Tell me about the outfit you are wearing – who are you cosplaying and how did you decide to pick this particular character ?
My costume is Master Roshi from Dragonball-Z. I picked him for a few reasons. First he’s an older character and since I’m older than it was easy to pull off. I’m already bald so it wasn’t a big deal to shave my head. Another reason is that I watched Dragonball-Z with my sons and we liked it a lot. Roshi’s personality is pretty much the opposite of mine but I’m limited who I can cosplay due to my age. Roshi is kind of a comedic character so in that sense we’re similar, I try not to take myself to seriously.
Tell me about the process of making your outfit – was it easier or tougher than you imagine it to be ?
The hardest part of the costume was that I had to go on a weight training program to get in good enough shape to look anything like the muscular Roshi. I worked out for a year to get in shape. The rest of the costume was easy in comparison. The sun glasses were ones I bought, took apart and painted red. The shirt was dyed to get the right color and I painted on the DBZ insignia. The beard and eyebrows were made using Halloween spider web material attached with spirit glue than sprayed with a lot of hair spray. The beard really gets in the way when trying to eat or drink so I pretty much don’t eat or drink when I cosplay Roshi. The pants are just blue sweats and the gloves are motorcycle gloves.
I’ve also done other versions of Master Roshi. The turtle shell, staff and Hawaiian shirt, Black Kung-Fu suit Roshi and orange Kung-Fu suit with turtle shell and staff. The turtle shell was made with paper Mache and the staff was from a dead tree in my yard.
Any interesting stories from people’s reaction to your outfit at the con ? ^^
I was pretty amazed how much people liked my Master Roshi costume. I had my picture taken hundreds of times!
How did you get started cosplaying and what got you interested ?
In 2007 I took my daughter and one of her friends to Otakon. They were cosplaying and talked me into going as Rude, which was an easy cosplay. We had such a good time I wanted to do more costumes. I always liked Halloween costuming so cosplaying at a convention was no big leap. I just think of it as a costume party with an Anime theme.
What are the con did you first attended and what’s your favorite con that you’ve attended so far and why ?
Otakon 2007 was my first convention. I would have to say Otakon 2008 was my favorite con. I cosplayed Master Roshi with the turtle shell, staff and Hawaiian shirt. My daughter, her friend and I were walking to the convention center and as we turned a corner there was a HUGE line of people waiting to get in. Someone yelled “Look it’s Master Roshi!” and everyone cheered. I’ll never forget that..I must have had my picture taken 500 times over the weekend.
What does cosplay mean to you ?
To me cosplaying allows me to escape from my everyday life for a couple of days. I like making the costumes and seeing peoples reactions. I enjoy when people like my costumes; I really try to make them look good.
If you had unlimited funds/technology/time, what is your dream cosplay
I would like to cosplay Odin from Odin sphere. He wears a suit of armor and has a huge flail weapon. He’s also about 7 feet tall.
