The WCS event is coming up in a couple months, I will be on my way to the Korea preliminaries at the end of the week. Today I am happy to introduce you to Elizabeth of the USA 2009 team. I divided the interview into two parts, check back tomorrow for Part 2!

Question: WCS 2009 is coming up, what is the current overall state of your preparations?

Liz: Not so bad. My press costume is finished, and I think that was the most thought-intensive costume from a construction standpoint. I was in a mood to do some tailoring, so I was glad to get to drape a tailcoat, which I hadn’t done before. Pants are always comparatively finicky. Then there were pin-tucks, and pleats, and stripe-matching. It was fun. I go through phases with what I want to make, and when I started that project I was in a mood to focus on construction and use some new techniques to make something very restrained and tasteful. But now that the Kuroshitsuji costumes are finished, I can genuinely say the tasteful part of the program is over. Taste has left the building. Everything from here on out is going to be candy-colored disco princesses.
I’ve started on my performance costume. It’s not going to be difficult, per se, but the decoration will take a lot of by-hand work. But I’m not worried about it, because the overall silhouette is familiar to me, so I don’t have to do any new patterns or drape anything.
I also got to work laying out the plans for our props for the stage performance, but while I have models made, I haven’t started constructing any of those yet. I’ll probably get to work on that over the weekend.
I’m saving the parade costume for last. I’m doing Ulala from Space Channel 5, and I don’t anticipate that one will take a lot of time.

Q: What manga and anime you like, why do you like those titles? What are your favorite characters and why?

L: Right now I'm really interested in Kuroshitsuji by Yana Toboso. It’s a really gorgeous series set in Victorian England, and it’s wonderfully dark and funny. I can’t resist the aesthetic. I also love Samurai Champloo, which is one of the best-written and best-animated series I’ve ever seen. My favorite characters are Integra Hellsing, from Hellsing, Ciel Phantomhive from Kuroshitsuji. I like the people who are in charge purely through force of will, despite having no actual supernatural powers. I also love Haruhara Haruko from FLCL, and Miss Piggy. Bossy women make the best role models.

Q: What was your criteria in choosing your costumes, either the ones for the WCS or otherwise?

L: There are some rules we have to follow for the selection. All the costumes have to be from Japanese source materials. The press and parade costumes can be from anime, manga or video games. The performance costume must be from an anime or manga. There is a big list of titles we can’t do, or companies we can’t do things from.
After that, the considerations are that the press costume must be something we can travel in, and it is best to be from something currently very popular. The parade is going to be very hot. Japan gets really hot in the summer, and the parade is very crowded. For that, it’s best to do something small, cool, and not too heavy.
For the performance costume, it must be from an anime or manga, and it needs to look good from far away. This isn’t the place to be simple or subtle.
After that, it’s just about what you like. I’m a little obsessed with Kuroshitsuji right now, so I really wanted to do that for one of them. They’re all wool and silk, so they’re way too hot for parade, and I didn’t have any ideas for a performance, so we chose those for our press costumes.
The parade costumes, Space Channel 5, were India’s idea. I love that game, and I think the designs are really cute. Also they’re relatively small, so hopefully they’ll be cool. I’m excited to get to work with some crazy orange metallic vinyl. We spent months arguing over the performance costumes. We thought about doing Paradise Kiss/Gokinjo Monogatari, but while the Grand Prix dresses were perfect for the stage, our skit ideas were pretty uninspired. It really came down to a three-way tie between the Chevalier d’Eon manga, Vampire Hunter D, and Cardcaptor Sakura. I had really good skit ideas for all three of those, and we couldn’t decide at all. But then I happened upon some Venetian Carnivale costumes, and I started to get inspired by the things they were doing. It was really easy to translate those sorts of techniques over to the costumes for Cardcaptor Sakura, so that really pushed me in that direction. From there I got some ideas for things we could put into the performance, and India and I decided we could really put on our best show with that series.

Q: Could you tell me what your performance at New York Anime Festival was like?

A: Haha, that was a little funny. We’d only decided to enter with the xxxHOLiC costumes a month before NYAF, so we were sewing like crazy people. Our concept for the NYAF contest was pretty simple: Make the biggest, most impressive costumes we can finish in a month, and come up with a skit that is immediately understandable to anyone. We knew the judges might not understand English or be familiar with the series, so we thought it was a bad idea to do anything too talky or that relied on inside jokes or knowledge.
In the series, India’s character, Himawari, is cursed with awful luck. People around her get hurt all the time. Eventually she is given an egg that hatches into a magic bird that fixes Himawari, so she’s no longer a walking calamity waiting to happen. My character gives the egg to a different character, and he gives it to Himawari. But we didn’t have that character, so I just gave it directly to her.
India picked the music. People have been asking about it; it’s from the movie Amelie,
Basically we just wanted to give the impression of the series with some pretty music and make it easy for everyone to understand.

Check in tomorrow for the second half of the interview.

Here is the second part of the interview with Elizabeth of the USA 2009 pair:

Question: WCS 2008 Osaka representatives Yui and Mino were invited out to NYAF when you won, did you get a chance to meet them? What was your impression if you did?

Liz: Oh yeah, they were really nice. We hung out with them after the NYAF masquerade. I really loved their performance. They move so well, and they’re really expressive. After the con we were hanging out, and I asked them if there were any new series I should be reading, and they suggested I check out Kuroshitsuji, so I owe them a debt of gratitude.

Q: How was the reaction of your family when you won the competition?

L: They were very excited. My mom said she cried. My husband said he teared up a little, but that’s probably because he was like, “Oh no! I thought Yuuko would be the end of it.” I prefer to work in a constant state of distressed anxiety. I think that was the main lesson I took from working in theater: If you aren’t crying, you aren’t working hard enough. So when I’m in the middle of a costume, my house is covered in shredded fabric, sequins, balls of wig hair, and I’m constantly going, “Oh no, oh no! I ruined it! What’s going on? Is this fabric wrong? Oh no! I made it too big! Now it’s too small! Oh no!” That’s just how I like to work, but it’s pretty stressful to watch.

Q: What do you find fascinating about Japan?

L: I love Japanese theater, particularly kabuki and kyogen. I adore Nomura Mansai so much. I saw him perform at Meiji Shrine a few summers ago, and I saw him in San Francisco in Kyogen of Errors, which everyone should try to see. Japanese puppets are amazing, of course. I’m also a big fan of Takarazuka, except my favorite actress just retired and now I need to pick someone new to fan.
I’m particularly interested in theatre fan culture. I did my master’s thesis on shini-e, which are “death prints” or memorial woodblock prints of kabuki actors. Specifically, I looked at depictions of the fans themselves in the prints, which was a little unusual. It’s an interesting way of celebrating one’s own fandom by memorializing the actor’s celebrity.
Also, turn-of-the-century Japanese theater offers a remarkable opportunity for looking at the performance of gender, both on-stage and off, because there were such distinct approaches going on simultaneously. And everyone was talking about it, so there’s a wealth of available contemporary literature on the subject. It’s fascinating.

Q: What do you hope or expect to find once you have arrived in Japan?

L: Mos Burger! Now that I say that, I want Mos Burger so badly.
I have some friends living in Japan whom it will be good to see again. I hope to go see some shows, do some print club, and do a lot of shopping.
I’m excited to meet the other WCS teams, too. They seem really cool from what little I know of them from online. I can’t wait to meet them for real.

Q: Do you like Japanese food? If so, what do you like?

L: Of course! I write about food for a living, so I pretty much have to be open to eating anything at least twice. Fish eyes, foie gras, lobster pancreas. Actually, I’m in a club in New York called Gastronauts, where we just go around once a month and eat whatever the club founder tells us to eat. Like insects or live shrimp and octopus. It’s pretty delicious, actually. My coworker says live shrimp taste better because “the will to live is made of umami.” I wish she wouldn’t talk like that! She makes us sound totally crazy.
As far as Japanese food goes, I really like wagashi and kaiseki. Of course, there’s nothing better than sushi and beer.

Q: Could you please provide a comment to your fans and readers of this blog?

L: I’m pretty sure all my fans are just my mom’s different sockpuppet accounts. I hope people are enjoying reading all this. If there’s anything you’d like to know, please don’t hesitate to ask! I love to talk and don’t like secrets, so I'm an open book. And I really appreciate everyone’s support. I’m working really hard, and I’ll do my best to put on a good show for everyone. Thanks, everyone!

Thank you for the effort you put into the answers Liz, tomorrow we will have India of USA 2009.

We have the other half of the USA 2009 duo for you today, here is the first half of the interview with India:

Question: WCS 2009 is coming up, what is the current overall state of your preparations?

Dia: Getting there! The press costume is done, with the exception of some shoes, which is a big load off my shoulders. The press costume was important for me to do really cleanly and professionally, so I'm glad I was able to get it out of the way in a comfortable manner.

I've got most of the fabric/accessories I need for everything else, so I'm ready to get started on everything! I'll probably start with my performance costume (or, rather, costumes!) first to get it done, so I don't have to worry about it anymore. That way, I can focus on the more complicated aspects of the staging, and practice a lot!

Like Elizabeth, the parade costume will be last for me, since it's very easy. I could probably run it up in a day, which is good.

Q: What manga and anime you like, why do you like those titles? What are your favorite characters and why?

D: FLCL has been one of my favorites for a long time. Mamimi is one of my favorite characters (and one I cosplayed a long time ago, too) and I love the varying art styles used in the series. I like a lot of Gainax titles, actually - Gunbuster and Diebuster have a special place in my heart. Noriko and Nono are such fantastic characters, and the "hard work and guts!" theme of the series is really inspirational. Aside from that, I love all of Ai Yazawa's manga, with Paradise Kiss being my favorite. Because I went to fashion school, I really connect with the characters, and the designs are fabulous.

Q: What was your criteria in choosing your costumes, either the ones for the WCS or otherwise?

D: It was actually rather tricky! Since there are such specific guidelines we need to follow, we had a hard time deciding what to use. We also wanted to take into consideration the weather-related aspects - Nagoya in the summer is incredibly hot, so we don't want to overheat during the parade. We wanted to choose popular series that were also special to us, and I think we came up with some great selections. Cardcaptor Sakura is great for big, flashy costumes in the performance, while Kuroshitsuji allows us to exhibit our sewing skills, and Space Channel 5 is skimpy and well-ventilated!

For other costumes, I'm generally drawn to the costume itself, not necessarily the character or series. I love designs that require intricate sewing, or that challenge me with something I've never done. I'm also often drawn into a series by the art style; occasionally, I'll even do a costume out of an artbook by an artist I like, even though there isn't a series attached. I also enjoy doing costumes from non-anime/manga series, like movies and TV shows. Sometimes goofy TV costumes can be the best!

Q: Could you tell me what your performance at New York Anime Festival was like?

D: Like Elizabeth said, it was all done in a month, which is a pretty short amount of time for such a big endeavor. There was a lot of frustration (changing into big fluffy costumes in a public bathroom is less than ideal!) and a lot of anxiety, but it all paid off. It was really nerve-wracking practicing on the stage for the first time - you kind of hold your breath and hope that your idea comes across to the audience, and we were lucky enough that ours did.

You can see the second part to the interview with Dia right here tomorrow.

Here is the second part to the interview with India of the USA 2009 pair:

Question: WCS 2008 Osaka representatives Yui and Mino were invited out to NYAF when you won, did you get a chance to meet them? What was your impression if you did?

Dia: It was great to meet them! They were staying at our friend Renee's (Umister of Team USA 2008) house out in Queens, so we were all able to hang out after the convention. Along with a big group of friends, we took them to an authentic NYC diner, and then back to my apartment for a little party. We had a really good time - they taught us all sorts of fun Japanese words and told us about different series we should look into.

Q: How was the reaction of your family when you won the competition?

D: I called them immediately afterward, and they were so pleased. My family has been really supportive of this crazy hobby of mine over the years; my mom has been sewing her entire life, and got me started in it when I was very young, so she's always excited to see what I do. My dad made sure to tell everyone about the competition at work the next day, and it was immediately demanded that I send over some photos so he could show them off.

Q: What do you find fascinating about Japan?

D: I love learning about any foreign culture, but Japan is especially intriguing to me, since it's so different from what I'm familiar with, and yet also very similar. I'm a city-girl, so I'm quite fascinated by cities. I can't wait to visit Tokyo and just wander through. I'm also very much into fashion, so I'm interested in experiencing the fashion culture in Japan and explore the trends and stores.

Outside of that, I've been interested in geisha culture for a number of years, so I'd love to do some research on that, perhaps even visit Kyoto. I also have an interest in modern Japanese art, particularly the Superflat movement, so I may have to pick up some Takashi Murakami merchandise while I'm there.

Q: What do you hope or expect to find once you have arrived in Japan?

D: Piles of delicious food, adorable clothes, and crazy cosplayers! In all honesty, though, I'm just utterly excited for whatever is in store. I really can't wait to meet and hang out with the cosplayers from different countries. Renee from last year's Team USA had such fantastic things to say about the camaraderie and friendship between the entrants, and I'm really looking forward to that.

Q: Do you like Japanese food? If so, what do you like?

D: Absolutely! I love food, and I'll try just about anything you put in front of me. Seafood is my favorite thing in the world, so of course I love sushi and anything involving it. Octopus, squid, and crab are some of my favorites. I also love all kinds of Japanese noodles, especially since you can get really creative with the things you add to them. I'm really excited to try okonomiyaki, too. And I love Japanese beer as well!

Q: Could you please provide a comment to your fans and readers of this blog?

D: I hope our words aren't too boring! Elizabeth and I both really do love to talk, so please get in touch with us if there's anything you want to know or you think we can help with! This hobby is so much better when people are open and willing to share ideas. Also, the amount of support we're getting from everyone is so overwhelming and so inspiring - huge huge thanks to everybody!

Thanks a lot to both Liz and Dia, looking forward to meeting you and seeing you out in Japan!

Here I am at Inchon Airport in Korea with these big bags again.

I will be attending the WCS Korea preliminaries of course giving you updates as the event progresses.

Yuimino came in on a flight from Tokyo arriving an hour and a half after me. Some of the Wonder Cosplay Festival staff and myself hung out until their flight came in and we all took the bus to hotel in Seoul together. Here's a shot of Yuimino on the bus:

They've been pretty busy of late Yuimino went to NYAF in New York last year as you probably know. In early May they made appearances at both Cicaf in Hangzhou and the WCS preliminaries at ChinaJoy in Shanghai. They have had regular live performances around Japan and have put out a new song recently. They had the lyric book out and were practicing their moves on the bus, I think we are in for a good show!

Our first night came to an end with a traditional Korean hot pot dinner called Butai Nabe. Here is everyone as we headed back to the hotel:

In the front you can see Renee of the US team from 2008 and Yuimino of Osaka 2008 are to the top right. In the front beside Renee is Akira of Osaka 2007.

Saturdays schedule entailed a visit to Comic World, the biggest comic event in South Korea. It is a monthly engagement at one of the larger convention centers in Seoul and cosplayers from Seoul and other places nearby will get together to do their thing in the park behind the center. It offered some nice background imagery and wide spaces. At one point there were about 200 cosplayers and about the same number of friends and family. Here is a shot of the whole group:

Fey was the Thai representative at the WCS in 2007 and will be returning again in 2009. Here she is with a friend from Thailand posing in front of what I thought was a great wall. Made of brick and covered in ivy it made for a unique image that could really be anywhere.

You know how much I like to see people who have participated in the WCS from previous years. Fey has developed marvelously since the last time we met, her costume here in the black was very well constructed and she wore it well. She has also learned a fair amount of English, 2 years ago she needed a translator but now could get along with everyone on a fair footing and was quite popular with the others, especially when carrying the liquid wasabi.

Here is a great shot of Yuimino kissing Renee.

Renee is loving the coordinated smooch.

This is Akira, you may remember her from the Osaka team in 2007. She and Shigenobu who is also with us in Korea now did the exciting Dragonball performance in the championship. Along with Fey, it had been a couple years since I had seen Akira, she had also made progress in a number of ways. I don't know if it was her costume selection or improved costume creation but her outfit suited her well and she came with a great sword to boot.

She had darkened her hair which had been lightened when we last met. She had it in a bob cut which suited her well. You can see Shigenobu in the group shot a few entries back, I will try to get a close up of her tomorrow!

The morning of the preliminary started with an early wake up at 7 am and then a bus ride to Everland Theme Park. Before moving to the stage area we had planned to take pictures at the Rose Garden there but questionable weather changed things and everyone basically had free time. Some people went to the Rose garden anyway as it made for a rare treat in photo scenery. There was a staging run through at 2 and the show got started at 3 pm.

Here is a picture of all competitors and Guests lined up on stage. Among the guests was Fay (Thailand 2007, 2009) and Kara from Thailand, Akira and Sigma (Osaka 2007) from Osaka, a group from Tokyo and Goldy (Tokyo 2006) from Tokyo.

Here are some shots of the performances, there were 7 in total and were the top performers from previous sub preliminaries.

Above is the team that won the Korea Preliminary with their performance of Fate.

Above is a picture of Shinseisha, a Sailor Moon preforming group in Korea that did an awesome performance of Sailor Moon which included many of the characters, good and bad. The dance and interaction was well choreographed and the crowd really enjoyed it.

This is a shot of all competitors and guests on stage at the end of the performances. You can make out Goldy pretty easily in his mobile suit on the right.

Here is the winning team Eh Ee Son (Right) and Ho Hon San (Left), they performed Fate Stay Nights. Congratulations!!

We are getting closer to the big event and the WCS 2009 web page is seeing a lot of news updates and changes. One new item is the Einy Viewer from Brother. I got it going and there is going to be regular and plentiful video updates of the WCS preliminary rounds and the event itself.

This is a new concept so there is bound to specs with it, if you are having any difficulties let me know, here is the best place to have that information.

Some people havent been able to view the video and after looking into it as things stand now the video can only be viewed through Internet Explorer. That means it wont work through Firefox, Chrome or Safari for the time being. Hopefully that gets sorted out.

The content is great and the platform has a lot of viewing potential like the ability to go through the clip easily and full screen function. You will need to download software to use it however, there is no need for fear it is safe from malware etc. Like I said, I got it working but I am wondering if the installation prompts come up in Japanese internationally. If you have any questions about it at all, leave a comment and I will try to walk you through it!

Entries for the Japan preliminary are now being accepted.
Every year there are slight changes to the preliminary format in Japan, there have been web representatives, and cosplayer groups from Osaka, Tokyo and Nagoya. This year there will be only one preliminary in Nagoya and the format will be interesting. The Japan preliminaries will take place at the same time as the Championship itself. This means there will be a greater opportunity for the representatives from each country to meet and talk to the cosplayers who participate in the preliminaries.

The deadline for entries is the 6th of July. There will be a staging practice on August 1st and the preliminary will take place on August 2nd.

I have heard of a few representatives from previous years who want to give it a go again, it will be exciting to see who will be the Japan Team for 2009!

World Cosplay Summit 2009 T-shirts are on sale now, at present they are being sold with seats in front of the stage area for the championship on August 2nd. They are in purple and white this year and you can see them here!

There is no mention of them being sold publicly or online yet, I hope that will be possible because they look very wearable.

The pair selected to represent Japan will have a special prize for their win, a Brother Lock Sewing Machine III df4. I admit this machine is the same prize as last year but the picture is new and it is an awesome looking machine. Last year the picture of it only had a part if it behind some script. Here you can see it in all its glory.