Spring 1997
© 1997 David Ramsay
Japanese Animation recreation from "Magic Knight Rayearth". School uniform made from scratch except for the boots, underneath vinyl uppers with decoration. The black box pleat skirt is lined with a lace-edged inner skirt. Custom wig made and styled by theater associate David Larson.
Click on images for a larger view!
Kimberly has been collecting Magic Knight Rayearth merchandise for over six years, and wanted to cosplay as her favorite character, Hikaru Shidou. I thought it would be wonderful to make her a costume, since it would be a nice addition to her collection - but it would have to be more than that. I would want her to be able to have fun and enjoy wearing it. Kimberly desired an accurate recreation of this character, including the flaming red hair. Wigs, based on anime, manga or game characters, can be especially challenging to design, yet the results are worth the effort. Since Kimberly has short, curly hair, she would not have many character choices (if Kimberly avoided wigs altogether). When Kimberly decided to cosplay as Hikaru, she wanted something that would set her apart from the countless Hikaru cosplayers. We noticed that some cosplayers dyed their hair red, while others wore wigs. Then, we noticed very few cosplayers made Hikaru’s long pony tail past the shoulders. In the illustrations, Hikaru’s pony tail clearly goes past the waist (with perpetual wind). That's it! So, we carefully shopped around for the right color wig - in flaming red. In order to make the pony tail long enough, we had to buy two wigs. We were very pleased with the results, and amazed at how many people thought it was Kimberly's real hair.
A new legend in the making...
AnimeExpo 1997.
"Z-RAM Bytes the Dust" performance at AnimeExpo 1997.
A Little Bit More...
Kimberly and I decided to join forces and perform “Z-RAM Bytes the Dust” in 1997. This would be an unusual and daring performance, combining two characters from completely different series (yes, a cross-over skit). A sweet, innocent schoolgirl fighting a big, evil monster. Okay, we've heard this one before, BUT we wanted to twist this tale. As Eméril would say: “Kick it up a notch...” We decided that Hikaru would find the strength to decapitate and disembowel her opponent, without a sword. She was on a quest.... searching for her little marshmallow, Mokona - who was munched up by Z-RAM. Remember the tale of Peter and the Wolf? Mokona was tucked away somewhere in 60-feet of Pepto-pink intestines, tightly wound up in Z-RAM’s chest cavity.
“Z-RAM Bytes the Dust” is an example of double entendre. A play on words, since my (David's) last name is Ramsay, pronounced "Ram-zee" (Ram-Z... Z-Ram, get it?). Z-RAM was a bio-mechanical creature, with a large, detachable microchip for a head. Five years earlier, for my senior thesis I presented a lecture of my fictional company, “The Ramsay Institute,” which developed smart chips, or Z-RAM chips in the year 2032. This was an extension of my future-tek college work. “Bytes the Dust” refers to poor Z-RAM's demise on stage. “Bytes,” as in computer memory. We had alot of fun with this performance, because people didn't know what to expect. Seeing a schoolgirl cheerfully rip off the monster's head, play with it, pull its guts out like a long jump rope, then proceed to dance with the dying creature... was shocking at the time. Up to this point there had not been many "skits" that combined music, choreography, horror and comedy into a linear story. The success of this performance was due to the buildup of suspense and the dramatic, unexpected turns in its theme. In addition, Comic-Con International is traditionally a Sci-fi/Western comic book convention. There were not that many anime skits to begin with, but even fewer that appealed to an audience on such different levels. We are pleased that people continue to remember our twisted performance and appreciate the hard work we put into it.
"Z-RAM Bytes the Dust" performance at Comic-Con International 1997.
"Akai Inazuma!"
Kawaii!
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"Z-RAM" and "Z-RAM Bytes the Dust" Copyright 1997 David Ramsay and Kimberly J. Ramsay. All rights reserved.
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.
"theJASPER Cosplay Closet" logo and
"The Cosplay Closet: 'Where Costumes Become Anime-ted' "slogan
are ® Registered Trademarks of David Ramsay, 1999~2001.
David "Z-RAM" Ramsay and Kimberly "Hikaru-chan" J. Ramsay acknowledge the
copyright holders of materials contained herein and do not seek to infringe on their rights.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.