Blood+: Miyagusuku Kai

Eldest of the Miyasuguku siblings, Kai was once a popular student and a star athlete. Shortly before Saya’s arrival, he was more rebellious and got into fights in school. His father’s kidnap and death forced him to grow up quickly and make amends with Saya and Riku, his 2 adopted siblings. He struggled to keep his only family together and eventually even took in Diva’s daughters as their father.

Quite an impressive, though simple cosplay. He is quite an interesting character, though I need to finish watching the series to find out what happens to him more… Great job! And I must say, I love that motorcycle!

Technorati tags: nanao, research, blood+, miyagusuku, kai, saya, riku, diva, motorcycle, cosplay, anime, athlete, popular, student

Gundam Seed Destiny: Rey Za Burrel

The cool and collected elite gundam pilot, Rey Za Burrel is not one to meddle in other people’s affairs. He is a good friend of Shin Asuka, and is very close to Chairman Gilbert Durandal.

In the past, Rau Le Creuset is also shown to be very kind to Rey, making him quite devastated to find out Rau was killed by Kira Yamato. He becomes even more infuriated at Kira for being the only obstacle to Durandal’s “Destiny Plan”.

This photo was actually taken by the same person who took Cagalli’s photo. This is quite a convincing cosplay of Rey. I just hope he doesn’t shoot anyone who is reading this blog.

Technorati tags: nanao, research, rey, za, burrel, gundam, pilot, seed destiny, seed, destiny, kira, yamato, chairman, gilbert, durandal, rau, le, creuset, shin, asuka, destiny plan, cagalli, ros

Bleach: Kyoraku Shunsui and Ise Nanao

Wait, wait, wait!!! This may be a feature on a Nanao cosplay, but that is not, I repeat, not me!

And now that everything is clear… :D

Kyoraku Shunsui is what would be known as a “lazy” captain. From what we know of him in the series so far, we is often drinking sake or sleeping, to the irritation of his lieutenant Ise Nanao. Nanao is a resourceful researcher with high respect towards her captain.

Apparently, when Nanao takes off her glasses, she can intimidate anyone, even Mayuri, Captain of the 12th squad.

Cute cosplay! This is probably the most accurate pair I’ve seen so far. Great job to both!

Technorati tags: nanao, research, bleach, ise, cosplay, kyoraku, shunsui, mayuri, captain, lieutenant

Granado Espada: The Scout

Not a lot of people will be able to recognize this cosplay… Unless they’ve reached level of their scout (I believe it’s level 84?).

The female scout is the healer of the game. She is a valuable character (unless you don’t mind having to spend a lot of vis/game money for potions). She can also use daggers in combat, but most people use her for her healing abilities and buffs. Some people even say that a scout’s buffs can be a lot better than a wizards’s.

The only thing I’m not too sure about is the color of the costume… I think the default color is red, but there might be some options in the game in order to change her outfit orange. Beautiful detailing, I would say.

Technorati tags: nanao, research, cosplay, granado espada, scout, female, healer, wizard, sword of the new world, orange dye

Final Fantasy VIII: Rinoa Heartilly 02

Hm… What do you guys think? Does Shirokumapan rival Shibata Ina’s version of Rinoa?

I honestly can’t decide the two of them… I suppose there’s also the problem that in the original game, it’s a bit difficult to know Rinoa’s “true” personality when we never heard her talk! But I think Shirokumapan and Shibata Ina both do a brilliant job portraying her!

View more of Shirokumapan’s cosplays in her personal website.

Technorati tags: nanao, research, shirokumapan, final fantasy, cosplay, cosplayer, final fantasy viii, final fantasy 8, shibata ina, rinoa, heartilly

Kanon: Misaka Shiori

The younger sister of Kaori Misaka, Shiori is a first year student who has been ill since birth. Because of this, her sister chooses to keep her distance from Shiori, thinking that it would be much easier when she eventually does pass away.

Because of this, Shiori became very lonely, and eventually wanted to kill herself to relieve everyone’s burden on her. But a chance meeting with Aizawa Yuichi and (the spirit of) Tsukimiya Ayu changes her decision to take her life. Her life was expected to have only lasted until her birthday of that year. She later confesses that she never wanted to die, and had a miraculous recovery.

Isn’t this a cute cosplay? This is actually Kipi, the same cosplayer we’ve seen as Asuka, Shana, and even Misa-Misa! I think she’s become a reader’s favorite now…

Originally posted by Tori Avalon of the Anime Illusions Forums!

Technorati tags: nanao, research, misaka, shiori, kanon, cosplay, aizawa, yuichi, terminal, illness, tsukimiya, ayu, spirit, kaori, asuka, langley, shana, misa-misa, amane, misa, kipi

More Costumes; More Sword Changes

As is typical, the idea and process for creating the Suigintou sword has changed yet again.

I spent hours with my dad (definitely a two-person job) creating a blade out of foam to cover in plastic, and it was just not working out. We got stuck trying to make the difficult angles in the blade, and worried how the plastic would adhere if we couldn't get the foam perfectly smooth. It was all blowing up and we were at a standstill for a while.

I finally came the conclusion that I should just make the blade out of wood/MDF and deal with the consequences should there be any. That way, the sword would look the way I wanted it to. I will take it to Anime Boston and hope no one thinks it's dangerous (it certainly will not be). If they do, I'll just leave it at security, pick it up at the end of the day, and go on without it. But at least I will have a sword the way I want it to look for other cons and photo shoots. That seemed more important, in the end, than a particular cons potential rules, particularly when I'm not being entered in any formal competitions.

In the realm of more costumes... MORE COSTUMES. I will be making myself another costume for Anime Boston to wear to the formal ball, which will be Gwendolyn's ball gown from Odin Sphere. I bought all the fabric for it this weekend and I'm really excited about it.

I also bought fabric for my friend Mike's costume, who will be going to AB as Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke. It's a pretty simple costume, which are some of the most fun to do, because every detail is important. I got great fabric for the hood and burlap to make him some shoe covers. He's (supposedly) taking care of his own sword and (maybe) bow.

I'll be working on 4 costumes - the two mentioned above, Suigintou, and the Urd commission - over the next month leading up to AB. Spring break is definitely my friend this year (first week of march). I'll be posting all kinds of photos over the coming weeks, including of sword construction.

This is the fun part!

Cosplay Video: Perhaps Love

Happy Valentines Day, everyone! :o

I originally intended to just make this video for no real purpose… But I guess I’ll enter this on Sanriotown’s Valentine Video Contest. Hopefully, I can grab myself a limited edition Hello Kitty USB. :D

List of cosplays:

1. Gundam Seed: Athrun Zala and Cagalli Yula Athha

2. Inuyasha: Kikyo and Inuyasha

3. Gyakuten Saiban: Karuma Mei and Mitsurugi Reiji

4. Final Fantasy X: Yuna and Tidus

5. Rurouni Kenshin: Battousai and Yukishiro Tomoe

6. Gundam Seed: Yamato Kira and Lacus Clyne

Song is entitled Perhaps Love by Jose Mari Chan. :) You can post this video in your blog by grabbing the embed code here.

Technorati tags: nanao, research, perhaps love, cosplay, anime, game, video, sanriotown, dream studio, valentines, gundam seed, athrun, zala, cagalli, yula, athha, inuyasha, kikiyo, gyakuten saiban, phoenix wright, karuma, mei, fanziska, von karma, mitsurugi, reiji, miles, edgeworth, final fantasy, yuna, tidus, rurouni kenshin, battousai, kenshin, himura, yukishiro, tomoe, yamato, kira, lacus clyne, clyne, jose mari chan

The First Official Client

Thanks to the magic of Facebook, I have a cosplay client. She's a very nice college student who was looking to have a part of her costume done by commission.

She's going as Urd from Ah! My Goddess, and I'll be making the dress part of the costume. She came over last week to drop off supplies, meet me, and get measured. She's very nice!

I still have some mixed feelings about costume commissions overall, and I'm wondering how others feel about it. On one hand, I love love LOVE cosplay and making costumes, so any chance to make a great costume is fantastic. On the other hand, I can't help but feel like I want credit for my work, and when someone else wears the costume, it's hard to say if the credit is correctly placed. I also really like the idea of people making their own costumes. However, I realize many people don't have access to resources or have skills such as sewing. I am very fortunate to have these things.

I think costume commissions are good, if the client knows not to take credit for the costume's construction, and if they aren't mass(ish)-produced throw-it-on-ebay-in-5-sizes kind of thing. Custom costumes for a specific person is something I might be able to get into, particularly for boys, since I am not one of those. I was very proud of costumes I've made for my friends, so it shouldn't be different for other people.

If you have any thoughts on the matter, add a comment. I'm curious to know how others feel about commissions, etc.

The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi: Nagato Yuki

The alien who was recruited in the S.O.S. Brigade, Nagato Yuki is an expert in electronic equipment and can practically do anything Haruhi asks her to do.

Take for example that one episode… Haruhi needed someone to play lead guitar in a school presentation as she sings an original song made by their upperclassmen. She took one look at the notes, picked up the guitar, and played like she’s practiced long and hard for that day. Amazing isn’t it?

Nagato isn’t wearing their usual school uniform here because this was the episode where they had to play a game against the computer club. Something like a battleship game…

Cute cosplayer isn’t she? She really has that Nagato blank stare… It’s quite captivating.

Technorati tags: nanao, research, the melancholy of suzumiya haruhi, suzumiya haruhi, nagato yuki, nagato, yuki, suzumiya, haruhi, alien, hacker, electronic, computer, club, sos, sos brigade

Fruits Basket: Honda Tohru

The protagonist that everyone in the Souma family seems to be drawn to, Honda Tohru was a homeless orphan who was adopted into Souma Shigure’s household by a twist of fate. She is classmates and friends with the famous prince of their school Souma Yuki, and is now living with him!

You can probably imagine the horrors she has to go through in school with Yuki’s fan club breathing down her neck.

Isn’t she cute? This cosplayer looks so much like Tohru! Aw… No wonder all the Souma family members (including Akito eventually) are drawn to her!

Technorati tags: nanao, research, fruits basket, honda, tohru, touru, toru, sohma, souma, shigure, yuki, fan club, akito, cosplay, cosplayer

Gyakuten Saiban 3: Ayasato Harumi and Naruhodo Ryuichi

Aww… This is so cute! Look at how that adorable little girl is bullying the big bad man!

…ok, technically, Naruhodo Ryuichi aka Phoenix Wright isn’t a bad man. He’s actually a defense attorney in Gyakuten Saiban, more commonly known as “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney”. Harumi aka Pearl Fey is the youngest cousin of Ryuichi’s assistant, Mayoi Ayasato (Maya Fey).

Harumi is probably the most adorable character in the series.

Posted this for Kooh, who is currently stuck on this particular trial.

Technorati tags: nanao, research, gyakuten saiban, phoenix wright, ace attorney, naruhodo, ryuichi, pearl fey, ayasato, harumi, mayoi, maya fey, defense attorney, kooh, trial, kids

Katamari: King of All Cosmos

Virtual Rain seems to have a rather… strange request for a cosplay she wanted to see.

I’m not really familiar with the game Katamari, but apparently, the objective of the game is to roll up objects into a huge ball to fill up the sky. Why? Because this guy over here accidentally destroyed them all.

He’s the King of All Cosmos, and he assigns the Prince to clean up his mistake (what a bad king he is!). It’s so sad that he criticizes the Prince so much when he doesn’t meet the expectations.

The game sounds like it’s really a lot of fun… In a very weird way, haha. Maybe I will try this game too. I wonder if there’s a PSP version? Thanks to i360.com for sharing the image!

Technorati tags: nanao, research, katamari, cosplay, king of all cosmos, prince, galaxy, starbucks, virtual rain, sanriotown, psp, game

Pokemon: Misty aka Kasumi

Speaking of Pokemon, here’s a girl from the series you cannot easily forget.

The self-proclaimed “world-class Water-type Pokemon trainer, Misty (also known as “Kasumi” in the Japanese versions) comes off during the beginning of the series as a spoiled little girl who only journeyed with Ash because she wanted him to pay for her bike. Eventually, as the series develops, a warmer, kinder side of Misty emerges, as she takes on the role of Togepi’s mother until his evolution.

This cosplay is so cute, I can’t even point out an obvious mistake in this cosplay. Do you know what it is I’m talking about?

Thanks to Enchanted Collection for sharing this!

Technorati Tags: nanao, research, misty, pokemon, cosplay, kasumi, togepi, ash, ketchum, water-type, world-class, trainer, mother, evolution, enchanted collection, flickr