Thank you for visiting my profile and taking the time to learn more about the person behind the various characters I have tried to bring to life. So I think that it is only fair that I return the favour so to speak and give you some background about myself.

About Me

Name: Rachelle
Nicknames: Raz, HakulovesZabuza
Age: 37
Hair Colour: Black (dyed)
Eye Colour: Pale green
Height: 5ft 7”
Sex: Female
Location: Truro, Cornwall
Romantic Status: Engage to Dan
Pets: King Charles Cavalier – Zack
Occupation: Sales Assistant
Hobbies: Amine, cosplay, conventions, video games, movies, writing, reading, music, Japanese culture.
Favourite Quote: “Behold the castle that was built in one day. What genius could have done this? You say. It’s Hideyoshi, Hideyoshi we praise. He built the castle in just one day. Wheeee!” – Samurai Warriors
Favourite Games: Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core, Samurai Warriors series, Dynasty Warriors series especially Strike Force, Dirge of Cerberus, Kingdom Hearts series.
Favourite Animes: Trinity Blood, Samurai 7, Hell Girl, Tactics, Gravitation, Samurai Champloo, Cowboy Bebop.
Favourite Movies: Red Cliff, Saw series, Black Hawk Down, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Last Samurai, Hero, Pirates of the Caribbean – Curse of the Black Pearl, Interview with the vampire.
Favourite Bands/Composers: Nightwish, Evanescence, Within Temptation, Dead Can Dance, HIM, Hans Zimmer, Howard Shore, Ludovico Einaudi.

A little Cosplay History: I have always had a keen interest in arts and crafts but to be honest growing up I never felt I had any talent in that field or was encourage pursuing my interest any further. The only teacher that took any interest in me was Miss Clark my English teacher in the first year of secondary school. The Art and Domestic Science classes were pretty poor and certainly didn’t leave me inspired to continue a career in either subject.
So it wasn’t until much later in life that I stumbled across cosplaying while browsing the internet and the rest they say is history…
Cosplay is now my favourite hobby and passion…I know that a lot of people find the idea of dressing up as imaginary people for fun strange but I love it. I love the challenge of trying to bring my favourite characters from games/anime and movies to life. I confess that at times it can drive me to tears but then it gives me such satisfaction when things finally come together. I love very detailed costumes; with beautiful wigs, intricate props or impressive armour. It is so rewarding after months of creation to finally see all the planning and hard work, all the hot glue gun burns and hours of sewing come to an end and I can at long last wear the costume to an event. I admit there is a certain buzz you get when someone asks for a photograph or compliments a costume. I love wearing the costume (even at the time it is uncomfortable) with at photo shoots or on the stage in the masquerade but also a big part of the fun is socialising at events. I have met so many lovely, talented people that I am now honoured to call my friends, both fellow cosplayers or just fans of the characters I have portrayed. And I have been blessed with friendships and opportunities I would have never achieved due to my costumes.
I attended my first convention Japan Expo in July 2007 at the London Excel Centre. My costumes were pretty simple Orochimaru and Rufus Shinra. I had quite a bit of help from a friend to put the costumes together as I wasn’t sure I had the skill to make my own costumes at that time. But after enjoying the event so much I decided that from then onwards I would make my own costumes to the best of my ability. In the October of the same year I attended the MCM Expo again at the London Excel Centre as Lulu from Final Fantasy X making everything but the corset of the costume. I was really pleased with how it worked out as I spend many a long night hand painting and sewing the lace trim of the skirt.
But it wasn’t until the following year at the May MCM Expo that I discovered my true costume passion. I cosplayed as part of a group as Motochika Chosokabe from the Samurai Warriors games by KOEI. I was fairly pleased with my costume but what I was most proud of was my prop shamisen. Our group won the audience choice award and I got to befriend the wonderful, funny and forever cool Chin. My other costume for that event was Hell Girl and I still have a soft spot for that kimono as it looks so pretty.
In October 2008 I had one new costume to wear at the MCM Expo (I wore Rufus Shinra again) another KOEI character but this time from the Dynasty Warriors series. Pang Tong was such an interesting character design and I fell in love with it from the moment I saw him. Thank goodness for KOEI data books as it makes seeing and reproducing all the glorious details just that little bit easier. I must confess that I had no real problems making the costume; it just took a long time to do all the details. And I must say that Pang Tong is probably my most accurate costume to date and the most comfortable if not a little hot to wear.
In March 2009 I was lucky enough to be invited with three other talented cosplayers and good friends by the KOEI office in London to wear my Pang Tong costume to a publicity event held at the Tokyo Toys store in London. The event was to promote the release of the PSP game Dynasty Warriors Strike Force and it was great fun to help out and take part in a photo shoot in China Town.
Later in May at the MCM Expo finally after nine months of hard work I got to wear my dream KOEI costume, Lu Bu from Dynasty Warriors 6. It was a beast of a costume to make (several times I nearly gave up) and wear but I am so proud of what I managed to achieve. I had so much fun being in a couple with my dear friend and cosplay wife, Kaman as Diao Chan. I also got some wonderful photos of the costume with a private photo shoot with the amazingly talented Death May Die.
In July I was extremely fortunate to attend the Japan Expo in Paris as cosplay as Lu Bu with several other awesome cosplayers and the guys from KOEI. The event was so much bigger and better then the events held in London, especially the masquerade which was so scary but also such an amazing experience. This time I had my weapon and the lovely and so talented Lisu-Chan from Holland as my cosplay wife and even though our performance on stage was slightly hinder by a problem with our music we managed to be award second prize! I was so thrilled as we had both worked so hard and the competition was amazing.
I have several costumes planned for the future if the truth be known I am pretty much booked up until 2011 but I always like to be on the look out for more ideas and can see myself cosplaying for quite some time yet.