Sunday, February 05, 2006

CURRENT SONG:
"Field of Gold" by Sting from a tune in meh head
CURRENT OUTFIT:
"Keronekosama" black t-shirt, tan jeans, black socks
CURRENT MOOD:
Highly Amused...

Hey minnasan, I'll have more of an update next time, but for now, how about something a little "tongue in cheek?" Ja ne! =~.^=V

"Sewn Up or 'How I Got Snared into Cosplay'~An Amusing Self Look at an Obsessed Cosplayer"

By: Taffy "Miracle Shining" Anderson

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I'm pretty much just poking fun at myself, and hoping everyone else will get a small chuckle out of how I became the cosplayer I am today.

WARNINGS: Just probably some sad, sad excuses for humor... XD

*****

Long Ago, in a Galaxy Far, Far Away...

......No wait, that isn't right...

One Ring to Bind Them...

.....No, that's not working either...

In the Name of the Moon...

.....No,...well, maybe...yah, yah, that's a good start.

In fact, come to think of it, that's about the time all this started. Sailormoon was a big thing and I had no clue about what cosplay was.

Let me start at the beginning, so to speak. I've been raised on anime since I was six years old, my parents not being particularly fond of American cartoons. My first big loves were of course "Unico," and "Naussica of the Valley of the Wind." I remember pretending I was "Naussica" and wanting to have all the adventures she had. I really wanted her little Fox Squirrel too. I used to even try to dress up like her, but of course, I didn't know that was anything to do with cosplay.

Okay, let's fast forward quite a few years to my sixteenth birthday. This was when Sailormoon was just starting to catch on in the U.S. I wanted a pretty new dress for my sixteenth birthday and saw the one Princess Serenity was wearing. I didn't want the dress actually, I just liked the design. I found a very loosely based pattern and asked my grams to help make it with me. Once again, I didn't even consider that cosplay, it was the only thing relating to anime that I knew of.

And once again we jump. Do that alot with me, don't we? So we're now in my Sophmore year of college. I still like Sailormoon, but I'm more into "Evangelion," "Blue Seed" and "Burn Up" than anything else. This is where I meet, or actually get thrown into the cosplay world.

SETTING: COLLEGE THEATRICAL BUILDING:

"Hey Taff?"

"Yah?"

"Do you know how to sew?"

"Kinda'."

"Great! You can help make some of the fairy costumes for the play!" (We were performing "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and I was "Puck" for it.)

"Uh...okay..."

All right, so I know many of you are saying, "What does this have to do with cosplay?" If it wasn't for this ill-fated meeting with the costuming leader, I would not have ended up at my next phase of "Otaku Cosplay Evolution" so to speak.

SETTING: COLLEGE THEATRICAL BUILDING ~ ABOUT SIX MONTHS LATER

"Oh, you like Sailormoon?"

"Yah! My name is Kristin, what's yours?"

"Taffy."

"Wow, do you have a nickname?"

"Most people call me Miracle or Mirchan."

"Sugoi! You can call me Yukichan! Hey, what kind of animes do you like?"

This was my first meeting with the girl who would become my first cosplay companion. ANNNNNND the one who would lead me in the direction I ended up even if she didn't follow.

SETTING: COLLEGE THEATRICAL BUILDING ~ ABOUT A MONTH LATER

"Mirchan, Mirchan, there's a convention in Denver!"

"Convention?"

"Yah, you know, an anime convention!"

"Oh, hey that sounds cool."

"Let's go together!"

"Okay."

"I've got a great idea! Let's dress up as the twins from 'Shoujo Kakumei Utena!' I'll be Kaoru and you can be Miki! It'll be great."

Now, this is where we insert the first of many blank stares that I give her during this conversation. So, here we go.

*blank stare*

"I bet lots of people will take our pictures! What do you think our other cosplays should be?!"

*blank stare*

"Ooh, how about if I go as "Hikaru" from "Magic Knight Rayearth?" Aw, but I don't want to wear her school outfit. Do you think I'd look cute in the outfit that Eagle gives her to wear?"

*blank stare*

"What do you want to do, Mirchan? Mirchan?"

*blank stare* "Cos-wha?"

And so begin the trial of making my first cosplay costume. To be perfectly honest, I was actually embarrassed by the idea, even if I didn't let any of my on-line or real life friends know about it. I didn't want to seem like I wasn't in the know when it came to things related to anime. But let's face it, I had "n00b" written on my forehead with a permanent black marker. Probably backwards so every time I looked in the mirror, I could read it to myself.

I still hadn't decided on what I was going to do when Yukichan came bearing material for her "Hikaru" cosplay. Somewhat hesitantly, I finally decided to do 2nd player "Shorty" from Bust a Move/Groove 2. I had been playing the video game for some time, had seen another cosplayer do her, and it seemed simple enough to create.

What I wasn't expecting was the tragedy of September 11th in 2001. Because of it, Yukichan's parents wouldn't allow her to go to NDK. Stuck with a cosplay I made, I ended up asking my Oniisan to go. He couldn't, but my sister-in-law, fondly known as Sissy, was able too! You might say this was how I roped her into cosplay. Not wanting to make a fool of myself by myself, I conned Sissy into wearing a makeshift "Moogle" outfit I came up with. Nothing fancy, just a headband with ears and a puff and some wings to the back of a shirt.

What I wasn't expecting was that after I made my first cosplay, I discovered a series just before I left for NDK called "Gensomaden Saiyuki." I hadn't heard of it much, (being it was 2001 and the series didn't make it to American until late 2004.), but I really liked the character "Cho Hakkai," so just for fun, I literally glued together the shirt he wore. I found myself becoming more and more engrossed in making these silly little costumes, even if I felt kinda' silly wearing them.

In the words of Sissy, "I would have felt weird not wearing a cosplay." after arriving at our first convention. I saw all the other costumes and well...

FAST FORWARD TO 2006:

So here I am today. An award winning cosplayer working with a semi-professional performing group, Genki no Cosplay. I now do cosplays from not only anime, but from manga, video games and live action movies. I can still say that some times I feel silly wearing these cosplays, but it's not the same kind of silly.

And where does that bring us back too? Probably where my next cosplay will take me. And that could be...

Long Ago, in a Galaxy Far, Far Away...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's the small things that change your life. Interesting story about how everything developed. COOL.

Miracle Shining said...

Thanks so much, and thanks for the comment! :D