PlasmaFire

What got you into cosplay?
- I was "formally" introduced to the phenomenon of Japanese animation in my freshman year of college (mostly coming from my companion and neighbor down the hall, Dan). Gone was the assumption that anime was only for kids, because I found myself addicted once I went to Penn State Anime Organization (PSAO) meetings. Being part of the founders of Setsucon (2007) was the seal, and seeming how much fun it could be to stand on stage and quote a favorite line or act out a pose was irresistible. - Mecha. Ones that can fly, shoot absurdly huge weapons of destruction, run fast, jump high, swing energy swords, and look good doing it all. Believe me, learning to be an engineer can get boring (or mind-numbing) when it's always the same "reality." Robots in real life can't do what the anime ones can, anyway! I loved watching old-school robots like the Transformers as well as Mobile Suit Gundam, in addition to playing mech-oriented computer games as a child. Old and new sci-fi games such as Abuse and the Halo series only pressed the obsessions further... Oh, and a small reason for getting into mecha cosplay is seeing Goldy's cosplay work. Insanely awesome.
What was your first costume and why?
- None so far.
What is your favorite costume and why?
- None so far.
Do you have a dream costume you'd like to make?
- This will likely never happen, but: not just one, but a whole lineup of well-known mecha from the Super Robot Wars series (OG and OG Gaiden); include the Gundam metaseries if it really becomes ambitious. - A "practical" dream costume build, though, would be related SRW:OG mecha lineups (Wildwurger/Wildfalken pair, Huckebein Mk. II/Mk. II M pair, etc.), Full Metal Panic! adversaries (ARX-7 Arbalest vs. Venom), or one of the machines from Gundam SEED Destiny. Basically, if I could become as proficient at making costumes as Goldy and Miragestudio (mirage_cld) are, that'd be a fitting goal.
What has been your most memorable cosplay experience?
- None so far.
Do you participate in masquerades?
- No (at least for now).
What was your best masquerade experience?
- None so far.
Have you won any awards for your costumes?
- None.
Tell us a little about yourself
- Education: as of 2006, an undergraduate at Penn State studying to be an electrical engineer. - I love: Jesus Christ and the Word of God--The Bible; drums; photography; technical and freehand drawing; reading mostly non-fiction science and engineering-related literature; studying historic and modern weaponry; listening to music and working with audio/video; video gaming and computer hardware work; website management; flying radio-controlled aircraft; real robots as well as mecha; watching anime and reading manga; working with the Penn State Anime Organization and Setsucon. - Music: Classical and traditional jazz; dance, house, and techno/electronic; contemporary worship.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
- "Do not touch the dangerous machinery for risk of life and limb." - "I don't think God created this thing called 'luck'."
My favorite anime
- Bio-booster Armor Guyver series (new and old) - Chobits - Full Metal Panic! series - Generator Gawl - Genshiken - Now and Then, Here and There - Trigun
My favorite game(s)
- Abuse - Asteroids - Beatmania, DDR, the Guitar Hero series, ITG, Pop'n Music, Stepmania, and other rhythm games. - The Command & Conquer series - Grid Wars 2 - The Halo series - The Unreal Tournament/Championship series
My favorite book(s)
- The Word of God--The Bible (God :D) - Ender's Game series and Ender's Shadow series (Orson Scott Card) - Full Metal Panic! manga series (Shouji Gatou, Retsu Tateo, and Hiroshi Ueda) - Bio-booster Armor Guyver manga series (Yoshiki Takaya) - Halo: The Fall of Reach (Eric Nylund) - Halo: The Flood (William C. Dietz) - Halo: First Strike (Eric Nylund) - Halo: Ghosts of Onyx (Eric Nylund)
My favorite character(s)
- Photographers: Ansel Adams, Philippe Halsman