80's power!
Another year, another cosplay. And this one was pretty fantastic, all things considered.
The day of the cosplay was a day like any oth...who am I kidding. Like all EOY events, it's always preceded by a lack of sleep the night before and a lot of last-minute preparation in the morning. After breakfast was trying on the costumes and getting everything in order. Gloves, check. Hats, check. Boots, check. We were set to go, so we all trundled to the cosplay after lunch.
There was only one thing to do at Singapore Expo when we got there...that's right, get into our costumes and walk around with no idea of where the cosplay was being held. This strategy amazingly works every year because you can always ask other people in costume where the event is. Of course it sort of backfires when people ask YOU where the event is and you have no idea...
So we set off on our merry way down the Expo corridors, attracting a whole lot of stares (which was sort of the point) The strange thing is, all the kids recognized Darth Vader, but the adults recognized Mario and Luigi. I guess it's because the Star Wars revival was just a few years back, whereas not all of the kids know who Mario and Luigi are nowadays (thanks to the prevalance of PS/Xbox over Nintendo consoles...) but the adults recognized us because they grew up with them, But in a way it's kind of cool - both are recognizable, just by different people, and in different ways. It's really quite inspiring to hear kids shout "hey, Darth Vader!" or "that one Star Wars" and when I was rounding a corner, I distinctly heard someone whistling the first stage Mario theme. You know the one.
Up the escalators and into the event hall. I had kept my costume secret till the end of this year because I wanted it to be a surprise...and I'll say I accomplished my objective. ^_^ I got a whole lot of different responses, which ranged from :Surprise – (most people)
Hey, it's Mario and Luigi!People who think it’s cute – (most girls)
Mario! SO CUUUUUUUUUUUTE!More surprise – (people who know me)
It's...Mario and...Tai An?to my favorite,
Absolute Shock – (Salad)
"It's...Tai An! Is this the same Tai An I know? The same Tai An who's a Super Robot fan? WHAT IS THIS?"
I got a whole lot of other responses from others too...Raywing did the Mario jump, and Rika had one of the better ones..."You guys rock man! First you say you do Rock Howard and now you come like this."
The sheer surprise value of the costume was a lot of fun...from people who didn't expect to see the Mario Bros, to cosplayers who were astonished at the choice of costume, and the best part - people who knew who I was, and what I had cosplayed before. First the characters register (Mario and Luigi?) then they take a closer look and go "I...know those people! WTF!"
I gotta do this again next year. ^_^
And that was just the event hall. After going around and saying hello (which as usual took the better part of an hour) we finally actually entered the cosplay itself. Upon which we were accosted by...a LOT of people wanting photos. Honestly, it seemed like we couldn't even take a step without people asking us for a photo, pose, request or all three. It reached it's peak when we stepped into the middle of the hall...we literally couldn't move for about 3-5 minutes because of the sheer volume of pictures being taken. Every time one bunch of people finished, there would be another, and another...we could move enough to change poses, but not much else.Tiring, but all in all it was great. Here are some photos of the us and Sining :
The Starman’s actually shining in this picture. Neat effect. ^_^
Unfortunately we didn’t manage to leave the ground, but here’s the Mario Bros. trademark pose. Goombas beware!
More Mario Bros action.
With the power of this yellow star, I will crush the Rebel Alliance utterly!
I find the low resolution of this picture…disturbing.
Plumbers are no match for the Dark Side of the Force!
Too late, Darth Vader forgets that with the power of Starman, Luigi is INVINCIBLE!
Being a Dark Lord of the Sith is hard work…
Funkiness.
Oh and I especially liked the guy who, when he saw us, motioned to his friends and said "This one ah...vintage sia, vintage." Darn right he was.
After that, things slowed down some, we stowed our bags away and we could actually move around and check out the booths and other cosplayers more. Final Fantasy Advent Children was out in full force this year, with no less than 3 Clouds (all female) and 6-7 Renos. There was another complete Bleach team, some Fatimas, a Knight of Gold, and the mandatory Naruto team (a lot less this year though) But I'll let the photos speak for themselves.
The Knight of Gold. Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of it with the Fatimas…:(
some S&M is always good…
It’s the beard…chicks dig the beard.
Rika makes a great Reno.
Royalty cometh! Bow down.
Oh yeah, and the Starman was a big hit too...apparently so cute that other people tried to steal it! Of course, when Mario has Starman he's invincible (as the pictures above show), so no one got away with that. Unfortunately due to time and material constraints we couldn't finish the Mushroom and Fireflower. :(
Sining as Darth Vader was also doing his thing, managing to get kids to follow him around, getting a lot of photo requests, and even managing a duel with Kamen Rider. I particulary like the comment Kamen Rider 1 made while passing by..."Darth Vader! Wo shi ni de er zi!"
I'm not a big fan of the series, but I have to admit that the Trinity Blood team this year was really impressive. Not only were the costumes well made, but Sena gave a great introduction on stage, and they even had parental support.
Yes, this is someone’s dad. Not only is he a great sport, he also looks really cool, and well…fatherly.
The court assembled.
And of course, where there is Mario and Luigi there is also...
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/32522691@N00/72681393/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/34/72681393_e5cdec1840_o.jpg" width="480" height="640" alt="P1010180" /></a>Link!
After making a few more rounds around the hall, it was time to watch the competition on stage. I must admit this year they got better MCs than usual - they were more relaxed and capable, leading to a steadier flow of events.
But suddenly the proceedings were interrupted by the entrance of...
THE KATAMARI! (cap)
I must really congratulate Kaika, Jasmine and whoever thought up the costume (probably Andy...) it was extremely well put together, and the even the act on stage was very Katamari-like. Amazingly they could even see and hear out of the costume, just not very well.
There were a few other really notable costumes, including...well, words just won't do this justice :
Man…I feel like a woman…
You looking at me?
With the power of the Moon, I will puni…wait, right pose, wrong series.
and yes…he even shaved his legs…
I gotta admire Kazuki's guts in going as Meer...that takes some cojones.
As things started to wind down I decided to go around with a borrowed camera to take a more pictures. Here they are :
When danger calls, Kamen Rider appears to save the day!
Sakana the Fatima. Really nice costume.
The legendary-ness of this picture is spoiled somewhat by the Esplanade in the background…
oh well, just pretend it’s the 6th dungeon or something.
Vote or be rolled!
Nanananana-nana-nana-na Katamari Damacy…
Buster Launcher armed and ready. While this version might not be able to punch a hole through a planet, it’s still quite an engineering marvel to have the suit remain upright while holding it…
Baking has never been so cool.
Team Kogaru is in DA HOUSE!
They’re missing 1 and 2, but the rest of the captains are all ready for duty.
Shu puts up a good showing. Too bad Wu and Wei are no where to be found…it can’t really be Sanguo with only one country right?
Maria’s Subaru and Yuan Yuan’s Link make a good pair, despite being from different series.
HENNNNNNNNNNSHINNNNN!
Report for duty or else!
I honestly didn’t expect anyone to cosplay Windows, but she’s doing a great job of it.
Warriors of Justice Unite!
Anyone remember Shadow of Mystara? The twin mages are ready for action!
Even Dark Lords of the Sith and Kamen Riders can get along sometimes.
Starman AND the Force…and plumbers. How can you top that?
Feels good to have the classic trio in one shot.
More Mario Bros and Link. (BTW I like the guy’s ‘fro in the background.)
You know, I’m not a big fan of FF7, but this is truly an excellent shot of Aerith…she looks very kind and gentle.
Mario Bros Forever!
The gang’s all here!
And last but not least, let’s not forget the desk staff. They’ve got a tough job to do but they manage to look good while doing it.
Once that was done with it was about 5 and Mei An was getting tired...there were still some more performances on stage at that time, but I decided to go back, so we changed out of the costumes and headed for dinner. And that was EOY 2005, more or less. I managed to meet friends, get loads of photos taken, had a great time - yup, another cosplay to remember!