There was a ton of great cosplay at this year’s Otakon! The most popular property I noticed was Pokemon, as well as quite a bit of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. This year, I decided to take the time to interview a few cosplayers when I had a moment. As I write this article, I’m discovering that the quality of photos taken by my note-taking app are somewhat… sub-par, so apologies for that.

Victoria as Anthy Himemiya from Revolutionary Girl Utena
“What made me want to cosplay as this character was growing up, I never knew how to come out of my shell and be myself. I had friends who said you’re beautiful and great, and that helped me a lot. I was drawn to Anthy because I think in that show, Utena really helped Anthy in that way and you know, that was like my life.”

Tabetha as Hajime from Gatchaman Crowds
“I chose to cosplay her because of her boobs. [Love the honesty!] Cosplay is just for fun, so if you have fun doing it, you just should do it!”

Lanie Williams as Lisa Lisa from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency
“I love Lisa Lisa, and I love Jojos. I love how she’s an empowering female in a series.”

Hunter as Mako Mankanshoku from Kill la Kill
“She’s the type of person I’d like to be, even if I’m not as ostentatious or energetic as I am, especially around strangers. The costume helps me be more like her. She’s a good friend.
Also, her costume wasn’t as skimpy as anyone else.
One thing I do like is in the series, they hook all the guy fans and then the guys all get naked and they get uncomfortable.”

Taylor and Kristie  as Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus from Sailor Moon
“Sailor Venus is my childhood superhero. I loved Sailor Moon as a kid, but I especially loved Venus because she’s the leader, she has a very complex personality that’s very bright and cheerful. I also like that she was the first Sailor scout. I also like that she stands for Venus – love and beauty.”
“I love Jupiter because – mostly actually because how tall she is. Especially in anime , a lot of characters who are feminine are small and petite, so I really like how Jupiter owns how her body has a larger frame, it makes her more tough, more sporty, but she’s still feminine, and I think that’s really important to a lot of girls, that you can live your body as you are.”

And now the ones I unfortunately did not get a chance to interview. (Many of these photos are courtesy of Rose Bridges.)