A lot of cosplayers do not attempt to cosplay as characters from older anime, or shows that are not easily recognized. We've all been there: when not a single person walks up to you and asks you for a picture… not because your cosplay isn't good but because they simply don't know who you are cosplaying as. This happens for a few reasons. One: they feel embarrassed for not knowing what series you are from, and two: you aren't from Naruto, and you aren't a Vocaloid, so they just don't care.
Recently, my special friend Danielle and I attended the Winter edition of Sacramento’s own Sac-Anime as “Kazumi Amano” and “Noriko Takaya” from studio Gainax’s 1988 original Gunbuster series, known to Japanese fans as Top o Nerae! or “Aim for the Top!” A few older fans recognized us, saying things such as, “I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d see a Gunbuster cosplay again,” and “Gunbuster was my very first anime, 16 years ago...”
The thing about cosplaying obscure characters is that, sure, not a lot of people will recognize you, but the ones that do will flip out! They will fan so hard it’ll make all the times that someone asked what you were from worth it. Danielle and I were asked who we were/what we were non-stop, and eventually we just told everyone we were from Naruto.
A lot of people cleverly guessed that we were cosplaying from the Battle Athletes Victory series, which aired almost ten years after Gunbuster, to which we replied, “We wish.”
So, why did we choose to cosplay characters from Gunbuster? Because we like the series, of course! In this great era of cosplay, you see the same characters done over and over again. This year, Poison from Final Fight was very popular, as well as Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt characters. Although the cosplayers themselves did a great job, seeing the same characters over and over again removes some of the shock factor. So what’s an attention-seeking, energetic cosplayer to do to break the mold? I say, look to the stars! By which I mean, the classics, and that’s what we did.
To sum up the plot of Gunbuster: Noriko and Kazumi are mecha pilots who train together with Coach Ota and representatives from all over the Solar System, in preparation for their attack on the “Space Terrible Monster Crowd.” Genius, right?
Our costumes were very easy to make, and cost us nearly nothing. We both reused wigs from previous cosplays. Mine was formerly an Alto Saotome (Macross F) and Danielle’s was used first for Kumi Mashiba (Eyeshield 21). We ordered leotards from a Dance Wear site online (after failing to dye our own TERRIBLY) and painted the white stripe on with fabric paint. The sweaters were purchased and modified, then painted with velveteen fabric paint to give them a tracksuit-like feel. We made the socks, wristbands, and hair accessories ourselves. I think I spent a total of 20 dollars, thanks to recycling pieces from older cosplay.
So, although not many people noticed us, we had more fun than anyone else at the con. From working out in the hotel gym, to hardcore dancing outside while the DJ spun Pokémon song remixes, we were constantly running around. It’s hard not to be energetic while wearing a leotard. I encourage all of you to start working on your full body Devilman cosplays now!