Formerly unknown and not as active as some of the cosplayers here in the Philippines, Krizelle was the unlikeliest of winners yet her appearance in Anime Quest bedazzled everyone as she entered with her Mobile Suit Girl costume. She later won in the Philippine Web Awards as best costume in the female category. To find out more about her, Fanime has this interview:
Good afternoon. So kailan ka nagstart magcosplay?
Kailan ako nagstart? Ummm, AXN yata eh. Yeah, AXN yung first attempt ko magcosplay. Wala, parang trip lang. Ganun.
Ano yung costume mo doon?
King from Art of Fighting. Kasi parang niyaya kami ni Fed before na parang "oh cosplay tayo, buong KOF na ano… KOF na team." Para ano lang, cosplay kami. Eh hindi natuloy. Pero kahit papaano… So pumayag na rin ako.
So how does it feel to win some of the competitions?
Win… win after?
Diba nanalo ka?
Oo pero… *laughs* Kasi nakakatuwa iyon eh. More like, ummm, after yung first time nagcosplay ako, parang… ayaw ko na. Afterwards kasi, wala! Parang iba eh. At saka first time, parang wala, wala naman. Nothing special about my cosplay. Sinabi ko sa sarili ko na ayaw ko nang magcosplay. Eh after which binalita ako ni Fed na may balak raw silang gawin na supposedly *toot* for the Anime Quest. Kasi may spinespread silang email na P5000 yung first prize. Sabi ko "sige, kung kaya niyong gawin. If you guys can pull it off, I'm willing maging model." Kasi ako lang yung kilala nilang ano, payat na may time. Oh sige, ganun. Tapos November yung Anime Quest diba? September nag-offer siya. Sabi ko call me na lang kailan tayo magstastart. Sabi niya he'll try to contact some people. Eh nagmeet uli kami nung September, sabi na hindi raw matutuloy yung BGC. Apparently, when he asked about the materials, kailangan daw fiber glass. Eh di namin magagawa in two months so sabi niya MS girl na lang. Sabi ko "sige, bahala kayo. If you can pull it off, why not?" Wala lang. Wala na rin ako magagawa eh.
So how does it feel to be the "Gundam Girl"?
Okay lang.
Hindi ka ba nahihiya na skimpy yung outfit mo?
Di naman. Kasi, for one thing… maganda naman legs ko eh. Yuck! Ganun?! Technically covered naman siya eh. Parang yun lang ang pinapakita so… ewan ko. I'm not doing it for any ulterior motive naman eh. Parang wala lang. Trip lang.
So are you still going to cosplay in any future events?
Uh, may plan na kami pero secret na yon. I have to say that we're going one step further on my next appearance. Ewan ko lang if we could pull it off kasi medyo mahirap pero we are already starting production. Nagstart kami I think… December pa namin pinag-usapan pero nagstart na kami nung Feb. So ayun. Kasi I think nagrelease ng disclaimer and Toei na wala raw silang con for April. Tapos yung Atsumaru, supposedly mayroon pero the owner is leaving for Japan. Now what she wants, gusto raw niya ng cosplay before she leaves. So pinakiusapan namin. Kasi biglaan eh. She's leaving on May so kung magcocosplay siya ng April, alanganin kung mag-aanounce lang siya. So most likely mayroon naman ako sa Feata eh.
So did you take an active part in the construction of the Gundam costume or were you just the model?
Yung sa Gundam, what happened was, ummm… We prepared for it two weeks before. But what happened since si Paulie, yung mismong gumawa ng lahat halos, was doing his thesis so two weeks before prior to the weekend, they took measurements. Tapos yung painting lahat at construction, four days before. As in November 4 [yung con], nagstart kami October 31. So talagang nagrush kami. I helped out in mostly drying the paint. Kasi acrylic paint yung gamit eh. Eh diba matagal yun. Kasi acrylic paint is used for painting houses? So ako na yung nagblowdry. Habang pinipintura, blowdry. Tapos second layer, blowdry. I mainly did the painting and blowdrying lang. Tapos yung heating. Ganun. Pero sila na halos lahat gumawa eh.
Are you into any mailing list or group related to cosplaying?
So far right now, wala. I'm not into any mailing list. I don't belong to any group either but I have my own team. Yun nga, yung gumawa ng MS girl ngayon, we're still the same team doing my next costume pero may kaunting replacement sa team kasi yung iba busy, yung iba ano.
So sino-sino sila?
Yung team? The old one? And new? So far nandiyan pa rin si Paulie. Si Fed nagbackout na siya kasi he's busy. Yung kapatid niyang si Rash nandoon pa rin. Tapos si Fer, best friend ni Rash. Tapos ngayon may dagdag si Alfred at saka si Mike. Mike is actually just helping, he's not really doing the costume. Parang he helps if you need help. Tapos gumagawa siya ng documentary. Tapos si Alfred, so far, hindi pa siya nagstastart kasi we need him for the fiber glass pa. So ayun. At saka si Fer, later on pa siya papasok kasi siya bahala sa paint eh. Tapos yung finish ng next costume ko, he does the painting job.
Since when did you start watching anime or like anime?
I first crossed, hindi pala crossed. Parang…
Trip?
Yeah. Di di di. First time ko lang… first time akong nakanood ng anime before. Ewan, di ko alam. Basta probably around '89 or '88, pinalabas yung Nausica. Kaze no… ewan! basta yung Warriors of the Wind. Pero di ko namalayan na [anime].
Kailan ka naging anime fan talaga?
Naging otaku ako nung lumabas yung Sailormoon. *laughs* I was around grade 5 tapos from there, ayun. Medyo di ako gaano ka-fan until I met the people at DOC (Digital Otaku Club). When they first started, I think three years ago, tapos doon. Doon talaga nagspread.
You're lucky because you're working at DOC where they sell anime videos.
Yeah yeah. But part time lang, hindi naman full time. But yeah, pretty much lucky.
What do you do there?
Uh, depende kasi eh. Usually I test the stuff for viewing. Kung OK ba siya, kung may problems. Sound distortions. Ganun. At least we're assuring talaga the quality when it comes to production. That's all.
So, do you have any other hobbies now?
I'm in the table tennis team of La Salle. So far kung hindi ako into anime, I'm into table tennis. And yun lang. Nothing much. Wala naman akong [other] extra-curricular activities there. I really have a passion for sports.
Ano na yung hinahabol mong anime ngayon?
Ngayon? Wala. *laughs* Wala. So far walang oras eh.
Napanood mo na kasi lahat eh.
Hindi no. Gago. Ummm, wala talaga. So far I've been hearing some stuff na may bagong release pero I doubt talaga kung may oras eh. Kahit ano usually, just to get an idea of the plot story itself. I'm not really picky when it comes to… kunwari anong type ng genre. Basta kung maganda naman yung story, pinapanood ko. Pero kunwari first episode di ko nagustuhan…
So you were a CAT officer in high school right?
No, I just belong to the special platoon in CAT. Ayun for health purposes na rin kasi asmatic ako. Tapos anemic din ako. Wala lang, trip. Kasi sila lang yun naghahagis ng rifles eh.
Gusto mong maghagis ng rifles?
*laughs* Di wala, parang "uuuy, cool diba?" May rifle. Di ko naman inaasahan na papasok ako sa team este sa platoon. Kasi may training yan two weeks before prior to the school days. Wala, nachambahan makapasok.
Nanonood ka na ba ng Gundam noon?
Yeah, actually. But I started with Gundam Wing eh. Ewan ko. For now, napanood ko pa lang na natapos ko ay Gundam Wing. Pero all the rest, a little bit of the parts lang. Walang time eh.
Sino ang iyong favorite anime characters?
Characters?
Bishonens, crushes, etc…?
Ummm, puwedeng pair?
Okay lang.
[For] pair, it would have to be Hitomi and Van. Next to that would be Chiaki and Maron KKJ, Kamikaze Kaitou Jean, so far. Quatre! *laughs* Kung gusto mo na rin idagdag. Pero dati pa iyon eh.
May boyfriend ka na ba?
Before. *laughs* But not now. I don't think may oras ako eh.
So kung may nanligaw wala na silang pag-asa, or puwede pa silang mangarap?
Mangarap siguro pero di naman masama mangarap diba?
Kasi ever since nagcosplay ka marami nang nagkaroon ng crush sa iyo eh.
Yeah right.
Seryoso. Kaya nga ikaw pinili ko eh, para kumuha ng tao na magbabasa ng fanzine na ito.
Grabe.
So anong reaction mo roon?
NR. Hindi, ummm, crush lang naman eh. Yuck ganun! Di naman sa minamaliit ko pero okay lang. I don't mind, I'm flattered.
So kung nanligaw sila okay lang sa iyo?
Ligaw pero hindi stalking. Iba kasi ang stalking sa ligaw eh.
Bakit, may nagstalk na ba sa iyo?
Ewan ko. May nagsend sa akin ng text dati na di ko alam yung number pero one message lang iyon eh. I lost my phone na before. Iba na number ko ngayon. Hahaha. Joke lang.
Obviously hindi mo ibibigay yung number mo publicly.
Oo naman. Wala, I mean kapag may nanligaw, may nanligaw. So far priority ko studies saka standing ko sa team kasi they come together eh. Once I fail kick out ako sa team. My certain standards eh. At saka I'm really enjoying my time with the team ngayon. Medyo wala akong oras for boyfriend.
What's your position in the team now?
Uh, training team pa rin. *laughs* I got to play in the NCRAA recently. We won fourth place, sorry to say. Kasi champion kami last year tapos fourth place lang ngayon. Madami kasi kaming problema eh. Iniwan kami ng coach at a critical time. Two weeks before the NCR nagresign siya. Tapos may problema ako ngayon sa bahay. Problema sa team, problema sa family. Eh yung team lang talaga ang barkada ko sa school so medyo wala akong oras ngayon.
What's your course ba in La Salle?
I'm taking up marketing management.
Year?
First year. Freshman lang po ako. *laughs*
How is it?
Fun, so far. Next year pa ang major ko eh but I'm one of the few people in my batch who are enjoying their college life. I don't know. I heard from one of my classmates na hindi raw sila medyo nageenjoy.
So how do you find the time to work on your next project?
Allotment lang, kasi there are times ngayon na yung costume ko, hindi na ako sumusulpot. Kasi I have to study, something like that. Kung talagang may oras, ginagawa ko. If possible, since college na at maraming free time, ginagawa ko in advance ang kailangan kong gawin so I don't have to think about it anymore. At saka hindi ako tumatanggap ng stuff na sa palagay ko hindi ko kaya. I don't join other committees if I think I don't have time for them. Kung yun lang, yun lang talaga. I focus on them.
So were there interesting things that happened during the entire time you cosplayed?
Buy Gundam! Joke lang. Si Fed nagsabi yun. Anecdotes?
Wala bang weird na nangyari or anything?
Di ko talaga alam, kasi first time lang nangyari sa akin yung nanalo eh. Considering first experience ko wala lang tapos biglang nanalo. Shocking lang. I don't think about it much then.
Are you expecting to win the next con?
Di naman. Kasi I don't cosplay to win. I cosplay for the sake of trip lang. Tapos pinipili ko yung costume ko out of, how do you say this, kung astig siyang gawin or kung possible siya to make it. Hindi siya yung simple gawa sa tela. Not to lower my standards or anything, if you think it's possible, go ahead diba.
Mayroon ka bang gustong batiin?
Ateneo diba? Ay, hindi, fanzine pala. Hi to my teammates. Ganun. *laughs* Doon din sa team ko sa costume at sa magbabasa ng fanzine, sino man kayo. Sana may magbasa.
Umaasa rin akong sana may magbabasa.
Oo sana, at if you really want to do something, go ahead and do it. Don't let anyone stop you. Of course there are situations na wala ka talagang magagawa pero yung dream mo, ipursue mo kasi kung pipigilan mo sarili mo, you won't get anywhere eh.
Thank you.