Hey Anime Fan!

Kyukun, Yuki & Panda

How much time did you spend on your costumes? Like eight hours?

Yuki:

WHAT, are you CRAZY?! We have about 40 or more hours each on these costumes. We made them ourselves, with regular sewing machines. I’ve done cosplay before, I’ve been to events in Japan too.

Panda:

I’m a cosplay virgin, this is my first time dressing up.

If you could marry a manga or anime character, who would it be?

Kyukun:

Kyo.

Yuki:

Kyo.

Panda:

Hara Toshimasa.

Yuki:

Actually, Kyo and Hara are from a j-rock band called Dir en Grey. Dir en is a German word, not Japanese.

What’s that thing?

Sango:

It’s my weapon, it’s a giant boomerang. It took me months to make this costume, and I made the boomerang too. I’m actually a demon hunter, and I have thrown this boomerang through thousands of people. There isn’t that much blood when I kill people.

InuYasha

isn’t really that bloody at all.

I just saw someone dressed up as the same character as you. If you had to kill her, how would you do it?

Sango:

Probably with my boomerang, I’d throw it towards her head and chop it off. My favourite anime is called

Ray Earth: Magic Night

. I like it because the world is so magical and the character development is really good. The strongest magic spell is not really a spell, but more like an inner strength, and knowing yourself. If you have the ability to control and be connected to your inner self, then you’ll be able to get past anything.

Hey, you’re the new character from Soul Calibur 3!

Tira:

Yeah, I know! My weapon is made out of papier maché and duct tape. It’s hard to explain how to use it, but I’ll spin it around kind of like a hula-hoop, or do this [lifts weapon and pretends to throw it like a Frisbee with both hands]. I don’t think I have any weak spots.

Do you think the Terminator could fight in Soul Calibur?

I guess, he is pretty strong.

What’s up with that peanut on your back?

Gara:

It’s actually a pot, and there’s magical sand in it. You can use the sand to do anything. I usually use it to make a protective shield, but I could also command it to form hands or feet and do attacks, and I can just stand still while the magic sand does all the work. I am also the most evil character in

Naruto

and my goal in life is to kill everyone I see. If I got to choose an extra power I would probably want to have sexy no jutsu.

What’s in your box?

Danny:

I just bought the entire series of this rare manga called

Silver Fang

. It’s from 1988, and it is really hard to come by. I read it as a kid and it’s my favourite manga ever. It’s about a pack of dogs. I’m really happy I got the whole volume, I’ve been all over the place looking for this and I wasn’t expecting to see it here. It was €100 and it’s the original Japanese version.

Oh wow, you read Japanese?

No.

You’re the first Asian I’ve seen here, where are you from?

Chi:

I’m from Taiwan. I’m dressed up as Chi from

Chobits

.

Chobits

is about cute robots, so the character I’m dressed up as is actually a robot, or a persecom as we like to call ourselves. We are personal computers and we look like people or animals. We don’t fight, and the series is more like a drama, or a slow mystery.

You’re cute enough to marry any anime character in the world, who do you choose?

Hmm, I don’t know. I’m not that sure. I guess Sasuke from

Naruto

. He’s cute.

If you’re in a fight, what’s your strongest power?

Dejiko:

Cat fighting, and Mekara Beam. Mekara Beam is a yellow beam that comes out of both of my eyes. It’s really fast so you usually don’t see what colour it is, but it kills most people. It really is fast. My weak spot? Hmmm… warm rice. I can’t hold back when I’m around rice. Even if I was fighting a boss, I’d stop right in the middle of it just to eat the rice. Mmmm, rice. I could go for some

right now.

Interviews by PATRICK CROTTY, Photos by DANIEL HALLBERG