It's finally time for a Future Fridays post!
This is where I talk about characters/costumes I hope to make in the near future. I'm tackling some of the ones I do have planned for current projects in these recent posts and this one is no exception.
Today, I'm going to introduce you to Medusa from Matsuri Akino's Petshop of Horrors!
As I said in my Future Fridays post about Lina Inverse, I tend to be an "old school cosplayer" in the fact that majority of my favourite series tend to be from the 90s to mid 2000s (a select few going back to 80s and even 60s) and I rarely keep up with the current "trend series". Well... I'm also an "obscure cosplayer"... meaning, as if cosplaying older characters that may have been forgotten about isn't enough, I have to pick the obscure series to cosplay from as well.
Matsuri Akino's horror and mystery manga, Petshop of Horrors, is no exception to being both old school and obscure.
Quick summary on what this series is about: Spanning 10 volumes from 1995-1998, Count D is the owner of this beautiful (but slightly hole-in-the-wall) pet shop in New York City's Chinatown. He sells a variety of your normal pets but also ones that bridge on the exotic... and then the completely strange. Many of the creatures focused on in each chapter of the manga are special human-esque ones that derive from myth and lore. The rules to having these pets are similar to that of the Gremlins movie- 3 binding rules of care that, if broken, could prove disastrous and the Count is not responsible. When the police start to get involved on these strange murders or mishaps, the trail leads detective Leon Orcot to Count D's shop. The story follows both the tales of the creatures Count D sells as well as slowly unraveling exactly WHO the Count is.
There is also a sequel series called Petshop of Horrors: Tokyo where the Count runs his shop in, you guessed it, Tokyo. Which is both good and bad, depending on who you are.
My main fascination with this series is Matsuri Akino's ability to deliver beautifully designed and detailed characters. The art captured me and I remember seeing it at my local library when I was in early high school. I borrowed the first volume and fell in love, even getting my friends to read it. I was floored by the graphic nature of the first chapter and the sad gruesome endings of the following ones but Medusa's chapter (volume 1, chapter 2) was a small turning point. It did not end 100% sad... more bittersweet. It was then that I fell in love with this creature. It wasn't until years later that I realized they did make an anime for it- however, they only did 4 episodes and chose 4 chapters to highlight. Luckily, one of those chapters was Medusa's (episode 3; "Despair"). If you choose to watch the video, be warned- it basically spoils Medusa's chapter... so I guess *SPOILER ALERT*?
The hardest thing with loving Petshop of Horrors is the fact that, if you love one of the creatures, you will most likely get 1 chapter to love them in and then they never show again. You don't normally get to see any of the characters grow and develop outside Count D and Leon Orcot- but, that's ok. That's the price I pay for detailed and beautifully written melancholic stories.
I plan to make my Medusa cosplay to debut in July 2016. I'll be going with the colour scheme from the anime episode and referring back to details in the manga. Medusa in the anime is seen with black hair, a deep purple dress, and a silver tail. However, she has been depicted in other illustrations as having either a black or white dress- with the white dress, she is even given white hair.
I have picked and priced out a beautiful deep purple velvet for the dress and plan to use my Black Rock Shooter wig (unless I suddenly get overzealous and buy a new one which would most likely be a chibi from Arda with long weft extensions).
This is certainly just an overzealous cosplay to begin with but I wanted something I could devote a lot of time to since I tend to get bored on something too simple. The construction is simple in all honesty... it's the detailing that is gonna get me. But I can do this!!
Medusa is an amazing character and the series as a whole is worth the read. If I have peeked your interest, good! If it's enough of a peek, please read the manga! If not, maybe try the 4 episodes of the anime. It follows pretty closely to each chapter that they did choose to highlight but it won't give you the sense of deeper plot like the manga (like who is Count D? What is his motive?).
Until next time~!
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