Crystal (Washington)
Faye Valentine (Cowboy Bebop)
Ryan (Arizona)
Spike Spiegel
(Cowboy Bebop)
(Cowboy Bebop)
Crystal
Short answer: I liked her character... Faye Valentine initially caught my attention because I *love* Cowboy Bebop; It's still one of my favorite animes to this day. I saw Faye as a strong-willed (if not bullheaded), sassy gal who is a bit of a thrillseeker and puts up a tough exterior despite having a vulnerable aspect about herself that is more closely guarded. I suppose I identified with that on some levels and she quickly became endeared to me. She's fun to watch and I figured she would be just as fun to strut around as, which she totally is!
The construction process was pretty straight forward. I drafted a basic pattern for her outfit, picked out a fabric that looked the part and sewed it up. Once I had the basic shape done it was only a matter of modifying the costume for a better fit. I placed the suspenders and sewed them into place after the shorts and top were completed and finally crafted the triangle buttons out of foam, coat them in plastidip, and spray painted them the appropriate color. I ended up attaching them to the costume with velcro so I could remove them allowing me to wash the costume after conventions. Hooray for hygiene!
During Anime Expo one year, I was walking from my hotel room to the convention center and found myself being followed by a saxophone player that was absolutely nailing "Tank!", which is the intro theme to Cowboy Bebop. He provided me with theme music all the way to the convention center, which was *awesome*. I never really expected to have a saxophonist accessorize my Faye with his musical styling and loved every second of it. I've also had several people drag their cosplaying friends over to me to be collected as bounty. Usually it ends up being Vash the Stampede and, you know, I've yet to see the sixty billion double dollars for that catch!
Cosplay naturally worked its way into my life. It was bound to happen. I've been a gamer geek all my life and have always enjoyed making my own costumes so for Halloween one year I made myself a Kitty Nakajima (Bust A Groove) costume. It was really bad! Like, REALLY bad. But you've gotta start somewhere I suppose. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing and sort of cobbled it together on an old and busted sewing machine I picked up at a garage sale for $20, but despite all that I was really happy that I got to be Kitty-N for Halloween that year. Come to think of it I also made my friend a Kuronekosama (Trigun) costume that same year. Being high school students we were on a budget so we put it together out of FELT of all things. It must have been so uncomfortable for her to wear it (sorry, Roxanne)! For our senior trip the summer we graduated, some friends and I asked our parents to send us to Anime Expo so off we went. That's when cosplay really kicked in for me I suppose. FFX-2 was coming out that year so I made a Rikku costume to go alongside my pal's Yuna. I've been loving attending conventions in cosplay ever since.
Cosplay allows one to celebrate the things they love with people cut from the same cloth (couldn't help myself with that one) while expanding upon their artistic endeavors. It pushes me to think abstractly as how to best accomplish the task at hand in order to bring into physical manifestation something previously intangible. I've found myself in hardware stores many times looking for things that I can use *totally* outside of its intended purpose and love that costuming pushes my boundaries of perception in that way.Cosplay also provides the opportunity to meet people that might otherwise remain outside of your proximity; I can't tell you how many friends I have and hold dear that would never have come into my life if not for cosplay. I think about how different my life would be if cosplay wasn't a part of it just by virtue of the ripple effect alone and it's crazy (but I suppose you could say the same of any single aspect of one's life). When you get down to it, cosplay is about people being people (or catboys, or tentacle monsters, or furries) and coming together to share their enthusiasm for another's art that inspires them, in turn, to create.
My girlfriend at the time brought me to my first con, AniZona in 2005. She cosplayed Final Fantasy X Rikku and I was wearing partial Vash accessories and my Matrix Reloaded Neo jacket. It was so much fun that for my second con, AX 2005, I wanted to make sure I was in actual costume. I have been Spike ever since (8 years now) and occasionally getting to Cosplay other characters, like Mugen (Samurai Champloo) and Resident Evil/Biohazard characters (Billy Coen, Chris Redfield).
Originally I was going to cosplay Vash the Stampede for Anime Expo 2005 @ Anaheim Convention Center. Running out of time I decided to Cosplay Spike Spiegel on a whim while watching Cowboy Bebop, the jacket being much easier to make than Vash's jacket. I still haven't cosplayed Vash.
The more the years pass and the older the anime gets, the reactions get more interesting. I have gone whole shows without any reaction and other ones where people are very enthusiastic about my cosplay. I get creepers, like one girl admitting wanting a life-sized doll of me. I also get appreciative fans of the anime or character, like a hotel lobby full of Japanese guests at AX 2006, every single one of them shaking my hand and then gathering to take pictures. I have been told I'm the worst by some and the living incarnation of the character by others. I have cosplayed a few characters but Spike is by far the most fun and recognizable.
- THANK YOU -
