Tell me about the outfit you are wearing.
Suzaku Kururugi from Code Geass R2. Suzaku is just one of the most adrenaline junkie mecha pilot I have ever seen. I have always liked his character and his unique sense of justice in the Code Geass series. Apart from that, I guess the fact that people around that time were very much into the series and the fact that I like being liked by people at cons made me want to somehow pull off a good Code Geass Cosplay.
Tell me about the process of making your outfit – was it easier or tougher than you imagine it to be ?
Our outfit itself was ordered and it came out pretty good. However, in my case, some of the measurements are off so I had to personally make a lot of adjustments in order to have myself a perfect fit of the full clothing including the gloves and the jacket. Aside from that, I couldn’t find any good wigs for Suzaku so I spent some hours cutting my own hair to make as similar to his as possible and that was fun.
Any interesting stories from people’s reaction to your outfit at the con ? ^^
In my case, more often than not, I cosplay with my girlfriend Kim (Anya, in the picture). And we have done quite a few couple cosplays. I liked how people who see us and notice us would always comment about how we look cute together, or pull off a really good pair, or just plain “Awwww you guys are sooo cute!” That really makes me happy.
How did you get started cosplaying ?
I used to mainly dress up as a character but not in conventions since I used to be in an anime club in my previous university. I have also been in conventions before but wasn’t really in cosplay. Until I met Kim is when I actually started cosplaying. I just didn’t imagine that people would think that we really look cute together, sometimes, even when we’re not even in cosplay.
What are the con did you first attended and what’s your favorite anime con that you’ve attended so far and why ?
The very first con that I attended was in the Philippines way back then. Here in the US, the first one that I attended was Anime Weekend Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia. My favorite con is FanimeCon in California. It’s the best one and the most enjoyable one. Mostly because a lot of people liked my cosplays with my girlfriend and their compliments made me happy. The people are all so nice as well. Another thing is that the fact that there were so many photographers in California as opposed to here in Florida where there’s none.
What does cosplay mean to you ?
Cosplay is when I get the chance to be someone who I never thought would actually exist in real life and in myself.
If you had unlimited funds/technology/time, what is your dream cosplay ?
My dream cosplay would probably be like a plug suit that would actually look good on a person and has the correct material. I wouldn’t mind Suzaku Kururugi from Code Geass or Setsuna F. Seiei’s plug suits from Gundam 00 and maybe also Wizard from Angelic Layer.
And specifically about you two, I would love to hear how you two met. Like I said before, y’all make such a cute couple ^^
Let’s see, there’s definitely a lot to talk about. We actually met at an event called the Asian American Student Assembly in the University of Florida. I came to the event alone and just when I was about to enter the ballroom, I saw this really cute girl pass me and got inside before I did, maybe even almost pushing me aside. When I got inside, she was gone. There were a lot of people in the event so I had to stand in the back but then I got tired standing. So I decided to go look for a chair to sit on and luckily I found one.
Eight maybe nine chairs to my right was the girl I saw before and she was still so cute and that I couldn’t really keep my eyes off her. Every now and then she would glance back and some time later, she stood up to take her drink to the trash and that’s when I decided that when she comes back, I definitely should talk to her. When she did, I got a little worried but I decided to get up, go to her, know her name and be friends with.
After the event, she invited me to go to this bubble tea place called Lollicup with her and her friends and so I did, Checkers after that and then went to a party at her friend’s. A few days later, I told her I’m in love with her and asked her out. She said “Yes and I like you too!”, and that made me really happy. I found that she was really into cosplaying and so she wanted me to cosplay with her. I did and I still do, I really like cosplaying with her and, much more than that, I like being with her. I’m always glad that I went to that event, otherwise I wouldn’t have met my Hime, Kim.
Love you Hime!
