Otakitty's cosplay blog

Lyrics (Letras) - I will become the rain, the stars

2026-01-29T14:27:00.001-05:00

Back in the days of livejournal, I used to visit different music blogs for jpop recommendations, sometimes scoring entire album downloads, this was, of course before the days of music streaming. One of the few blogs that still continues this trend is the ever reborn JpopMusic80s (but this blog doesn't include any reviews or opinions on the music).

Through those blogs, and in the early days of growing my Jpop collection, I stumbled upon an album labeled TV Hits 4. Obviously, this was a compilation album for songs that were made popular in Japanese TV shows or dramas. Unfortunately, none of the tracks had titles or artist names. I like to be very meticulous with my music collection and I somehow managed to identify most of the songs, or just simply named them whatever portion of the lyrics stood out to me.

There was one song in particular that kept haunting me, and all I had to go for it, were the repeating lyrics that went "boku wa [something] ni naru...". As searches for song lyrics become ever more flooded with results that only list massive websites that have copy-pasta lyrics and translations in an endless (uncredited) loop, those smaller blogs curated by true aficionados keep getting buried at the bottom of the internet.

With my slowly growing knowledge of the Japanese language, I once again tried to pin down this song in hopes of finding it's origin, the lyrics, a translation, and the owner of the incredibly haunting voice that performs it.

This year, I finally deciphered the mystery, but apparently the songs is so obscure (for anywhere that is not Japan) that there were no romaji lyrics, and no translation for it. So guess what I'm going to do?

The song in question is "ぼくは雨となり星となる" sung by Yoshikazu Mera (米良美一). It was featured as either the opening or ending song to Shikoku 死国 (which I'm going to translate as Land of the Departed, and not Country of the Dead, which is quite a literal translation of the kanji) a TV Horror drama from 1999.

Here we go! First the lyrics in Japanese with Kanji.

ぼくは雨となり星となる — 米良美一

あの空をみて
悲しみの宇宙の外に出て
あの空をみて
その何処かで二人は会える
君にあげようこの涙
太阳に変えたら
冬の终わりで
途方に暮れないように
耳をふさいで走り出す君の
となりにある虹にぼくはなりたい
いつだって

ぼくは雨になり君を守るだろう
ぼくは星になり君を照らすだろう
ぼくは土になり君に话すだろう
ぼくは时になり君と生きるだろう

きれいな月を
きれいねとつぶやいた
君の瞳が世界で一番美しかった
ある日涙がこぼれだす
君から离れない歌にぼくはなりたい
いつだって

ぼくは雪になり君に积もるだろう
ぼくは月になり君に教えるだろう
ぼくは炎になり君に宿るだろう
ぼくは风になり君に触れるだろう

ぼくは雨になり君を守るだろう
ぼくは星になり君を照らすだろう
ぼくは土になり君に话すだろう
ぼくは时になり君と生きるだろう

君と生きるだろう

Now for the romaji version.

Boku wa ame to nari Hoshi to naru - Yoshikazu Mera

Ano sora wo mite
kanashimi no uchuu no soto ni dete
Ano sora wo mite
sono dokokadeni futari wa aeru

Kimi ni ageyou kono namida
taiyou ni kaetara
fuyu no owari de
tohou ni kurenai youni

Mimi wo fusaide hashiridasu kimi no
tonari ni aru niji ni boku wa naritai
itsudatte

Boku wa ame ni nari, kimi wo mamoru darou
Boku wa hoshi ni nari, kimi wo terasu darou
Boku wa tsuchi ni nari, kimi wo hanasu darou
Boku wa toki ni nari, kimi to ikiru darou...

Kirei na tsuki wo
[ kirei ne ] to tsubuyaita
Kimi no hitomi ga
sekai de ichiban utsushikatta

Aru hi namida ga koboredasu
kimi kara hanarenai uta ni boku wa naritai
itsudatte

Boku wa yuki ni nari, kimi ni tsumoru darou
Boku wa tsuki ni nari, kimi ni oshieru darou
Boku wa honoo ni nari, kimi ni kadoru darou
Boku wa kaze ni nri, kimi ni fureru darou...

Boku wa ame ni nari, kimi ni mamoru darou
Boku wa hoshi ni nari, kimi ni terasu darou
Boku wa tsuchi ni nari, kimi ni hanasu darou
Boku wa toki ni nari, kimi to ikiru darou...

Kimi to ikiru darou...

My English translation to this song:

I will become the rain, the stars - sung by Yoshikazu Mera

Look up at that sky
To step outside from your universe of sadness
Because up there in that sky
We will meet someday

I would give these tears to you
if I could make them as warm as the sun
So that at the end of winter
you won't feel desolate

I want to become the rainbow by your side
covering your ears as you rush along

And always remain

I will become the rain, so I may protect you
I will become the stars, so I may shine on you
I will become the ground, so I may speak with you
I will become time, so I may live with you

"Isn't she beautiful" I murmured
about the beautiful moon.
Even as your eyes were
the most beautiful in the world

There will come a day
when tears will flow (from your eyes)
I want to become the song
that won't let you go

And always remain

I will become the snow, so I may cover you
I will become the moon, so I may teach you
I will become a flame, so I may dwell within you
I will become the wind, so I may caress you

I will become the rain, so I may protect you
I will become the stars, so I may shine on you
I will become the ground, so I may speak with you
I will become time, so I may live with you

I will live with you

Spanish translation for this song.

Me convertiré en lluvia, en estrellas

Mira ese cielo
para escapar de tu universo de tristeza
mira hacia aquel cielo
en el que algun día nos vamos a encontrar

Te daría estas lágrimas
convertidas en rayos de sol
para que no sientas desolación
cuando se acabe el invierno

Quiero ser el arcoiris que va de tu lado
mientras escapas cubriéndote las orejas

Y por siempre ser...

Me convertiré en la lluvia, y te protegería
Me convertiria en estrella, y te alumbraría
Me convertiré en la tierra, y te hablaría
Me convertiré en tiempo, y contigo viviría

"Qué bella es" murmuré
sobre la hermosa luna
Tus ojos son lo mas bello de este mundo

Cuando llegue el dia en que esos ojos
derramen lágrimas
Quiero ser la canción que no te abandonará

Y por siempre ser...

Me convertiré en nieve, y te cubriría
Me convertiré en la luna, y te enseñaría
Me convertiré en llama, y dentro de ti viviría
Me convertiré en viento, y te acariciaría

Me convertiré en la lluvia, y te protegería
Me convertiria en estrella, y te alumbraría
Me convertiré en la tierra, y te hablaría
Me convertiré en tiempo, y contigo viviría

Y contigo viviría

I hope this post finds another poor soul that might have been tormented with deciphering where this haunting melody came from, cuz if not for nice stuff like this, what good is the internet for!?

Anime Review: The 100 Girlfriends Who Really Really Really Love You

2024-09-25T09:43:00.007-04:00

Coming into an anime like this, you are of course, aware that it's a piece of fluff, a show obviously made to appeal to the demographic that prefers heaps of fanservice in their anime. It's no masterwork destined to make a lasting change in humanity or the course of history, tackling grand ideas that would tear apart the very fabric of our society... except.. maybe... it can tear down the concept that monogamy is the only viable relationship configuration in which you can expect loyalty?

Hear me out. Despite the (deeply rooted in male fantasy) and cookie cutter harem idea that a unremarkable nobody, rejected 100 times, MC like Rentaro would end up with 2, 3, 5 or even 100 girlfriends is preposterous; the idea that he would love and respect all 100 (or at least the initial 5) of them equally is what really throws the wrench into this harem comedy. Because the thing is, it managed to make me believe it.

Rentaro is so earnestly pure-hearted and set on ensuring the best outcome for each of his soulmates, without a hint of malice or self-serving gain, that he is the shinning beacon of what all men seeking a polyamorous relationships should aspire to.

He also has that uncanny ability to read the room or glean his current (and sometimes concurrent) girlfriend's needs and provide what they didn't even know they needed at the time. Maybe this is a male harem fantasy from a female perspective, because having your emotional needs met is girl fantasy land. But I lay too much praise on the hero of this anime, since this "keenly attuned understand the unspoken" trope is quite common with average would-otherwise-be-NPCs male harem leads (Tadano from Komi-chan possesses a similar talent which downright verges on mind-reading).

I know I chose this anime because I like low camera angles in my rom-coms and while 100 Gfs did not overdeliver on the fanservice, it certainly did not under-deliver. There could've been more opportunities to glimpse Hakari's thigh/butt mole, but maybe I wouldn't be so entranced by it's allure if it was always shoved in my face. Each girl's unique charm had it's chance to shine, and although I admit I had prejudices against some of the character types, I, like Rentaro, ended up wholly appreciating each girl's quirks (with the exception of Kusuri, ok no, not even! her "no da!" reminds me of Chichiri from Fushigi Yugi and I was a little sad to not see it subtitled as "ya know!" maybe the translator was not familiar with FY... I digress).

Either way, I found myself laughing out loud IRL at least once per episode sometimes more than that, and that's better writing than I can give credit to a bunch of other stuff that I've tried to watch recently.

But back to the original argument I was trying to make. While other shows like Girlfriend x Girlfriend have delved into similar territory, and I do like this trend to (maybe not normalize but at least to) explore the dynamics of non-monogamous relationships, 100 Gfs is a solid (and healthy!) entry on the subject. It almost feels as if, anime with polyamorous relationships are forced to have better conflict resolution and more kind-hearted partners precisely because so many hearts are at stake.

But that could just be my own polyamorous bias speaking...

For a person that has been watching anime for over 20 years, and certainly had mid expectations for this show, I was left thoroughly satisfied, entertained, and wanting more. While a part of me dreads bloated casts, being keenly aware that 100 different girls will have to be introduced (and Hakari is best girl, so why cut down her screen time?), each girl was so exquisitely drawn that I don't mind seeing their take on 95 more anime cuties, a few of which are hinted at in the closing credits of the last episode.

Do I recommend it? Yes. Is it the best ever? Probably not.

But you could be watching worse things, with less cute girls, and less funny writing. So might as well waste your time with this one and join the Hakari-chan butt mole sight-seeing society like the rest of us cultured folks.

Cherry on top: the dub is excellent! What more do you need? Go give this a watch.

Lyrics (Letras) - Wine Red Kokoro

2020-06-21T21:33:00.000-04:00

This is my first time doing this...

As all of you can assume, I love japanese pop music. Lately I've been digging further back into the 80s and 70s to find real gems of songs, artists, and styles. One of the bands that has really captured my heart is Anzen Chitai (Safety Zone - 安全地帯). The vocalist's sultry voice and the beautifully crafted melodies are real panty soaking material...

In any case, many times I find that English translations of Japanese songs don't really capture the same sentiments as the original. I wanted to try my hand at translating a song. IN SPANISH. So, here we go! Anzen Chitai's hit "Red Wine Heart" (ワインレッドの心) en Español!

***

Hola a todos! Es la primera vez que intento publicar letras de una canción en Japonés a Español (no la primera vez que hago traducción, pues lo hago a veces por entretenimiento personal). Esta balada romántica de la banda Anzen Chitai, es una de mis canciones favoritas y no estaba conforme con las traducciones en Inglés que había encontrado. Bueno, aquí les va:

Corazón Rojo Vino

Con muchas más ganas te hubiese amado
Mucho más tus besos hubiese disfrutado

En vez de suavemente estrujar
Y olvidar
Los recuerdos que se desvanecen ya

Si pudieras amar, más que ahora, más que esto...
Aunque se cumpla tu deseo
Quedarás aún con tus ojos claros
Y ese ardiente corazón
Cual rojo vino

Muchas más veces, te hubiese abarazado
Toda esta noche te hubiese hecho estremecer
En vez de abrir esta botella de vino
Para embriagarme y llorar
Por aquellas tristes palabras

Si pudieras amar, más que ahora, más que esto...
Esta noche también
Desvergonzadamente te deleitas
En ese ardiente corazón
Cual rojo vino

Hasta que me ames, más que ahora y más que esto
Mientras te estremeces
Muéstrame un reflejo dentro de tus ojos claros
De aquel ardiente corazón
Cual rojo vino

****

Wain reddo no kokoro (romaji)

Motto katte ni koi shitari
Motto kiss o tanoshindari
Wasure sōna omoide o
Sotto daite iru yori
Wasurete shimaeba

Ima ijō sore ijō aisareru noni
Anata wa sono sukitōtta hitomi no mama de
Ano kiesō ni moe sōna wain reddo no
Kokoro o motsu anata no negai ga
kanau noni

Motto nando mo daki atari
Zutto konya o yure attari
Kanashi sōna kotoba ni
Yotte naite iru yori
Wain o aketara

Ima ijō sore ijō aisareru noni
Anata wa tada hajirau yori tedate ga nakute
Ano kiesō ni moe sōna wain reddo no
Kokoro o mada moteamashite iru no sa
kono yoru mo

Ima ijō sore ijō aisareru made
Anata no sono sukitōtta hitomi no naka ni
Ano kiesō ni moe sōna wain reddo no
Kokoro o utsushi dashite misete yo yurenagara

****
This is my favorite cover of this song, a jazzy tango twist performed by Shiina Ringo:

Dream cosplay! Ranma 1/2 Ice Skating Costumes (Part 1: Ranma Saotome)

2020-06-07T21:51:00.000-04:00

One of the first anime shows I ever watched and got obsessed with was Ranma ½. Back when I lived in Ecuador, I would watch Ranma ½ daily, some of the very first internet sites I visited where Ranma fan sites (remember geocities?), the first pictures I printed on my home inkjet, and the first mp3s I downloaded to my computer. Side anecdote: when I moved to the U.S.A. my best friend would mail me VHS tapes with recorded episodes of Ranma (en Español!). That's how much we were into this show.

One of the battle arcs that really stuck with me was the ice skating battle against "The Golden Pair". Besides the fact that figure skating is my favorite Olympic (just cuz it's so damn pretty to look at), at that time in my youth, a skating rink had just opened in my city and it was a popular hang out spot for kids my age. So, when I saw Akane step out in her figure skating costume, my breath was taken away and the image was brandished in my brain as the most gorgeous figure skating costume ever.

All these years later, I was still thinking about that outfit, and it had been on my "cosplay dream list" until finally in 2016 I decided to go for it, feeling my sewing skills had leveled up enough. I had a suitable Asian boyfriend, and Junicorn was going to be the perfect Azusa Shiratori. It was time to get it done.

Time to recreate this trio

Getting Hyped up

The way we usually go about our cosplays, is to get the props first. In this case, this was going to be ice skates. If those proved to be too expensive, we might call the whole thing off. But whaddya know? Target had adult ice skates, in pristine leather white at for under $40. Well, this made it certain that this cosplay was meant to be.

At this point, Junicorn no longer lived in FL, so we sent each other progress pics like this.

Fabric Shopping

My boyfriend had long sworn off not to get involved in the cosplay-making process, he found it to be a hassle and I would boss him around on how to make stuff. So, he agreed to wear a finished costume if I made it or bought it, and to kept me fed and out of my way while I was building it.

I had a pretty solid idea of how bright and contrasting I wanted to costumes to be, having learned from previous mistakes where I used a printed reference to guide my fabric buying, only to choose colors that were too subdued and didn't turn out well in photos. Never again! These were gonna be poppin'!

Ranma's pants and shirt are made of poplin, since silk or sateen fabrics look too shimmery and have a sort of amateur and flimsy finish.The "dragon scales" are a stretchy shimmery lycra, since this was the only fabric that already had that pattern. This would serve as the embellished part of the costume, since all the other fabrics were matte.

Dragon on Ice

I can be briefly seen in some of the manga panels and anime scenes, the dragon pattern warps all around Ranma's shirt. Thankfully, there is no dragon head (cuz then I would've had to do that too...) just a coiling dragon tail. I got to working, maximizing the "fish scale" pattern.

the dragon pattern is flipped in the VIZ translation of the manga.

planning out the dragon pattern

laying out all the shirt pattern pieces.

close up of the stitching

Bonus! Ranma-chan!

I couldn't resist quickly throwing on this costume and my red wig for some Ranma-chan selfies. It was specially fun because, just like in the anime, Ranma's clothes fit me very losely!

Next up: making Akane's figure skating costume

Ky Kitty in Lolita dress

2020-06-03T16:21:00.003-04:00

At the very least I wanted to blog to be up to date with my artworks. This piece is probably THE most elaborate illustrator project I've ever finished, and it was off the deep end with how much layering and gradients I ended up using. (click on any picture to enlarge)

This character is an OC by another deviantArt user, and the original artist was running a contest to have her characters drawn. I picked the catgirl character and went full ham with pink and purple!

Of COURSE there is a nude version. I already go through so much trouble layering the clothes, completing the nude is my own treat. I also tried using pink/purple gradient for shading the skin as well as doing the linework in pink. It gives warmth and glow to the whole piece that I had not achieved before.

Gradients on the eyes! on the hair! on the lips! on the nips!

This is my first pencil sketch for this illustration. I think the face changed quite a lot once I did the vector work in Illustrator.

This is the "clothing" layer, originally done in tracing paper.

I've gotta say, this piece is probably the pinnacle of my artwork back then, specially looking back at it all these years later. Thinking of all the hours I put in to create an illustration like this, I wonder if I still have in in my to draw anything of this caliber ever again.

Her face is totally one of my favorite things I've ever drawn.

5 Mistakes n00bs usually make when going to their first convention

2017-09-03T22:27:00.001-04:00

[Makyz at his best]

Every year that I go to a convention, it seems to me the crowds keep getting younger and younger. It's great to see a fresh batch of ~~victims~~ fans enjoying geek culture, but I also feel a little pain in my heart when I hear or see folks that are new conventions make these very n00bish mistakes.

Mistake #1:
Not pre-registering or buying your ticket ahead of time!

I get it, some things just get planned at the very last minute, but the earlier you get your convention tickets, the better off you will be. Most events will offer tickets months in advance and at much discounted rates than what you will pay at the door. Also with online event registration you get an electronic ticket in your phone that makes it super easy to pick-up your attendee badge!

Making a line the DAY of (usually in the blistering sun) just to get the pass/ticket, that's a n00b mistake.

Mistake #2:
Cramming more than 4 people to a hotel room.

You're young, you're strapped for money, and you figure you'll get as many of your friends to pitch in for the hotel room and you can survive with sleeping on the floor or a tub for a night or two... Maybe lack of proper rest doesn't affect people in their twenties and below as much of the rest of us, but I've reached a point where I'll put some hard earned dollars into proper sleeping space above other commodities.

Also, if you're staying with cosplayers (or doing cosplay yourself) chances are the bathroom will be a mess, there'll be wigs, boots and crazy props taking up space, and of course, somebody turning the hotel room into a last minute cosplay workshop.

Mistake #3:
Not looking at the convention programming at all.

I'm guilty of this one because my main reason to show up at conventions is just to have an excuse to wear cosplay... Usually I get to the event and I have no clue what I'm doing that day until I've picked up my badge and I'm handed a convention book with the schedule.

The past couple events I've attended, the convention actually had an app with venue maps, schedules, and even a way to add workshops and events to your plans so you can get reminders for the activities you actually want to see!

It definitely beats carrying around a big olde book that you'll probably lose a few hours in...

Mistake #4:
Deciding to take on a new costume a week before the event.

Woah, ok, this one is actually a veteran's mistake LOL! It never fails; you're already knee deep into a cosplay (that you still haven't finished), the event is right around the corner and then you watch something new, or your friend talks you into joining a cosplay group. You think to yourself, "Well I'm almost done with this one any way... it looks rather easy... I still got time..."

Don't do it! Don't fall into this trap! Minutes before you have to get in your car or plane to actually go to the convention you'll still be gluing pieces of your costume together, making a last minute drive to Walmart for velcro and double sided tape, and worst of all, realizing halfway through your trip THAT YOU LEFT A PART OF YOUR COSTUME AT HOME!!

Stop the madness. End the suffering. Don't start a new costume a week before the convention.

Mistake #5
Fully wearing your cosplay in the car and on the way to the convention.

I had just talked about this with my friends at The Six Podcast. Most conventions are held during the summer time, and you're likely going to have end up walking some sort of distance from wherever you parked your car to the actual venue. In some cases, you probably drove a couple hours to get there, and then have to stand outdoors in some kind of line. Heed my advice and DON'T wear ALL of your cosplay or make-up on the way there.

I'll usually wear easy to remove casual clothes or the under layers to my costume, and put on the rest of the cosplay once I'm inside the event. Bathrooms in conference centers and hotels are typically very spacious, so this is not a problem. Also, because I'm a total lightweight when it comes to wearing high heeled shoes or contact lenses, I put them on once I'm there too.

(of course all of this doesn't apply if you're staying in a hotel that is a short walk away or hosting the event)

There's nothing worse than you having your make-up melt before you've even taken a decent picture!

What are some of the mistakes you've made in your early convention years and want to warn others about? Let me know in the comments!

Florida SuperCon Adventures 2017 [The Six Podcast]

2017-08-28T22:14:00.004-04:00

Another year that I said I was gonna be done and over with cosplay, and yet another year that I ended up dragging my butt to Florida SuperCon.

Just two weeks before this event I had actually gone to SuperCon Raleigh (Florida SuperCon's first Raleigh convention), but due to tight scheduling and a difference in preferences with the friends I attended, that event had me adamant about hitting up another con just two weeks after.

However, my awesome friends at Why So Serious Show and The Six convinced me, and in true comeback fashion I decided to put on my plate TWO BRAND NEW COSTUMES to debut at this con. I never learn...

Well this time, you won't read about how it went, but you get to listen to it!! I hung out with the guys at The Six and we recorded this podcast recounting our SuperCon adventures.

→ Jump to at The Six Blog.

X-23 Special! [Why So Serious Show]

2017-04-13T17:54:00.000-04:00

Bring out your claws!

What is the Why So Serious Show? They're kinda all over the place. Sometimes they do parodies/tributes of fictional characters, sometimes they do reviews of toys and comic books, then there's the times they go to conventions and pester countless cosplayers with their obnoxious questions. They're just a bunch of dudes with some cameras in hand and too much free time.

In this installment, they're all about X-23, her origins, powers and two very cool segments; one with some live action scenes and the other as an animated comic book (with excellent voice overs!).

It is also my debut as hostess for the show.

Some behind the scenes shots:

the crew!

filming set-up at Tattoos and Comics

Eddie Lovecraft reading the script HE wrote for the 30th time...

whaddya want me to do thou!?

This installment of the Why So Serious Show was filmed at your friendly neighborhood comic shop: Tattoos and Comics!

Art Nouveau Piece

2017-04-11T21:57:00.000-04:00

I did this piece back when I was in graphic design school and getting heavily into learning gradients in Adobe Illustrator, fonts and overall design.

I was trying to nudge myself away from my usual style by drawing a thinner girl than I'm used to, and approaching the hair and features a little differently. If you look very closely, you can see the freckles on her shoulders! The name of this character is Alina, I came up with her back in high school days. Maybe one day I'll elaborate on the back story for her...

Nude version cuz I'm fun that way.

The sketch and coloring process: (let's pretend she's sitting at the corner of a bed, ne?)

You guyse... it's gonna be way too long since I last drew anything.....

FFXII Oerba Yun Fang Cosplay

2017-04-04T21:44:00.000-04:00

I've been doing some housekeeping regarding my cosplay and want to start officially retiring some costumes out of my line-up or just for the sake of organizing my cosplay photos. If I count from my very first attempt EVER at cosplay (that was in 2001...) it's over 15 years that I've been in this ridiculous hobby!

Fang was one of those costumes I did to be part of a group. In this second version, I've bought the sari from an online retailer, which was quite more hefty than my previous attempt at the costume (aka less sexy). I also wanted more accurate hair, so I got a wig that was not as awesome as I hoped. My spear is still the awesomest bit to this cosplay.

Makyz as a Mexican Snow

The following photos by Michael Iacca who captured Melvinopolis' (Vanille) pristinely white flesh.

The following photos by SoulFire Photography.

Well, goodbye Fang!
(The spear has already been sold, if you're interested in purchasing the robes/sari send me an e-mail or comment)

Super easy X-men Claws for X23 cosplay

2017-03-27T22:56:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone!

So, I very hastily had to put together an X23 (Laura Kinney) costume for a fun video shoot with my friends over at Why So Serious Show. The only reason I agreed to do it within a week's time is because I already had a striped shirt and because I figured that doing these claws would be super easy, and it is!

Here's how you can make yourself some mutant X-men claws.

You will need:

1 sheet (8.5" X 11") of styrene/syntra plastic 0.2mm thickness
1 sheet of (8.5" X 11") cardboard
Hot glue gun
Sandpaper (I used 150 grit)
Silver spray paint
(optional) Spray paint primer
(optional) Bondo

You can be neat and trace/digitally draw the shape of the claws, or you can be devil-may-care about and just do it by hand! Like moi~

I used a scrap piece of presentation board to cut out the shape.

Now that you've decided on the shape of the claw, use your template claw to draw over the styrene/plastic. You see the little curved arch at the bottom of the claw? This is to nudge the claw between my fingers, giving it the illusion that it grows out of my hand and securing it between the fingers.

you can draw on styrene with ballpoint pen.

Cut out all pieces with an x-acto knife or scissors. You will need 2 pieces of plastic per claw.

Now you will need some cardboard, anything that's lying around is fine. We just need some to make the claws sturdy. Make sure to cut it a little smaller than the plastic, and not leave any for the bottom part that goes in between the fingers. You will glue one piece of styrene on each side, completely covering the cardboard.

Use more hot glue to fill in gaps along the edges, you can cut out the excess with a knife or sand it down with sandpaper. Once you're satisfied with the shape, get ready to paint them!

claws before paint

Spray paint takes 24 hours to dry between coats, so this is the part that is a little sucky. If you're totally in a rush, just spray them claws silver and boom! You're done! If you want to fine tune your work, spray one coat of primer, fill gaps with Bondo, sand it beautifully, prime again, AND THEN give it a coat or two of your final silver color.

please spray paint in a well ventilated area

RAWR. After all this, get your hair did at the salon for that Laura Kinney look.

To further un-complicate my life, and because the claws wouldn't stay upright unless my fingers were somewhat extended, I took the extra precaution of choosing a look for X23 where she was wearing gloves (which she does, a lot of the time) so then all I have to do is stick the claws inside the gloves, and they will stay put.

Thanks for stopping by!! And don't forget to follow Why So Serious Show on Instagram and YouTube to catch the X23 special episode.

BONUS!! Cosplay cat!

Mizuho Kazami Bodouir Cosplay Photo Gallery

2017-03-09T23:04:00.003-05:00

At long last... I can post the photos of this dream photoshoot. I am always extremely happy to work together with Morataya who so thoroughly understands my vision, aesthetic and delivers these gorgeous images. Checking off another cosplay from my bucket list, which is Mizuho in her sexy nightdress / negligee.

Mizuho Kazami's default outfit: nailed it!

too bad I was lacking some pocky for this photoshoot...

save for the tatami mats... nailed it!

{fanservice}

Thank you all for coming to see the pics and I hope you enjoy them as much as me!

{otakitty mode}

Pink Kimono & Blue Hair Cosplay Gallery

2016-11-03T18:40:00.000-04:00

My cyan and purple Cocona wig was my favorite wig for a very long time, and I also would pop on cat ears to anything, cuz hey!
This is a (completely inaccurate) kimono outfit one of my friends let me wear for this quick photoshoot. What I love the color combination.
As always, you can click on the photos to view a larger size.

Thanks for stopping by!

Blair from Soul Eater Cosplay

2016-10-20T21:07:00.000-04:00

I always love posting this costume around Halloween time, because it's the only Halloweeny costume I really got hehe!

The usual suspects here: Junicorn as Mizune, Makyz as Free, and EvilSp0rk as Medusa.

Photography by Simple Beauty.

How to make an unnecessarily fluffy wig (adding volume)

2016-09-26T22:14:00.000-04:00

Oh, anime hair. Not only did anime producers decide that any color in the gamut is fair game to put on someone's head, they also like to add extra flair with some gravity-defying hairstyles, which in most cases requires massive hair volume to pull off.

One of the reasons why it's so important to buy your wigs from specialty cosplay wig shops, is that these retailers not only have a full range of colors that better capture the most popular hair shades in anime, but the wigs will usually have a decent amount of volume to them (my favorite retailer is Arda Wigs). Even considering this, you'll find that most cosplayers that take their wig-game to a pro level, are combining two or three wigs to achieved the desired volume.

Well then, the day came that I decided to cosplay Mimori Kishida from AKB0048 and I got hung up on just how incredibly fluffy and thick her hair is! I mean, look at it! It's outta hand!

luscious

fluffy

volume-tastic!

Seeing what was out there already, I decided to go with a wig from MoeMall, because it was already a very close match for the style and color. Seeing other cosplayers that also wore this wig, I felt that it just didn't have that luscious oomph to it, so I decided to go ahead and fluff it up.

Step one: decide what's going to give it volume.
I've seen some tutorials that recommend teasing the hair to create volume, but it seriously freaks me out to destroy the wig with a technique that is essentially TANGLING the hair. I wanted to be able to undo my work in case I wanted to re-use the wig for other purposes.
I chose to use these ballerina bun hair donuts (I don't know what the hell else to call them), because they were pretty cheap and had a good texture. It's like little nylon coils with a some stretch to them.

they're pretty easy to unroll, stretch and cut to size.

Prepare the area that needs volume. In my case, I had to part the front part of the wig from most of the back part that was going to have the volume added. Use large hair clips and pins to gently hold the hair in place.

I'm using a scrap piece of fabric to separate the layers.
Attach the texture layer by layer. I had already determined the layers where I would be adding extra, using as a guide the weft strands of the wig.

I pinned the texture in place (using a styrofoam wig head), above the weft.

Sew the texture along the weft with a thread color that matches.

Keep adding the texture layer by layer (I started from the top and finished at the bottom).

That's all the layers!
Match the texture to the wig color. Although most of the additional texture should be hidden, I went ahead and used some sharpie+alcohol (wig dye formula) to spray the texture and make it match the color of the wig.
Style the wig. This is the part where I created the extra lump hump.

I added a few lose stitches in the middle just to keep the hairs from spilling out of place.

I'm going to attach a piece of lace at the bottom so it's easier for me to fold over the hair and sew it to the bottom of the wig cap.

The lace, and the hair.

Just run it under the sewing machine!

With the reinforced bottom, I can attach it to the bottom of the wig cap.

Fold it over and voilá, looking pretty dam bulbous!

I curled the bottom with plastic rollers and low heat since the wig got too straightened out.
Add the accessories. Mimori wears a ridiculous piece of frill that just magically sits on her head, I couldn't find the logic to it, but assumed it was some sort of wrap around band.

Pinning the frilly bit.

Tying it up at the back.
Done! This is a photo that best showcases how bulbous it is.

(The heart halo is added in photoshop if you were wondering)
Although I think if I wear this cosplay again, I'll re-style the wig so it flows a little better.

Foxy Catgirl Cosplay Gallery

2016-09-08T20:45:00.000-04:00

I can't believe I haven't posted these photos in the blog yet. Pretty comfy costume (actually made by Takumy, but she said it was so indecent she refused to wear it again). Pretty fun shoot too!

I guess I AM a cat girl because my tail is long, and Junicorn is a foxgirl because she has pointier ears and a shorter tail.

Photography by Morataya.

Tiger Flower Empress

2016-09-06T19:59:00.000-04:00

Back in the days when I was super active on deviantArt, I had joined a group that did art exchanges with different themes. For this piece, I took another artist's original character and applied a flower theme to the art.

This piece is without a doubt one of my most intense Illustrator pieces ever. I really started playing with gradient mesh and even traced the flowers to have my own vector flowers. Because of this, this artwork got corrupted several times, which is an all too real nightmare when working with heavy vector art. (for this reason, always save different instances of your art, in different formats, so you can recover from another file later on).

The final piece:

Nude version, cuz I already went through all that trouble:

Sketches:

Did you like it?

Persona: Becoming Someone Else

2016-09-03T19:34:00.001-04:00

So here's yet another cosplay documentary video that I was interviewed for. This video was actually made by a very close friend of mine, Pedro Cortes, and that is why I am featured so heavily in it (so convenient!). In this one I do a LOT of talking, so if y'all want to hear my "interesting" accent, dive right in!

It's too funny how when he first interviewed me I was going through a "quitting on cosplay!" phase and two months later I'm already obsessed about making costumes again (Mizuho and Mimori). Other sexy cosplay ladies featured in this video are: MadMel Madigan, Starbuxx, Alexia Jean Grey, IvyDoomkitty, Nadyasonika, Jennifer Ann, and Danny Cosplayz.

Chowcaptors! Manga

2015-09-10T11:00:00.000-04:00

Every once in a while, people that have just met me or started to follow me on social media eventually find out that I also draw. Although these days, I put more time into building cosplays that making artwork, I (like any other good weaboo) also had dreams of making my own manga one day.

A friend from highschool used to write stories which were parodies of popular anime and featured myself and our friends as characters, they were hilarious to us. Here's one that I actually made into a short manga, I only got the first chapter and a few pages of the second chapter done when I stopped.

Done during 2006, I drew and inked the first chapter of the comic mostly by hand. The tones were also applied manually. For the second chapter I was still drawing by hand, but doing most of the tone work digitally. So many pantyshots LOL.

to be continued....

Tekken's Jaycee Cosplay Photo Gallery

2015-09-07T15:29:00.002-04:00

Here they are! I have a full photo set of my Jaycee cosplay that I wore to Florida Supercon this past summer. I was so happy to finally wear this completed outfit and get these pictures back from The Valdman.

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Queen Odette Making of Masterpost

2015-08-04T21:10:00.001-04:00

Even to this day, I consider Queen Odette to be the most intense costume I've built AND worn. Just thinking about ever wearing this again gives me chills. I probably can't anymore, because my waist/torso will never be as small as they were when I tightened that corset all the way...

It used to be that in this blog, my progress and construction process for this costume was scattered in posts I made (almost in real time), but I'd rather have everything organized in one long post will all the construction details.

As I usually decide to do when it comes to complex costumes, I told myself to tackle the prop elements first. In this case, it meant the huge moon that is always hovering behind Odette. To get proportions right and all design details as accurately as possible, I trace the artwork from a reference picture to establish the shape.

tracing artwork in illustrator

I used blue insulation foam to build this prop. It's lightweight and had the right thickness so this moon wouldn't be flopping around. I printed the artwork, taped it all together (because I only have regular size paper sheets) and proceeded to pin the paper on the foam.

Unfortunately I couldn't have one huge solid piece to cut the shape from, and either way, I needed parts to be collapsible to ease transportation.

I used a hot knife/wand that is used to cut styrofoam. It's a slow process, but a little better than trying to cut this with a regular knife. Here you can see the pins I used to hold the paper template in place, and my cats making a mess of everything.

cat fight!

This is what the moon looks like after it's been assembled. The dark red lines mark where I will be chiseling away to give it a sculpted look.

Now it's time to paint, I gave it (at least 4) coats of gesso so the acrylic paint would actually stick to it. The topmost portion of the moon is attached with some wood sticks.

This is what my moon looks like after doing the basic coloring for it. I used metallic acrylic paints and in the final version put a sparkly gloss over it.

Well, what was going to be the next most difficult thing to tackle on this costume? The skeleton body. I had seen many other cosplayers tackle this part either by sculpting the bones themselves, or by stylizing this aspect of the character by making it part of the dress, painted or sequined on. I figured the only way for me to achieve a truly eerie and otherworldly effect was to get as close to human bones as possible.

Say hi to Bucky:

my bony friend, Bucky

Bucky is an anatomically accurate skeleton, the kind that is usually seen in classrooms or doctor's offices. One of these skeleton's runs about $80, and considering all the trouble it was going to save me, it was a worthwhile investment. The skeleton is fully articulated, it took some work detaching only the parts I needed.
Everything else I didn't use is still in storage, maybe one day you will be useful again Bucky-san...

I first gave the bones coat of glossy neon green acrylic. Here you can see the result:

But of course, that wasn't enough, and I had to make the paint job extra creepy and eerie to match the artwork, like so:

it's all in the painting!

bonus cat sleeping in my work area

You probably didn't notice at first glance, but Queen Odette has two fancy ponytails on either side of her crown. I ordered two blond ponytail clips, so I could dye them a custom color. I think the reason I went about it this way, was because I could not find clips in the color I needed, but these days, there are more options.

I used Katie Blair's Petting Zoo Wig dye in Midnight blue.

wear gloves kids!

Now, although I ordered the clips from the same manufacturer, the shade was slightly different in both of them, and as result, the wig dye yielded different results. I worked around this by taking apart the wefts, and intermingling them when I was constructing the ponytails.

I wrapped a styrofoam piece with wefts from both clips, to even out the color, then wrapped them in this stretchy string so they would look as intended. All done! Except... how am I gonna attach them to the crown...? I'll worry about it later.

Speaking of the crown! I figured this piece should be pretty lightweight, but kind of sturdy, so while not yet figuring out how it will all work out in the end, I cut out the base shape from a huge sheet of craft foam/foamies. I only needed to trace one of the design elements to make my template (in yellow cardboard) and then I copied it onto the foamie sheet.

Well, here are all the basic shapes to the crown.

The scalloped edges were done simply with hot glue. I added a border of glue to the areas that needed that extra relief. I glued the ponytails to the side, and they magically stayed on. I used a little craft foam hat to attach the entire crown to, but it would flop down. I finally opted by buying a lamp shade that had a similar shape to what I needed, cutting it up, and using it as a support for the crown.

I could have made it with styrene, but it would've been too heavy. For some reason the lampshade was light and sturdy enough to keep the crown upright and rest on my head. It still gets pretty darn heavy after a few hours, and also because it has to be tightly secured on my head.

bonus cat on crown

Moving on to the sewing.
I spent a long time searching for the right fabrics for this costume. I decided to go with iridescent dupioni silk from SilkBaron. I had never spent so much money on textiles (about $200). The blue lace with triangular shapes, I found in the downtown fabric district, and was of course another good amount of $$$ but I fell in love with it and it was the perfect match, even if ultimately it was going to be trailing the bottom of the skirt.
I got a long sleeve black velvet shirt to use as the base body where they bones would be attached to.

The other blue decorations were made with foamies and painted.

my fabrics

Here are the cut up pieces for my corset cover. I was too inexperienced to make my own corset, and opted for buying an inexpensive (but great quality) one from TimelessTrends, which I would cover with a "faux" corset made from my fabric. I needed the corset to exaggerate my waist shape as much as possible.

Now I needed to tackle another point of Odette's design: her huge butt!!

This was achieved by wearing a bustle, which is an undergrament victorian ladies wore to have plump butts.

Of course, I couldn't buy such a thing, so I had to hand make my own using Laughing Moon's bustle pattern.

This kind of bustle was also lightweight, it didn't use any wires, I made it using only cotton batting and cheap muslin fabric. Definitely use a cheaper fabric, since it takes up quite a lot of material to construct.

bustle pattern

Now, this here is a pic I didn't want to post at the time, because it is so darn weird, but it's an important part of the costume: The humongous BREASTS. Scroll back up to the illustration to see how Odette's rack looks like she's growing watermelons on her undead chest instead of mammaries. As is usually the case with parts I completely lack knowledge, expertise, time and money in making myself, I decided to purchase a huge rack of tits.

make-up test

These boobs are latex "implants" used by crossdressers; they are meant to be worn on top of the chest, but under clothes, under the right circumstances they look totally legit. I had to cut out some excess latex, and paint them blue to match, so while I was at it, I painted the nipples as well. My first time wearing this costume, my blue nipples were constantly exposed due to waldrobe malfunctions (poor construction), but at least they matched my face!

Junicorn working on her Mercedes costume

As the time for the event was fast approaching, cosplay workshop mode was permanently set up in my dining room, and Tewibewi started helping us all with getting things done

One of the costumes what was going to need plenty of assistance, was Inferno King Onyx. My boyfriend, who was cast as this chara, is pretty inept when it comes to being creative and figuring out cosplay. You can tell him what to do, and he will do it (painstakingly slow), so he struggled greatly in coming up with a pattern for the armor.

Inferno King Onyx!

The armor base is made with cardboard and then given thickness with layers of craft foam.

They were quickly painted with spray paint to give it a glowing effect.

After all our hard work, sweat, burned fingers and sleepless nights, this is what my dining room looked like the night before we left for the convention. We were ready to tackle Metrocon, but that turned out to be another ordeal and test of endurance...

Cosplay Path Documentary

2015-08-02T18:27:00.003-04:00

In this short documentary, recorded, produced and edited by me, I explore some of the most common questions regarding cosplay as a hobby.

Why do people cosplay?
What it's like to be a cosplayer and go to a convention to wear your costume?
How do you get ready to dress up?
How do you decide what character to cosplay?
How do you feel when you go to conventions?
Where do you go to find materials to make your cosplay?
Is it cheaper to make costumes yourself?

I hope you all enjoyed this brief video. This was a project for my multimedia production class.

A date with Shinobu-chan

2015-07-28T20:40:00.000-04:00

Whenever Morataya takes the (short) trip down to Miami, he always makes the time to take some photos of me and catch up. Since these encounters are usually short notice, I end up wearing rather casual or more simple outfits.

On this opportunity I did a variant of Ninja Nonsense's Shinobu-chan, from an episode where Sasuke dreams he's the main character to the show, and Shinobu is his little sister / love interest.

For this ocassion, I got to fix up my Shinobu wig and add the long ponytail and ball ornament!

waiting at the café.

I really wanted this shoot to have a first person perspective, kinda like what you see when you play dating sim games.

feeding you an ice-cream sandwich

I really tried to make this ice cream prop last as long as possible, but I was actually pretty hungry. LOL.

Totally disrupting the photo story I had going on but, I like this pic cuz I'm making my typical "ero" face. And also cuz I like pictures that show my teeth.

liiiick~

Made it to the gazebo!

Wearing thigh-highs is torture for me. Too much thigh.

Awaiting your next move...

KISSSSSSSSS~ MUAH!

THE END.

Catgirl OC art collection

2015-07-23T22:29:00.000-04:00

Back when I was in high-school (and by now that was a really long time ago, my graduation was in 2002), my friend/rival Takumy created a comic called CP-Classmates which featured ourselves and our friends as characters in some alternate reality that kind of played off as an adventure RPG.

Of course, my character was based on a combat-type catgirl, and was fittingly called "Romy-chan" (which was my highschool nickname).

character design sheet for my OC (2002)

Since it was Takumy that initiated the comic, the design for my outfit was up to her, and it only took me a few weeks to realize it had been straight up based on the catgirl Pink from the hentai anime Dragon Pink.

Pink from Dragon Pink.

Romy-chan in too similar of an outfit. Drawing by Takumy.

Well then, I still loved the fact that she turned me into a character in a comic and that from then on I could make her out to be however I wanted. I found myself drawing Romy-chan quite a lot :)


my take on the character, with slightly more realistic proportions (aka breasts).

Many of these drawings were done before I learned how to use Photoshop, so they were drawn in pencil, then traced to a new sheet of paper, inked, possibly photo copied (so the ink doesn't run) then colored with markers.

Romi-chan and another OC based on our friend P-sama.

Eventually I started to venture into photoshop, but used it mostly to blend or enhance what I had already colored with the markers.

The trio of friends (and main characters) K-chan, Romy-chan, and Takumy-sama, in school uniforms.

The three of us in our night gowns.

Or sometimes I would use Paint to make some super exciting photo compositions!

Romy-chan in a bikini.

Romy-chan as sailor scout, of course my fuku is purple!

I also drew little scenarios or storyline ideas for my character, but they all exist only as sketches.

Romy-chan holding an injured Takumy.

Meeting another cat-type character.

in attack mode!


when a good drawing ends up on lined paper... ugh.

(BEWARE OF NUDITY BELOW)

just chillaxing

Romy-chan and Takumy could combine / fuse together to become more powerful.

Or sometimes I would just throw in random lesbian scenarios, cuz WHY NOT?

just a little cat girl

Looking back on it, 2002 was a really productive year for me as far as drawing, and I was trying out all sorts of different mediums. Years later we got to make costumes based on our characters!

What do you guys think of my OC? Did you also make up stories with your friends in high school? I think around that age my creativity and drive was up the roof! Oh youth!

Progress on Tekken's Jaycee cosplay

2015-05-30T15:25:00.005-04:00

SuperCon is right around the corner again, and so I am reminded of the cosplay project I aborted last year after scrambling for a month to get it done... Jaycee from Tekken Tag Tournament 2.

nailed it?

All things considered I got this costume to about 90% completion, but as it turns out with all the things I try to make without enough notice, it's not a great job... in fact, it fit so poorly I couldn't bring myself to wear it to the con and be photographed in it; instead opting to wear Mimori, which I was well aware would not be a popular costume for an event like SuperCon.

Here's a rundown of how I went about it, which was just me figuring things out on my own and being too confident about my sewing, story of my cosplay life = bite more than I can chew! (A post has been made focusing on the luchador mask).

Thankfully there are PLENTY of reference photos for Jaycee's luchador costume, like this production sketch. After staring a pictures for a long time, I went out in search for the perfect material to make the costume. I chose a lycra with glittery sequins, the white lycra is slightly iridescent and was the hardest to settle on, since sometimes the material looks rather silvery, but I felt that going for something too silver wouldn't balance the costume well. Also, this was going to be the only costly portion of the costume, so I was willing to throw my hard earned dollars at it.

swatches and costume details

The only problem with the white lycra is that it wasn't as thick as the pink and blue lycra, so it's going to have to be reinforced...

color combo

Since Jaycee's wrestling bodysuit is beyond original in it's design I figured I should pattern it on myself for the best fit and go from there. I started by roughly tracing a bodysuit I already owned, this could've also been done by tracing a once piece swimsuit.

tracing the bodysuit pattern

To test the several iterations of the bodysuit until I could start cutting an actual pattern, I used really old big t-shirts, the material was stretchy enough to simulate the final fabric.

This process involved a lot of roughly sewing the bodysuit, putting in on, drawing on it, cutting, sewing, drawing, cutting, taking it off over and over until it started looking like the design. I roughly added the buckles and gave it a few more adjustments.

more patterning!

Now for the scary part: cutting the pattern on the actual lycra!! After this point, I only get to mess up ONCE.

Hmm, actually, not bad, this totally looks like the thing, right?

For the studded belts on the hip and halter, I found a belt in Goodwill that had the studs I wanted, I just had to cut it in half and sew it to my uses. Studding a belt myself would've been too costly, no thanks!

One step that DID prove to be costly and time consuming was adding grommets for the lace-up thigh high boots. Tewibewi had a grommet puncher from when she made her Dixie Clements costume, but it's a cumbersome machine to use, so I put my all purpose Asian on this tedious task.

cosplay workshop helpers

the tiniest things are always the biggest pains in the @$$ to do....

Also I did and undid the bootcovers TWICE because I measured them all wrong, and only realized after having lined them with the trim. Unsurprisingly I'm gonna have to do them over AGAIN because they're still hideous and the shoes I chose to cover them with won't work out after all.

Tewibewi trying to salvage my lack of skills

For this cosplay I get to use my actual hair, just gotta make sure to dye it a natural brown color rather than the crazy rainbow that is my usual style lately. Lastly, Julia's pendant with the blue stone and triple wings was made by Krystalchains, since I was really pressed for time and she already had the skills to make it.

Julia Chang Jaycee cuz I didn't want to war the mask.

I wore the costume for ONE night at a cosplay after party during SuperCon, and thankfully it was dark in there because after all the costume faults started to become apparent, I decided I couldn't wear it in the daytime to the convention.

I was so burned out from making and failing to complete the costume, I didn't want to touch it until now (a year later), after thinking long and hard about how to fix it. It bothers me so much how bad I butchered it up I'm really fired up to get it right, thankfully it can be salvaged, I think.

I started using Cosplanner app to organize my cosplay projects and see how much I'm spending (I was already doing this in Excel), but the app is really neat because it lets me organize different tasks, costs, and references. I roughly estimated how much time I spent working on it, but now that I've started fixing up I'll get an actual time for the construction. Jaycee attempt #1 stats: