I am here to provide you with a look into the life of Florida’s cosplayers and their costumes. This time I would like to feature one of the cosplayers associated with Orange Anime. Orange Anime is an online forum that bands togheter all of Florida’s videogame and anime fans and arranges local events in Miami and the surrounding areas. One of Orange Anime’s own staff member. Jillian Husted, also known as “Ixka1kai” on the forums will be the subject of this interview. She will be sharing here experiences as she talks about her cosplay of Larxene from Kingdom Hearts.
1. As a female cosplayer, why did you take an interest in this character and how close does the character resemble your personality?
I would say that Larxene is pretty much the exact opposite of me (except for maybe the b****y part). I wanted a character where I can be what I am not and attempt to have some more confidence. What initially drew me to Larxene in particular was the fact that she wanted to overthrow the ultimate evil to get a greater position of power.
2. What initially drew you to play the game she is from?
Larxene came from Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (or Re:Chain of Memories) which was apart of, in my opinion, the greatest game series ever. Not a lot of people have played/completed that particular game and Larxene was the greatest challenge I had in the game; it made me want to be her.
3. Did the character’s outfit influence your choice in cosplaying her?
The outfit was given. I mean there is basically 15 cosplays in one Organization XIII coat. I guess my main gripe is that it’s one coat (and gets very hot at cons) so I can’t change it up unless I go by fanart. When it comes to doing other outfits I plan to do a slumber party Larxene for Metro Con if it’s accepted
4. Why do you feel this character is special to the game she is from?
I believe that the character is special from the Kingdom Hearts series because she and Marluxia basically set-up the character line up in the second game of the series and creates a rift in an Organization meant to take down the good guys. It sorta makes her the ultimate evil I guess.
5. Is she your favorite videogame character? If not who is?
I would say she was my third favorite character in the games. I favorites are Riku & Sora. I cosplay Sora, but Larxene is special because she was my first cosplay ever.
6. What drove you to put in the work to make this character’s outfit and how did you go about making it?
I bought my outfit because I’m just getting into cosplay, but I would really like to learn how to sew in order to make the outfits as accurate as possible. I have made improvements in the chain and did get some advice and help on the wig from a fellow cosplayer.
Stay tuned for part 2 of this interview later this week!