Interview with cosplayer Sushi Monster -
Meet Sushi Monster, a cosplayer and hairdresser from California! Kneesocks from Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, Serah from Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Winry from Full Metal Alchemist are some examples of the vast number of characters that she has cosplayed. We at ProCosplay were fascinated by her incredibly sexy cosplay of Rei Miyamoto from Highschool of the Dead. Sushi Monster was kind enough to share with us some info about her. Read on to find out more!
Biography :
Name:Sushi Monster
Place:Orange County, CA
DOB:January 4
Fav anime:Not anime, but I am obsessed with The Legend of Korra!
1. Could you introduce yourself to the readers first?
Sushi Monster :- I'm a veteran cosplayer from California who also loves fashion, hair and makeup! I like to cosplay and hang out with friends on my free time and do fashion shoots and hair in my work time.
2. What got you into cosplaying and for how long have you been cosplaying?
Sushi Monster :- I have been cosplaying since summer 2005, so it's been 7 years now. I got into cosplaying when I was in high school and my friend wanted me to go to an anime con with her. I heard people dressed up, so I made an original ninja costume and went. I was amazed and overwhelmed by all the awesome cosplayers I was seeing, and ever since then I was been sucked in.
3. Why did you choose to cosplay Rei Miyamoto?
Sushi Monster :- I love the show Highschool of the Dead and wanted to cosplay from it. I originally wanted to do Saeko but decided in the end to portray Rei and make her look more fierce and confident than in the show. I also always wanted to do a shoot where I could fight off zombies!
4. Could you give the readers some tips on cosplaying Rei Miyamoto?
Sushi Monster :- Don't be afraid to show some skin and be a bit perverted! You are cosplaying from a super fanservice show drawn by a hentai artist, so it's ok to do fanservicey shots. You can do a lot of action and fighting poses too, since the show is about fighting zombies. Also when looking for a wig, her hair isn't blonde ?it's more of an orangey brown tone. And don't forget her hair antenna! It is a major detail of the character Rei herself. Confidence is key!
5. Did you face any difficulties in cosplaying Rei Miyamoto?
Sushi Monster :- I didn't really face any difficulties other than figuring out the ahoge/hair antenna on her wig. She was one of my easier cosplays to do!
6. What according to you are the pros and cons of cosplaying?
Sushi Monster :-
Pros: If you make your costumes, you gain tons of skills, such as wig styling, sewing, prop construction, just creative ways to make things in general. You get to make yourself look totally different and to portray your favorite characters. You also meet a lot of people at cons with the same interests and can make a lot of lifetime friendships. Sometimes you may even find love! You have a nerdy group of friends you can freely fangirl with haha! You also get recognition from other talented artisans and fans of series if you do a good job on a costume!
Cons: It's a pretty expensive and time consuming hobby. Materials to make or buy costumes add up, and if you attend conventions, it's l cost even more! It can get really stressful days before the con when you are crunching to get costumes done by a deadline. A lot of people, especially on the internet, are very harsh and cruel and may make mean, horrible comments, but you are putting yourself out there so you kind of just have to take it along with the good. People also tend to become pretty cliquish or elitist over this nerdy hobby so that is another con.
7. Do you see yourself cosplaying in 10 years?
Sushi Monster :- Of course! I see myself being an old grandma and still cosplaying. Of course as I age I'm l pick more character and body appropriate cosplays, but there is always all sorts of characters I want to play dress up in, even if it's not anime or video game related. Cosplaying and cons are a huge part of my life so I can see myself still attending cons and cosplaying for the rest of my life, even if it's only once a year.
8. How do you view yourself as a cosplayer?
Sushi Monster :- I view myself as someone who just likes to do it for fun and for friends. I do costume construction pretty seriously because Iam a perfectionist but my actual attitude about it is pretty laid back and that we should just do it as a hobby and to have fun with it.
9. Any piece of advice for the cosplay virgins out there?
Sushi Monster :- Remember that this hobby is for FUN! If you are not having fun and stressing out too much, you are not doing it right. Don't be afraid to ask questions, however, there is a good chance that there is some sort of guide to what you are cosplaying out there already, so do your research first! Google, Deviantart and Cosplay.com forums are a great help. You can ask for advice, but don't expect people to give you step by step or to just outright give you their patterns and techniques. Also, if you want to make something, break the costume down as much as possible into little pieces. It's a lot easier to figure it out when you break it down into parts. Also, a must is hair and makeup! A costume isn't truly complete when you don't have a wig or at least some light makeup on. You can use your real hair but a wig tends to look better.
You can see much more of her work on Facebook and deviantart
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