Okay, so to start off with, tell me who you are cosplaying and how you decided to go with that character ? ^^
This cosplay is Eikichi Mishina from Persona 2: Innocent Sin. I was actually first persuaded to play this game by a friend of mine who loved this character, and after I played it, I found I loved him too! He has a lot of great character flaws and development (if you play the Innocent Sin version, at least) that make him interesting. He has a huge ego and he’s quite flirtatious, but he’s also quick tempered and very emotional. Though, I would have to say the main reason I chose to cosplay him is his design aesthetic. I loved his hairstyle (however strange that may seem!) and really wanted to try and attempt a wig like that. His school uniform is also very flattering, and with his own personal touches adding a nice bit of flare (such as the makeup, accessories and tunic underneath) I couldn’t resist!
Tell me how you put the outfit together. How long did it take ? Did you run into any problems at all making it ?
The school jacket took about three days to make, because I actually did mess up when I made the sleeves. They were too short, and I had already lined them and sewed it up! So I had to scrap the sleeves and make another pair. I was also not sure how to make welted pockets, so I had to just fake it on the front of the jacket. Other than that, the outfit was pretty straightforward. I painted the salmon zigzags on the black tunic with acrylic paint. As for the pants, well, I already had a pair in my closet, so the only challenge was to find a fabric of similar texture and color for the jacket. I did have to tailor the pants and create slits down the seams at the ankles, but other than that there wasn’t much modifying to do.
One of the challenges I did have to consider was Eikichi’s height. Eikichi is about 6′1 and I’m only 5′4. Normally I wouldn’t consider that too much, but I was cosplaying with someone else from the series, so I thought it would create a nice dynamic to include the height difference. I found a pair of black boots that had a five inch heel, but decided to mask that heel with a half-boot cover idea. I added some mass to the back with a piece of insulation foam and covered the heel with black vinyl to make it look like it was a normal shoe. Apparently it worked, because no one noticed!
The wig was possibly the most difficult part of the costume. I started with a medium length wig and trimmed it. I saved the spare pieces and, after treating the ends to some superglue and letting it dry, shaped it and sewed it to the hairline to create the dramatic hairline Eikichi has. The fauxhawk was created with a bit of teasing and a lot of hairspray and patience. And as for that little strip of white, I have a lot of spare wig-wefts lying around, so I stole some from my pile and sewed that in the mix too. The wig itself took about one day straight to make. And it was worth all that time, since it lasted through a considerable amount of headbanging during the rave!
I think you did a great job ! And nope, I never did notice about the heel but then again, I don’t think that many people look at feet in general. How was the reaction from folks at Fanime ?
The reaction was really great! Since Eikichi is kind of a minor character from a game not many people have played, I wasn’t expecting a lot of people to even recognize who I was cosplaying. But I was pleasantly surprised at the number of people who knew that game, and the character! In fact, the first time someone recognized me, he shouted “Michel-sama!” (his self-given title in the game) and I choked on my boba tea from surprise before I could answer!
Aside from the occasional questions like “are you a vampire?” or “is that your real hair?”, the people who did know Eikichi asked things like “is there really a machine gun in your guitar case?” which I thought was pretty funny. There were a lot of people who expressed surprise at even seeing a character from Persona 2 cosplayed, and it was really nice to meet those people and talk about how awesome the game was. And then there were the people who had no idea who I was supposed to be that asked for pictures anyway because they just liked the look! But comments like that are always very flattering!
Okay, now I’m curious, what was in your guitar case !?! lol ! So tell me about yourself – how long you’ve been cosplaying, what got you into it, who else have you cosplay ?
Hahah, all my makeup of course! And the swag from the dealer’s hall~
I’m Mel, and I usually go by Grey Finch or just “Finch” on the internet. I’ve been cosplaying since the summer of ‘05 at the tender age of sixteen. I was invited to San Diego Comic Con by a friend of mind, and was told that dressing up as your favorite character was not only accepted, but normal. That was when I really got into the hobby; my first cosplay was Wolfwood and people actually ran up to hug me over it! It was so exciting to meet other fans as enthusiastic, and to be asked for pictures like some kind of celebrity! Ever since then, I was sold to cosplay. I taught myself how to sew over the years with a lot of trial and error, and a good majority of my paycheck (when not going towards school fees) goes into this hobby.
I’ve done a lot of other cosplays in the past four years (forty-three to be exact!), some of the more popular characters being Luffy from One Piece, Pip Bernadette of Hellsing, Miles Edgeworth from Phoenix Wright, the aforementioned Wolfwood from Trigun and Cid Highwind from Final Fantasy 7. My personal favorites, however, have to be Jade Curtiss from Tales of the Abyss, Cross Marian from D.Gray-Man, Reyson from Fire Emblem, Luciola from Last Exile and the Count from Gankutsuou. And then of course, Eikichi from Persona 2!
43 cosplays ? omg, you are ADDICTED !! I’m gonna ask the question, I ask everyone. If you had unlimited time, money and technology, what would your ultimate cosplay be ?
This has always been such a hard question for me to answer, because I tend to like characters and series with simple designs. I think I would have to say Tokunaga from Tales of the Abyss. I’ve never done a mascot costume before, but Tokunaga is just about the coolest giant cat-doll-weapon thing ever.
Hmmm…never seen Tokunaga at the con yet but I did meet a gal who made a little Tokunaga backpack over at Afest in Texas. I noticed you’re based in AZ though I photographed you at Fanime – do you travel much for cons and what’s your favorite con ?
I travel when I’m able to (usually to California, since I drive over there a lot anyway), and if I have enough money saved up, I do make the occasional trip to Maryland for Otakon. I think that’s the farthest I’ve ever gone for a convention, though I would love to go to another country for a convention someday.
Cool beans, thanks !
