http://search.deviantart.com/?q=by:Wakaleo&section=today deviantART RSS for by:Wakaleo en-us Copyright 2009, deviantART.com Fri, 11 Dec 2009 04:33:33 PST deviantART.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://s.deviantart.com/minish/widgets/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/28696712/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/28696712/ Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:58:49 PST
Here are the details:

Natsumatsuri Festival, Sydney Darling Harbour
Saturday, February 6th 2010, 12:00 - 20:00

The Japanese Summer Festival Natsumatsuri showcases both traditional and modern dance, as well as traditional Japanese instruments.

Cost: FREE
Location: Palm Cove, Sydney Darling Harbour (next to IMAX)

Special Feature: Cosplay Parade (organised by Animania Festival)
Cosplayers will gather at a location (To be finalised) withing Darling Harbour. When the parade starts, cosplayers will be follow a specific route. The Cosplay Parade will end on the stage at Palm Cove.
Time: TBA (probably around 1pm)

Rules and conditions:
-The Cosplay Parade is limited to 30 cosplayers (registration details will be given later)
-Cosplayers must be from Japanese anime, manga or games
-Cosplayers must follow the route given, and follow directions given by Animania Festival staff.
-Animania Festival Cosplay weapon rules applies.
-more to come later.

Cosplay performances: This is still not confirmed, but depending of the schedule, some performances may happen in the evening. If it happens, we will choose the best performers to go on stage.

]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/28552961/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/28552961/ Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:04:18 PST
If so, you may still buy some. You need to send an email to: cosplaycalendar@animania.net.au

Please say clearly how many calendars you wish to buy, give your mailing address.

You will first receive an email back asking you to pay first (with payment details).

The calendar is a great X-mas gift for friends and family!!

Here are some of the photos featured in the calendar:
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]

Happy shopping!!

]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/28152800/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/28152800/ Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:55:24 PST
I need to get rid of Mog too, but he is still in good condition so I want to sell it. Considering that it won 2 awards and is a great beanbag, I would sell it for about $300. If anyone is interested, let me know.

Oh, I got a Cure account now!! Yay!
Accout number: 169921
Nickname: Wakaleo

]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/27754632/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/27754632/ Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:52:59 PDT
I need to find new judges and panelists for all the Animania events in 2010:

Judges needed: Sydney March, Melbourne April and Sydney September.

Panelists needed: Sydney March, Melbourne April, Brisbane May, Sydney September, Brisbane September, Adelaide October.

Also, I will be needing costumes for the Cosplay expo for Sydney September, Brisbane May and September (changing to bigger venue so expo will be happening), and Adelaide October. Also, note that costume in the expo can be sold, so you can put a price tag on it, and it's also a great way to get people to know your work.


Send me a note if you are interested by any of the above.

]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/27736925/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/27736925/ Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:50:41 PDT
I don't have any pictures of it yet, need to hunt some photos, and I might post one until I get to do the photoshoot at Waicon with the rest of the Hetalia group. This costumes isn't that good really, I rushed it (made the coat in 1 evening), and the wig is a paddy's wig, so it's way smaller than my head, and keeps moving up at the back.

On a side note, and convinced me to make Ozma from Macross Frontier next year, for a photoshoot with them and and .

Also, I'll be doing 1 costume with team Australia 2010 ( and ), but I have to make a decision between 2 costumes.

Either Gan Ning: [link]
Or Sun Jian: [link]

]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/27623916/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/27623916/ Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:52:20 PDT
Also, in Adelaide, we will have the first round of preselections for WCS2011. Hehe, it's so far away, but still we have to get started. 2 teams are entering which is nice for the first Adelaide competition.

]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/27029257/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/27029257/ Sat, 05 Sep 2009 06:24:55 PDT
3rd Place: Another World Breathing +

2nd Place: S.M.E.X. +

1st Place: Go Wu Go! +

Everyone was so awesome, it was so hard to judge.

Tomorrow, WCS 2009 reports, with Jill, Catty and Tsubaki doing performances on stage!!

]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/26967378/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/26967378/ Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:22:51 PDT
Seven teams will be competing for the title of Team Australia 2010. Who will it be?

Will it be...

Contra Mundi? + Nny

Bubblegum Crusade? +

S.M.E.X.? +

Haraju2girls?

Another World Breathing? +

Go Wu Go!? +

Alice Troopers? +

7 amazing teams!!! I can't wait to watch their skits!!



]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/26847964/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/26847964/ Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:10:23 PDT
It's been almost a month since WCS, and I haven't shared my experience in Japan. Well, I really had the best time in Japan. I met so many amazing people and so many amazing cosplayers. I went to World Cosplay Summit as the Organiser for Team Australia ( and ). Widya Santoso, who judges the WCS competition in Australia was also on the trip. We spent the first few days visiting government officials, doing press interviews, meeting many people really, it was all a bit overwhelming. The highlight was meeting the WCS organisers, the country specific organisers and of course meeting the cosplayers from each country. You wouldn't think that this event was going to end in a competition because everyone was friendly and had fun together. It was really fun to see and (Team Singapore) and spending a lot of time with them too. They are team Australia 2 in my heart .

The parade was probably my favourite part of the trip really. In the morning, we all got changed in costumes (I cosplayed as Balthier on that day, and was the only time I cospayed really), and went down to the red carpet parade. It was very short, and it was raining so everyone was completely drenshed by the end of it. It's really the Osu parade in the afternoon that was the stand out. Thousands of people were there on the side of the streets coming to see 14 teams + another 300 cosplayers. At first I got stuck behind the teams and couldn't reach Catty and Tsubaki, so I stayed near the winners of WCS 2008, Gabriel and . It was amazing to hear people calling our "Balthier" as if I was a rock star or something. Some guys even came in the parade to shake my hand and telling me he was a big fan of Balthier (from what I could understand in Japanese). Later on, I managed to catch up with and , walking next to them like a bodyguard (well I did have a gun XD).

The next day was the championship. Wah, the best cosplay competition in the world!!! So professional, all the cosplayers did an amazing job, epic skits and beautiful costumes. If I was judging that competition, I would have had a hard time picking a winner. Catty and Tsubaki were quite stressed, and were dying of heat in their hardsuits backstage. I had to keep them alive with a fan in one hand, and glasses of water in the other. It was a great experience! And the girls did Australia proud! They did an awesome job on stage. We got to meet team Japan for the first time after the championship at the afterparty. and (from Brisbane) were in Japan for the championship and joined us at the afterparty. Was fun but too short. I got to meet
the editor of Cosmode for 5 seconds and someone who used to work at Gainax.

The following day, I went to the organisers meeting and then the farewell party. I won't go into the organisers meeting, as most of it is secret. The party was really fun! We got to watch the video of the Championship, and then the WCS organisers formed a band and played anime songs all night. Akiko Okubo who came to Australia last year for Animania, was on the keyboard. hehe

Then, Catty, Tsubaki, Widya and I left the next day and spent 2 days in Tokyo. Fun!

If you want more details about the WCS trip, we will have a full report at Animania on the Sunda... ]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/26313495/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/26313495/ Sat, 01 Aug 2009 07:47:49 PDT
[link]

Also, the WCS blog has quite a bit about Team Australia's adventures so far:

[link]

]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/26143292/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/26143292/ Fri, 24 Jul 2009 03:36:49 PDT Toru Furuya - Voice actor of Seiya in Saint Seiya, Yumcha in Dragon Ball, and Tuxedo Mask in Sailor Moon.

Go Nagai - Creator of Mazinger Z and Devil Man!!!!! Kyaaaaa

Ichiro Mizuki - Singer of the theme of Mazinger Z!!!

Hamada Britney - Actress in lots of japanese drama.

Kyaaahhhhh can't wait to meet them all!!!!!

]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/25821641/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/25821641/ Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:09:26 PDT
The competition ends tomorrow at midnight, so if you are interested, please do submit your cosplay photos ASAP. For more information, please visit the Australian WCS blog which contains the link to the calendar rules and entry form:

[link]

]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/25343651/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/25343651/ Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:55:35 PDT
-Ferdinand (no photos available until after Supanova)
-Wyatt Lightfellow (see my DA photos)
-Balthier (see DA photos)

Feel free to vote for the costume you would like to see in the WCS Parade!

Otherwise, I will be bringing Bebe and Nigel to Japan. Apparently we are taking a photos in a candy store for the Persona 3 costumes... I'll be wearing Nigel backstage when Catty and Tsubaki need help and when they go on stage.

Cosplay update: Ferdinand is almost 100% done, just need to make gloves.
Hypnos is fully repaired (I heavily damaged it at the photoshoot)and I styled a new wig. I still have to make the new armour pieces, organise stage props and record the skit.

]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/25007547/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/25007547/ Fri, 29 May 2009 00:07:59 PDT
I submitted my Madman comp portfolio 3 weeks ago... I was probably the first to submit it. It will be weird to have Catty and Tsubaki judging me... I usually judge them!!

Supanova is going to be so rushed really. The week before it, I am organising a conference, and need to be there 8am to 6pm each day, and then go to each of the social gathering after each long day. And the week before that I have to take a bunch of people on a pre-conference trip to Wellington caves. I have to get all my costumes and skit done by the 18th of June because of it. XD

I'm looking forward to July August though. I'll be back on organising Animania, working on new costumes, getting ready to Travel to Japan. The tickets are booked. We are leaving on Tuesday 28th July, and coming back on Friday 7th August, just on time for SMASH!

In othernews, for I have been writting a few WCS blog entries on the Animania website. The one currently featured is an interview of Team Brazil that won last year WCS2008. Then next entry (written but not up yet), is about Round 3 in Brisbane, some information about what is going on at Animania in September and also the official announcement about the cosplay calendar that we will be releasing at Animania. The blog post will have a link to the rules on how to become one of the months features in the calendar. I can't wait to see the entries!! ahaha, I'm sure I will have seen 95% of the photos on DA, and most are probably already on my favourites. I guess if I have put one of your photos in my favourites, you know I like it already, so it has chances to make the calendar!!

EDIT: The latest WCS Australia Blog post is now up, with the link to the Cosplay Calendar Competition Rules:
[link]

The competition ends 10th July, so guys, hurry, I want to see your amazing cosplay photos in the calendar!!!

]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/24261818/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/24261818/ Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:59:35 PDT
Well, Brisnova was packed... too packed. It was like Mini Sydney, but in a huge venue, but just as packed. It was simply insane. And so many cosplayers!! Why isn't there that many cosplayers in other cities? I think that makes Brisbane the cosplay capital of Australia. Sydney would come 2nd, and then Perth 3rd, followed by Melbourne and Adelaide. I don't understand why Melbourne has so few in comparison. It's meant to be the 2nd largest city in Australia.

Anyway, Brisnova was pretty fun despite the fact that I didn't get to do anything but cosplay. The best thing was meeting cosplayers and chatting with them. So many amazing cosplayers in Brisbane. Come to Sydney!!

Went to see the Madman comp. It went well. I still think it's not as entertaining as watching WCS, because it less entertaining to watch 1 person doing a skit than 2. I mean, the people in the Madman comp did an amazing job with their skit, given that they were alone on stage, but of they had a partner, it would have been easier, and more entertaining (and more fun for them to make the skit). SeishinKibou really inspired me with her amazing costume. I still plan to enter in Sydney, but I don't have time to make a new costume for it, so I will enter Hypnos in it. I won't simply enter the already made armour, I will finish what I didn't finish for Manifest. I still have the leg armour to make, and this time I will have the complete armour and the right wig (I left my wig and mask in Sydney when I went to Manifest). I have so great ideas for the skit.

I already started to look for ideas of costumes in case I make it to the finals. I decided on one in particular, because I want to show the whole range of skill I have through the costume. I'll keep it a secret for now, because there is no point announcing it if I don't get selected for the finals.

Going back to Brisnova, the cosplay comp was a bit long. They need to shorten it somehow, to many people entering it. Maybe they should start having a preselection process, or limit it, first come first served. I don't know how it was for people watching on Saturday, but on Sunday, which had less people, I was bored after 1.5 hours. I feel bad for cosplayers that arrive on stage after that time, because people won't enjoy them as much because they are bored of the whole show after such a long time. On Saturday, standing in the marshaling queue for hours was pretty boring too. At least I was talking to Asha the whole time, so I wasn't bored, but if you are entering by yourself, and have noone to talk to near you, you would die of boredom.

Cosplaying with Asha and Darcy was quite fun. It didn't happen as expected. We were meant to have a skit, but Asha was sick the week before and didn't get to record her part, or contact Darcy to record his. On the day, I got there, found Darcy, and had no idea if Asha would be coming or not. When she arrived, I was like: "Yes, we have a group!!!". Asha looked amazing as the Flame Champion. Her costume was very accurate, and well made. After the competition, we were sure that we had no chance to win (because we were competing in the same category as Asham and Mel, and they are simply awesome), that we went off to do a photoshoot. At the end, Darcy got changed, and Asha and I decided to go visit the main hall. On the way, Rena walked passed us, and started to scream at me " where were you, you idiot. You should stick around after cosplay. You won!" XD Asha and I looked at each other very confused. "err. Really?" So we had to take our photo taken, but Darcy had already changed so only Asha and I got on the photo. I'm still surprised about it today. As a judge, I wouldn't given my group best group, not that we didn't look epic, but our costume were simpler than some other groups.

On the Sunday, I had Saionji and an epic skit planned, but it didn't quite happen. Everybody knows already about my eye, so I won't talk about it.
My skit is still sitting on my computer, and I'd like to do it eventually. I'm thinking of pulling a "Will" and do it on the same day as the Madman comp at Sydnova. I would have to get changed from Hypnos into Saionji. I sounds like too much trouble, but at the same time, Hypnos is so unconfortable that i'll be happy to get changed of it as soon as the Madman comp ends. On the Sunday of Sydnova, I'll be in Catty and Tsubaki's Absolute Obedience group, as Ferdinand. We are doing a skit... It will be very yaoi... I hope we don't get DQed.

So far this year I have made 4 costumes (Wyatt, Bebe, Nigel, Saionji). That's my usual amount for 2 years XD. I still plan to do another 2 this year. Ferdinand is next on the list, and should start it next week. The next one was going to be Link, but it will depend on the Madman comp (cause Sly won't allow me to do Link, cause twilight princess link d... ]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/23705705/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/23705705/ Sun, 15 Mar 2009 04:54:00 PDT
I also finished Saionji's pants and bought everything needed to make the jacket and the fur to make Chuchu. It's the perfect colour fur for him, he is going to look so cute!! Yey! I'll get to kick the cutest thing ever!!! heheh

I have written a draft for a Suikoden III skit that I will be performing with Asha-Morgan and her friend. Should be fun. I got to make another draft for a solo skit for Saionji, and then my NCC skit for Sydnova. Still not sure which costume I'm entering at this stage.

]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/23023865/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/23023865/ Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:04:21 PST
]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/23007244/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/23007244/ Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:12:09 PST
As a result, K and Aly convinced me to do Saionji for SMASH! so I can join their Utena group with Suri and Bryan. Luckily, I already got most of the fabric for it, so it will be cheap to do.

Because I said yes to Saionji, Catty and Tsubaki are forcing me to do Ferdinand from absolute obedience. XD I don't want to make him, but now I'm forced to make him. I thought my limit to gayness was Bebe, but now I have to reach the ultimate gayness. I might get raped by lots of girls because of it, which has its good sides, but then I don't think my GF will like that very much (better not tell her). If I do Ferdinand, nobody is allowed to post it on facebook, because she will see it (when she saw Bebe, she was like.... "you looked so gay, why did you do this costume? Usually you make nice costumes.")

Also, I have been invited to join a Suikoden III group in Brisnova by Asha-Morgan. So far it will be the flame champion, Geddoe and Wyatt (me). I want to do a skit, should be fun. But in order to make it to Brisnova, I need to find a place to stay, cause I can't afford hotels at this point.

]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/22546093/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/22546093/ Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:29:55 PST
Cosplay wise, Wyatt is 90% done. I should have him finished on Saturday morning, hopefully, on time for TsubakiCon. I'm gonna dye my hair blond on Friday night. Hehe. I'll be blond for 2 weeks at least, unless I really like it and want to stay blond.

Since I will have 2 weeks left, I am going to start Bebe and get him done on time as well for Wai-Con, so I will be Wyatt on Saturday, and Bebe (Persona 3) on Sunday.

Also, since I can, I might enter the National Cosplay Competition (although it's a big rip-off WCS, stealing my format, and copying it at 95%). I will enter Wyatt in Sydney Supanova, and if I get through, I will enter Link in the finals.

]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/20956954/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/20956954/ Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:46:48 PDT
I don't plan to do judge Gabranth next year, I'm moving it to 2010 so Cattypatra can concentrate on her WCS costume, and in 2010 she can join the FFXII group as Penelo.

So I was looking for another costume to do next year, and then Cattypatra was telling me about her Zelda costume, and I know Zerebin is working on Ganondorf, so I was like, "hey, why don't I join her for a Zelda group... I can do... Link?"

So it is decided, if I finish Wyatt on time for Wai-con, then I'm going to start Link. In many ways, it is similar technically to Wyatt, so I will be able to improve my skills on Wyatt so then I can do a good job on Link. And Catty wants me to do as good as *pikminlink, which is going to be hard, but a great challenge.

Saturday I'm going to a photoshoot with my Saint Seiya group. I'll be able to take decent photos of my Hypnos costume, this time with the correct wig and helmet.


I'm looking forward to next year even more now. Next stop, WCS rules, got to edit them, and hopefully post them on the Animania website by the end of October.

]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/20751564/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/20751564/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 22:37:25 PDT
I got in Melbourne on Friday, got to the hotel, spent 2 hours finishing the skit audio file, then I went to Manifest to pick up my pass. It was great to see everyone already there. I was surprised to see Amy back from Japan, giving me my week-end pass.

Later, I went with Catty and the group of Sydney people to Minotaur for shopping, then went to dinner with Suri, Anthony, Stephen, Ita and Imalia to a tapas bar. We then moved to Lygon st for dessert at Koko Black. When we got back to the Hotel, Chen had arrived, and we rehearsed our skit until midnight.

The next day was stressful. First, realised I forgot my wig and helmet... gaaahhhhh.
It took over an hour to put on the costume, with Suri and Chen both helping to put each piece of the armour on (and Floaty man helped at the end, thanks). Didn't do much all day appart from standing there outside for photos. There didn't seem to be too much to do anyway, but even if I wanted to, it was too hard to get around in that costume. In the arvo, cosplay competition time! Some stoopid Naruto cosplayer broke Suri's Staff 15 minutes before we were on for our skit. EMERGENCY SUPER GLUE IN ACTION!!! Repaired just on time, and then we were on stage. The skit went well, despite the fact that my costume was falling appart as I was moving/dancing.
Someone put our skit on youtube already:

[link]

Tsubaki, K and Aly's group was pretty amazing!! But really, can't expect any less from them. There were a few really good cosplayers, but much less than previous years... I think that's the end of Manifest famous cosplay quality... I think Animania has stolen the show now, well, probably because Animania has not banned Melanie and Asham
and WCS is simply bringing the best of Australia in one place.

Sunday Manifest was quite boring. I wasn't in costume, I just went around to see events and watch cosplay. The events were so poor... the cosplay chess was very boring, the auction was poorly done and badly timed compared to previous years, and the cosplay competition was full of bad skits (appart for 2-3 good ones)... I can't believe Manifest allows a cardboard Ash as a cosplay.

Anyway, I'm starting to research for my next costume, Wyatt from SUIKODEN III. If I finish it on time, I might go to Waicon with it, and I will probably were that costume at all the cons next year (Animania, Supanova and SMASH!), because it will be easy to move in it.

]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/20381395/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/20381395/ Sun, 07 Sep 2008 19:12:51 PDT
With Animania coming up in Brisbane, I thought I would organise a get together for so I can see all of you guys outside of Animania (I will be too busy during so it's best to organise something else so we can chat). It would have to be on Friday night before Animania, and for the location, well somewhere in the city (you guys can suggests a place, I don't know Brisbane that well).

So, this is directed to Melanie, Zerebin, Asha-Morgan, and anyone else that want to come.

]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/20333687/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/20333687/ Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:16:53 PDT
[link]

You will see many familiar faces (I can't believe I'm on 2 photos!! XD)

]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/20330610/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/20330610/ Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:12:47 PDT
Also, Kim told me she won't be finished her Seiya costume for Manifest, meaning that our group will be the same as it was at Supanova. I was looking forward to seeing her costume, and especially, doing a skit. Now without the main character, it doesn't feel right to do a skit anymore, and I was looking forward to do my first skit. ;_;

That's kinda putting me off doing anymore groups. If someone wants to take over organising the FFXII group for next year, go ahead, because I don't want to be group leader anymore. I'll judge make my costume, but won't organise or write the skit.

]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/20315670/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/20315670/ Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:46:21 PDT
> 1. How long have you been involved with cosplay? (did you start out with
> Animania or were you already part of the community before you became
> officially involved?)

I started cosplaying in 2001. At the time I was a member of an anime club (AnimeUNSW) at the University of New South Wales, and some of the members were cosplaying at the dinners organised by the club. I thought it was interesting so I decided to join them. My first costume was Larva from Vampire princess Miyu.
At about the same time I became an executive member of the club, and became treasurer. The following year, SUAnime, the Anime club from the University of Sydney contacted us asking if AnimeUNSW would like to help them organise an Anime convention. At first we refused because they wanted to organise it in less than 4 months, and we didn't want to do a rushed job. They went ahead by themselves, and started Animania. The managed pretty well considering the short amount of time they had to organise it. The following year (2003), we joined them, and I became the treasurer of Animania, and the cosplay coordinator.

> 2. Is cosplay expensive? (How much does an average costume take to make
> in time and money?)

Well, this is a very difficult question to answer because cosplay ranges from very simple costumes to very complex costumes. A simple costume, such as a school uniform, is often made using some old clothes so cosplayers can get away with spending no more than $30, and spend only a few hours on it. The average costume probably costs between $50 and $100, and may take between 2-3 months to make. In contrast, complex costumes, which are often award winning, cost on average around $500 and may take 6 months to make. Myself, I tend to stop counting after $200, so I don't know most of the time how much my costumes cost, but some were definetly more than $500.

> 3. Does cosplay (and co-ordinating competitions with Animania) take over
> your life?

I think most people would agree that cosplay take a lot of time, but in my case, it does and does not. I have been told by many that they wonder how I manage everything I do, because I do manage to do a lot of work in a short time. I'm a PhD student, and for the last 3 1/2 years, I have been working on my thesis (I finished last week). Note that most students find it hard to finish under 4 years, so I did pretty well. On top of my thesis, I manage cosplay at Animania, I am also the treasurer of SMASH!, another anime convention in Sydney, and I manage to make 1-2 costumes each year. I also have a girlfriend, and manage to spend a lot of time with her, so despite my busy schedule, it hasn't damage our relationship. So I wouldn't say it take over my life, I'd say it keeps me busy, and I never have time to be bored.

> 4. Have cosplayer numbers increased since you have been involved? (On
> average, how many people attend an Animania day event?) Do you think it
> will get bigger?

Yes, the number of cosplayer increases every year. There are well over 200 cosplayers attending Animania Sydney each year, unfortunately, we don't have the time for all of them to enter the cosplay competition. I think it will definetly get bigger, especially with WCS happening, it will boost the numbers, because now cosplayers can win a trip to Japan, and represent Australia in an international competition.

> 5. Cosplayers often get confused with Trekkies (or, more crudely, badly
> dressed men who live at home) - what is the average cosplayer actually
> like?

I do agree that in general, most people can't see the difference between Trekkies and cosplayers. I think this is something that we need to work on to change the general opinion of the public and educate them to see that cosplayers are very different from Trekkies. I believe cosplay should deserve a place in arts, because cosplayers love the making process just as much as wearing the costume. Making a costume requires many skills and most of these skills are considered as arts (e.g. leathercraft).

> 6. Is the level of cosplay in Australia up to the standards of the rest
> of the world? How do you think we will go at the 2009 WCS?

Last year, you could have said that the level of cosplay in Australia is well below the standards of the rest of the world. But this year, with WCS, Australia has caught up at least 5 years of cosplay in a short period of time, and not only the WCS entrants this year were at world standards, but even some of the cosplayers in the regular cosplay competition. Akiko Okubo who was a guest at Animania from Japan (executive of WCS) said that she didn't expect such high standards from Australia, and she is glad that Australia entered WCS.
I think Austr... ]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/19280351/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/19280351/ Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:35:08 PDT
[link]

]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/18861909/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/18861909/ Sun, 15 Jun 2008 20:06:57 PDT
My thesis is also almost finished, so once it is, I'll be able to spend full time on cosplay (to finish Hypnos 2nd version and start Gabranth), and give all the remaining time for SMASH! and Animania preparations.

Animania updated its website!!! Yay! The cosplay rules, WCS rules and portfolio, and the rules for all the new cosplay events are up!!! Check out all the cool stuff that Peggy, Kim and I have prepared for Animania cosplayers!!

]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/18533638/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/18533638/ Tue, 27 May 2008 19:32:51 PDT
Dress up and play cool
Author: Patricia Maunder
Date: 17/04/2008
Words: 731
Source: AGE
Publication: The Age
Section: Green Guide
Page: 23
Games meet reality in cosplay, writes Patricia Maunder.

COSPLAY: the art of dressing up and acting out characters from Japanese anime. "Objection!", as Nintendo DS character Phoenix Wright, ace attorney, , a non-anime game character popular with cosplayers, might say.

Cosplayers are a curious breed who take on personas from Japanese popular culture, particularly anime and games, but also manga (comics), bands and tokusatsu (film and television with special effects). For purists, cosplay excludes characters not born in the land of the rising sun.

In Australia, cosplay took root early this century - several years after blossoming in Japan - when games were more accessible than anime.

"At one of the very first cosplay competitions in Melbourne, the games (characters) were most popular," says cosplayer Kenny Travouillon of the 2000 Manifest convention, now an annual event. "Final Fantasy VIII was out, and there were a lot of people dressed as characters from it."

These days it's "60% anime and 40% games", says Travouillon, now the cosplay manager for another annual event dedicated to Japanese pop culture, Animania. It began in Sydney in 2002, and has expanded to Brisbane and Melbourne.

The cosplay competition has always been a key event at Animania.

Participants, mainly in their teens and early 20s, can spend hundreds of dollars and a year creating their costume. The aim is not only to recreate the costume to exacting detail but also to act out the character.

Final Fantasy is still popular among Australian cosplayers, as are characters from the Dynasty Warriors, Kingdom Hearts and Legend of Zelda games. And, of course, wild-haired virtual attorney Phoenix Wright. Cross-pollination between games, manga and anime means that some characters inhabit all three formats.

Amanda Setiadi, Animania's senior manager, says the standard of costumes has dramatically improved: "It's almost like you see the character come to life before you, whereas before you could tell it was someone dressing up. Now the level of detail is quite crazy."

The quality is now such that Australia is sending a team to next year's World Cosplay Summit in Nagoya, Japan. The Melbourne heat is at Animania this Saturday, with the final selection in Sydney in August.

Sixteen countries will compete in Nagoya but, according to avid cosplayer and gamer Anna Nguyen, 19, all will struggle to challenge the Japanese. Her experience at Tokyo Game Show revealed a vast difference in standards between cosplayers in Australia and Japan.

While Australian cosplayers make prop weapons from foam and cardboard, in Japan they are fibreglass or wood. The money spent on costumes is much more; in fact, "some of them get paid to be professional cosplayers", says Ying Lim, 23. "There is a very big difference between the Asian conventions and the Western ones," he says.

Nguyen prefers Japanese games to American ones because the latter are dominated by cars and war. "The appeal of Japanese games are the complex storylines . . . the design quality and there's good character development," she says. Put simply, the characters are "cool", and worthy of emulation.

Another appealing feature of cosplay for Nguyen and Jeni McCaskill, 19, is that they are not limited to female personas, as many male characters in Japanese pop culture are what Nguyen describes as "pretty". She gives the character of Final Fantasy's Cloud as an example.

Together with friends such as McCaskill (who makes four or five costumes each year, including commissions), Nguyen has entered cosplay competitions as a team of characters from the same game or anime. This popular approach, which has seen teams of up to 30 at Australian competitions, is also open to lone cosplayers who team up with others through online forums.

Whatever the character, it's great escapism. "When you're in your costume, you're a completely different person," says McCaskill. "No one knows who you are and you have the freedom to act as someone else - and everyone's going to love you."

So if you can't wait for virtual reality games to arrive, or those around you complain that you never stop playing long enough to meet people, perhaps it's time to hit the sewing machine and whip up a costume.

Being a guy is no excuse. Kenny Travouillon has made 11 costumes during the past eight years and says that nearly half of Australia's male cosplayers also make their own. If all else fails, they're easily bought new or used online. Objection overruled!

Animania 2008 is on Sa... ]]> *Wakaleo http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/18314142/ http://Wakaleo.deviantart.com/journal/18314142/ Wed, 14 May 2008 00:36:02 PDT
I'm almost finished the easy version of the costume, which has the head piece, shoulder pad, wig, contact lenses, and cloak. I intend to do the full body armour, with the peacock feathers in the back, but it will depend on the time I have... since I'm also supposed to finish my PhD thesis by the end of June.

So far I am quite happy with the armour, but I'm not quite satisfied with the wig... I suck at styling wigs.

After Supanova, and once my thesis is done, I'll make a second costume for Manifest, Judge Gabranth from FFXII.

]]> *Wakaleo