Kanon: Tsukimiya Ayu

Energetic, spontaneous, and a bit of an airhead, Ayu tends to say "ugu" when she is frustrated, angry, or afraid. In the beginning of the series, she is trying to find something she had lost, but cannot even remember what that is. She enjoys eating taiyaki, a Japanese fish-shaped cake filled with red bean paste, and is seen eating the confectionary throughout the series.

Wow, I can’t believe the number of awesome cosplayers I’m getting from Winter Comiket! Thanks to everyone for sending them in! And this was sent in by Mika-Mi, who also emailed me Kagamine Rin from Vocaloid 2! Thanks for taking the time to email me!

Technorati Tags: nanao, cosplay, research, holic, cosplayers, costume, role, play, roleplay, anime, manga, game, winter, comiket, 2009, kanon, tsukimiya, ayu, energetic, spontaneous, airhead, ugu, frustrated, angry, afraid, beginning, series, find, lost, remember, taiyaki, japanese, fish, cake, red, bean, paste, confectionary, mika-mi, kagamine, rin, vocaloid, 2, email

K-On!: Hirasawa Yui

Clumsy and easily spaces out from time to time, Yui is very passionate about playing the guitar and plays with amazing amounts of energy. She is very talented in music, able to tune her guitar without the aid of a tuner and can has perfect pitch, making her the vocalist of the group. However, she has been known to forget the lyrics of the song in mid-performance.

Cute Yui from Winter Comiket! I’m not familiar with K-On!, so maybe someone can tell me why she has clappers (I think that’s what they’re called anyway)? Thanks to Aya-chan for sending this in!

Technorati Tags: nanao, cosplay, research, holic, cosplayers, costume, role, play, roleplay, anime, manga, game, winter, comiket, 2009, k-on!, hirasawa, yui, clumsy, space, out, passionate, guitar, amazing, amount, energy, talent, music, tune, perfect, pitch, vocalist, group, forgot, lyrics, song, performance, cute, familiar, clappers, aya-chan

Gundam 00: Nena Trinity

The youngest of the Trinity siblings, Nena tends to present herself as cheerful and flirtatious when she is selfish and callous in the battlefield. A good example of her true nature occurs when she kills the entire Halevy family because she was frustrated that others were having fun while she felt overworked.

Such a scary girl with such a cute face. Better be careful when you see her in Winter Comiket! Thanks to Somiya for sending the photo!

Technorati Tags: nanao, cosplay, research, holic, cosplayers, costume, role, play, roleplay, anime, manga, game, winter, comiket, 2009, gundam, 00, nena, trinity, youngest, sibling, present, cheerful, flirtatious, selfish, callous, battlefield, example, true, nature, occur, halevy, family, frustrate, fun, overwork, scary, girl, cute, face, somiya, photo

Vocaloid 2: Kagamine Rin 02

Voice actress Shimoda Asami provides the voice of both Kagamine Rin and Len, who is the boy version of Rin. Strangely enough, Rin and Len’s synthesizer cost as much as Miku’s even though they are two for the price of one.

On July 2008, Crypton released an expansion disc free of charge for those who already bought the old version. The disc is an entirely different software and does not affect the original Rin and Len in any way, allowing the users to use one or the other, or even both.

Cute Rin from Winter Comiket! I can’t believe she’s out in the cold in that outfit. Thanks to Mika-Mi for sending this!

Technorati Tags: nanao, cosplay, research, holic, cosplayers, costume, role, play, roleplay, anime, manga, game, winter, comiket, 2009, vocaloid, 2, kagamine, rin, len, voice, actress, shimoda, asami, boy, girl, version, synthesizer, cost, hatsune, miku, price, crypton, july, 2008, expansion, disc, free, old, different, software, original, cold, mika-mi

The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi: Nagato Yuki 04

As according to the original light novels, Yuki has extremely pale skin, in which Kyon describes to be “white”. Once when Kyon, Haruhi, and Yuki went to the public library, Kyon notices that Yuki has the uncanny ability to walk soundlessly and is puzzled by it. Despite these strange qualities, Yuki has a lot of secret admirers and Taniguchi, one of Kyon’s friends, rates her with an “A-“.

I have to apologize for the lack of updates lately. Well, less than usual. There have been some problems in the real world, but hopefully I can have better time management now. Thanks to Jullian for sending this photo from Winter Comiket!

Technorati Tags: nanao, cosplay, research, holic, cosplayers, costume, role, play, roleplay, anime, manga, game, winter, comiket, 2009, melancholy, suzumiya, haruhi, nagato, yuki, original, light, novel,extreme,pale,skin,kyon,describe,white, public, library, uncanny, ability, walk, soundlessly, puzzle, strange, quality, secret, admirer, taniguchi, friend, rate, a-, apologize, update, real, world, time, management, jullian, photo

Final Fantasy XIII: Éclair Farron aka Lightning

After the death of her parents, Éclair Farron discarded her birth name and chose to be known from then on as “Lightning” in order to escape her insecurities and vulnerabilities. She wanted to become a stronger person so that she could care for her younger sister, Serah. As a result, she is very serious, unforgiving, and relentless.

Cute cosplayer from Winter Comiket! I really love her pink hair and the attitude. Thanks to Misha for sending this!

Technorati Tags: nanao, cosplay, research, holic, cosplayers, costume, role, play, roleplay, anime, manga, game, winter, comiket, 2009, final, fantasy, xiii, eclair, farron, lightning, death, parents, discard, birth, name, escape, insecurity, vulnerability, stong, person, care, young, sister, serah, result, serious, unforgiving, relentless, cute, pink, hair, attitude, misha

Card Captor Sakura: Kinomoto Sakura 06

A 10-year-old girl from Tomoeda, Japan, Sakura finds a mysterious book entitled “The Clow” in her father’s study. There, she awakens the book’s guardian, Cerberus, and find out that the book once contained 19 powerful, magical cards. Cerberus then enlists Sakura to become the card captor in order to reclaim the cards that were lost.

That is the story of the manga, of course. The anime has a different interpretation.

So pretty this cosplayer is from Winter Comiket! She’s definitely the older version of little Sakura, but I don’t think anyone is complaining! Thanks to Yumi for sending this in!

Technorati Tags: nanao, cosplay, research, holic, cosplayers, costume, role, play, roleplay, anime, manga, game, winter, comiket, 2009, card, captor, sakura, kinomoto, girl, tomoeda, japan, mysterious, book, clow, father, study, guardian, cerberus, powerful, magical, enlist, reclaim, lost, interpretation, older, version, complain, yumi

Gundam 00: Neil and Lyle Dylandy

Love only hurts me always...or so you whispered
You were scared of believing and cried, didn't you?

Considered to be the leader of the Gundam Meisters, Neil was killed in the line of duty near the end of the war. However, after 4 years had passed, the Meisters once again had to take arms and Setsuna F. Seiei recruited Neil's twin brother, Lyle to become Lockon Stratos.

Beautiful cosplay by Jesuke and Chii-Bye of Deviant Art! I feel badly for Lyle having to struggle to distinguish himself from his brother, but people are people I guess. Thank you for sharing this!

Technorati tags: cosplay, holic, cosplayer, costume, role, play, roleplay, anime, manga, game, gundam, 00, neil, lyle, dylandy, lockon, stratos, jesuke, chii-bye, deviant, art, deviantart, love, hurt, whisper, scared, believe, leader, meister, kill, murder, duty, war, arm, setsuna, f, seiei, recruit, twin, brother, beautiful, struggle, distinguish, people, コスプレ, コスプレイ, 機動, 戦士, ガンダム, ダブルオー, マイスター, ニール, ライル, ディランディ, ロックオン, ストラトス, 刹那, セイエイ

Bayonetta: Bayonetta

In Virgid, a city in Europe, awakens a witch known as Bayonetta from her 500 year slumber. She is a powerful being who can shapeshift and is very talented in handling firearms and even uses her own hair as a weapon. Unfortunately, she can’t remember who and where she is and only time will help her regain her memories.

Another awesome cosplayer from Winter Comiket 2009! Thanks to Jeremy for the info on Bayonetta. I wouldn’t have known who she was otherwise. Great work!

Technorati Tags: nanao, cosplay, research, holic, cosplayers, costume, role, play, roleplay, anime, manga, game, winter, comiket, 2009, bayonetta, virgid, europe, awake, witch, 500, slumber, powerful, shapeshift, talented, firearm, hair, weapon, remember, amnesia, time, memory, jeremy, info

Fate/Extra: Saber

Ok, I’m no expert when it comes to Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Hollow Ataraxia, Fate/Zero or any other prequel, sequel, spin off there is in this merchandise; but I’m pretty sure that’s Saber.

However, can someone please explain to me why her dress is red? Is this her alternate costume in the video game, Fate/Unlimited Codes?

First seen in Winter Comiket 2009. Thanks Shiro!

EDIT: Thanks to anon for letting me know the cosplayer is Bluewater from Cure!

Technorati Tags: nanao, cosplay, research, holic, cosplayers, costume, role, play, roleplay, anime, manga, game, winter, comiket, 2009, fate, stay, night, saber, arturia, expert, hollow, ataraxia, zero, prequel, sequel, spin, off, merchandise, explain, dress, red, alternate, video, unlimited, codes, shiro

Toradora!: Takasu Ryuji and Aisaka Taiga

Despite having a gentle personality, Takasu Ryuji is often mistaken for being a juvenile delinquent because of his intimidating eyes, making him almost completely hopeless in getting a girlfriend. During his second year of high school, he accidentally knocks into Aisaka Taiga who is said to be “the school’s most dangerous animal of the highest risk level”.

Anther couple from Winter Comiket 2009! And wow, Ryuji really does look scary just as Taiga looks really cute! Thanks to Jared for emailing this!

Technorati Tags: nanao, cosplay, research, holic, cosplayers, costume, role, play, roleplay, anime, manga, game, winter, comiket, 2009, toradora, takasu, ryuji, aisaka, taiga, gentle, personality, mistake, juvenile, delinquent, intimidating, eyes, hopeless, girlfriend, second, year, high, school, accident, knock, dangerous, animal, risk, level, couple, scary, cute, jared, email

Vocaloid 2: Hatsune Miku 03

Last year’s Winter Comiket in Japan has given us a ton of beautiful cosplays without the “luxury” of Photoshop! Many readers have been sending these photos in, and I will do my best to feature as many as I can!

Starting off, we have Hatsune Miku from Vocaloid 2! It looks like a customized version with her fluffy headsets, and the material she used for her arm warmers and skirt is just lovely!

Many thanks to Sam for emailing this! I’ll be posting more very soon!

Technorati Tags: nanao, cosplay, research, holic, cosplayers, costume, role, play, roleplay, anime, manga, game, vocaloid, 2, hatsune, miku, winter, comiket, japan, beautiful, luxury, photoshop, reader, photo, feature, customize, version, fluffy, headset, material, arm, warmer, skirt, sam, email

Unknown Entry 041

I realized there were a lot of resolved cosplays in the Unknown Section, so with the start of the new year, I'd like to introduce the Unraveled Section; where all cosplays I didn't know about are properly labeled thanks to my readers! Now you guys can check out the Unknown Section and see all the cosplays that still need solving!

On to the photo of the week! Pigtails, Japanese school girl uniform, and a katana. I wouldn’t want to cross her, but who is she anyway? Anyone have any good guesses?

Technorati Tags: cosplay, holic, cosplayer, role, play, roleplay, costume, anime, manga, game, unknown, 41, realize, resolve, section, new, year, introduce, unraveled, know, proper, label, reader, solve, photo, week, pigtails, twin, tails, japanese, school, girl, uniform, katana, cross, guess, コスプレ, コスプレイ

Yami no Matsuei: Souryuu, Koujin, and Tenko

The Guardian of the East and Representative of the Golden Emperor of GensouKai, Souryuu is the blue dragon and the strongest among all the Shikigami. The only one who could match his rank and strength is Kurikara, the Fire Dragon. Souryuu has two children: his son, Koujin the thunder shikigami, and his daughter, Tenko the water shikigami.

Too bad Souryuu doesn't like Hisoka very much. In any case, this is such a beautiful cosplay! The patterns are gorgeous and they look really expensive too! Great work! Thanks to Lilibelle for sending this in!

Technorati tags: cosplay, holic, cosplayer, costume, role, play, roleplay, anime, manga, yami, no, matsuei, souryuu, koujin, tenko, guardian, east, representative, golden, emperor, gensoukai, blue, dragon, strong, shikigami, rank, strength, kurikara, fire, children, son, thunder, daughter, water, kurosaki, hisoka, beautiful, pattern, gorgeous, expensive, lilibelle

Final Fantasy Versus XIII: Noctis Lucis Caelum 02

A character whose personality is almost impossible to define, Noctis Lucis Caelum, or “Noct”, hides his shyness around Stella Nox Fleuret by acting “cool” when they first met. Unfortunately for him, however, this gave Stella a cold and unsociable first impression. He does, however, smile and becomes more open to those he is close with.

The effect of this is so nice! The photographer did a very good job of catching this shot at the right moment. Perfect pose from the cosplayer too! Thanks to Feret for sharing this!

EDIT: Thanks to Kaiyobi for letting me know this is *AmenoKitarou from Deviant Art! Please view the original deviation here.

Technorati Tags: nanao, cosplay, research, holic, cosplayers, costume, role, play, roleplay, anime, manga, game, final, fantasy, xiii, versus, noctis, lucis, caelum,character, personality, impossible, define, noct, shyness, stella, nox, fleuret, cool, act, unfortunate, cold, unsociable, impression, smile, open, close, effect, nice, photographer, shot, moment, photo, pose, perfect, water, sword, feret, share

Bleach: Shihoin Yoruichi 02

Highly skilled in tactical combat, Shihoin Yoruichi is known as the Shunshin, “Goddess of Flash”, for her speed in movement is unmatched in Soul Society. She is a master of Shunko, “Flash Release”, a technique that combines hand-to-hand combat with kido abilities. This allows her to fight bare-handed against an enemy’s weapon without sustaining injuries.

Very well-done! I really love her yellow eyes and pose. It makes her look very cat-like, wouldn’t you agree? Thanks to Mishalynne for sending this in!

Technorati Tags: nanao, cosplay, research, holic, cosplayers, costume, role, play, roleplay, anime, manga, game, bleach, shihoin, yoruichi, skill, tactical, combat, shunshin, goddess, flash, speed, movement, unmatch, soul, society, master, shunko, release, technique, combine, hand, kido, ability, enemy, weapon, sustain, injury, yellow, eyes, pose, cat, mishalynne

Pandora Hearts: Oz Vessalius

The son of the reigning lord of the prestigious Vessalius Family, Oz is an energetic and optimistic boy who was dragged into the Abyss for the sin of “existing”. There, he meets a chain named “Alice” and makes a contract with her in order to return to the real world… only to find out that 10 years have already passed since his abduction.

Despite knowing his mother was killed by the Nightray family, he still keeps a loyal friend (and servant) known as Gilbert Nightray by his side.

First, happy new year guys! It’s a bit late, I know, but I was pretty busy, considering all the family reunions we had to go to. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

And finally, awesome cosplay! I haven’t seen or read Pandora Hearts yet, but it looks interesting. Thanks to Sebby for sending this in!

Technorati Tags: nanao, cosplay, research, holic, cosplayers, costume, role, play, roleplay, pandora, hearts, oz, vessalius, son, reign, lord, prestigious, family, energetic, optimistic, boy, drag, abyss, sin, existing, chain, alice, contract, real, world, abduction, mother, kill, murder, nightray, loyal, friend, servant, gilbert, happy, new, year, reunion, wonderful, holiday, anime, manga