Scoop: Please introduce yourself!
Erisaka Blu: Hey, I’m Erisaka Blu! I’m 27 years old and I live in Eastern, PA. By day I work retail at a fabric store, and by night (and some days, too) I am a pinup and erotica model.

Scoop: What was your first introduction to the cosplay hobby? What was it about cosplay that made you want to participate?
Erisaka Blu: When I was younger, Halloween was my favorite holiday. I would spend all year trying to decide what I was going to be. Granted, when the time for trick-or-treating came around, I always ended up being some form of princess. All of my costumes were always made by my mom, too. I can honestly say I only ever had one store bought costume, and it was in my sophomore year of high school, because Bandai had licensed a Sailor Moon costume. Best 60 bucks ever!

Around the year 1999, I was still toting my Sailor Moon backpack and had super short blonde hair and one ear pierced, which was my attempt to look like my favorite sailor scout, Sailor Uranus. A friend of mine had come back from summer break and had gone to an anime convention in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The pictures she showed me blew my mind. There was someone dressed as Card Captor Sakura, a Gundam Wing group, and a Sailor Neptune.

I begged her to take me with her next year, full-on begged her. She told me she would ask her mom, and I never let up on asking if her mom had said ‘yes’ yet. A few months before school ended for the year she told me her mom said it was okay for me to go with them. I started saving money like crazy, then it hit me – I’m going to need a costume!

You’d think all my years of planning and re-planning Halloween costumes would have had me prepared for something like this, but this was a three-day event. Three days meant three costumes, and three costumes meant I was going to have to learn how to sew, and fast.

Scoop: What is your personal approach to your costumes? How do you choose what character to emulate? Do you tend to make your own outfits, or do you receive help?
Erisaka Blu: I seem to be gravitating more towards more “old school” characters as I get older. I tend to lean towards the things that make me feel nostalgic and the characters who I would pretend to be when I was on the playground. As of late, my friends noticed I’ve been cosplaying girls who are maybe a little crazy and in love with boys who are scared of them. Do you think it’s a sign?

I make all my own costumes. I’m a fan of the “wing it” method, so I start cutting my fabric and hope it works in the long run. I’m also a huge fan of “Frankenstein-ing” patterns as, I call it. A sleeve from one and then a panel from another can really be what you need. I’m not afraid to ask for help when I need it and with google, it’s easy to find tutorials and solutions for problems you might run into.

Scoop: What was one of your best and most memorable experiences in cosplay?
Erisaka Blu: I was super excited for that first convention, so that experience stands out a lot. On the car ride down, my friend explained what Otakon was like and some things to expect, like people asking for pictures, long lines, and seeing lots of others dressed up. I was so excited to wear my costumes that I barely paid any attention to her. I was so awe-struck once we got there that I almost walked into oncoming traffic trying to cross the street. Once I got to the convention, I looked around for what seemed like hours. Everywhere I went, characters I loved had come to life. Slowly, I learned the name for what we were all doing: “Cosplay.” We as people were “cosplayers,” and I was a cosplayer, a title I happily accepted.

I was wearing a Sailor Uranus outfit and eventually ran into a Sailor Neptune cosplayer and when she turned to the side I realized she was the Neptune from my friend’s picture, and I became super shy. I slowly worked myself over to where she and a huge group of Sailor Moon cosplayers were talking, and all of a sudden she turned toward me and locked eyes. Her expression looked annoyed, and I was worried I might have bothered her with the idea that I might want a picture of her (which I did, I was clutching my camera so hard because I was so nervous).

But she came rushing over to me and grabbed my arm! She said, “Haruka-kun, where have you been? I’ve been waiting for you all day,” and she dragged me over to the group. We all talked about Sailor Moon and each others’ costumes. It was a great time.

I became part of a community through cosplay, have made amazing friends, and had some of the best memories I could ever imagine. While my skills have grown over the years, and I have gotten rid of old costumes, I still have my old Sailor Uranus costume along with a picture of that Neptune.

Scoop: What was one of your worst?
Erisaka Blu: The amount of times I have injured myself while in a costume is pretty high. The worst have happened during skits; I adore performing in convention masquerade events, but they’ve taken their toll.

One time, I was walking across the stage during our number and my foot slid. I had taken off my boots on stage as part of the act, and I thought I felt something poke me. It wasn’t until I was off stage in the green room that I noticed a pool of blood on the floor. A loose nail had slid right into my big toe but because of the adrenaline rush I was in, I didn’t realize it until we were off stage. Actually, a lot of things have happened to my feet. I broke a toe once because of bad cosplay shoes, and more recently sprained my foot and got severe deep tissue damage during another masquerade skit. I guess I have bad luck with feet!

Scoop: What challenges or issues do you think cosplayers face most?
Erisaka Blu: My generation of cosplayers have grown up learning things the hard way and doing a lot of trial-and-error for our costumes. When I started, we didn’t have a lot of wig choices, if any, and costume tutorials were few and far between.

These days it seems as though the newer generation of cosplayers isn’t willing to screw up and learn from it, but would rather have someone tell them every tiny little detail about how you made your costume. I think most people enjoy helping newbies, but we’re not going to make someone’s costume for them. Of course, when we say that, we get called “elitist” or “snobbish.” It’s tough.

Scoop: What do you think cosplay adds to the overall convention experience?
Erisaka Blu: Some people claim that cosplay is killing conventions. I personally think it’s the best part of them. You meet more fans of the things you are cosplaying from and make many friends from it too. Plus, whose day isn’t made when they spot that one obscure character that they loved as a kid?

Scoop: Do you have any major costume or convention plans lined up in the near future?
Erisaka Blu: I do in fact! I am planning to attend MAGfest and Katsucon in 2015. Costume-wise I’m planning on Anthy Himemiya from the Revolutionary Girl Utena movie, and Kiriko from Kamen Rider Drive, among others.

Scoop: Anything else you’d like to add?
Erisaka Blu: Cosplay to me is like an escape, where you can be anyone and anything with the help of a wig and a colorful imagination. It’s like being a kid all over again, only this time you don’t have to be the princess, you can be the prince if you want to. Your weight and skin color don’t matter, it should never matter; you’re a fan and just there to have a great time. If cosplay makes you happy that’s all that matters in the end. You can follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, or Facebook.

Previous articles in this series:

Ukraine Kraine

Kamikaze Miko

Bishop Cosplay