

Photo: Shannon Cottrell/LA Weekly, Anime L.A. 2010

Earlier this year, I wrote about a cosplay spotted at Anime LA known as Shogun Vader. It's probably my favorite cosplay. I like that Alexander Lam, the guy behind the Vader mask, reinterpreted the costume by highlighting some of the early influences on the film series.

The idea of remixing seems to be integral to the culture surrounding fandom conventions. Anime cons typically have AMV contests, where people re-edit animes to fit a particular piece of music. Then there's fan art, fiction, films and other activities that revolve around reworking characters and stories you love into something new.

The one aspect of fan culture where we don't see as much remixing is cosplay. More often, it seems like the goal is to recreate the character with as much attention to the source design as possible. However, when you see someone who uses a character as a launchpad to create an alternate version that is both well-researched and quite detailed, cosplay becomes even more exciting.

Link: Shogun Vader (LA Weekly)