PAX East 2011: The Legend of Hung-Li

Update: Watch the video of the shenanigans

At this year’s PAX I decided to cross play as Chun-Li and the reception was pretty excellent. A Penny Arcade strip even mentioned a “Grown-ass man cosplaying as Chun-Li” though it’s debatable if this was a reference to me or not. More on that later…

My costume wasn’t great. It was put together for this video review of the not so great movie “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li”. What it did do of course is show a LOT of leg. And by a lot of leg I mean some leg and some ass and maybe some balls. More details on my adventures at the con and my confrontation with my rival “Beard-Li” will be featured in an upcoming video. For now here’s a little overview of some highlights with photos and links to various places on the Internet where I’ve popped up.

The day began with random people grabbing photos. I noticed early on that lifting my leg was quite alluring and showed off my manly legs and so I kept that up. I was referred to as “Man-Li” and “Hung-Li”. As I posed for photos and walked around the expo hall I heard of reports on twitter seemingly talking about me … but referring to a Chun-Li with a beard. As I ran into more people I realized I was, insanely enough, not the only Chun-Li crossplayer at the con!

Unsatisfied with the pussy Ken cosplayer that refused to pose with me let alone fight, I had a single thought in my mind: To find and confront this “Beard-Li”. Unable to find him I did all I could do. I called him out on twitter. For the first time in my life twitter was useful as I was then advised that he was in the tabletop area.

The ensuing somewhat anticlimactic confrontation was all caught on film, so look forward to that upcoming video. Needless to say “Beard Li” was quite nice. We didn’t really fight. In retrospect I should probably have challenged him to a game of Chun-Li on Chun-Li Street Fighter but it did not cross my mind until I was undressed (don’t get too excited!!!)

Later this day in the Expo hall I ran in to Jerry “Tycho” Holkins who, for the uninitiated, is one of the two guys who does Penny Arcade. I posed with him for a photo. He seemed understandably uncomfortable. Because of this meeting I kind of assumed this Penny Arcade comic was a reference to me. Shortly after the photo was posted, Gabe, the other Penny Arcade guy, posted a picture of Beard-Li on twitter. So… the comic may be a reference to him, or both of us, or each of the guys may have been referencing different people and not even realizing it. Still trying to get to the bottom of this one…

Though I posed mostly with guys throughout the day I posed with some attractive ladies for my own photos. I was also photographed in perverted poses with a number of inanimate objects, something I tend to do regardless of Cosplay. I was at one point scolded by a convention “Enforcers”. My reaction to this will also appear in the video…

A big thanks to everyone I met at the convention. It was a real blast and I hope you guys had half as much fun as I did. A special thanks to Robbie for being my caddie and carrying my shit and taking photos and video and a huge thanks to Norman, a complete stranger who returned my camera to lost and found when I lost it and was freaking the hell out.

Here’s a quick run down of some places I’ve spotted myself. The Time Magazine Web Site, This Joystiq video (~4:16), mentioned in the Joystiq Xbox 360 Fancast (~42:10), 1up’s Cosplay gallery, the Giant Fire Breathing Robot Cosplay Gallery, Sit Sam’s Cosplay Contest, Penny Aracade forum cosplay photos, CosGeek’s worst Cosplay ever and even a 3D picture by NVIDIA