Did you know that some people really like Nintendo games? It's true! Some people express their fandom by writing about Target Terror price drops, while others choose to imitate game characters at anime festivals. The Tanooki interviewed one such cosplayer, Andrea Zampella, and found that her Nintendo devotion is a new development!
As it turns out, she grew up Segaist. It wasn't until Sonic the Hedgehog games began to show up on the GameCube that Andrea began to appreciate Nintendo consoles. Sonic and Mario at the Olympic Games was the catalyst for her complete conversion, marking the end of the Sonic/Mario rivalry. "Plus," she said, "Super Mario Galaxy was the bomb, and so was Rosalina!"
Check after the break for a picture of Andrea as Rosalina. More images of both the Rosalina and Midna costumes can be found at The Tanooki, along with the full interview.
We had cosplaying on the brain recently, and we figured we'd divert from the usual gaming-oriented morning topic to ask if you're a fan of the practice or one that participates in it? Enjoy it? Have any pictures (unless you're this person, in which case we ask you keep them to yourself) you want to share? Tried it once and didn't care for it? Of the mind these people are loons? Tell us what you think!
Cosplayers are perpetual purveyors of entertainment. Die-hard fans never miss a chance to dress up, while some fans would rather die. Some do it so well that everyone becomes a fan, if only for a moment. Anyone grossly offended by the glory of cosplay should look away now (we're kidding, keep reading), as we present the new Guiness World Record for "Most Video Game Costumes in One Place."
It is estimated over 600 fans showed up to A-Kon 2008 dressed in video game attire, easily besting the previous "record" of 80 Marios. Characters from all walks of Nintendo life were found at A-Kon, and we've gathered a few of the best to check out after the break. Cosplay done right looks rad.
While we're not adverse to posting completely kickassexamples ofcosplay, sometimes the hobby makes us speechless for all the wrong reasons. Take, for example, WiiMan -- the white fabric-clad manboy, with a Wiimote decal on the front of his costume. Oh, and let's not forget the cape.
One cool thing about Wiiman, though, is that the Wiimote on his costume is wired to work like an actual Wiimote. Of course, that's one of those things that sounds better in theory than in practice, because feeling up some guy in a superhero costume (or watching him feel up himself) while playing Wii is something we tend to avoid.
Still, we admire WiiMan's dedication. It's not everyday you see a man dressed as a functioning Wiimote, amirite?
(Note: We know some circles won't consider this as official cosplay, but it's close enough for our standards.)
Okay, so the dude looking slightly lost in the background doesn't quite make this scene as convincing as it could be -- you'll have to imagine him as, we don't know, a tree, or a random Beamos or ... something. Aside from that, however, this could totally be Midna, of Twilight Princess fame.
This was snapped at last year's Anime Expo in the Gerudo Desert Long Beach, California, though has only recently surfaced on the internets. We've got huge respect for cosplay when it's as well-executed as this -- just look at the craftsmanship on that headdress! For us, this ranks right up there with the Samus cosplay we posted about many moons ago on DS Fanboy (though doesn't give us the same lulz as the Dr. Kawashima example).
Go past the jump to see a full-length shot, as well as another fine Twilight Princess cosplay, this time based on bug-lover/general weirdo Agitha.
We can totally get behind No More Heroescosplay. For one thing, it's a cheap and fairly easy pastime, not unlike your mom requiring none of the intricate and potentially expensive items needed for, say, successful Metroid cosplay. For another, the end result generally looks quite good, if you have the right physique to pull it off (we don't), as well as the correct cocksure attitude (again, no).
Hit the link below for more photos of Travis Touchdown and Sylvia Christel imitators that you can shake a paper-mâché WarioWare mask at.
A new week means a newmodel dressed up as Sylvia Christel and presented in a playing-card-inspired Flash interface! Whether or not the PLAYSYLVIA cosplay is your thing, we can all agree on this: it's an excuse to talk about No More Heroes every week.
But cosplay wasn't the only update made to the No More Heroes site. An anomalously awesome video was added to the "Special" page as well. Why is it so anomalous? For one, it's longer than 10 seconds -- it's almost one whole minute of uninterrupted gameplay. Also, today is not Friday at all.
We're a little awed by how fast-paced the combat in No More Heroes is, and how well-placed the motion-controlled flourishes seem. Even without the humor and the style, this is an action game we would be dying to play.
Yuzuki Aikawa is the first model to be featured as a Sylvia Christel cosplayer on the No More Heroeswebsite, and you can see the results here. The site is, of course, brimming with pictures, all presented in the same playing-card motíf.
What's infinitely funnier than pictures of a girl in clothes are the captions on the cards. "Cool & Sexy," the one to the right reads. Others read "Knockdown," "Sexy Cat," and "Kyun (heart)," the latter apparently a Japanese psychomime word for "a heart aching with warm emotion."
Check next week for more kyun-inducing girls in platinum blonde wigs. We may throw in some more Japanese linguistics, since we know that's what really gets your attention!
An announcement on the No More Heroes website says that during November and December, a Sylvia Christel cosplay event called "PLAYSYLVIA" will be featured. In the "web cosplay event," gravure idols will dress up as Sylvia and then do what they do best -- be photographed. If you like to see girls who look sort of like fictional characters, you will no doubt be pleased with this.
Could this be inspired by the amazing Travis Touchdown cosplay we featured yesterday? Probably not! It takes more than a few hours to plan an inititative like that and hire models and photographers and stuff. Also Grasshopper Manufacture seems to be pretty in tune with their target audience (otaku) and having pretty girls dress up as one of the characters is basic marketing for otaku stuff.
Check after the break for this week's new No More Heroes videos! They are comical, and also (as usual) very short.
Is it a good idea to make a costume and custom-built beam katana prop based on an unreleased game that may not turn out to be any good? Not at all! Is it an awesome idea? HOLY CRAP YES.
This No More Heroes Travis Touchdown costume from .ed is the antidote to yesterday's WarioWarecosplay. The jacket and shirt and drawn-on sideburns are great, but the real draw is the homemade beam katana accessory, which, using science, lights up with a blue glow. It looks just like the Blood Berry beam katana that we've only seen in tiny pictures!
The costume is so good that it even got the attention of a Grasshopper Manufacture employee named Naoko, who emailed him and said " I've just checked your pictures. It looks great. I really like it. I hope people recognized what you made for."
Theresa Murphy's intentions were well-meaning when she planned out this costume, dressing up as Kat, half of the WarioWare series' ninja-sister duo. There must have been some misstep during the creation process, however, some supernatural treachery, that produced this absolutely creepy paper mache head. Our best guess is that a dying killer snuck into Theresa's house and performed a voodoo ritual to imbue the mask with his evil soul, all while she was distracted by a Geico TV commercial.
Gone are our memories of Kat as a cute minigame ninja. In their place, we see a black and white scene of Kat pulling herself out of a well, her fingertips crusted with blackened blood and her skin sallow. She tramps toward us, and the only thing we can hear is the smack of her wet, sock-covered feet on hard ground. Our eyes are wide with horror, screaming, but we cannot move.
Although the real life Smash Brothers video had its moments, it didn't impress us too much. Mega64's enactment of Super Mario Bros. 3's kuribo shoe, however, tickled us in the right places. The kuribo shoe was probably one of the most exciting parts of the game (which says a lot, since the whole thing was awesome). In real life though, it just looks exhausting. And hilarious. Or maybe we're just fickle like that.
Hey, we're fanboys. But, sometimes you have to know when to ... well, curb your enthusiasm. If you think it'd be a good idea to go down to your local park, dress up like characters in the game and act out the brawling, you might want to stop and think for a moment. You wouldn't want your video posted on some blog where people might make fun of you.
One of the best things about conventions of any kind is seeing all of the people dressing up as their favorite characters from games and manga. And considering PAX just came to a close and what week this is, we figured we could post some of our internet finds on cosplaying Samus Arans. So, for some of the best (and worst) costumes, head past the break.
Another entry for Nintendo's Short Cuts Showcase film contest has appeared on YouTube. You know, when we first read about this contest, we were expecting a lot of short films in different genres that cleverly integrated Nintendo elements into the storytelling-- conversations taking place during games of Mario Kart, a Clerks-style comedy set inside a game store, or something like that. But so far, the would-be Señor Spielbergos have all taken the direct, literal approach.
This latest entry is the most direct yet-- a bunch of people dressed up like Zelda characters and adventured around on camera. It seems to follow Ocarina of Time, but then what Zelda fan works don't? Hey, even if they don't win, these kids were able to justify buying a Master Sword, so that's ... something.
Okay, so the dude looking slightly lost in the background doesn't quite make this scene as convincing as it could be -- you'll have to imagine him as, we don't know, a tree, or a random 
