© 1999 David Ramsay
Original creations inspired Go Nagai's "Keiko Ramen" series and Kikkoman "Restaurant Style" Soy Sauce. First off, “Ramen Rumble” is a food wrestling, battle of the sexes spoof. A “what if...” scenario: Kikko-Man, “Seasoning Champion of the World,” defending his title against newcomer Keiko Ramen. We drew our inspiration from many sources, especially American pop culture. The World Wrestling Federation. Popular and boisterous wrestlers, such as “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Costumed wrestlers from Mexico. “Snap into a Slim Jim... Eat me!” commercials. More importantly, our love of Japanese food. The challenge of making a bottle of restaurant style soy sauce come to life. We simply wanted to perform a humorous skit with food products.
Keiko's ramen block is constructed from mop heads soaked in Sobo glue and pasted down to a foam structure. Keiko's "Fish Cakes of Love" are painted foam core velcro'd to the surface of her ramen block. Includes a flesh colored long sleeve, mock neck footed lycra unitard underneath. Red satin gloves and scarf. Custom red hood with yellow appliqué details and blue feather.
DISCLAIMER: David Ramsay acknowledges the copyright holders (Kikkoman Foods, Inc.) of materials contained herein and does not seek to infringe on their rights. Kikko-Man was created for entertainment purposes only. Kikko-Man does not constitute or imply an endorsement or recommendation by Kikkoman Foods, Inc.. Likewise, David Ramsay has not received any compensation for this unintentional promotion.
Click on images for a larger view!
For the love of camp and Japanese food!
Keiko Ramen staying golden crispy in the sun.
Kimberly and I had been planning this performance for over a year. We wanted to make Japanese food products come to life, in an unexpected way. We also had to consider how big the costumes would be, since we needed to be able to move around on stage quickly. We noticed that Keiko Kamen was a popular character to cosplay on the East Coast. Yet, we wanted to do something different with Keiko, something unforeseen and bold. So, Keiko Ramen was created. “Ramen” sounds like “Kamen.” When pronounced correctly, it is an obvious play on words. But, Keiko needed an adversary - someone truly icky, someone you love to hate. Since Keiko is a “Super Woman", we needed a very macho character to upset the balance. After watching various wrestling matches on television, we decided that Kikko-Man was just the guy to stir things up. The title of our act would be “Ramen Rumble”, a wrestling food spoof. Once the characters were decided upon, we designed the costumes. Keiko’s ramen block took longer to make, because I had to individually glue cotton strands (from mop heads) to a carved foam “brick”. I had to wait for the glue to dry on one layer before adding the next. When completely dry, I spray painted the block several times to create a nice dry ramen appearance. For Kikko-Man, I had to make a barrel, with padding and stretch fabric over the surface. I was concerned the shape would not come out, since Kikkoman soy sauce bottles have a distinctive look. In both costumes, I installed harnesses to support the weight so we could move around safely and comfortably. For the Comic-Con performance, we added props and planned to whack each other with them. The nun-chops (chopsticks) and Soy Chair worked well, and the costumes were padded enough to deflect the blows.
Noodle Defender, Miss Keiko Ramen!
"Ramen Rumble". AX99 Judge's Award: Best Food Fight. Gettin' down with Kikko-Man!
Keiko Ramen and Kikko-Man with Japanese cosplayers.
BR L/R: Kaie Tada (Alecto), Barbie Tukino (Sailor Cosmos), Keiko Ramen, Nomi Armored (Order of the White Shield)
FR L/R: Himeko Kisaragi (Pink Mai), Ryoko Vanja Kisaragi (Princess Mononoke) and Ari Asakura (Red Mai)
Will upstart Keiko Ramen defeat the undisputed Seasoning Champion of World, Kikko-Man?!
Food fighter! Kikko-Man is ready to RUMBLE!
The bone-crushing battle ensues... Keiko Ramen powers up!
Backstage RUMBLE!
(Thanks to Bryan K. Williams for this photo.)
Watch out for the deadly Soy Chair, Keiko!
The "Ramen Rumble" performance on the Horror / Kung-Fu Theatre.
A tender moment outside the ring at Ani-Magic.
Cheezuuu!
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"Ramen Rumble", "Keiko Kamen" and "Getta Sneakers" Copyright 1999 David Ramsay and Kimberly J. Ramsay.
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Copyright 1997~2006 David Ramsay and Kimberly J. Ramsay. All rights reserved.
"The Japanese Animation Super Premier Entertainment Review" ,
"the J.A.S.P.E.R." and "theJASPER" logo are trademarks of David Ramsay, 1998~2006.
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are ® Registered Trademarks of David Ramsay, 1999~2001.
David "Z-RAM" Ramsay and Kimberly "Hikaru-chan" J. Ramsay acknowledge the
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