Meet the cosplayer: Ivy Doomkitty

One of the extraordinary things that happened this year was Stan Lee, the creator of many of our favourite heroes such as Spiderman, X-men, Fantastic 4 announced his last UK appearance. Now this made London Film and Comic Con the convention of the year with phenomenal queues to meet the mastermind for photos, autographs and Q&A. One of the things he requested was a group of people as his entourage including the famous cosplayer Ivy Doomkitty. 

Ivy Doomkitty is an international Costumer/Cosplayer, Artist, Model, Gamer, based in L.A, USA. Ivy has been attending conventions for many years, before deciding to take the plunge by showing her fandom through cosplay. Ivy was recently featured as a GUEST JUDGE on several episodes of the Syfy Original Series, "Heroes of Cosplay".

She now uses this newfound passion to create her own costumes, currently over 30, and use them to bring to life her favourite characters from gaming and comics as well as creating a positive impact in the cosplay community. She strives to show others in the community that you can do something you love, regardless of gender, skin color, sexual orientation, body shape/size, etc, via her panel on that very subject,"So They Say You Shouldn't Cosplay". Because of this, Ivy has been invited to appear as a Guest, Judge, Panelist, and Host to various conventions and events all over the world.

She also was the Featured Cosplayer on the webseries, "Cospladies", a short documentary on the trials, tribulations, and love of cosplay. Ivy is also a member of the West Coast Avengers/Avengers Initiative, taking part in charity events in Southern California.

Ivy has written, moderated, and participated in panels, as well as judged and hosted Costume Contests. In the past, she has interviewed some incredible talent, including Stan Lee, Lou Ferrigno, Arthur Suydam, Michael Golden, and more.

In the past, she has written comic book reviews, co hosted Cosplay con, in addition to presenting and hosting the costume contest.

I was lucky enough to catch the beautiful model setting up her stall at Anime League's Cosplay desk and ask her a few questions about her time at the con.

Read more at Summer LFCC on Ukanifest:

http://www.ukanifest.co.uk/news/2014/7/18/summer-lfcc-with-ground-breaking-queues

East Side Stories: Otakus in Love

Otakus In Love and Love Strikes! were recently part of the East Side Stories touring film festival by the Japan foundation at the ICA London and other locations.

Where: ICA London/ Belfast/Bristol/Dundee/Edinburgh/Newcastle upon Tyne/Nottingham/Sheffield
When: 31 January to 27 March 2014
Website: http://www.jpf-film.org.uk/
[rating=7]

Otakus in love (Koi no Mon) follow's tramp, or more accurately low maintenance Mon Aoki (Ryuhei Matsuda) - a mis-understood 'manga artisan' who can’t seem to hold down a steady job. Mostly due to his run down appearance and his stubborn belief that one day his art will actually sell.

The problem is that his concept of manga isn't a comic strip, he arranges and paints rock in wooden boxes which freaks most people out. One day as he follows a hand drawn map on his hand which wasn't too clever as the rain washes most of it off. He bumps into Koino Akashi, she promptly maims Mon with lethal stiletto heel as he reaches for a beloved rock and he proceeds to arrive late at his new part time job at Tsugino Happy Inc.

Coincidentally she also works at Tsugino Happy Inc. The boss is perpetually-enraged at Mon's lateness and poverty stricken look and fires him at his welcome party after Mon reveals his love for manga. Koino immediately becomes fascinated as she is a full bred otaku, and if you watch the film you will find out to what extent.

Thus begins their topsy-turvy 'relationship' complete with mandatory cosplay and panty shots. Imagine getting lucky with the girl of your dreams. This film has, as one of Koino’s fans would put it, “a gift for reckless plot twists” with lots of slap stick humour and geeky references. It's great to see an infusion of over the top otaku moments contrasted with the hatred of Mr Happy and Marimoda at the job trying to tear down Mon's beliefs and talent.

Director Suzuki Matsuo is best recognised internationally for  Ichi the Killer. Matsuo dabbles in playwright, stage direction, novels, columns, essays, and occasional manga artist. Otakus in love was his debut as a film director. His adaptation of Jun Hanyunyuu's manga is fast-paced and vibrantly whatever the mood of the character. Ironically Matsuo himself plays the most laid back character of the manga bar boss.

If you're looking for a film with two hours of geek culture, this is it. From 2004 you can feel it's a bit outdated but some of the references are classics so it wouldn't matter anyway. There are a wide array of characters from the odd circus troupe or band housemates who live with Mon to the quirky people hanging around the manga bar.