So, did you guys manage to guess the surprise?

Ok la, enough of the cloak and daggers..... I made my debut at COSPLAYING!

Guess I finally took my japanese anime/manga obsession to the next level.
About a month ago, thanks to the introduction of Yukata Warehouse by Bilin, I ordered a simple but kawaii shrine maiden (or rather, Miko) costume. For your info:

Miko (巫女 , lit. "Shrine Maiden") is a Japanese term that anciently meant "female shaman, shamaness; medium; prophet, priestess" who conveyed divine oracles, and currently means "shrine maiden; virgin consecrated to a deity" who serves at Shinto shrines.

The day couldn't be any more sweltering, and the boyfriend could not be anymore late.
But hell, the exposure my glorious costume garnered made it oh so worth it.
It was a heyday for camwhoring, and I think im half blind from camera flashes and mouth muscles are cramping from all that grinning :P

Here is dear Bilin and me! Did you know she HANDMADE the whole gown?! power.

Her alter ego below:

i wasn't exactly doing a specific character...

but was inspired by Kikyou from Inuyasha.

How did they fare from the reel characters below?

It wasn't just all jap anime and manga characters, below was the veteran from my current gaming love, Left 4 Dead!

I think he did the CG old man justice...

This was definitely the ULTIMATE, hands down. Behold:

How DOES he move???
Apparently he has a bunch of friends who disassemble his parts here and there so he can walk about.
I nearly died laughing watching him walk to the stage for group photos.

A lot smaller than the anime's version below ;)

Too paiseh to go up, but look how regal Bilin is!

Pikachu from Pokemon seems a lil depressed....

Well.... NOT that much anymore.
Pokemon porn anyone?

After a hard day's work, a frappe mocha hits the spot!

And since I'm on a temp high, here are pictures from the Anime Festival Asia (AFA) event last year that I never really got around posting up.

Justin and I never miss an event relating to Anime, considering that its the very thing that brought us together. :) The AFA was no exception of course!

It was not as fantastic as the previous few events we went, but it certainly had its highlights. It had a handful of cosplayers, amongst artworks by amateur and seasoned mangakas, and handmade figurine displays.

I think she is Seras Victoria from Hellsing

No idea who this is, but interesting outfit. And the eyebrows!

Gaara and Naruto from the anime, Naruto

The coolest Bleach cosplayer I've seen so far, Ichigo Kurosaki!

He had a real custom made katana (heavy!) which was identical to the anime!
I reckon it was taller than me -__-

Hitsugaya Toshirou, from Bleach

and of course not forgetting........

The irreplaceable KON!

I caught with the Exorcist-samas from D-gray man!

Array of stunning artworks ~
Some were created via traditional mediums like paint and charcoal, most were computer graphically designed. Beautiful.

Meticulously pieced figurines, and each one was intricately painted to perfect detail. One imagines the time and massive effort taken...

Cloud from Final Fantasy

Iron Man!

A Valkyrie, otherwise known as a warrior angel of sorts.

I still think I haven't taken quite enough pictures for both events, but then again a fangirl's work is never done. My thoughts? It sure took alooooot of preparation, from wayang-thick makeup, donning on the costume right, to even getting the part of your character down to pat.

I bet this post made little or no sense to the general sane public, but you've gotta admit that it is visually stunning.
Can't wait for the next one!