Wizard Howl At The Polaris

STUDIO GHIBLI’S “HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE”

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN’S ANIME MILWAUKEE (Anime Convention) 2011

This Photo: This is me cosplaying as Wizard Howl. I'm pouring what is left of my green tea and enjoying what is left of my experience at the Japanese Maid Café in the Polaris Restaurant on top of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Go Anime Milwaukee 2011!!!

CHARACTERS:
Wizard Howl
Calcifer and
Sophie Hatter

GENERAL INFORMATION: This is a cosplay photograph(s) of Wizard Howl Jenkins (dressed up by Josh Stockburger (myself)) and Sophie Hatter (dressed up by Kayla Cereghin) at Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s 2011 Anime Milwaukee Convention which was held at the Hyatt Regency and Frontier Airlines Center in downtown Milwaukee. We (Kayla and I) are residents of the American Midwest. Of course...you can't forget about Calcifer, who is also photographed in most (not all) of these cosplay photograph(s).

It took Kayla (Sophie) and I (Howl) over five months to gather the materials needed for these cosplay photograph(s) to be possible. The jewelry pictured in these cosplay photographs of Howl (myself) and Sophie (Kayla) are the actual Studio Ghibli Museum Merchandise jewels that are complimentary to the Studio Ghibli film "Howl's Moving Castle" (2004) by Hayeo Miyazaki and the book written by Diana Wynne Jones (1986).

These complimentary jewels were purchased through Google Checkout by an individual who lives in Japan. She goes by the name Rika Love Ghibli. She was an excellent seller at the time we purchased the jewels from her. You can only get these jewels from the Studio Ghibli Museum in Japan (unless you make them yourselves or purchase a non-official set), so for those of you who can't get to Japan anytime soon, EBay, Amazon and Google Checkout may be your only option, as it was for Kayla (Sophie) and myself (Howl). The price for these jewels weren’t friendly towards our budget, but Kayla (Sophie) and I (Howl) wanted this cosplay project to be as authentic as possible.

All clothing seen in the photograph(s) were primarily store bought or commissioned in the United States, Japan or China. Only exceptions would be Sophie's shawl and hat, which were both personally worked on by us. Hope you like them!!! GO ANIME MILWAUKEE 2011!!!