My name is Lisa, and I live in Southern California. My cosplay for AX 2009 in L.A. was White Base ship navagator Mirai Yashima from the original Gundam series. My husband Larry was Captain Bright Noa, and my nephew Ryder Haholy from Arizona was Gundam pilot Amuro Ray.
We chose to portray these characters in honor of the 30th aniversary of Gundam, because it is such a beloved classic story and important to anime history. We got such a fantastic responce at convention, it was hard to move through without a request for photos! We especially enjoyed talking to “old-school” anime fans familiar with the Gundam legacy. My oldest son Justin, who is a serious Gundam fanatic portrayed himself as a human Gundam soldier, and he was really awesome! Anime and cosplay is a family obsession at our house because we love
Japanese traditions and culture, we appreciate the imaginative, thought provoking stories, beautiful artwork, and fantastic music of anime. We also really enjoy the “inside” humor and silliness.
Anime provides us “smart geek” fans a creative outlet wherin we can express ourselves and bond with each other! It is so awesome and joyous to be at convention with so many other fans who feel the same way!
Making the costumes is a family affair at our house. We are all pretty creative and so all contribute different skills and ideas to help get our cosplays made.We take a lot of pride in our work! Dad is the main carpenter kids help with design concepts and detail, and I am the seamstress of the group, and it can be a huge challenge to design complicated costumes. When we finally get to wear our cosplays at convention, being recognized and appreciated in character and asked to be photographed makes it all worthwhile!
