Interview with DJRanmaS

It's time for another interview, this time with DJRanmaS! He's a longtime cosplayer from the New York, who has an awesome closet of costumes!



DJRanmaS out of costume




WHAT'S YOUR COSPLAY ALIAS AND WHY DID YOU CHOOSE IT?

My cosplay alias is DJRanmaS because Ranmais the series I got into for anime and I loved it. After getting a ton of merchandise for the series from friends, the name just kind of stuck.



HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU BEEN COSPLAYING AND WHAT GOT YOU STARTED?

I've been cosplaying for 14 years. I went to my first convention in 1998, Animazement, and seeing people in costume made me want to do it.



DJRanmaS as Human Artemis from Sailor Moon, photo by Melissa Watson from Icosplay.com



WHAT HAS BEEN SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO WORK WITH WHEN CONSTRUCTING COSTUMES AND WHY?

That would have to be off-the-rack clothing because I do not make my own costumes from scratch; I piece-mod. Anything that was made from scratch was made by friends of mine.



WHAT ARE YOU EXCITED TO BE WORKING WITH IN THE FUTURE AND WHY?

I would have to say one costume I'm looking forward to, with help, is Proto-man from Megaman. I enjoy being the second banana, because it's always fun.



WHAT ARE SOME OF THE TRAITS YOU LIKE TO SEE IN OTHER COSTUMES AND WHO DO YOU THINK DOES WELL IN THEM?

I don't know who really does it well, but the main trait I like is portraying personality. If you're in costume, I'd love to see you play that character to the bone.



WHAT IS YOUR VIEW OF THE "COSPLAY SCENE"?

It's like high school; simple as that. You have your little cliques of cosplayers going to conventions and having a good time. Some of those groups will see others and look down on them for miscellaneous reasons, and it's uncalled for.



WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS YOU WANT TO SEE CHANGE IN THE SCENE?

I would like to see more camaraderie and organization. Lately, going to conventions, everything seems discombobulated, which is understandable at times, but lately things feel more like a mess than before.



DJRanmaS as Garterbelt from Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt, photo by Angel Florio



WHAT IS SOME ADVICE YOU COULD GIVE PEOPLE STARTING TO GET INTO COSPLAY?

Pick a character. If you like it, roll with it. Make the costume to the best of your abilities and just have fun.



WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE CONVENTIONS YOU'VE ATTENDED AND WHY?

Animazement will be one of my all-time favorites because it's a cool-down convention. Its chill, relaxed, and everyone's having a good time. Another con I've enjoyed is AAC, because it's small and out of my normal con scene. It's just a lot of fun. And there's AWA. My first time going and it's become my favorite. Everyone was nice, happy, with a lot of throwback to old school stuff with the costumes. There wasn't a ton of groups, minus My Little Pony, but a little bit of everything, which I like.



GIVE A RANDOM FACT ABOUT ONE OF YOUR COSTUMES THAT YOU'RE PROUD OF!

Most random factWhen I cosplayed Ranma, I was taking the frogs off the top to put the yellow ones on. My roommate's mother grabbed the costume and told me to go wash the dishes while she sewed them on.



Also, I did a skit at Animazement with Ranma meeting Dawson's Creek. We figured it wouldn't win, so we went all out with the double entendres and got disqualified. Years later, the Shampoo from the skit and I ended up dating.



DJRanmaS as Ranma from Ranma 1/2, photo by Melissa Watson of Icosplay.com



Thanks for the interview, DJRanmaS! You can see more of his work on !
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