Cosplay Team USA
“Ohmigod! That is fantastic–I need that costume!!! How did you do that?!” You could hear the excitement brewing while riding the escalator up to the second floor of Kinokuniya bookstore last Sunday. At the top, poses were struck as flashbulbs popped while everyone milled around checking each other out. Cosplayers buzzed about in their finest as they awaited the guests of the hour: Sonya and Renee–the dynamic duo that made up Team USA in this year’s World Cosplay Summit in Nagoya city, Japan, last month.
The ladies had competed at the WCS as characters from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and on Sunday, they were hosting a Q&A about anything and everything cosplay. Even though they didn’t win, it was obvious that this trip to Japan–the first time for both of them–was a dream come true. They balked at the oppressive heat: “Think about the hottest, most humid summer day here in New York and multiply that by like, 100!” and how it became even more insane as they donned their non-breathable spandex gear for hours at a time: “…ice baths, I seriously had to dunk myself in ice…” said Sonya. But they weren’t dwelling on the negative because these two are not about complaining–they were geared up to be sharing their stories, and the crowd was all ears.
Sonya and Renee were as open and engaging as they are on their blog (http://community.livejournal.com/teamusa2008/), while answering some of the more technical questions referring to construction and competition: Is it okay to take creative liberties while interpreting your character? Is it bad to use duct tape when creating your costume? How do you feel about using characters from an art book? (No. Yes. Absolutely, go for it!) These ladies were clearly an inspiration to the future competitors in the audience. While the mood was light as they chatted with the crowd, there was a distinct element of seriousness when Sonya and Renee brought up next year’s competition: before anyone approaches the preliminary rounds, they were going to be around to whip the contenders into shape–making sure costumes are immaculate, skits are creative and the Team
USA spirit is strong enough to go all the way!
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