In March of 2011 I was working at the Kings County Library and one of our regular anime-loving patrons returned some Cowboy Bebop DVDs. I was always showing the geeky patrons our cosplay photos, and when they asked if I’d done Bebop yet I said no, but we would eventually… especially since my parents dog Brandi would be a perfect little Ein. Then I started thinking.. Brandi isn’t as young as she used to be, and she’s got health problems. I have planned for YEARS to have her be our Ein… what if something should happen.. I’d be so sad that we waited. So I ran the idea by my parents, my sister, and my (at the time) fiance and they all said, “Let’s dooo eeeet!”…. or something to that effect. (About a year after this photoshoot, Brandi did pass away, as a very old, very happy puppy.)
This was at the point in our cosplay journey where Jonathan and I were in full “do it yourself” mode when it comes to our costumes, and while my mom helped me find some clothing pieces to take apart and use as templates to draft the Faye Valentine top / shorts, Jonathan and I sewed our costumes 100% ourselves.
As for the cast, I was Faye Valentine, Jonathan was Spike Spiegel, my sister was Ed, and my poppa was Jet Black. (This was his first cosplay and I am super excited that he decided to join us!) My poppa and I make bonsais for fun every now and again, so we made the one in the pictures for this shoot. We had a lot of friends helping with the photoshoot, from helping with hair and makeup on set, to taking the pictures, to acting as stagehands during the shooting. It was so fun how it all came together.
The location we shot at is actually a tiny Western town on someones private property in Hanford, CA. We asked for permission to shoot there and they said sure.. and when we arrived on the scheduled day, they came out to watch.. and it turns out one of the guys is a HUGE Bebop fan! His wife even came out wearing a Cowboy Bebop t-shirt! It was a super fun day!
Also! These were out first costumes to win a cosplay award! We won first place in the group division for Cosplay Wigs USA online competition. We won $150 in cash and 3 free wigs! Wahoo!!
AND it was totally freaky to learn that the grown man/property owner/lover of Bebop was a ‘kid’ I’d babysat YEARS before! He was one of those bigger kids who just wasn’t old enough to be left alone, but still…I am so old!! lol. I love too, that Dad surprised us all in wearing this cosplay at the SF Wondercon that year. Since Ed’s costume was so simple (over-sized tee, bike shorts, wig/make up), it was easy for another friend to don it for that same con. Fun stuff.
We really need another epic shoot like this one….