Damien and Isabelle were the France representatives for World Cosplay Summit 2007 they won the championship with a presentation that was a brilliant interpretation of the concept of "Otaku". I caught up with them yesterday before they were left for school, below is a part of our conversation.

Upon returning to France life has returned to normal and both are quite busy with studies, Isabelle is studying philosophy at university and Damien is attending an audio-visual cinema school. They did get a chance to participate in a manga/anime event in Paris last October however. They worked hard on their presentations and Isabelle came in second place in the individual cosplay event while Damien finished in first place in the short film event, winning a trip to Japan! That means Damien at least will be coming to Japan 2 times in 2008, lucky guy! Things were low key for the pair on their return to France after WCS 2007, they received congratulations from friends and family and a certain amount of media attention. Hearing that the couple were persevering with their passion for cosplay to continued success was reassuring.

I asked them about their memories of their time in Japan last summer. They said they were impressed with the event itself and the work put into it. Overall the concept of manga and anime in Japan is far beyond what they see around them in France so experiencing that was very special. Isabelle said she missed the taste of melon bread and loved the azuki ice cream.

They will have a chance to eat them again very soon. Having won the WCS event last year the pair will be back next year to be present for the event in 2008. No matter how long a trip is however there are always things that you don't have a chance to do, I asked them what else they are looking forward to doing when they are back in Japan. Besides being there for WCS 2008 they have not have a chance to go to Kyoto yet so they want to do some sightseeing there. Of course returning to Akihabara is another thing on their list. Going to an arcade, playing some video games and shopping for a variety of manga and other goodies are all on their list.

Damien will be in Tokyo in February for about a week so I hope to be able to meet up with him there. If I do, you will see the pictures here! All are looking forward to seeing the dynamic duo over the summer. Damien and Isabelle send out a big hello to their fellow participants and all cosplay fans!

Damien is active on youtube and you can see a video put together by him if you do a search for "Cosplay au Saturn de Rennes, 15/12/2007". He has put together quite a few videos which can be found under his alias "pompedli" so take a look at some of his work!