Angels want to wear mah red shoes...

I'm afraid I don't have the photo credit for this, but I just had to lead off with my favorite DP cosupure pic -- this was bound to happen at an anime con sooner or later...

 

Cosplay (updated 13 December 2003)

"Cos[tume] play" is what we old-timers used to call "masquerading": folks go to conventions and dress up as their favorite characters. Some people put a lot of work into their costumes and nowadays can also display their efforts on the Web. Besides the use of hand-made garments, "masking" (wearing anime-face masks) is common, especially in Japan, but increasing so in the U.S.

Lisa Nelson, who also goes by the name "Honey-chan", is considered one of the pioneers of American anime cosplay and has appeared as a number of characters, including Classic Kei, since 1991, her favorite being (natch!) Cutey Honey; she was also Anime Personality of the Week for 9 December 2001. American Cosplay Paradise has a page for her and also for her friend Beth ("Lady Rhiannon"), who has appeared as Yuri; you can find all the DP cosplayers of AC Paradise here (enter 'Dirty Pair' in the Search window) [Note: the site has been down intermittently lately, but it is there]; there are also a few photos of Lisa and Beth, along with another Classic Pair (OVA version?) in the Memories album for AnimeExpo'94

Cosplay Lab has a number of members who have done or are preparing to engage in DP cosplay from Classic, Flash and even the comics: the list is too long to write out, so I'll just send you to the search list here

Kayt Robarts is another cosplayer who has also appeared as Classic Kei; she was also A Fan's View Anime Personality of the Week for 8 March 1999

Kigurumi is a style of cosplay using masks and even full bodysuits; Ne-ko's Valhalla has the Flash Pair in the 'Kigurumi' section and Classic Yuri in the 'Cosplay' area [Note: people tend to either like this style of masquerading, or find it a bit disturbing]

Eternity Eight has a nice picture of Japanese cosplayers as the Classic Pair

Wanna get your own DPF costume? (no, it won't do the transformation bit!); visit Susan de Venici's anime costume site

Danny Hong's Zero Relevance site has these photos from Otakon 2000 and Animemazement 2000 of two Flash Pairs [Note: this site is no longer being maintained]

From Balorn's Corner of the Web, here's Lisa and Kara at Akon 2000 with Lum-chan from Urusei Yatsura

Normal Bob Smith made contact with Lauren Forrester, who with her sister Leslie, were one of the two best known cosplayer duos portraying the Classic Pair in the early '90s

Here's another Classic Pair at Katsucon 2002, as documented in John Bafford's Photo Gallery

...and yet another spotted at Animazement 2K1, by Anna-Neko.nu

Zeiram has pix from Anime Mid-Atlantic 2001, where Kei- and Yuri-Flash won Best of Show for their costumes and skit

The FujiK0ma Crew found another Flash Pair (Lisa and Kara again) at Project A-Kon11

Yaya (a/k/a Angel Lain) has a considerable interest in cosplay, as you can see at her site -- here she is as Classic Yuri, along with her friend Stephanie as Kei

Jinx has appeared as both Flash Yuri and the evil Yuri-clone from Adam Warren Fatal: But Not Series

Miho's Gallery in Japan has cosplayers portraying Classic Yuri and Kei

Here's still another Classic Pair at the Comic Market in the summer of 1999 (Comiket 56)

...and yet another, on a German site with photos from Comiket 60 in Summer '01

Nacchun has cosplay pix of the Classic Pair, combined with CG paintings, from the summer 2000 Comiket 58; from the winter 2002 Comiket, here's Nacchun as Classic Kei teamed up with Flash Yuri?!

Rutaku appears as Classic Yuri on her Japanese site

Nohbunny won the Hall Costume Award at Fanime2001 for her Classic Kei costume, displayed at The JASPER's Cosplay Closet

The CG Shrines site, which is mostly known for its extensive galleries of female anime characters, also happens to have a gallery of DP cosplay images on Yuri's page (first of two)

WhazZAT!? Can't get enough cosplay? Visit the U.S. mirror site of the Cosplay/Anime Costuming and Masquerade Links Page, with links to many other site and pix from cons going back to at least 1995!

Or go to Japan, where anytime can be Cosplay Time! The "Linus Lam Network News" covers the semi-annual Comic Market (also known as Comiket or even just Comike) in Tokyo; here's the report on Comiket 64 in the summer of 2003, with literally dozens of photo galleries (you can reach his reports on earlier Comikets by adjusting the number in the URL; also check www.usagichan.com/ComiketXX). There are other folks who also have Websites covering the Comikets; try a search on "Comic Market" and stand back!

Here's something else thrown in for fun: cosplayers/costume designers David and Kimberly Ramsay [they were Anime Personalities of the Week for 20 December 1999] have two pet guinea pigs, a lively, reddish-brown one and a quieter, blue-gray one. Guess what they call them? (No, not Bert and Ernie!)

K & Y at Comic Live in Nagoya
[February]

K & Y at Comic Live in Nagoya
[April -- different Pair]

Kei offers technical assistance at
a summer wargame (Yuri also
appears in one photo -- middle of
page)

K (Nacchun) & Y at CM 64?
[Aug.] (at Mint's Room)

K & Y at Comic Market 65 
[Dec.] (bottom of page)

...and again (one-third of the way
down)

a different Kei with Yuri at CM65

"Mei Lin" as Kei (but in Yuri's 
colors)

"The Prince of Tennis" presents the
many moods of Kei