14 posts tagged “cosplay”
As if we never left, I'm back at LAX. If you were wondering where all those photos and video blogs I promised went, they went down the tube along with Anime Expo. All the horror stories -- from guests of honor crying, $15 dollar nachos and beyond, everything you hear is most likely true. It was, very seriously, the worst convention ever. Shelby and I couldn't even work up the nerve to cosplay for more than an hour total..
so we left that stuff to the professionals. Upon realizing that AX was nothing but relentless fail, we wound up sight seeing like a bunch of tourists. So between Bubba Gump Shrimp and Dawson's Creek, we walked around Long Beach, ate chicken and waffles and visited the aquarium. We decided on our second day down there that it would be our last Anime Expo ever and our decision was only further cemented by their announcement of a new venue next year: Los Angeles convention center. Yeah, no thanks. That place is the ghetto.
With Anime Expo out of the picture, Shelby and I are tossing around ideas as to what conventions we'll actually be attending next year and what we'll be up to. Since we didn't really get to do Trusty Bell this year due to AX, we'll be getting that fixed up for at least a photo shoot sometime soon. In other cosplay calamity, the heat in Long Beach was so intense that part of my Jet costume melted right off me. Awesome!
Under normal circumstances, the above calculation wouldn't yield such a deliciously fatty treat. But when it's Shelby and I, no circumstances can ever be considered normal. In an effort to better organize (and possibly whore) our cosplay efforts throughout the next year, we have decided to open up a MySpace under the banner for which we fly, "A Better Waffle."
Please feel free to add and aid us in our pursuit towards syruppy victory. At this point I will now take your questions.
Q. What exactly is a better waffle?
A. Delicious.
Q. Is cosplay actually serious business?
A. Like a third heart attack.
Q. You're not taking this very seriously, are you?
A. Like my first heart attack. LOL!
With less than a week to go until Fanime, I've had to sacrifice some of my Halo 3 time in order to get things done. I still have two panels to finish planning (Damn You Internets!) and of course, there is a matter of cosplay. As usual, Shelby is in charge of all of that while I sit here, recoloring my wig for Roku. We're doing three different costumes for Fanime this year and for Shelby, that would mean a lot of luggage. So, she decided to bite the bullet and ship everything up here ahead of time.
Nothing has changed from our original plans, so it'll still be Death Note, Avatar: The Last Airbender and Pop'n Music cosplay throughout the weekend. Shelby is already past all this and working on stuff for Anime Expo in July. This is as good as a time as any to mention that we'll be going on a road trip back down to her home in Bakersfield where I'll be staying for a week to help out on Project: Unicorn Giggles.
Expect a lot of video blogging and to still not know what it is. Oh, and from Fanime as well. I hope to get at least one blog up per day while I'm there.
With the convention season rapidly approaching, it's about time that I lay out my cosplay plans for the year. I should probably say our cosplay plans as every single one of them involves Shelby in just about every way. Our plans were a bit sketchy last year as we were marred with last minute plans and technical difficulties. We're in an infinitely better situation this season and to say that we're getting ambitious would be a gross understatement. Let's take a look at what we've got planned for the first stop of the season (and my favorite convention), Fanime'07, with the help of an elegant, yet civilized, bulleted list.
- Death Note, Light Yagami & Misa Amane - Truth be told, I really hate Death Note cosplay. You can google "Death Note cosplay" and find out for yourself why that is. Still, we love the (first part of) series and planned to do this last year but I left my dress shoes at home by accident and I wasn't about to let us contribute to the appalling amount of bad Death Note cosplay floating about.
- Avatar: The Last Airbender, Jet & Toph Bei Fong - The problem with Avatar cosplay is that for the guys, you either have to be bald or ambiguously tanned. Since I didn't want to work with a bald cap to be anyone (and Shelby has a friend who does a kick-ass Prince Zuko), I went with Jet, which is fine because he's fairly swank anyways. Shelby gets to be rock-loli because, well, it was an obvious pick.
- Pop'n Music, Roku & Murasaki - Another problematic choice. Most of the outfits are fairly plain, so it boils down to taking creative control and mashing together bits and pieces of different versions of the same character.
The second anime convention of the year for us is also the largest and it's Anime Expo'07. This is where we're going absolutely, positively, nuts. It starts with a throwback to last years AX where we debuted our Eureka Seven cosplay and ends with, well, something crazy.
- Eureka Seven, Renton Thurston & Eureka (Episode 50) - We'll be teaming up with my cosplay buddy Patty for this one as we return to AX with Eureka Seven. For me, it essentially boils down to a new jacket while Shelby has to fabricate some insane wings. It'll be a nice send off for my favorite anime of all time.
- Trusty Bell, Chopin & Polka - This will be hilarious. First of all, no one will have any idea who we are (hi Pop'n Music), but that doesn't matter to us. Secondly, I get to wear a top hat and she gets to wear jumbo sized pantaloons. This is going to be awesome.
- Project: Unicorn Giggles - Top secret!
Let me tell you something about Project: Unicorn Giggles, or PUG for short. Considering that we have a whopping one month between Fanime and Anime Expo, you'd better believe that we're getting on this as soon as possible. This is going to be a gargantuan project and should we manage to pull it off, well worth the effort.
Project: Unicorn Giggles is so grand in its scale that upon agreeing to it, Shelby said that she "will have nothing left to work for." Essentially, she will have defeated cosplay. She will have won, or beat cosplay, if you will. We've been talking about it every night for a week or so now and all I can do is express my disbelief with what we're about to tackle. It'll be a long, hard road to AX, but it will be made of awesome and win. We don't want to spoil the surprise, but expect a lot of updates on our progress as the time draws closer. Until then, it'll remain a mystery.
I have a few other bits to share regarding the cosplay season this year, but it'll have to wait. I'd like to get some lunch in me before the worst Wrestlemania of all time. That way, I have something in my stomach to toss up should Cena defeat Shawn Michaels.
This is also part of her ongoing art project, Squenis. Add it today!
That shot was taken at Anime Expo'06, back in July. It was the first time that we ever did Eureka Seven cosplay and the day we met both the director and character designer for the series (while in costume, even). Since then we've done it once more and it was even better the second time. Shelby's wig was improved by chance and we hiked up the fold on my pants.
Still, definitely the best Eureka and Renton pair if I do say so myself.
It won't be the only magazine I'll be appearing in this month and it's definitely awesome to be in foreign press. Thanks, Gogo!
Show us a great Halloween costume.
Hulk Hogan. Brother.
Show us something dangerously cute.
Submitted by Indy Bunny.
In conclusion, Momo is rad.
(a) Sitting in the vicinity of Shelby and her Ouran Host Club group as they actually played the role of hosts, offering drinks and snacks to the kids at the con.
(b) Discussing the ascetics and inner-drama of the professional wrestling industry with fellow Vox member, Sho.
Once the lady was done with various photo shoots for the aforementioned cosplay, we hijacked Cheryll's hotel room to change into our Pop'n Music outfits. My Roku outfit, as seen above, is almost complete. We unfortunately couldn't find any paper umbrella while we were hunting around J-Town earlier this week. I should have that fixed come this December when we fly out to Arizona for the next convention.
Speaking of flight, in about twelve hours I get to drive Shelby back to Oakland International and send her back on her way to Bakersfield. It's been a really amazing week and it could only get better at this point. This Wednesday, I get to swing by the Ziff Davis office and get some hands-on time (Finally!) with Viva Pinata. There is also a matter concerning Phantasy Star Universe and maybe a few other surprises.
I'm really bummed about Shelby going back home, but I'm also really excited as to how the rest of this week is going to pan out.
