Convention and Project

In Japan, cosplay events were already quite common and became quite popular after KiShin initiated a cosplay event years ago.

Other anime studios collaborated to also initiate an event for cosplay. On April 1, 1997, April Fool's Day, a major cosplay event took place.

It was a collaboration among corporations to host a manga and anime convention, attracting thousands of attendees and boasting a dedicated cosplay section.

KiShin was one notable corporation that joined forces with the others.

The event took place at Tokyo Big Sight.

Named "MangAnime," cosplayers were already visible outside the building before the event began.

Various cosplayers appeared, with a predominant theme of Pokémon characters. Additionally, there were Dragon Ball characters, but some looked comical due to fake-looking hair and mismatched faces.

A surprising moment occurred when Sailor Moon cosplayers appeared. Unexpectedly, a grown man, appearing like a gym enthusiast, joined in wearing Sailor suits and a dyed wig.

This sparked discussions among the crowd.

Two friends exchanged comments while pointing at men cosplaying Sailor Moon in cute outfits.

"Check that out!" A young man dressed as Goku exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Is that kind of cosplay even allowed?" A cute-looking friend dressed as Ash inquired.

"Yeah, there are no rules in cosplaying," Goku confirmed with a nod.

"Ugh! If I had known, I could have worn Sailor suits!" Ash exclaimed, disappointment in his eyes.

"I don't know you."

"You think I'm creepy or something?"

Observing men cosplaying Sailor Moon, some onlookers couldn't help but exclaim, "My eyes! My precious Usagi-chan was ruined!"

"Somebody! Somebody ban men from cosplaying our precious Sailor Moon! Only girls or women allowed! Even boys are allowed but just not that—"

"Shut up!"

Meanwhile, the group of gym friends cosplaying as Sailor Moon exchanged glances.

"I told you this wouldn't work," sighed the man with a face full of makeup as he looked at the burly man.

The burly man, towering over his Sailor friends, was meant to appear intimidating. However, his dress, along with the excessive makeup and lipstick, looked too ridiculous.

"These people are just too narrow-minded. They couldn't see the greatness and hard work we've done to achieve our perfectly sculpted bodies." Saying this, the burly man struck the iconic Sailor Moon pose by raising his left foot and acting cute.

"We will win this cosplay, no matter what!" he shouted, causing other cosplayers to stay as far away as possible.

Some bystanders, who unintentionally witnessed the scene, exaggeratedly covered their mouths with tearful eyes.

"Argh! Give me back my innocence!"

"I still remember... when I was a little boy..."

Observing this, the cosplayers couldn't help but laugh.

While there were men cosplaying Sailor Moon, there were also many women cosplaying, though they didn't attract as much attention as the burly and muscular men.

Nevertheless, their presence comforted the male otakus whose hearts had been terribly wounded by the sight of Sailor men.

---

KiShin's game department was currently discussing Suzuki's popular RPG video game.

The game developers who played Suzuki's RPG also drew inspiration from it.

It could prove beneficial in the development of their ongoing video game project, "Final Fantasy VII."

The founder crafted both the storyline and gameplay mechanics. However, Shinro advised the game developers that if they could enhance the game's narrative and mechanics, they were free to do so. The challenge for the game developers lay in the fact that the narrative and gameplay mechanics provided by the founder were already exceptionally well-crafted.

They believed that only a few enhancements could improve the game, but simultaneously, the game developers felt a sense of inadequacy, fearing that they might not be fulfilling their duties or that the founder would perceive their efforts as less than optimal if they only made slight improvements.

Consequently, after the initiation of the "Final Fantasy VII" project in 1995, they engaged in brainstorming sessions to elevate the game further, akin to their approach with other KiShin video games written by the founder, such as "Metal Gear Solid I" and "Warcraft II."

Interestingly, there were supposed to be separate "Warcraft II and III," but the game developers decided to merge the game's story and levels, considering their experience with releasing "GTA I and II" separately, which didn't fare well in the market.

Drawing inspiration from Suzuki's RPG video game and learning from "Justice Knight: Church," the game developers embarked on refining "Final Fantasy VII."

The extended development time for "Final Fantasy VII" was not solely for KS1. KiShin had planned to release KS2 in 1999, with the "Final Fantasy VII" also being available on the console.