Tell me about the outfit you are wearing – who are you cosplaying and how did you decide to pick this particular character ?
I am dressed as a fighting doll, also known as an “angel,” from a Japanese manga and series called Angelic Layer. The angel that I am cosplaying is named Hikaru and her owner is a young girl named Misaki Suzuhara who is a new contender of a futuristic competition of angels. Hikaru is a light weight angel that relies on her speed and agility in the fighting arena. Although Hikaru is just a doll, she shows much facial expressions in which I completely fell in love with, and I also adore the simplicity and the bold colors of her outfit. Since I am the type of person who admires strong-willed and brave characters, her impressive fighting skill and her sharp personality on the battle field is what really motivated me to make her costume.
Tell me about the process of making your outfit – was it easier or tougher than you imagine it to be ?
Hikaru’s costume was definitely wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. I had strategize multiple ways to make her costume. I made one another costume of Hikaru prior to the one I am wearing in the picture, but I decided to toss it out because I ended up not liking the fabric choice. I saw that many other cosplayers who had made this costume used pleather and other types of fabric that would be more visually accurate, but I really wanted to showcase flexible poses that represented Hikaru’s flexibility in fighting. I ended up sacrificing visual accuracy for flexibility. Luckily for me, I had an abundance of one-piece swimsuits which I used as an outline for Hikaru’s costume. Sewing the costume together took a lot of patience and strategy to figure out how to put things together. I didn’t want to use zippers, so there’s this small slip at the back which I twist my body in weird positions to get into. LOL. But it all works out thanks to the stretchy fabric.
Any interesting stories from people’s reaction to your outfit at the con ? ^^
I had a couple of people who ran up to me and gave me many hugs. They would call out “I love you Hikaru!” and thank me for cosplaying her. My friend (who dressed as Misaki, Hikaru’s master) and I were walking around in front of the convention to take pictures of other cosplayers when this guy cosplaying as a Naruto character suspiciously walked up to us and stared intently at us. He looked us up and down, and then he walked away. We were a little startled by the situation, but gave no great attention to it. Much of my experience with this costume this far has been positive. (:
How did you get started cosplaying and what got you interested ?
Some of my friends and I were dressed as our favorite anime characters for Halloween before we even knew what cosplay was. I really enjoy cosplaying my favorite anime and video game characters and the new people I get to meet every convention I attend to. It really makes you feel like a star when you have so many people asking you for your picture. ^^
What are the con did you first attended and what’s your favorite con that you’ve attended so far and why ?
In 2003, My friends and I went to Great America theme park to celebrate a birthday and it so happened that an anime convention was occurring there at the same time. My friends and I were very much into anime and we thought anything with “anime” would be enjoyable. So we attended the masquerade in the theatre they had there and saw all these people dressed as anime and video characters. We were very excited and filled with admiration for these people. We sat down to watch the event and there was a woman who sat in front of us who informed us everything that was happening. She told us that these people are “cosplayers” who are “cosplaying” as their favorite characters. It turned out she was part of the main staff of Reccacon, another anime convention, and she invited us to attend. We went to Reccacon dressed as our favorite characters; I was dressed as Yuffie (Kingdom Hearts version). We were enthusiastic to see all these cosplayers from all the anime and video games that we recognized. It was our second anime convention and we assumed if you were dressed up you had to be part of the masquerade. We contended in the masquerade event with our very amateur costumes and we won 2nd place in the rookie category and the “most random skit award.” After that convention, it was a catapult into many more cosplays and conventions.
My favorite convention so far has been Fanime Con, because it a big con dedicated to fan by fans, and it’s extremely accessible for me. I made many great friends and had many great experiences in the masquerade with my friends.
What does cosplay mean to you ?
Cosplay really gives me the opportunity to become something I admire that I usually can’t in the “real” world. Cosplay also gives me the chance to make many friends who I can relate with and meet people from all over the world who enjoy the things I do. In addition, because most costumes are eccentric and unusual, the challenge is fun to take on and it makes me extremely satisfied when I complete my costumes. Cosplay is hard work and it takes a lot of strategy at times to make the things you want, but it really is a great learning process for future reference, and it is satisfying in the end.
If you had unlimited funds/technology/time, what is your dream cosplay ?
My thoughts are really limitless with this question LoL. I always wanted to do a really accurate costume of Quina from Final Fantasy IX, a detailed costume with angel wings, and any costume that requires armor making. I really wish I could make armor and props like Lionboogy, he is truly and inspiration!
