Tell me about the outfit you are wearing – who are you cosplaying and how did you decide to pick this particular character ?
I am Cosplaying Sahz Katzroy from the (Currently) yet to be released Final Fantasy XIII. As a general Rule, I Cosplay characters that I believe I can portray well. I also look for characters that will be recognizable, but not over played. On one day in particular, I was with some of my friends watching a new trailer that had just come out for FFXIII. Jokingly, my friend says “LOOK! Jason is in the new Final Fantasy.” It then hit me that it would be a perfect Cosplay for me to shoot for.
Tell me about the process of making your outfit – was it easier or tougher than you imagine it to be ?
Well, part of the beauty of this cosplay was that I already had one of the key components, the hair. I then went to a very talented friend of mine and asked her to help me with the coat. Aside from the coat, most of it was average wear. Though with me being a sticker for detail, I would end up standing in a isle with two or more pairs of khakis trying to decide witch would be a better color/texture. I can only imagine what the employees were thinking of me haha. The other key item was to have the pet chocobo chick, that lives in Sahz’s afro. The one that my friend made for me was a little heavy, but somehow nested perfectly in my hair. Though, somehow throughout the day of the convention, his talons would break off and get lost in my hair…
Any interesting stories from people’s reaction to your outfit at the con ? ^^
Well seeing as how I was cosplaying a character, not even a main one, from a game that hadn’t even came out yet, it was kind of a long shot to begin with. But a fair number of people came to me and asked for pictures, and many made remarks to the fact that the game was not even out yet, one guy even said ” I know about Preemptive attack, but what level of hastega do you need to preempt the entire game?” Also, I met a girl that was cosplaying Lightning, the main character with pink hair. We took some pictures together and had some taken of us. There is one picture even floating around the net, and everyone assumes we knew each other. i have no idea how she really is even now .
How did you get started cosplaying and what got you interested ?
Well, uhh.. wow thats a good question. well it always looked fun, and it is a “different” form of expression. What actually got me started was back in 9th grade, I was about 14, a group of my friends got the idea to all cosplay characters from one of our favorite anime at the time, Excel Saga. It turned out that only 2 of us followed through, me being Nabeshin and my friend as the Great Will of the Macrocosm. I will never forget walking into the con, cosplaying for the first time. thoughts ran about in my head, “will people recognize me?” “did ppl see the show?” “does this wig make me look fat”. I finally settled with the fact that the 2 people who might recognize me might appreciate it. I walked into the building, and before i even got to the registration line, i had already been asked for pictures 3 times. i suppose the feeling is addictive.
What are the con did you first attended and what’s your favorite con that you’ve attended so far and why ?
AWA (Anime Weekend Atlanta) 8 i believe is the first one I ever attended, but it is hard to classify a con as my favorite. I suppose AWA since i have not missed one since 8, but every con is what you make of it. Each one comes with new memories and new friends made… erm, that sounds sappy, what I meant to say was I arm wrestle buffalo and ceiling fans out of katanas. Compensating for my masculinity aside, even if a con is not particularly well executed, or too protective, I still get what i can out of it.
What does cosplay mean to you ?
It means that the Japanese use short-hand for every word they can find. I kid… sort of. To me it is a form of expression, but not of my self. when I cosplay, I also try to capture the essence and the attitude of the character I am portraying. When people look at my Cosplay, I don’t want them to just think, “that guy is dressed as so-and-so”, I want them to be able to call out the characters name and feel like they are interacting with said character. I make sure I know as much as I can about my cosplay so that I can make off-handed references to others about them. I guess that is going deeper into cosplay, “costume playing”, and taking it almost to a role play, but that is most of the enjoyment of cosplay to me. Well that and feeling like a celebrity when 11 people ask for your picture as you are walking from the food court to the bathroom.
If you had unlimited funds/technology/time, what is your dream cosplay ?
Tt would have to be something flashy. like, STUPID amounts of flashy. Maybe a character from Phantasy Star Online or something with a floating robot friend and everything. I keep thinking of things like mobile suits from G Gundam, but that would probably get me kicked out of the con if I crush the site.
