Guests' Web Picks

         Hello. Allow us to introduce ourselves. We are David and Kimberly, and we are passionate anime collectors, as well as avid cosplayers. David is has been collecting anime and manga for over fifteen years, as well as designing and fabricating costumes for over ten. He designs and fabricates all the costumes for Kimberly, his wife, and himself. Kimberly has been collecting anime and manga for over nine years.

         Before Japanese animation was readily accessible and considered "trendy" in the United States, David was hooked as a child on anime classics, such as Star Blazers (Space Cruiser Yamato), Battle of the Planets (Gatchaman), Marine Boy (Uminoko Marine) and Kimba the White Lion (Jungle Taitei). Later, his friends at high school would get tapes of Macross (later called Robotech) and Lensman - right off of Japanese TV. They also introduced David to movies such as Nausicaa and Crusher Joe. This exposure to anime, opened up a whole new world and hobby for David. You can find more information about David's fascination with Japanese culture at www.costumemaker.com.

         So you may be asking, how did David and Kimberly meet? We met in school, while attending Maryland Institute, College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore, Maryland. David introduced Kimberly to the wonderful world of Japanese animation in 1990. Kimberly did not realize the cool animation she watched as a child was originally from Japan. She definitely wanted to see more! Kimberly would attend David's weekly showing of Japanese Animation called "Japanimation Galore" in the school auditorium. Then, David started taking Kimberly to science fiction conventions. In the beginning, Kimberly could not believe people actually dressed up as their favorite characters and participated role playing games (later called LARPs). After attending her first convention in costume, Kimberly was hooked.

         After David graduated in 1992 (BFA in General Sculptural Studies), we moved out to the West Coast. We lived in Northern California for two years, and then moved down to Southern California, so David could attend the graduate program in costume design at California State University, Long Beach. Kimberly continued her Art History studies at Long Beach State as well. To amuse ourselves, we frequently attended anime and science fiction conventions. Originally, we competed separately at costume contests, or masquerades. However, in 1997, our first skit together, "Z-RAM Bytes the Dust" was well-received and very successful. Since then, we enjoy performing and designing costumes together as a couple.

         Currently, David designs and fabricates costumes, inspired by anime, manga and game characters for a living. In March 1999, David and Kimberly, launched their costuming business, theJ.A.S.P.E.R. Cosplay Closet (www.cosplaycloset.com). Our happy little studio is located in Long Beach, California. You may have seen their award-winning costumes at AnimeExpo or Comic-Con International on the West Coast. David and Kimberly "cosplay" every chance they get including local events. We enjoy meeting our fellow cosplayers from all over the world.

         David and Kimberly's personal collections of anime have become known as theJ.A.S.P.E.R. (The Japanese Animation Super Premiere Entertainment Review). Carefully recording every single object in our largest collections (Pokémon, Dragon Ball, Magic Knight Rayearth, Heimlich - A Bug's Life and Starship Troopers) has been a labor of love. Sharing information with others who appreciate the wide spectrum of anime is very rewarding. Also, we have accumulated large image galleries of Pokémon, Dragon Ball and Magic Knight Rayearth cosplayers from around the world. Please visit www.thejasper.com to see of a fraction of David and Kimberly's many anime-related collections.

         David and Kimberly created a web site, www.y2cosplay.com, to document Southern California cosplay events, such as Anime Expo, Comic-Con International and local ethnic festivals. As well as some images of David and Kimberly cosplaying at traditionally non-anime events, such as the Scottish Christmas Walk in Alexandria, VA. Exposing people to the wonderful realm and diversity of anime is so much fun!

         Thank you for your time and consideration. Matta-ne!

David Ramsay - Costume Artist and Collector

David and Kimberly's Cosplay Recommendations:

David and Kimberly's Anime and J-Pop Recommendations: