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[Zexion_Nobody]

I was wondering if anyone else here on the forums wears uniforms of the era to cons, either Axis or Allied, and not just for reasons such as cosplaying Hellsing.

[Sakurairis]

We had some people doing that at a con I went to last year and they got in a bit of trouble because some military murders happened at around the same time. I personally don't think it's a good idea unless you have a particular cosplay you're going after.

[ashelia89]

Originally Posted by Sakurairis

I personally don't think it's a good idea unless you have a particular cosplay you're going after.

I second this ,it also depends on when/where you cosplay..i dont think theres a way people could cosplay anything WW2 related here in Germany without getting into big trouble unless they were filming a real movie/documentary without approval of the goverment *if im wrong anyone correct me on this* [Nazi propaganda and items are BANNED and considered ILLEGAL over here,im not a natural resident of Germany]

I used to think the idea of cosplaying as both allies and axis would have been cool in my teenage years*I once dressed up inspired by the axis no insignias or helmets mind you,for comedy relief at home,probably 8 yrs before moving here to Germany, to make my family laugh...they were not amused...i got the hint too and felt insanely stupid/retarded for even thinking it might have ever been funny

but thats changed drastically for a number of reasons...

I dont agree with my teenage self on this anymore,not unless I had a real valid reason or a specific series*

I grew up and later on understood that its a very sensitive time period,its not your "play soldier" type of get up,you're bound to offend people and a lot of them will question why you would even want to do such a thing

and finally I got married to someone in the military...not the same war obviously,but I can't explain the level of sensitivity I have towards watching anything related to wars these days,back when I was single I loved learning about all the wars and understanding them...but that changed...having my husband deploy and see how the war changed him struck a heavy chord in me...I see military uniforms in a whole new light because of this...


I think theres folks out there who dress up and theres people who re enact as either or...
It might seem like theyre just uniforms but they carry a lot of history in them...the insignias all right down to how they wore them and the stories they tell alone by the way there all put together...

thats just my 2 cents...

so in the long run my answer is...if i have a specific series with a real purpose ...

[x-Steffi-x]

Originally Posted by Sakurairis

We had some people doing that at a con I went to last year and they got in a bit of trouble because some military murders happened at around the same time. I personally don't think it's a good idea unless you have a particular cosplay you're going after.

ESPECIALLY if it were to be from World War II. I'd be very offended if someone came dressed as a Nazi or Hitler or even wore a Swastika. Whether it's part of an anime series or not I don't care, I just think it's in poor taste.

You can cosplay whoever you want, but if you were to cosplay anything related to this, then I will frown upon you or completely ignore you.
I am sensitive on this subject and it can be an obvious reason why, I'm half German. I've put up with a lot of shit concerning this subject and I won't put up with anymore.

But everyone is different, that just happens to be my opinion.

[Sakurairis]

Originally Posted by x-Steffi-x

ESPECIALLY if it were to be from World War II. I'd be very offended if someone came dressed as a Nazi or Hitler or even wore a Swastika. Whether it's part of an anime series or not I don't care, I just think it's in poor taste.

You can cosplay whoever you want, but if you were to cosplay anything related to this, then I will frown upon you or completely ignore you.
I am sensitive on this subject and it can be an obvious reason why, I'm half German. I've put up with a lot of shit concerning this subject and I won't put up with anymore.

But everyone is different, that just happens to be my opinion.

I was kinda thinking "Military uniforms in Genreal" like hetalia. I would highly disagree with any heavy swastika'd outfit even if it was for anime.

[Kelley]

My personal feeling is that WWII is still "too soon".

If someone wants to - I have nothing personal against it and don't mind.

However, I think it rubs a lot of people the wrong way, especially if it's being done "for fun" and not a clear reenactment - and I think that WWI and later reenacting faces a good deal of discomfort from the general public, no matter how respectful. They are still very recent and there is easy access to press coverage from both - there is even WWI film footage. I think it's too "real" - given the press and the fact that the uniforms greatly resemble modern clothing, whereas people can see American Civil War or French Revolution uniforms as antiquated and "quaint", something clearly different from the modern world.


I really like WWI uniforms, but I wouldn't make or wear one unless I had a very good reason. I really respect people who have a deep historical interest - I just don't think the general public is "ready" for it yet.

[x-Steffi-x]

Originally Posted by Sakurairis

I was kinda thinking "Military uniforms in Genreal" like hetalia. I would highly disagree with any heavy swastika'd outfit even if it was for anime.

If it were to me general military then I don't mind but the cosplayer has to be careful. But anything World War II related I will disagree with. So will millions of other people.

[Sakurairis]

Originally Posted by x-Steffi-x

If it were to me general military then I don't mind but the cosplayer has to be careful. But anything World War II related I will disagree with. So will millions of other people.

I completly agree with you. It's just a BIIIGG Faux Pas in modern society.

[Zexion_Nobody]

OP here. I am very respectful of the opinions held by those placed here, yet, I do not understand the stigma attached to the uniforms (Unless it's an SS Officer or Brownshirt party supporter, for example) of the period. I have done this in the past, and encountered no problems. I think the thread got misread in that it's gist was not whether I should /wear/ it to a con, but if anyone else /besides/ myself does. I definitely agree with Kelley, in that the general public may not be fully ready. Yet what I cannot fully comprehend and find hypocritical is that if so many find the uniforms of the period offensive, why is Axis Powers Hetalia so widely cosplayed? Yes, it's an anime, but it's set in the WWII period focusing on the Axis Powers. Other than those that know about it, would the general public not be offended all the same? I'm not saying this to create upset, it's just an observation I'm making.

[Sakurairis]

why people are still upset is because there are still people from that time period who are alive and remember it happening. My figuring is as long as someone remembers WWII it's too soon to be wearing the costumes. Don't get me wrong, I love Hetalia, but some people DO have problems with it. One of the reasons some people don't though is it doesnt really focus on the war itself, but the history of the countries. Most of the characters don't wear completely historically accurate uniforms.

[x-Steffi-x]

Originally Posted by Zexion_Nobody

OP here. I am very respectful of the opinions held by those placed here, yet, I do not understand the stigma attached to the uniforms (Unless it's an SS Officer or Brownshirt party supporter, for example) of the period. I have done this in the past, and encountered no problems. I think the thread got misread in that it's gist was not whether I should /wear/ it to a con, but if anyone else /besides/ myself does. I definitely agree with Kelley, in that the general public may not be fully ready. Yet what I cannot fully comprehend and find hypocritical is that if so many find the uniforms of the period offensive, why is Axis Powers Hetalia so widely cosplayed? Yes, it's an anime, but it's set in the WWII period focusing on the Axis Powers. Other than those that know about it, would the general public not be offended all the same? I'm not saying this to create upset, it's just an observation I'm making.

I'm not exactly being Hypocritical since when I stated in my earlier post that I get offended if someone where to dress as something based in World War II whether it was from an anime or not and this includes series like that as well as Full Metal Alchemist.

Not so much Hetalia since (well, same reason as what Sakurairis said).

[ashelia89]

Originally Posted by Zexion_Nobody

Yet what I cannot fully comprehend and find hypocritical is that if so many find the uniforms of the period offensive, why is Axis Powers Hetalia so widely cosplayed? Yes, it's an anime, but it's set in the WWII period focusing on the Axis Powers. Other than those that know about it, would the general public not be offended all the same? I'm not saying this to create upset, it's just an observation I'm making.

This is something that perplexes me also to be honest...

I dont know about Hetalia myself; I read here and there about folks cosplaying it and the name of the series is posted in the "what could be defined as offensive or non offensive cosplay" depending on the person...

I was mainly thinking about video games such as Call of Duty and Return to Castle Wolfenstein for WW2 references *both axis and allies*...

for example; theres no way -in my case and in my opinion- that i could cosplay something that in real life bothers me only to dress up later on through the context of it being an anime... let's use Hetalia for that example...it would be a double standard on my part I believe...

The stigma behind the uniforms is that when we all walk down the road we dont know the stories behind the person walking next to us...their family members/loved ones could have been in the war and for them it could be a really sensitive subject,axis or allies,you couldnt step into a ww2 veterans gathering without offending somebody and bringing back to them the things they felt...some folks are willing to bypass some of these stigmas for the purpose of re enactment's sake because thats it...its unbiased and it holds a historical purpose to it,but anything outside of that is a really touchy subject because ...well its a subject of opinion on the matter...and relativity plays in so many ways...

so do I dress in ww2 uniforms of the era?,no i dont,i thought about it in the past *for the series I listed from video games* but i didnt find reasons that justified it enough to dress for it...

[Zexion_Nobody]

Originally Posted by x-Steffi-x

I'm not exactly being Hypocritical since when I stated in my earlier post that I get offended if someone where to dress as something based in World War II whether it was from an anime or not and this includes series like that as well as Full Metal Alchemist.

Not so much Hetalia since (well, same reason as what Sakurairis said).

No no, I didn't imply you in any of the posts. I apologize if it sounded that way. It was only an observation. Again, I apologize.

[Ironhill]

When I was at costumecon last year, a gentleman was wearing a WWII Canadian field uniform. It was interisting to see everything that was carried by the troops back then (minus weapons of course). However, costumecon is in part a historical costuming convention so I feal it would be acceptable. It's like having the uniform at a reinactment. At an anime con I don't think it would be right. If I was going to dress in a modern costume at an anime con that were not anime specific, I think I would do what I saw at Otakon. I would make a Tokyo Search and Rescue costume with equipment.

[x-Steffi-x]

Originally Posted by Zexion_Nobody

No no, I didn't imply you in any of the posts. I apologize if it sounded that way. It was only an observation. Again, I apologize.

Oh don't worry, I know you didn't specifically mean me, I just didn't know how else to word my post that's all. But I think I've got my point across though