Cosplay at Anime Boston 2011

After attending Anime Boston 2011, I am convinced that conventions, in general, are an excuse or reason to cosplay or simply, to dress up in a character that you want, even if it is not directly related to the theme of the event. At New York Comic Con and New York Anime Festival 2010, I encountered the Ax man from the Ax deodorant commercials. At this convention, I saw Batman, Disney, Star Wars and recent movie characters. Plus, a fashion style that I do not believe came directly from Japan. Regardless, it was all there! It is not just Halloween that gives us the opportunity to dress up and have fun, but conventions give us another chance to be in character and display without fear or embarrassment. So without further adieu, here are some of the attires of Anime Boston 2011.

Huge Onix! I was lucky to be able to capture the entire body from head to tail. Upon closer examination of the tail, it was stuffed with basketballs. I asked the cosplayer where was he from and how did he manage to bring the prop in? He said that he used an SUV coming from outside Boston, but within Massachusetts. Now imagine he was from Boston and brought that on the T subway? I think the prop would take up quite a bit of seating, don’t you think?

At the convention, this was a fashion that I was seeing quite a bit: steampunk. Those that I have seen with that particular attire had goggles and earth colors: shades of brown and green. Even though I am not familiar with the style, it reminds me of the Victorian era but with a hint of the Industrial Revolution. It would be kind of cool if this were a style that does represent the Industrial Revolution and still look Victorian.

Storm Trooper samurai style! I took the picture because the armor looks like metal, but it is probably craft foam with a good paint job. I did not even realize that it was a storm trooper until someone told me to look at the helmet. Do you see the trooper resemblance?

Now this was interesting. A Buzz Lightyear with a movable wing pack. Initially, I thought the wings were stiff and immobile. However, as you can see a cosplayer, Nero from Devil May Cry 4, assisting Buzz in putting away his wings. The extra effort in making the wing pack more realistic is undeniable.

Dead Master from Black Rock Shooter! I saw the scythe and I knew instantly that it was her! The weapon is basically the main reason why I took the picture. It looks extremely well done, just missing the white part. However, it looks to be proportional to her height. The mathematical logic of making this prop to the human size must have required a bit of measuring and calculations.

Usually when I see Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon cosplay, from Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon, I tend to not see a good cosplay of the character: it is really because of the wig, which is a difficult hairstyle to pull off. However, this young lady, as Super Sailor Moon, had perfectly circular shaped hair buns, like in the anime. How did she do it? She used foam balls!

I swear at every anime convention I been to, there is at least ONE storm trooper roaming around. I have no idea who or what the black outfit is supposed to be. I thought it was another version of the S.W.A.T uniform.

Life size Renamon! The costume looks so well-done that it can pass for something official. ;-)

Presenting the multitalented FUNimation Entertainment employee, who made this lovely gown. There is quite a bit of details to admire on this outfit: headpiece, waist piece and the neatly placed gems on the skirt.

Can you name all the Final Fantasy characters in this enormous group shot?? Click on each photo to see a larger version.

AMBER! The coplayer was working at a booth and I spotted her outfit. It looked like the character from Sucker Punch and it was!

This was the BEST GROUP cosplay of the convention. They look like the Kyoshi Warriors and Blue Spirit from Avatar: The Last Air Bender. Love the extra detail on the outfits! Well-done costumes!

He looks like the young version of Jack Sparrow. If there were a movie about the character’s past, this would be the look. Check out the make up detail. (^_^)

Steampunk alert! Huge wings. I asked the guy how heavy is it and he said that his jacket is heavier.

I usually do not take pictures of L from Death Note, but this is an exception. The cosplayer was walking around with a cake, which is a first for me. I was curious if the prop was real and it was!

Clone. That is all I can say. Mr. T!
© 2011 Linda Thai

Photography by Linda Thai

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