Young
women can be more than office ladies in Japan. There's an "idol"
culture there that goes beyond the modeling industry in the U.S. Idols
need to do far more than stand still and look good in clothes: they
have to be able to sing and dance, be attractive on camera, and they
need to be able to handle all of the preparations on their own, which
often means designing and making their own outfits. That's the
environment where Mai and the Funny Stones
live and work. It's an exceptionally busy world; all three women had a
full schedule of appearances in Japan immediately before and after
their trip to Kentucky for SugoiCon. That shows the demand for idols in
Japan, but it also shows the talent these women bring to the scene.
If
Mai's makeup and clothing look impeccable, it's because she did that
for others before becoming an idol. "I really love to play games and
read manga and that kind of stuff," Mai said. "Specifically about
cosplay, I did it for the fun, because I wanted to take the 2-D
characters into the third dimension. I started to put the original
parts into it. If it was a Naruto costume, I put the specific Japanese
patterns on the costumes - that became popular, and I got attention
from the Japanese costumers." She was a cosplay hobbyist in junior high
school, kept going to events in Japan and finally had a chance to turn
professional. You might have seen her at the A-Kon convention in 2003.
Mai has been a "race girl," one of the young women who decorate
motorsports events on the starting grid, but she's also designed the
race girl outfits she's worn, along with dancing at events,
choreographing those dances, and styling her own hair. The DVD she's
holding is a guide to gothic lolita hair styles, a disc that Mai
produced and which features her hair styles and lolita outfits.
Akiko Matsushima
(left) always wanted to sing, and that brought her into the idol world.
Before singing there was juggling, and then she got a job wearing a
rabbit costume as a group of rabbit girls, something that led her to
the otaku idol singing world. Maro Yumeno
(right) started singing after posing for Japanese photo books. Her big
break came when a representative of the big Toei entertainment company
asked her to be one of the costumers officially representing the
company and wearing a Cutey Honey outfit. She also wanted to be one of
the costumers representing a "Sentai" series, but Cutey Honey came
first, Maro said. Each woman has a busy idol career on her own, but
they often appear as the Funny Stones, including a trip to Katsucon
earlier in 2006. "Our unit is unique in that we have a theme - 'sexy
cosplay idol,'" Maro said. They're also "round girls," the young women
who climb into the ring and hold up the big signs signaling the next
round in boxing and mixed martial arts matches. For the SugoiCon
appearance on the convention's opening day, Akiko and Maro wore "sexy
china maid" costumes, but they have many more, including a collection
of Pretty Cure outfits. Both young women are big Pretty Cure fans,
saying it's becoming a popular show in Japan, and were interested to
learn that the series is developing a following among U.S. anime fans.
Young
women can be more than office ladies in Japan. There's an "idol"
culture there that goes beyond the modeling industry in the U.S. Idols
need to do far more than stand still and look good in clothes: they
have to be able to sing and dance, be attractive on camera, and they
need to be able to handle all of the preparations on their own, which
often means designing and making their own outfits. That's the
environment where Mai and the Funny Stones
live and work. It's an exceptionally busy world; all three women had a
full schedule of appearances in Japan immediately before and after
their trip to Kentucky for SugoiCon. That shows the demand for idols in
Japan, but it also shows the talent these women bring to the scene.
If
Mai's makeup and clothing look impeccable, it's because she did that
for others before becoming an idol. "I really love to play games and
read manga and that kind of stuff," Mai said. "Specifically about
cosplay, I did it for the fun, because I wanted to take the 2-D
characters into the third dimension. I started to put the original
parts into it. If it was a Naruto costume, I put the specific Japanese
patterns on the costumes - that became popular, and I got attention
from the Japanese costumers." She was a cosplay hobbyist in junior high
school, kept going to events in Japan and finally had a chance to turn
professional. You might have seen her at the A-Kon convention in 2003.
Mai has been a "race girl," one of the young women who decorate
motorsports events on the starting grid, but she's also designed the
race girl outfits she's worn, along with dancing at events,
choreographing those dances, and styling her own hair. The DVD she's
holding is a guide to gothic lolita hair styles, a disc that Mai
produced and which features her hair styles and lolita outfits.
Akiko Matsushima
(left) always wanted to sing, and that brought her into the idol world.
Before singing there was juggling, and then she got a job wearing a
rabbit costume as a group of rabbit girls, something that led her to
the otaku idol singing world. Maro Yumeno
(right) started singing after posing for Japanese photo books. Her big
break came when a representative of the big Toei entertainment company
asked her to be one of the costumers officially representing the
company and wearing a Cutey Honey outfit. She also wanted to be one of
the costumers representing a "Sentai" series, but Cutey Honey came
first, Maro said. Each woman has a busy idol career on her own, but
they often appear as the Funny Stones, including a trip to Katsucon
earlier in 2006. "Our unit is unique in that we have a theme - 'sexy
cosplay idol,'" Maro said. They're also "round girls," the young women
who climb into the ring and hold up the big signs signaling the next
round in boxing and mixed martial arts matches. For the SugoiCon
appearance on the convention's opening day, Akiko and Maro wore "sexy
china maid" costumes, but they have many more, including a collection
of Pretty Cure outfits. Both young women are big Pretty Cure fans,
saying it's becoming a popular show in Japan, and were interested to
learn that the series is developing a following among U.S. anime fans.
