosplayer always carries with them." "The worst sidekick a magical girl can have is ____." etc.)
Fandom Japanese
- How to stan your faves, in Japanese! This panel introduces Japanese slang that is commonly used in fandom (various types of 推し活言葉 and オタク用語). It also talks about keywords people can use to navigate Japanese fandom spaces to find new artists and cosplayers to follow, and touches upon how to properly speak with Japanese content creators when talking to them in English. Knowledge of Japanese is not necessary for this panel, as everything will be explained and new vocabulary will be introduced as synonyms to English words/phrases.
Japanese through Media
- An academic panel on the best ways to learn natural Japanese without a formal classroom setting. It explains how to use anime, manga, and music to the learner's advantage while also supplementing fun media with textbooks or educational websites to get a firmer grasp on grammar. Differences between Japanese and English (writing systems, word order) are explained for beginners. Most of the advice given in this panel can technically be used for learning any language.
Name That Anime Tune
- Based off the famous gameshow of the same name. Volunteers are selected to come up and choose a category (such as "sports anime," "it came from a game" (anime originating from video games), "isekai mania," and so forth). They will listen to 5 short audio clips and attempt to guess the originating anime. Can be adjusted to more general nerd categories instead, such as "video games," "movies," etc.
Otaku History
- A very detailed history of all things Otaku, such as how manga evolved out of European political comics and how Americans who wanted to watch anime had to use catalogues to order noisy homemade VHS tapes. This panel is divided into three sections: manga, anime, and culture. Each section encompasses several subsections (like light novels, political influences, famous figures, etc.) and can be broken down and expanded into its own panel if needed.
Picture Editing
- What software exists to edit pictures? How do you get colors to be bright and vibrant, how do you remove shadows on someone's face, and how come this magic attack doesn't look realistic when I edit it in? This panel goes over the very basics of cosplay photography editing. Whether someone takes pictures on a phone camera or a professional DSLR camera, this panel is aimed at cosplayers who aren't able to hire fancy photographers/editors and who feel like something is missing in their pictures. It goes over ways to improve a picture and get any image looking like one of a famous influencer.
Planning your Trip to Japan
- An informational panel about traveling to Japan. It goes over interesting cultural differences that could come in handy (such as typical waiter behavior in restaurants in the US vs Japan and different ways trash is sorted), how to attend cosplay events and conventions if desired, what different modes of transportation are available, the pros and cons of going to Japan in different seasons, and more. The goal of this panel is to give the audience the tools and knowledge needed to make a vacation to Japan a reality.