What this website is about

Roger Senpai (cosplay)

My name is Roger Senpai. Everything you want to know about cosplay, you’ll find here on The Senpai Blog!

About Me

My name is Roger Senpai. I’ve been cosplaying and going to conventions for well over a decade, so I have a lot of experience under my belt! I also hosted many cosplay community events in the Toronto area.

My work in the cosplay community has been featured in places such as the Toronto Star, Cosplay Central, The Cosplay Journal, Coscove and Torontoist. So you can say that I am a Senpai. 🙂

Some random facts about me:

  • I’m from Canada. We get some awesome conventions up here, but I usually go down to the U.S for the best ones.
  • I absolutely love traveling! It’s one of my favorite hobbies. It’s great that traveling goes hand in hand with attending conventions. I love sharing my travel and convention advice and experience together for you guys.
  • I’ve traveled and attended many Anime and cosplay conventions! I’ve been to conventions in my home country of Canada such as Anime North, Fan Expo and Otakuthon. I have also been to the amazing cons in the United States such as Anime Central and Sakura-con. I’ve even attended cons internationally, from MCM London Comic Con in the UK, to Comic Con Portugal in Lisbon!
  • I used to be a journalist, so I have a knack for writing and have a knack for observation and exploration. I love to travel, which gives me more passion and motivation to attend different cosplay conventions around the world
  • My first cosplay ever was Sora from Kingdom Hearts!
  • Top 3 Anime: FMA, Naruto and Shield Hero
  • Being assertive is really important to me! It should be for you as well. 🙂
  • Too many favourite video games to list!
  • I love my RPGs! Here’s why I would choose a PS5 over an Xbox Series X at the moment.
  • Team Instinct!

I LOVE cosplaying and its community and this website is a representation of that sweet love!

Follow me on social media!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rogersenpai/

My first cosplay experience

My friend from high school dragged me to this weird convention thing called Anime North. Back then, I wasn’t really into Anime but I thought it would be nice to try it out.

I’m so glad I did! It was my first time seeing:

  • Big convention rooms dedicated to Anime videos (PS I love Anime Hell!)
  • People dressed up in costumes from my favourite video games
  • Video game room
  • The rave/dance

But most importantly, it was the people at the convention which made things special. It was such a magical feeling to be talking to people who were into the same nerdy shit I was into!

And I feel that’s why we go to conventions and dress up in elaborate cosplays, because we want to meet like-minded people who are into the same thing.

With The Senpai Blog, I can help you not only experience what I did when I first started cosplaying, but to be part of a special hobby. This website is about helping you make new costumes, saving money and enjoying this hobby to the fullest. 🙂

Whether you’re a veteran cosplayer or someone that’s new to the hobby and you want to learn more, here you’ll find all sorts of helpful posts for you, including:

Cosplay Budgeting

Let’s face it; cosplaying is so expensive! But at the same time, it doesn’t have to break your wallet. Here on The Senpai Blog you’ll find tons of articles on how to save money on cosplay. I wrote an entire series about cosplay budgeting: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3.

Cosplay Ideas

KDA League of Legends Cosplay

Not sure who to cosplay next? I got you covered! Here you’ll find all sorts of cosplay ideas from a variety of different genres (Anime, Disney, video games). All of these posts include photos of costumes from some awesome cosplayers around the world.

Cosplay Convention Guides

I’ve been to a LOT of cosplay conventions, so I definitely have a wealth of experience to share with you. Some of my posts include how to afford any convention and getting the hotel you want for the con!

Here are complete guides on some of the biggest conventions I’ve attended:

From my first Anime convention (see below for the story) to seeing people happy at my cosplay events, it’s truly a joy to be a cosplayer. I created this website so that more people can experience the magic of the cosplay experience. I also want to help regular cosplayers save money to continue enjoying this hobby. That’s what this website is about; helping you get the best cosplays without breaking your wallet!

Cosplay Community

As with any hobby or community, there are issues to deal with. I talk about various problems in the cosplay community and how I feel about it. Some examples:

Cosplay Photography

A huge part of cosplaying getting your photo taken of course. So naturally I’ve written posts regarding photography. These will help you with your next cosplay photoshoot, whether you’re the cosplayer, photographer or both! Some posts I’ve written are my Beginner’s guide photoshoot for cosplayers and my photoshoot checklist.

You’ll find much more on this site than the main stuff I mentioned; you’ll find convention reviews and various tips, including how to make friends at a convention!

With that said, this is NOT a cosplay-making tutorial site; I myself can’t sew and not ashamed to admit it! Fortunately, there are lots of other great cosplay websites that cover that part far better than I can (like Cosplay Tutorial).